THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wee hours of Sunday, Renjith Gopalakrishnan saw a light flashing on his window. He felt as if someone was standing outside his house and flashing the light in a bid to break into the house. However, before he could act, the person had left the house premises. The CCTV visuals showed a person jumping the compound wall of his house at 1.30am the next night.
“Last year, several theft attempts were reported on Shankar lane in Sasthamangalam. Residents were in panic after they spotted two men jumping the compound walls of some houses in the wee hours,” Renjith said.
“The same situation is being witnessed at Sreerangam lane and the residents there are in panic. At 6.30pm itself, the residents now close their doors and windows in fear. I have already lodged a complaint regarding the issue with the Museum police station. It will be helpful for the residents if the police department deploys more officers during the late-night hours in the region and intensify night patrolling. Lack of streetlights in the area is also challenging the security of the residents,” said Renjith.
Like Renjith, other residents of Sasthamangalam in the capital city are also worried ever since the CCTV visuals revealed a group of armed men flashing lights and breaking into houses in the night. Following this, the residents’ association alerted the people.
Gopinath M K, treasurer of Sreerangam residents’ association, said, “It has been five days since these armed men were spotted in different houses in the wee hours. There are many hostels and elderly people staying in the locality. Seeing the modus operandi, it can be said that the intention is not theft but to create panic among the residents. Due to the regular incidents, we have divided the youngsters in our region into different groups. Every night, different groups have been keeping a watch. However, we haven’t been able to nab the culprits till now.”
Gopinath said, “There are more than 250 houses in the area and 60 per cent of them are occupied by permanent residents and the others are bachelors and people living in rented houses. Sreerangam Lane in Sasthamangalam is one of the popular locations in the city. However, the recent incidents have created a scare in the area.” Ambili C J, another resident who is staying in a rented house, said, “The recent incident has created panic in the area, especially among the women. Sometimes, it becomes late for me to reach back from work. Streetlights do not function sometimes and there is also the stray dog menace. The police officers should conduct regular night patrolling so that the culprits can be caught soon.”
Not new
One of the resident said the theft attempts happened in the previous year too at Shankar lane in Sasthamangalam. This year, the same situation is happening at the nearby Sreerangam lane. There are more than 250 houses in the region.
What police say
“We have intensified night patrolling in the region to find the culprits behind such incidents after seeing the CCTV visuals in the region. As per our preliminary investigation, the motive of the culprits is not theft but to create a scare among residents. We are taking steps to nab the culprits as soon as possible,” said Jiju Kumar D, sub-inspector of Museum police station. Similar incidents have not come to their notice from other parts of the city, he added.