Police busy with election duty; thefts increasing in state

With the election season in full swing, the attention and presence of the police force will naturally turn to it. Taking advantage of this opportunity, local and migrant thieves have entered the scene. In recent times, thefts, stabbings and cyber attacks focused on bars etc. have been increasing frequently in Kerala. Director Joshiy's residence in Ernakulam and an expatriate's house in Kasaragod were looted. About 350 sovereigns worth of gold ornaments were stolen from the expatriate's house and diamond ornaments worth crores were stolen from Joshiy's house. It is alarming that even houses equipped with modern security systems including CCTV cameras can easily be entered by burglars.

Muhammad Irfan, the thief from Bihar who robbed Joshiy's house in Kochi, was caught with the stolen goods within ten hours of the robbery, thanks to the timely intervention and investigation of the Kerala and Karnataka police. Irfan, who escaped in a car after the theft on Saturday morning, was arrested from Udupi at 5 pm on the same day with the help of the Karnataka Police. The initial assumption is that he drove a car to Kochi only for the theft. The suspect arrived in Kerala without much inspection at the check posts because the car was a boarded Adhyaksh from Sitamarhi in Bihar! He was trapped by the Kochi Police with the help of other state forces after identifying the registration of the car from the inspection of CCTV footage.

Had the thief not used the car to go back, this case would probably have ended up as a theft case that would never have been solved. The police have identified that it was the same thief who stole jewellery worth Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 60,000 from a wealthy residence in Kowdiar, Thiruvananthapuram during the Covid pandemic. Along with major thefts, petty thefts are also increasing in the state. In the face of increasing theft, the residents of the cities are losing sleep having to guard their property. Thefts centred on businesses are also happening. As the price of gold is increasing day by day, thieves are showing more interest in stealing gold. Two burglaries in large houses were done by breaking the kitchen windows. Homeowners should take the same care to close other doors as they do to close the main door from the kitchen to the house.

Unlike in the past, migrant thieves now resort to breaking into occupied homes. These gangs come prepared to endanger the householders if they wake up during the robbery. Such robberies have created a lot of fear in the minds of the people. Therefore, as a part of maintaining law and order, there should be immediate action to strengthen anti-theft squads in all districts. Residents' associations, local groups, etc. should be more cautious along with strengthening police patrols. The police must stop the increasing number of thefts at any cost.