Steep rise in crime in Berhampur as cops look the other way

BERHAMPUR: With the police busy in checking lockdown violations, criminal activities in the city have witnessed a steep rise. In Hillpatna locality of the city, a trader was murdered during a robbery at his office-cum-residence on June 13. The victim, 66-year-old Lambodar Muni, a distributor of milk products was strangulated to death with a towel by the miscreants who decamped with cash worth Rs 6 lakh and gold ornaments weighing over 110 gm. His body was found by a customer the next day.

The police managed to arrest three of the culprits and also recovered Rs 4 lakh and 98 gram gold ornaments from them. However, two of the accused are still at large, said SP Pinak Mishra.Since the robbery was committed at a prime locality, the police acted swiftly. However, in several cases of snatching, burglary and theft little has been done to bring the perpetrators to book.

Locals said lack of police patrolling has emboldened anti-social elements in the city. The city police has 20 motorcycles but they are seldom used for patrolling. The release of several criminals has emerged as a cause of concern for the locals and police in the city. Sources said several criminals have started reorganising their gangs for committing offences.