KATHMANDU, July 15

Cash and property worth over Rs 10 million were stolen from houses and rented rooms in the Kathmandu Valley during the month of Jestha (mid-May to mid-June).

According to data maintained by the Metropolitan Police Office, as many as 75 incidents of theft were reported during mid-May to mid-June compared to 53 cases during mid-April to mid-May. Police received complaints about theft of 446 tola gold, 237 tola silver, Rs 2,139,350 and other valuables worth Rs 3,160,400.

The statistics indicate the Valley’s vulnerability to property crimes. Among 75 incidents of burglary, around 70 per cent cases had occurred during daytime in unattended houses of working families.

Officials, however, held landlords and tenants responsible for the rise in daylight robbery incidents and urged all to take extra precautions while handling cash as well as valuables. They have also urged all to keep valuables in the banks for safety, besides bolstering security of houses and rooms.

The burglars usually target unattended houses in the daytime when the landlords are away for their day’s work, police said.

Out of 75 reported burglaries, criminals in 23 cases used duplicate keys to enter the houses, broke through the windows to enter rooms in 16 cases, took advantage of doors left open by house owners in 15 cases and barged into the house by breaking doors in 13 cases.

Officials said that they had managed to arrest 54 burglars and filed as many as 29 theft charges against them. Similarly, police confiscated 15 tola gold, Rs 166,000, INR 1,800, $3, 27 mobile phone sets, 45 laptops, two motorcycles and a television set.

Police said they were adopting proactive measures to curb property crime as criminals were more likely to cash in on the post-disaster situation.