By Sunil Haleangady
Daijiworld Media Network—Mangaluru (EP)
Mangaluru, Feb 22: Serial thefts have been reported from Hosakadu area near Kinnigoli. Thieves have decamped with 17.5 sovereigns of gold and Rs 10,000 in cash. The incident occurred on the night of Friday February 20. Mulky station police are conducting an investigation.
The thieves gained access after removing the latch of the front door through the window which was open. They sprinkled soap oil on the latch of the door through the window to open it easily. They took away the gold kept in the cupboard.
The soap oil was found on the wall of the house and the ground. They threw the oil tin outside the house while leaving. There were four people in the house during the thefts and the thieves were careful not to alert them in any way.
The also targeted the house of Ahmed nearby and tried to remove the latch of the back door. As they could not succeed, they latched the door from outside before leaving. The thieves then went to the house of Harish Suvarna in the neighborhood and entered through the back door after opening the latch through the window. They went into the room where Suvarna was sleeping. They had bought a suitcase and after entering the kitchen, took Rs 10,000 from there.
The thieves then entered the room where the daughter and mother-in-law of Suvarna were sleeping and switched off the mobile which was being charged. Then they tried to open the cupboard. On seeing this, Suvarna’s daughter pretended to cough and the thieves fled on hearing this.
The daughter later awakened the others in the house who immediately telephoned Panchayat member Mayyadi. He arrived around 3 am and after confirming the theft informed Mulky police. The police arrived and conducted an inspection.
When Vishwanath Shettigar and others in the house got up in the morning, their main door was open and the theft came to light. The police dog followed the scent upto about 100 m by road and then by walkway.
Marks of the wheels of a bike were found there and it is suspected that the thieves might have parked their bike there and walked the rest of the way. It is believed that there were two persons involved in the thefts and the involvement of local people cannot be ruled out. A similar incident had occurred in Kinnigoli six months ago. The thieves had broken the CC camera, entered the house, and decamped with valuables.