Date:12/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/02/12/stories/2005021216870300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Recovered goods pose a problem

FOR THE Bangalore city police, protecting stolen property and returning them to their rightful owners are difficult tasks.

The major obstacle is that complainants are not able to identify their goods for different reasons. For instance, thieves convert stolen gold jewellery into ingots, and this makes identification of the ornaments by their owners impossible.

A police officer claims that despite this, the police make "sincere efforts" to get ingots re-crafted into ornaments and return them to their owners.

Identification of goods is also a hurdle in returning stolen electronic equipment to their owners. If the owners do not have the bills issued at the time of purchase, or if they do not have the make and batch number of the equipment, it is not possible to return the stolen goods owing to legal hurdles, the police say.

Another major problem is that in many cases, people who have reported thefts do not get information about recoveries made by the police.

Another problem is that various legal procedures are to be followed by complainants to reclaim their property. The details of stolen goods, as mentioned in the first information report (FIR) filed soon after the crime is reported, and the statements made by the owners after identifying the properties should match. As the stolen goods are usually recovered long after the crime is committed, the complainant's statements and the FIR details vary. It is alleged that in such cases, the police demand bribes to release the stolen property. The police have also been accused of misusing the recovered goods.

Safe storage

On safe storage of recovered goods, the police say they keep gold and silver articles in lockers in police stations. Electronic equipment such as television sets are handed over to their owners on the condition that these will be produced before the jurisdictional court during hearings, the police say. However, stolen vehicles that have been recovered are parked on police station premises and they rust away.