With shops on Rajiv Gandhi Salai being targeted by burglars, the police claim they have put in place systems to protect them.
They include increased patrolling, utilising the services of the Youth Brigade and introducing patrolling by bicycles to improve access to shops located on lanes. These measures will be extended to other parts of the city.
“The Youth Brigade of the City police will be recruited as constables. There are nearly 1,500 of them. They are adept at patrolling and they can be extremely helpful,” said an officer.
He said that apart from the bikes and cars, nearly 250 bicycles have been sanctioned for patrolling across the city. Each station will have at least two cycles. “Cycle patrol, as is in the past, will enable greater interaction with residents, which will help them gather clues and nab suspicious persons easily,” said Joint Commissioner (South) A. Arun.
Last week, a series of burglaries were reported from Rajiv Gandhi Salai (also known as Old Mahabalipuram Road), which included OMR Main Road, Anna Street and Gangai Amman Koil Street. One of shop owners, Ganesh, and his employee Mani went around the locality looking for the suspect, caught and handed him over to the beat patrol officer.
According to police sources, the suspect is Sirajuddin Islam from Tripura, who was staying in Karapakkam for the past one year and working in a chemical company as a janitor. The suspect and two of his friends used to break into shops at night and decamp with the valuables.
“They used a heavy iron rod to break the lock,” said the joint commissioner.
Following the arrest, the police have recovered Rs.14,000 cash, recharge cards and other valuables and returned them to the owners Ganesh, Chakaravarthy and Kamaraj.
