Sikkim Police have released two pictures of the alleged burglars who had earlier this week broken into the high-security Tashiling Secretariat complex in Gangtok and vandalised properties housed in an annexe building.

The police also announced cash rewards for information leading to the arrests of the duo.

The grab of the suspects were extracted from the footage taken from the close circuit cameras installed in the complex.

The intruders had entered the complex in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday with the intention of committing burglary, but their attempt had apparently proven unsuccessful.

Police sources, however, said the duo had managed to vandalise a few office rooms of the home and health departments and two ATM counters housed in the annexe building.

In a public appeal seeking help in arresting the suspects issued on Thursday night, the Sikkim Police said: “Liberal reward will be given for identification/information on (the) suspects. Name of the informant will be kept top secret.”

A source said a cash reward of Rs 3 lakh would be given to the informant.

The major security breach, burglars happened in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday when the burglars broke into nine or ten rooms in an annexe next to the secretariat. However, nothing was stolen from the rooms or the ATMs on the premises.

Since the incident had taken place in the secretariat building of the Sikkim government, it had received widespread condemnation with political parties and social organisations in particular lambasting the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha-ruled state government and the police for their alleged laxity.

The opposition Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) had strongly condemned the incident and demanded an inquiry under the supervision of the High Court of Sikkim.

Citing other recent incidents of crime in the state, including the murder of a doctor at the STNM Hospital, the SDF said this incident betrayed total breakdown of law and order in the state.