On March 16, 2023 our sector 61 which has been free of any major crime for many months was shaken by the news of a daylight theft outside Shopprix mall. Thieves had broken the rear glass of a car parked alongside the boundary wall of the mall falling inside the sector and taken away a laptop and other valuables kept inside the car.
The car belonged to an acquaintance of a resident of sector 61 who had called the car owner to the mall for a meet up. The car owner parked his car and went inside the mall. After sometime police came searching for the owner inside the mall and on enquiring further, the car owner found that apparently a passerby had called the PCR van on noticing the broken window pane of the car. The car owner came out and found that his official laptop along with other items was missing from the rear seat of the car. He was left in shock and disbelief at the sight. Then the PCR van contacted the local police station and a team of officers arrived at the spot. They looked around but unfortunately the thieves were long gone by then. The mall did not have any CCTV camera installed at the spot from which the police could gather any information. But luckily there was a CCTV camera in a house just opposite the crime spot. Police scanned the CCTV footage and extracted a portion of the footage that shows the thieves in action. The police and the car owner were shocked to see that the thieves took only a few seconds to break the glass and take the laptop away. But closer inspection revealed that the thieves had followed the car from someplace else because when the car owner parked the car and went inside, the duo of thieves arrived on a motorcycle and parked it right behind the particular car. Then one of the culprits got down and stood beside the car pretending to be talking on his mobile phone. He was actually waiting for some of the passing pedestrians and cars to clear the area before he could make his move. As soon as the area was free of anyone in sight, the thief smashed the glass with something that he had in his hand and reached for the laptop and in a fraction of second both the culprits were out of sight. The interesting part is that while the thieves were standing beside the car, a PCR van had crossed the spot. This also did not deter the thieves, showing their brazenness. Residents of the sector are shaken by this daylight theft and worried as many of them park their cars at the same spot when visiting the mall.
It may be noted that just a few days before this incident, the police had caught a gang of thieves who operated in the same manner. Police have time and again advised the people not to leave any valuable belongings on the seat of the car in plain sight. Our common sense and vigilance can be crucial in preventing such incidents.
by Shobhit Jain (D-159; 9871333844)
