A smartphone and a laptop were stolen from the house of a former councillor of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation in Salt Lake’s BA Block early on Thursday, police said.
Anindya Chatterjee, who stays with his son and wife in their two-storey house in Sector I, said he found the window of his son’s room on the first floor open when he woke up.
Sensing something was amiss Chatterjee said he scanned the room and realised that his son’s smartphone and laptop were not in the room.
“When I went to my son’s room I saw that the window was open and his laptop and smartphone were not there on the bedside table,” Chatterjee told Metro on Thursday.
He raised an alarm and went outside his house.
According to him, he and his family members spotted several foot and handprints on the boundary wall.
Chatterjee lodged a complaint with Bidhannagar North police station.
An officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said: “We have started an investigation and have taken photographs of the prints on the outdoor wall of the house. Prima facie, it seems that the thief had used the boundary wall and sunshades to get to the first floor window.”
Another officer said it was likely that a long hook or stick could have been used to drag the items towards the window as the table was adjacent to it.
“We have started scanning footage from CCTV cameras installed in the block,” said the officer.
Metro had reported earlier how a section of residents of the township had raised concern over non-functional street lights in several blocks that could aid people to flee under the cover of darkness after committing a crime.
Chatterjee said like other parts of Salt Lake there were several places in his block which had non-functional street lights. “Lights act as a deterrent but there are several areas that remain dark because street lights dont work.”
No arrests were made till late on Thursday.