Fewer cases of theft reported this Dashain
Kathmandu, October 23
Police recorded as many as 32 incidents of thefts in Kathmandu Valley during Dashain this year compared to 54 last year.
SP Somendra Singh Rathour at Metropolitan Police Crime Division said the cops arrested 275 theft suspects before and during Dashain and filed cases against 55 persons. Of the 55 facing charges, 30 were either repeat offenders or absconding suspects.
“We had launched a massive campaign against thefts keeping in mind growing incidents of property crimes during the festive season,” he informed. He attributed the decrease in thefts to a new strategy adopted by the law enforcement agency to combat the crime.
Police said they were having a tough time dealing with property crimes due to involvement of same groups and persons in burglaries after doing time in jail or being released on bail. More than 40 per cent of the burglars turn out to be repeat offenders, thanks to the provision of lenient punishment in such cases.
In addition, special teams were deployed in residential areas which were virtually deserted during Dashain holidays after a majority of people left for their home districts to celebrate the festival with their families. Cases of heinous crimes were not recorded in the Valley during Dashain. Instead, police arrested a murder suspect after 14 years of the crime. According to police, Hikmat Hamal, 37, had been absconding after murdering Jivan Lohani, 18, of Chitwan in Ranibari of Kathmandu on January 24, 2005. He was arrested by MPCD from Samakhusi on Saturday after he returned home to celebrate the festival.
Similarly, police busted a fake Nepali currency racket during the same period. The alleged racketeers of the fake currency notes nabbed by police on Friday were Indra Bahadur Shrestha, 27, and Raj Shrestha, 28, of Parsa; Narayan Shrestha, 25, of Gorkha; Sahil Thapa Managar, 25, of Makwanpur; and Bikash Dokche, 29, of Kageshwori Municipality, Kathmandu. Fake Nepali banknotes with face value of Rs 370,000 were confiscated from them.
According to Metropolitan Police Range, around 3,535 cops, both in uniform and civvies, have been deployed in Kathmandu for the festive season. The security arrangements range from use of sniffer dogs to patrolling. Police personnel have been mobilised for foot, cycle, motorcycle and vehicle patrolling; seal and search; cordon and search; picketing; ambushing and vigilance; and cross-checking.