Dacoits strike at Agarkar Nagar

PUNE, Aug 25: Armed dacoits struck at a house in Agarkar Nagar a few hundred meters away from the police commissioner's and district coll...

PUNE, Aug 25: Armed dacoits struck at a house in Agarkar Nagar a few hundred meters away from the police commissioner8217;s and district collector8217;s residences in the early hours of Wednesday morning and decamped with valuables worth Rs 1,27,000. The Shetty family whose flat was targeted are visibly shaken by the incident and are wondering how the dacoits entered well within city limits and struck in such a populated area. Said Yadav Shetty 52, who has lodged the complaint with the Bundgarden police, 8220;We have heard of attacks in outer areas but when the dacoits target the city then it is very scary.8221;

It was during the night when Shetty awoke to six masked men armed with knives and rods occupying the house. Surprisingly, the forcing open of the door by the culprits, did not awaken anyone in the family.

The culprits entered the room where Shetty8217;s three daughters, Harini 23, Deepali 19 and Kavita 18 were sleeping. Says Deepali, 8220;They asked us to not make any noise and started ransacking the cupboards. After they had taken the cash from the purse they went into my parent8217;s bedroom.8221;

According to Shetty the six men started breaking the drawers and took out all the gold jewellery kept in the house. 8220;All were well dressed in jeans, jerkins and sneakers and spoke in Hindi with a distinct Mumbaiya flavour,8221; says Shetty.

The police say that the culprits were not hardened criminals but local youths who had just taken to crime. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police zone III, Jagan Nath, 8220;The men are not hard core dacoits. They must have entered the place at random and since the family kept so many valubales in the house it proved to be a lucky night for the culprits.8221; DCP Jagan Nath, who was on a night round arrived at the scene within minutes after the crime was relayed to the police control room.

Jagan Nath believes that had the residents invested in some kind of security arrangements it would have proved to be an effective deterrence. 8220;It is surprising that these people did not invest in a watchman. That would have proved extremely useful in improving security.8221;

Looking at the modus operandi of the culprits DCP crime Surinder Kumar, who arrived at the scene of crime a few hours later, 8220;It looks similar to the theft at Koregaon Park some days back.8221; According to him the only way to stop these dacoities would be to arrest them or they would resurface after lying low for a few days.

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Police officials claimed that as the facts that the Shettys lived on the ground floor and their neighbours were out of station contributed to the brazen attempt. The family was locked in their rooms by the dacoits before they left. According to the family the men left in a white Maruti van and drove off toward Alankar Talkies.

Interestingly the culprits were polite and even returned any jewellery that had divine figures engraved on them. 8220;The culprits refused to take the mangalsutra,8221; says Shetty, 8220;because it had the image of Goddess Laxmi on it. They also returned a gold locket that had Lord Ganpati on it.8221;

In the morning Police Commissioner K K Kashyap also visited the Shetty residence. The Bund Garden police have registered a case of dacoity under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and are conducting further investigations.