Petty thefts have started taking place across Action Area I in recent weeks. The targets are mostly steel taps on the ground floors of premises. And in cases where the thieves are being apprehended, they are turning out to be way underage.
On the morning of Holi, several houses in BF Block woke up to the sight of water flowing out from pipes unimpeded in their driveways or ground floor toilets. “I heard a commotion on my way to the Basanta Utsav programme at Rabindra Tirtha. Thefts had happened in four successive houses. Other than taps, two cycles were stolen as were the burners of the caretaker’s gas oven,” said Swapan Ghosh, treasurer of BF Block Cultural Association. About 10 days ago, similar thefts were reported in another section of the block as also in BC Block, he said.
Based on complaints from residents of DB and BF blocks, police managed to catch two boys. “They used to operate at dawn when the caretakers would be fast asleep. Both are minors, aged barely 10-12 years, so we did not press charges. They seemed to have done it out of a desire to buy goodies for themselves,” said a police officer. One is the son of a caretaker of a BC Block house while another stays in a canalside slum. The police met and warned their parents.
An attempt to steal the tap of the toilet in the local park took place in CE Block a week ago. “The security guards of the park caught them. They were three children of local caretakers so we alerted the police but did not file a report. The park’s security agency met their parents and kept copies of their Aadhaar cards, with the warning that they would be answerable if such thefts took place again,” said Alok Das, secretary of New Town CE Block Cultural Association.
This was the fourth petty theft in the block this year. A couple of months ago, steel taps were stolen in seven-eight houses over three
nights in close succession. In one case, the caretaker of a house caught a thief but he managed to escape. It was a middle-aged man trying to wrench open the iron pipe and the tap. In another, the night guards employed by the block chased away the culprits.
“We are fed up. There are reports of even some women coming from the canalside slums to steal scrap metal from construction sites. We have asked the security guards not to chase them but inform the police,” said Das.
Deepak Kediaa has had thefts taking place twice in his house in DB Block. “In November, a few taps and a cycle were stolen. Five days ago, another cycle was stolen,” he said. The family had installed closed circuit television after the first theft. So this time, the thieves are on camera. “We have handed over the footage to the police. There were two of them, seemingly in their early 20s, he said. “There were two cycles parked, both belonging to our caretaker. The thieves chose the newer one, took out books from his son’s school bag kept on the carrier and left with the bag and the cycle,” Kediaa said.
Thefts have been reported in AE, AI, AK, BB, CB and DB blocks too.
BF Block’s annual general meeting is on April 10 where residents would be advised to install closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) in their driveways. “Branches of some trees are blocking the view of the NKDA’s CCTV cameras. We will ask them to trim the trees,” said Ghosh.
Have you faced such thefts in your block? Write to The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001 or email to saltlake@abp.in