Gang breaks into Tasmac outlet, walks away with 793 bottles

Coimbatore: An unidentified gang broke into a Tasmac outlet at Vanjiyapuram Pirivu near Pollachi and made away with 793 liquor bottles worth Rs 1.4 lakh. A special team has been formed to nab the offenders.
In his complaint, Tasmac supervisor P Krishnan, 41, of Pethappampatti in Tirupur district, said that on Thursday around 10 am, when he opened the shop, he found a portion of the side wall missing. Unidentified persons had removed the hollow block concrete slabs from the wall and entered the shop, he said.
Krishnan said there were CCTVs installed at the shop to cover its front portion. The thieves had damaged the cameras and took away its digital video recorder, police said.
Police registered a case under IPC sections 380 (theft) and 457 (trespass) and lifted fingerprints from the shop.
The state government had recently decided to install CCTV cameras at 3,000 Tasmac outlets. In Coimbatore, officials had identified 170 outlets – 75 in south Coimbatore and 95 in north – and sent a report to their headquarters recently.
Apart from preventing theft and illegal activities at the outlets, installation of cameras would be useful to ensure that customers are wearing face masks and following physical distancing norms during the pandemic situation, said an official.
On the choice of the 170 Tasmac outlets for installation of CCTVs, an official said, “Preference was given to outlets that record high sales, witnessed thefts or law and order issues and were located in remote locations.”
Welcoming the move, S Moorthy, district president of Tasmac employees’ association said, “apart from preventing the theft of liquor bottles and cash which are kept in the outlets during the night hours, it would also curtail law and order issues.”