Daylight thefts on rise in Valley

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: The recent spate of daylight thefts has made working class families in Kathmandu Valley vulnerable to property crime.

SSP Devendra Subedi, in-charge of Metropolitan Police Crime Division, conceded that daytime theft was on the rise in the valley.

“Most of the reported cases of thefts have occurred in daylight, that too, in unattended houses. Criminals have been making unattended houses their soft target during office hours,” he informed.

While law enforcement agencies have made modest gains against organised crime — trade in small arms, extortion, forgery and peddling of drugs, explosives, fraud and kidnapping — of late, they have not been able to curb property crime.

“It requires the respective owners to take care of their cash and valuables. Our analysis has it that daytime burglaries in unattended houses will decrease by almost 80 per cent only if the landlords do not leave the houses unattended,” he suggested.

According to police figures, the number of thefts and burglaries increased from 306 in the preceding year to 380 this year. Kathmandu topped the crime chart with 307 cases, followed by 41 in Lalitpur and 32 in Bhaktapur. As many as 81 cases of property crime have been reported so far in the current fiscal.

SSP Subedi said MPCD was successful in solving 41.57 per cent of thefts leading to the arrest and prosecution of culprits. “Bearing in mind that property crime is talking a toll on valley denizens, we have established crime investigation branches at all police ranges and circles. This concept is bearing fruit and is expected to result in desirable success in the long run,” he said.

DSP Himalaya Shrestha, chief of the Anti-Theft Section at the MPCD, said police have rounded up more than 50 habitual burglars and pickpockets in the last few months. “With the festive season fast approaching, we have been conducting ‘Operation Papashera’ to gather intelligence, arrest and prosecute culprits,” he informed. DSP Shrestha appealed to all to regularly coordinate with neighbours and the nearest police station to prevent burglaries.