Police yet to rein in housebreaks in Vandannoor

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Notwithstanding the tall claims of the state police to tighten the noose around unscrupulous elements for stopping crime, the recent spurt in housebreaks are giving sleepless nights to the villagers of Vandannoor, near Neyyattinkara. There has been seven instances of burglaries which occurred in 1sqkm area in the past four weeks. 

The first major housebreak was reported at the house of Sreedevi where the thieves decamped with 17 sovereigns of gold ornaments over last month when there was no one in the house. Though the police have registered the case, the police are still clueless about thieves. The housbreaks have become a regular affair in the locality and the burglars decamp with rubber sheets from the house compounds, among other booties.

Sreedevi’s neighbours have lost articles from rubber sheets, mobile phones to bracelets and other costly materials in the subsequent days. The villagers suspect that the thefts could be committed by people who are known to them as all the housebreaks occurred in the same locality. One of her neighbours, Kumar who lost 1,000 rubber sheets suspect that more than many persons are involved in the crime. “It is impossible for one person to get away with 1,000 rubber sheets weighing around 750kg at one go. Moreover, the sheets could not be transferred without a vehicle. So chances are high that the crimes are committed by people who are familiar with the area,” said Kumar. 

Police, on the other hand, point fingers to the large-scale transfer of officials in the department for the slow pace of investigation. But the villagers are not ready to buy the excuse. A new police team have taken charge at Maranalloor police station under which Vandanoor falls and the probe began only last week. “Though we have verified the CCTV cameras in the area, but could not get any lead. We hope to bring to book the culprits very soon,” said S Jagadeesh, Maranalloor CI.