Shopkeepers stage protest after burglary in 2 shops

Ludhiana: Members of the Haibowal Market Association staged a protest against the police on the main road saying that a number of theft cases had been reported in the market over the last few days. Two shops in the market were targeted early on Tuesday. The agitators accused that police did not patrol these areas.
The protest continued for over half an hour, during which shopkeepers sat on the road and blocked it. They ended their protest when inspector Bittan Kumar, SHO at Haibowal police station arrived at the spot to pacify them.
Unidentified burglars struck at a footwear and cosmetic store at around 4am on Tuesday. Paramjit Singh, owner of the footwear store said that on Monday night, at around 9:30pm, he locked the shop and went home. On Monday morning, he found the cash drawer broken and Rs 25,000 stolen. The accused also stole about 25 pairs of shoes. Paramjit said that the accused had tampered with the CCTV cameras installed in the store. He added that the accused barged into the shop from the rooftop.
Owner of the cosmetic store, Vikas Agarwal said that burglars stole Rs 3,000 kept in the drawer and cosmetic products worth over Rs 20,000. The shopkeepers said that many thefts have been reported in the market in the past one month but police surveillance had not increased. They ddemanded regular night patrolling to curb burglaries. Inspector Bittan Kumar said the accused would be arrested and patrolling would be increased.