SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Dec 13: Several cases of robberies at banquet halls, houses involved with weddings and even houses of guests have been reported within the past few weeks in Ranchi. Thieves have even started visiting marriage venues dressed as guests to steal jewellery and envelopes of money.
Earlier in the month, a family from Morabadi had reported a robbery of cash and jewellery worth 20 lakhs. Notably, this was done by a couple of women dressed as guests. Apart from this, another incident was reported where a bike was stolen from outside a banquet hall during a wedding function.
Event Organiser Shubham Gupta, while talking to a Lagatar correspondent said, “Many such cases have been heard of in the last couple of weeks. Two mobile phones were stolen from a banquet hall in Pandra, however, police could not catch the culprits as there was no CCTV in the banquet itself.”
“Another such case was that of was heard of in Morabadi, where two women dressed as guests had stolen all the jewellery of the bride, while in Sukhdev Nagar in Ratu road, a bike was stolen from outside a venue,” Gupta added.
Several other cases, including that of a robbery from a locked house, were also reported recently, where the residents of the house had left the house empty to attend a wedding.
This incident also showcases that just locking the house is not enough now. People leaving empty houses for weddings or work need to be more careful. Thieves had chosen a locked house in the Kanke police station area and had fled with jewellery worth over 15 lakhs. Over three such incidents in the city have already been reported.
A police official, when questioned in this regard said over the condition of not being named, “Police cannot be everywhere at once, especially when there are so many vacancies in terms of posts. However, we do whatever we can. We are alert and vigilant.”
The official continued, “Even after this, it is also the responsibility of the people to raise their voices if they notice any such activity in their surroundings. Also, in case of banquet halls, guests should be received at the gates itself, so that anyone that is not invited or is a stranger does not get in the celebrations.”
“Bridal rooms should always be locked if are to be left empty, and security guards should be hired for managing parking. Also, people should never go to attend weddings and leave the house empty, and if necessary set up CCTV cameras and repeatedly check the online feed. If they do see any abnormal activity, they should inform their local police stations asap,” the official added.
SP (City) Naushad Alam, when contacted said, “We have released the footage of the women. We are hopeful that they will soon be arrested. Also, even the residents should be alert in this regard.”
