Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal (RD)
Pics: Kishore Peraje

Bantwal, Jun 18: Thieves broke into Vaibhav Jewellery Mart and Rajesh Bar and Family Restaurant located at Sara Arcade near Melkar junction on national highway 75, and decamped with silver jewellery and cash worth over Rs 6.4 lac.
 
The thieves broke open the shutter and the front glass door of Vaibhav Jewellery Mart, owned by Yogish Nayak and Dinesh Nayak, and decamped with cash placed in the drawer and silver jewellery that was on display.

However, the gold was kept in a safe which the thieves could not access.

The burglars decamped with Rs 1.5 lac in cash  and 3.5 kg of silver jewellery worth Rs 4 lac and 2 kg of other ornaments.

The thieves also looted Rajesh Bar and Restaurant is owned by Valerian Pinto and located adjacent to Vaibhav Jewellery Mart, and decamped with Rs 70,000 cash and Rs 20,000 worth of liquor. The empty bottles at the spot indicated that thieves may have spent some time consuming alcohol at the bar.

Fingerprint experts and sniffer dog squad were summoned. Bantwal circle inspector Anil S Kulkarni, town police sub-inspector Shekar, Bantwal rural police sub-inspector Mahesh Prasad inspected the crime spot. A case has been registered in the town police station.

Thefts are more common in the rainy season, as the sound of heavy rain during the night drowns out all other noises. Police have failed to trace the culprits in several cases of theft in BC Road and surrounding areas. Vaibhav Jewellery Mart has no CCTV, which has made the police task even more difficult.
 
The police have urged the citizens to be on alert during monsoons, as such cases are likely to increase in the coming days. The police sought volunteers for night patrol and also asked the citizens to inform the control room if they notice anybody moving suspiciously in their neighbourhood.