Burglary on rise in Navi Mumbai; only 64 cases solved this year

Navi Mumbai

Navi Mumbai

HT Image

Recently, the NRI Coastal police station arrested a gang of burglars for allegedly stealing ₹3.5 lakh worth valuables from a house in Belapur. Police suspect the four accused had been planning to target more houses in the area.

The police said the incident took place in the house of a fish seller Ajaykumar Fulendra, 39, in Belapur two weeks ago. Fulendra purchases fish from Colaba to sell it in Navi Mumbai.

On December 16, the four accused, who are in the age group of 20 and 25 years, broke into Fulendra’s house after the couple left home in the morning. They broke the cupboard lock and stole ₹3.1 lakh cash and gold valuables worth ₹38,000. “They burgled the house in less than an hour which indicated they were watching the house for some time. Based on technical evidence and investigation, we nabbed the two accused from Patna and two from Mumbai,” said Ajit Zanjurne, assistant inspector at NRI Coastal police station.

Burglaries have remained a major issue for the Navi Mumbai police. The number of burglaries has reduced with 359 cases registered till November this year as compared to 436 cases last year. But the rate of detection also slumped as only 64 cases were solved this year whereas last year, 220 cases were solved.

Officers at police stations said the drop in detection could be due to little to no evidence that makes it difficult to trace the suspects.

Prompted by the slowdown in the detection rate, the police have turned to societies. This year, police stations have taken four meetings at regular intervals with various societies in their jurisdiction, officers said.