3 burglaries in Mira Road locality since July | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
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3 burglaries in Mira Road locality since July

Hindustan Times | By, Mumbai
Oct 04, 2010 02:39 AM IST

Vinod Singh is a worried man these days. He shouts at the watchman or housekeeping staff of his housing complex if he finds strangers around the compound.

Vinod Singh is a worried man these days. He shouts at the watchman or housekeeping staff of his housing complex if he finds strangers around the compound.

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“Who knows whose turn it is next? We are on our toes,” said Singh, chairman of Neptune co-operative housing society at Nityanand Nagar in Mira Road.

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Singh’s fear stems from the spate of burglaries the complex has seen recently.

Burglars have broken into three flats in the A-wing of the complex in as many months. The police have not been able to make any headway in the cases and residents feel unsafe.

“Earlier, we used to go for a walk after dinner. These days, after nightfall, women in the building don’t even go out to buy vegetables if nobody is at home because they cannot afford to lock the house,” said Anil Pandey, an airline employee, whose flat was broken into on September 17 when he was away at work.

“My wife stepped out to buy grocery at 8.30pm. When she returned 45 minutes later, she found the door had been broken open,” Pandey said.

The cupboards and storage space in the bed had been ransacked.

“The thieves stole gold jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh and Rs 5,000 in cash,” Pandey said.

The police have summoned him thrice but are yet to record his statement or visit his home, Pandey alleged.

Residents said all the burglaries occurred between 7.30pm and 9.30pm when the women go to the market and the men are still at work.

A month before the burglary at Pandey’s home, thieves struck at Sanjeev Singh’s flat on the seventh floor of the same wing.

Sanjeev, who works for an advertising agency, returned home from work one evening to find 165gm of gold, silver ornaments and cash looted from the flat. His wife had gone to the market.

Even his next-door neighbours did not hear the thieves at work.

“These days, when we get an invitation for a function or an occasion, only one member represents the family. The other guards the house,” said Vinod Singh, a television actor, who lives in the complex.

Residents suspect an insider’s hand in the burglaries.

They tightened security following the first incident three months ago. Every visitor is escorted to the flat he or she is visiting after an entry is made in the register at the security cabin.

Senior inspector, Anil Patil, of Kashimira police station said the burglaries coincided with the start of the festive season.

“We arrested some burglars but they were not involved in these cases,” Patil said.

“We also ran a check on those whose names are there on our records but that did not yield any result either.”

Patil said the robberies seem to be the work of a new gang.

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