Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Elusive burglar identified: police

Thiruvananthapuram: The city police believe they have identified the “elusive lone thief” suspected to be responsible for at least 14 attempted break-ins and four successful burglaries in Medical College, Sreekariyam and Pettah localities in the past fortnight.

The break-ins have triggered a sense of insecurity among residents. Thirty-one burglaries, four during daytime, have been reported in the city this year till January 31.

The police said the suspect is an ex-convict living in a slum colony. A police squad had sighted him while on night patrol recently. The suspect managed to evade arrest.

The police said his appearance matched the description given by the residents whose houses were burgled.

One of them had described the thief as a “middle aged, rotund, short and bald man.”

The police said the suspect posed as a head-load worker during day. Investigators said they needed to detain the suspect and compare his fingerprint with those lifted from the scenes of crime. Last Saturday, a burglar of similar appearance broke into a house at Kannanmoola and snatched the necklace of a woman who was sleeping in the bedroom. He fled before the residents could raise an alarm.

Another burglary was at the house of a Gulf returnee at Elankulam. Gold ornaments and cash kept in the couple’s bedroom were stolen.

The residents were unaware of the intruder’s presence though he was in the house for an hour.

The burglar has an intimate knowledge of his area of operation and often targeted houses of doctors and those of women living alone. He seemed to prefer cash and gold ornaments over electronic goods.

He broke into houses mostly by bending or dislodging window bars.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Wedding function
CME on advances in neurology
DYFI protest
Organisational issues settled: VS
Good response to Kerala Travel Mart
Drop hartal plan, Minister tells UDF
Research should benefit poor: Sonia
First paperless office
INTUC leaders meet Sonia Gandhi
Memo to Sonia on Athirappilly scheme
Isaac meets union leaders
Adatt is best panchayat
Widespread protest against fuel price hike
A promise of help for RGCB
Patients caught between sparring doctors
Relay satyagraha on for High Court Bench
Pongala offer
Meet on fee for B.Sc. Nursing
LIC officers’ protest
Elusive burglar identified: police
Unify, Congress workers told
Sonia hails State’s ‘empowered women’
Thiruvananthapuram today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu