Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Aug 26: It has come to light that gold ornaments and cash worth lacs of rupees were taken away by thieves who entered a house at Matha near here. The theft came to light on Sunday August 25 morning. The thieves went about their task with precision even as the family members enjoyed a quiet sleep.

The house burgled by them belongs to Ittamma Shetty. It is located by the side of national highway 75 between Mangaluru and Bengaluru. Four bangles, a necklace of pearls, a Karimani chain, a pendant, a pair of ear rings, and finger rings, totally weighing about 15 sovereigns were stolen. Cash of Rs 5,000 was also taken away. The total amount of items stolen has been estimated at four lac rupees.

The house which was burgled

Ittamma Shetty was away on a visit to the residence of her another son. Her sons, Chandrahas Shetty and Srinivas Shetty, and wife and child of Chandrahas Shetty were living at the house at Matha. Srinivas Shetty slept in one of the rooms while Chandrahas Shetty's wife and child slept in another. Chandrahas Shetty slept in the hall.

At around 6 am on Sunday, Chandrahas Shetty's wife, on getting up, noticed that the backside door of her house was ajar. On a closer verification, she realized that gold ornaments kept in the locker in the room where she slept had been stolen. The key of the almirah had remained inserted into its hole while the key of the locker was hidden inside the clothes kept in the almirah. The thieves searched and found this key. They visited other rooms and sifted through the almirahs there.

It appears that the thieves used a window located by the side of the backdoor to move the bolt of the door. The door has not been damaged.

The family members were awake till 12 am. The room in which Srinivas Shetty slept was alone bolted from inside. Even though the thieves moved from room to room, searched for keys and stole items, the family members continued to sleep. It is learnt that Chandrahas Shetty couple suffered from severe headache since Sunday morning. This has given rise to the suspicion that the thieves might have sprayed some substance to make the people remain in deep slumber.

As there are no CCTV cameras nearby, the police will find it harder to find out the thieves. A few days back, theft had happened at a jewellery shop at Uppinangady. There too no CCTV footage was available.

A sickle used by the thieves, which belongs to a neighbour was found at the spot. The thieves used the sickle that was kept in the bathroom of that house. It is guessed that the thieves would have gone to that house, but as the family members showed signs of being awake, they would have targeted Ittamma Shetty's house.

It is learnt that in 2015, theft had happened at the residence of Shambhavi Shetty, which is located about a hundred metres away from the above house. As many as 15 sovereigns of ornaments, a laptop and other items totalling to lacs of rupees were stolen and the case has remained unresolved even now.