Date:23/08/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/08/23/stories/2006082318430400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Burglars at it again near Tambaram

Staff Reporter

Window grille cut open, gold jewels taken away It has sent shockwaves through the residential locality

TAMBARAM : Burglars struck for the second day running in Chitlapakkam police station limits near Tambaram on Tuesday, making away with gold jewels weighing about 25 sovereigns, while the occupants of the house were away for two hours in the evening.

Police said the burglars struck at the home of Suresh, an employee of a private company, on Fifth Main Road in Venkataraman Nagar, Hasthinapuram.

Suresh's mother, Varalakshmi, who is suffering from a kidney ailment, is being treated at a private hospital in Tambaram. On Tuesday evening, Suresh went to the hospital direct from his office, while his wife Chitra and their two children locked the house at 6 p.m. and went to Tambaram. When they returned around 8 p.m., they noticed the almirah broken open and the gold jewels burgled.

The burglars gained entry into the house by cutting open a portion of the window grille in a room adjacent to the one where the almirah was kept. The cut portion of the grille was just about a foot square.

The burglary has sent shockwaves through the purely residential locality.

Residents and police personnel have no idea how the burglars managed to vanish without being spotted by anyone or even leaving a clue behind at the scene of crime. Adding to the woes of the victims, police personnel from Chitlapakkam police station had some harsh words for them.

Pointing out that awareness meetings on preventing theft and crime had been organised in the area, the police wondered why residents continued to keep valuables at home in almirahs. "Won't you ever get wise?

If people come to the Chitlapakkam police station again with complaints that jewels have been burgled from almirahs, we will not register a case," they reportedly told members of the welfare association.

On Monday, the burglars struck at the house of a Bank official in Chitlapakkam police station limits, taking away gold jewels and cash.