Burglars in shorts remain on prowl, police conduct raids, ask residents to stay alert

The CCTV footage, which was accessed by The Indian Express, purportedly shows three masked men — all of them wearing short trousers, a flimsy T-shirt and sports shoes — approaching the balcony and cutting its grills with a laser cutter.

Screen grab of the incident at GK-2.

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Last month, a three-member gang — wearing face masks, short trousers and flimsy T-shirts — struck a house in Greater Kailash-2 and made off with cash and jewellery, officers said. Following the incident, the Delhi Police is carrying out raids at South Delhi’s Jahanpanah forest, and is asking residents of Greater Kailash and nearby areas to stay alert by installing barbed wires and CCTV cameras.

Officers said that on May 28, they received a PCR call from a resident of GK-2, named Rohit Chadda, who stated that five silver bowls, a silver glass, a diamond bangle and Rs 20,000 worth of cash were missing from his house.

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A case was lodged and the scene of the crime was inspected. The CCTV footage showed the entry of two to three burglars from Jahapanah forest to the house of the complainant, said police.

The CCTV footage, which was accessed by The Indian Express, purportedly shows three masked men — all of them wearing short trousers, a flimsy T-shirt and sports shoes — approaching the balcony and cutting its grills with a laser cutter.

While one of the persons is seen keeping a watch on anyone walking by, the other two are seen entering the house through the door and stealing the valuables. Said an officer, “In the footage, they can be seen wearing only undergarments… though they could not take a lot of items, we are on their lookout and they are currently absconding”.

In a similar incident two weeks ago, at least three burglars, all wearing such clothes, can be seen trying to break into a house in South Delhi’s Sarvodaya Enclave, police said. A senior police officer said, “We suspect these were the same burglars approaching upscale houses in South Delhi from Jahanpanah forest.”

A senior officer said, “It has not come to the fore so far that these persons belong to the infamous Kachcha Baniyan gang which was active in the 90s… However, they use the same modus operandi and wear the same attire. We have not held the accused so far in the immediate case in GK 2, and hence whether they apply oil or mud over their bodies, as the Kachcha Baniyan gang did, is not known… it is suspected that the same three-member gang is involved in the case of attempting to break into a house in Sarvodaya Enclave too.”

DCP (South) Chandan Chowdhary said that a meeting with resident welfare associations (RWAs) of all apartments, such as Narmada, Nilgiri and Gangotri, and the RWA of GK-2 was held to sensitise them about such incidents. They have been asked to upgrade their security systems by installing “adequate barbed wires and CCTV cameras”.

Said the DCP, “The beat staff concerned of S Block, W Block and GK-2 Enclave has personally visited each house adjoining the Jahapanah forest area, and sensitised the owners as well as security guards in this regard.”