Series of thefts leaves Patuli residents shaken

  • | Friday | 29th March, 2019

“I was at my other home in Salt Lake when a neighbour from Patuli informed me about the robbery. The residents have now decided to appoint a full-time security guard and install CCTV cameras to prevent a repeat.“The incident has shaken all the residents and we have written a letter to the local police station expressing our fear and helplessness. “We have detained a suspect and are questioning him for leads,” said an officer. I somehow opened the latch with the help of a knife and went upstairs to find the doors to four of the eight flats ajar. “We were on vacation and returned only on Wednesday morning.

KOLKATA: Flat owners in a standalone building in Baishnabghata Patuli Township off EM Bypass are living in fear after thieves broke into a number of apartments and fled with gold jewellery worth several lakhs and some premium whisky bottles early on Wednesday. The residents have now decided to appoint a full-time security guard and install CCTV cameras to prevent a repeat.“The incident has shaken all the residents and we have written a letter to the local police station expressing our fear and helplessness. To prevent a repeat, we are planning to employ a full-time security guard and install CCTV cameras,” said Uttam Saha, the secretary of the building, and one of the victims of the theft Sahas’ was among the four apartments where thieves had broken in. “We were on vacation and returned only on Wednesday morning. Around 7am, when we had just got off the train, we received a call from a neighbour who informed us about the theft,” said Rima, Saha’s wife.She, however, said the flat was not ransacked and the thieves didn’t touch the laptop, television or a cellphone left in the living room. “They only broke open the almirah and took gold jewellery and cash worth Rs 2 lakh-Rs 3 lakh,” she said.Sahas’ next door neighbour Nepal Chandra Barua, 70, a retired BSNL official, was also not at home when the heist took place. Multiple wine bottles, along with gold ornaments, were taken from his house. “I was at my other home in Salt Lake when a neighbour from Patuli informed me about the robbery. I am yet to estimate the total amount missing,” Barua said.Residents of the two other flats on the first floor that were robbed are also away from home. While Prabir Dutta’s family is away on vacation, Saibal Ghosh’s family lives in Farakka.The five-storey building near Patuli fire station, Bypass Kuthi Cooperative Housing Society Limited, does not have a guard, but there is a caretaker who lives on the ground floor. “I woke up at 6am, but found our door locked from outside. I somehow opened the latch with the help of a knife and went upstairs to find the doors to four of the eight flats ajar. I then alerted the other residents,” said Champa Kayal, the caretaker’s wife.Cops probing the case detained a known burglar from Narendrapur on Thursday and have been raiding hideouts on the city fringes to look for members of the gang. “We have detained a suspect and are questioning him for leads,” said an officer.

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