Bhubaneswar: The instances of daring thefts and burglaries in housing societies and private residences in secluded areas across the city, is giving sleepless nights to citizens. It has posed serious question marks on the efficacy of the Property Offence Prevention and Detection (POPD) unit – the dedicated cell set up by Commissionerate Police at every station to deal with such crimes. Experts say the failure of cops in the POPD units – which at present are lying in a state of neglect and disarray three years after their creation – to maintain a strict tenant verification module has resulted in giving a free run to migrant workers, who are turning out to be the culprits in a majority of these offences.
In 2021, the City police launched POPD units with a ‘mandate to bring about a curb in robbery, theft, and dacoity cases through mandatory verification of tenants’ (criminal) antecedent in every police station limit. These anti-property offence units are known to be managed in all 23 police stations here, whose estimated 13 lakh population is on a steady increase. These specialised units are supervised by ACPs in their respective zones. They are supposed to monitor the property crime graph of police stations comprising inspectors, subinspectors, and constables.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 2022 figures, the Bhubaneswar Urban Police District (UPD) recorded 602 cases of robbery, 373 burglaries, and 2,058 thefts in various parts of the City. But what has exacerbated the present situation is the occurrence of more than 30 apartment thefts in the past couple of months, while the detection rate has been abysmally low with just a handful of arrests. A senior officer at a City police station, who spoke requesting anonymity, said a large number of culprits in burglary cases have been identified to be migrant workers who engage themselves in several odd-jobs during the day. They use the cover of the night to strike at secluded flats for robbery. Sample this.
Around eight masked miscreants armed with iron rods and knives cut the irongrilled window and barge inside a home under Nandankanan police limits November 25. The owner of the house, Rajesh Chand, and his wife were sleeping with their two children in the bedroom. The couple panicked at the sight of the thieves and handed over all valuables in the house without a murmur. The miscreants tied up the entire family with bed sheets and locked them up in the bathroom before escaping. Even nearly three months after the chilling burglary, the police are yet to make any headway in the crime. Nandankanan police station IIC Biswaranjan Nayak said the burglary is suspected be the handiwork of a Bangladeshi gang following meticulous recce. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Prateek Singh said it is practically impossible for cops to maintain identification details of every tenant in the city. “Often in the aftermath of any major house burglary, the police officers solely rely on the account of locals and informers,” he added.
DEBADURLLAV HARICHANDAN,OP