HASSAN: Four cases of house break-in and thefts, that took place in a series from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on Monday, have caused anxiety among people.

Burglars broke into four houses in Krishnarajapura, Vidyanagara, Gourikopplu and Lakshmipuram extensions of the city on Monday morning and made away with cash and gold ornaments worth lakhs of rupees. According to police sources, miscreants, who came in a car entered four houses in various extensions of the city.

They entered the house of Nagendra Gupta, a trader, in Krishnarajapura extension and looted cash and gold ornaments. Then they entered the house of Sathyanarayana, vice-principal, Malnad College of Engineering, in Vidyanagar extension, and decamped with gold ornaments and Rs. 50,000.

They entered the house of Prasad in Gourikopplu. Total amount of loss is not known. Cash and gold ornaments were stolen from the residence of Annaiahchar in Lakshmipuram extension.

Sources in the police said that the burglars selected houses after studying the movement of the residents. Aware of the fact that people used to visit Gupta's house in cars, the burglars used a car to avoid the attention of neighbours, sources added.

Police have formed a special squad to arrest the culprits. According to the Superintendent of Police, Panduranga H. Rane, night patrolling would be intensified to create confidence among the public. Residents of extensions on the outskirts of the city said that police delay in apprehending those involved in earlier thefts had resulted in burglaries in the city.

Dacoity cases unsolved

It should be noted that two major dacoity cases that shook the district two years ago remain unsolved. In one case, a gang of six dacoits armed with swords killed five people at a petrol outlet on the outskirts of Hassan city on April 11, 2004 and looted Rs. 60,000. Exactly one year after the incident, a gang of dacoits struck a petrol outlet on the outskirts of Ramanathapura town in Arakalgud taluk and killed two attendants, before decamping with cash.

The police have also failed in solving the mystery of missing taxi drivers from Hassan district. According to drivers who runs tourist taxis, the police could solve only two of the six missing cases.

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