Cops solve less than 40% break-ins in Madurai

MADURAI: The police could solve only less than 40% of break-in cases reported in the city while about 26.5kg of gold jewellery was stolen from houses in 2017 and 2018, according to an RTI filed by TOI. The estimated worth of the gold jewellery stolen was around 7.96 crore, considering the price of one gram of 22-carat gold to be 3,000.

The number of burglary incidents went up from 159 in 2017 to 185 in 2018. However, the recovery of gold jewellery from suspects slightly improved in 2018 with nearly 37% (5.4kg) of it being recovered, while in the previous year only about 30% (3.4kg) was recovered. A total of 11.6kg of gold jewellery was looted in 2017 and 14.8kg in 2018, according to the city police. Apart from this, several lakhs in cash and other valuables were also looted in the break-in incidents in houses and financial establishments.

While the city police has been able to solve most of the chain snatching incidents in 2018, burglary still remains a challenge. Most of the burglaries take place at locked residential houses and at night, preferably between 1am and 4am.

A senior police officer said they find it difficult to ensure effective police patrolling at night due to inadequate force strength. The city police have a larger area to cover since 2015 when the police limit was extended coterminous with city corporation limits. “It is easier to control snatching incidents as they can be traced using vehicle number caught in CCTV cameras,” the officer said. Burglars closely watch the movement of members of a household before choosing their target. Break-in incidents mostly took place in houses locked for two to three days. “It does not mean nothing will happen at homes if the family members return within a few hours. There were incidents when burglars have made away with valuables in just a three-hour gap,” said a police officer.

The senior officer said that in a recent incident which took place in SS Colony police limits, a teenager died under suspicious circumstances after police inquiry. “The youth, who was picked up in connection with a theft incident, died in the hospital after he was let go. Now, the police team which interrogated him is in a soup,” he said.

City police commissioner S Davidson Devasirvatham said that preventive measures will be beefed up once again from the start of June. “Many of the officers from the city unit were taken out for election duty and we have to get them back. Policing can be effective only if we work with willing police officers. Enthusiasm cannot be expected from those who are awaiting transfer to the place of their preference,” he said.