It was about 3 am when Harish (name changed as it is likely to impact investigation) woke up unsettled as he was by some bizarre feeling. He was never used to get up from bed at that time. He, his wife and their five-year-old son were sleeping in a room, while there was another bedroom and a hall in his rented house. He wanted to go to the bathroom, but alas when he tried to open his door, it did not, as it was shut from outside.
Who could it be! Harish began to feel a chill down his spine before he could be sure that some burglars had sneaked up on them and were doing their covert operation by shutting them from outside. For a moment, he was at his wit’s end as to what to do. Should he call the police, or the neighbours, or friends and relativesIJ He searched for the mobile phone and fortunately it was there behind the pillow.
He called his neighbours first. However, by the time his neighbours came and rescued him and his family, it was all done — the burglars had decamped with gold jewelleries, cash and other valuables worth Rs 3 lakh. The housebreaking incident happened in the Bhagabat Sandhan area near GGP Colony under the Mancheswar police station weeks ago. The house was not located in an isolated area, yet miscreants dared to break open the door and committed the theft.
The incident though bloodcurdling is, however, not rare in the sense that much to the chagrin of the Commissionerate of Police, burglars, chain snatchers, looters and stalkers are enjoying heydays now as the patrolling has all but collapsed in the twin city of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The worrying fact is the miscreants are not just targeting the isolated houses or weak householders, but even persons with strong clout are not spared. The burglary in the house of former High Court Judge Pradyumna Kumar Mohanty at Abhinav Bidanasi under the Markat Nagar police station at the wee hours of Saturday last is a glowing example of how security is poor.
Burglary apart, loot incidents are occurring in increasing frequency throwing a challenge to the police. Incidents of snatching of chain or cash seem to be the order of the day. While organized criminals are targeting women in isolated roads, flyovers and market places, even the ones staying in their houses are preyed on by anti-socials who barge into their houses, pounce upon them and flee as though fearing none.
“The capital city has been witnessing such incidents in increasing number as patrolling is slack and the police fail to make any major breakthrough in any theft cases giving the thieves a shot in the arm. Rising number of house breaking, chain snatching and cash loot incidents have rendered the city unsafe,” said a resident of Rasulgarh area Bikash Swain. A senior citizen of lakshmi Sagar area opined that the police deployment in crime prone areas has to be stronger. “It is quite unfortunate that the police administration
does not have sufficient manpower to deploy them in sensitive areas and beef up day and night patrolling on the busy highways and residential areas. For example, the new flyovers in the city are left without security as a result of which snatchers are targeting the innocent people in those areas. Besides, the city police are yet to come up with elaborate measures to curb rash and reckless driving. Often, miscreants come in speeding vehicles and snatch cash or jewelleries before fleeing away at breakneck speed,” he said.