2 flats in Anna Nagar looted

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Burglars struck two empty flats in Sakthi Apartments in Lotus Colony of Anna Nagar late on Friday night.

While breaking into the first floor flats, the thieves actually bolted the doors of the ground floor flats from the outside to prevent the residents coming out.

The latter had to ask passers-by to unlock the doors. The owners of the two looted flats returned on Saturday night and Sunday and lodged complaints with the police. Mr Seetharaman, 30, owner of one of the two flats who returned on Saturday said that he had been away for two days for a company meeting at a resort on East Coast Road.

“Due to this he had sent his wife to her parents’ house. As she had taken her jewellery with her the burglars could only take some silver puja articles and Rs8,000 from the flat,” said a police source.
From the other flat belonging to one Mr Srinivasan, 70, the thieves got a minimum quantity of gold ad cash.

“Srinivasan and his wife Sarada were away. They regularly take short pilgrimage trips and had left a couple of days back on a similar trip. One of their relative informed us about the burglary. Their son and daughter are settled abroad,” the police said.

A team headed by the assistant commissioner of police visited the two apartments when they came to know about the incident.

Anti-theft gadgets to help prevent burglary

Two weeks ago, a tiny burglar alarm fitted at the entrance of a flat in a posh apartment in Pallikaranai rang loudly and the thieves ran away.

The residents of the area rushed to the spot and found that the thieves had tried to open the door of the ground floor flat and had fled when the alarm went off.

Last month, a jewellery shop owner in Nungambakkam received an alert at midnight when thieves tried opening the shutter of his shop. The magnet alarm fitted on the door sent an alert to the owner’s mobile phone when thieves attempted to break in. The thieves were caught and action was taken immediately.

Both the incidents show how robberies and thefts are prevented by gadgets in the urban environment, which is increasingly isolating residents from one another.

R. Ramamurthy, the 80-year-old founder chairman of Cyber Society of India, said that he had installed security systems in his house as his children live abroad.

“Cameras are available cheap and come with hard disks where you can record images for six months. The clarity of the image will be very clear if you invest in high pixel cameras,” he said.

“Various alert systems are flooding the market and its high time we use them to protect ourselves rather than depending on aged guards,” said Ramamurthy.

“We sell burglar alarms that can be fixed on doors and windows, as well as access control systems by which you can set up sensors and doors would open only if the password is provided. Automatic door control systems are also available,” said S. Sundar, the sales manager of a private security system firm.

Sundar said that at least Rs15,000 should be invested in fixing burglar alarms in apartments.