Date:01/10/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/10/01/stories/2007100159070500.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Police presence no deterrent to burglars LAw And Order

The police thwarted possible terrorist attacks, but thieves continued to be busy, writes Marri Ramu

For the police in the State capital, peaceful completion of the 11-day Ganesh festival, the first major event in the city after twin terror strikes on August 25, was an achievement of sorts. The paradox is that while they thwarted possible terrorist attacks, thieves continued to strike at will during the same period.

The graph of property offences looked upward with burglaries, robberies and dacoities becoming common in and around the city after the twin blasts. More than the number of offences and the high value of the property lost, the frequency with which the offenders struck showed that the police had failed in containing them despite policemen ‘taking over’ the city literally in the name of security for the festivals.

Interestingly, there is no specific pattern in the incidence of these offences. In the latest major incident, an eight-member gang of dacoits attacked a house in Cherlapally taking away property worth Rs.80,000 on September 23. Three days before that, offenders broke into Reliance Web World at Kukatpally and managed to get away with Rs.95,000 cash despite the security alarm getting activated.

Adoption of different modus operandi like sneaking inside a house by removing window grills, breaking open main doors and stalking a person carrying cash and robbing him at a secluded place, suggests no single gang is behind the sudden spurt in the crime. No particular area seems to be targeted as thieves are striking in the heart of city like Begum Bazar and on the outskirts such as Chandanagar and alike.

How is it that when police deployed huge additional forces and conducted surprise checks, the offenders still went berserk?

Single agenda

It appears that the police worked with the single point agenda of containing the possible terrorist strikes and focused all their energies on frisking individuals and checking vehicles.

As processions and immersion of Ganesh idols began from the fifth day of the festival, emphasis was laid on peaceful conduct of the festival. The offenders exploited this situation and made a killing. The worst affected were the city outskirts with dacoit gangs targeting scattered colonies. In a house burglary in Ameerpet, the thieves entered the house through the balcony’s door that was kept open by inmates of the house. In Kukatpally, the burglars wore masks so that investigators could not identify them by examining the video footage by the secret cameras and went ahead even as the security alarm got activated.