A burglar's den...

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">That''s what the city''s become of late. CT finds out what the cops are doing to save the situation </span><br /><br />Ninety four house thefts and 11 burglaries in 30 days. While seven of the burglaries took place during the day, the remaining four were committed during the night.Sources in the police say that around 70 people have been arrested in relation with these cases, but no recovery has been made yet. The spate of recent burglaries in Kolkata has raised questions about the security of people at home. So how safe are our homes, specially in the afternoons when most family members are out to office or elsewhere? <br /><br />"The problem is that there are mostly working couples who usually leave behind their elderly relations at home. In many cases, the home remains empty. The domestic help are not as trustworthy as before, therefore making such households soft target for burglaries," said a senior official of the burglary department, Kolkata police. According to the police, burglars just keep making rounds of certain areas to keep a tab on the houses and movements of people. "They often pose as hawkers or salesmen in the afternoons. Sometimes, they just work on instinct. They press the door bell just to find out if anyone is home. If no one opens the door, they presume that there is no one inside the house and they break into the house," explained the senior official. <br /><br />The modus operandi burglars prefer is the traditional way of breaking into the house through the door. The house thefts generally take place within a short span when the flat doors remain open for some purpose. Sources in the burglary department say that these thefts often occur when the inmate of a flat visits the adjoining apartment for some casual reasons keeping behind the doors to the flat open, or forgets to shut the door or goes inside to fetch money for a salesman. "A large number of drug addicts, who need quick money, are behind these small thefts. They pick up whatever they can -- an expensive memento, a phone or a watch," said an official with burglary department. <br /><br />While most of the burglary cases have taken place in south Kolkata houses, it''s residential houses that have been targetted rather than multistoreyed buildings which usually boast of better security systems. The most burglary prone areas are New Alipore, Chitpur, Gariahat, Lake area, Charu Market, Phoolbagan, Topsia, Camac Street and the area under Karaya police station. <br /><br />So how are the police planning to improve the security situation? Incidentally, the detective department of KP has initiated random day patrolling from this week. "Varying patrolling patterns will be used to keep a check and the patrolling hours will not be pre-fixed. There is a standing order issued to every police station asking officers to make rounds of an area, detect houses having elderly people as inmates, or are empty, and even keep a tab on suspicious people or new faces in that area," said deputy commissioner (headquarters), Ranvir Kumar. <br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">madhurima.nandy@timesgroup.com</span></div> </div>