News Coverage

An unidentified thief, who seems to be in his early 20s, was caught on camera early Thursday morning as he calmly stole the stereo from a car parked inside an Amboli society in all of 90 seconds. During this brief period (from 03:46:28 to 03:47:57), the thief first walked up to the watchman’s cabin and locked him, and then strolled towards the parking area, cut open windshields of two cars and decamped with expensive stereos.

According to police, the incident came to light around 3.45 am on Thursday when the anti-theft sirens of a couple of cars parked inside Bharti Apartments in Amboli started blaring. This immediately woke up society’s watchman Hariram Gupta, who tried to rush out of his room only to find his cabin’s door locked from outside. He kept shouting for assistance but to no avail. As the sirens continued to blare, the residents too woke up and rushed downstairs to check what the ruckus was all about. They found that the windows of two of the cars were neatly opened by a glass cutter, and the stereos were missing. Then they realised that the watchman had been locked up in his cabin.

“The thief was really sly. The footage shows that he had done a recce of the building 10 minutes before the theft. He knew exactly where the watchman was. He knew which cars had most expensive stereos as he has broken into only those cars. He locked up the watchman as he knew the sirens would wake him up,” says Frank Menezes, whose son’s car was broken into. However, what the thief apparently didn’t know was that the society had installed CCTV cameras just a month ago. “At sunrise, we called for the CCTV footage,” says Menezes.

Video footage

The CCTV footage showed a young man, neatly dressed in a striped shirt and trousers, enter the building premises at 03:36:23 hours. After roaming around the premises for a few minutes, he left. He returns at 03:46:27 am. Walking casually, the burglar headed straight to the watchman’s cabin. He returns to the main gate within a few seconds and is then seen walking towards the parking area. In about a minute, the anti-theft sirens start blaring, and he can be seem rushing out of the main gate with the stereos at 03:47:57 am.

“We have given the footage to the police who have promised quick action,” said Menezes. Senior Inspector at DN Nagar police station BD Bhoite told Mumbai Mirror, “The footage is very clear, so it should help us catch the thief. He is, however, not a familiar face so it could take some time to trace him.”

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Worried by the rising crime rate against women, especially those using public transport like the hapless Soumya, the Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) is mooting self-defence measures that include use of pepper spray and pepper guns. The project is being rolled out in the next four months under the Kerala State Flagship Programme on Gender Awareness, 2011-12. “The Soumya murder case was an eye-opener for everyone in society and it was the main spark behind this initiative. Self-defence measures like martial arts and products like pepper spray or pepper gun will help women immensely to protect themselves from sudden attacks,” said Anaz AK, business development executive, KSWDC.

“We are also trying to ensure the participation of NGOs working in the field of women empowerment. We have already invited expression of interest from experts in the field of self-defence programmes/ products and the project would take off in this financial year itself. We aim to build confidence among girls and women and make sure they can protect themselves against the sudden attacks or dangers on the way to school, colleges or work,” he said. Rana Singh, chief executive of Bangalore-based Aax Global that manufactures Cobra Spray - a pepper spray- and a pioneer in the field, said the Kerala initiative is a step forward to women empowerment.

“Pepper spray is 20 times stronger than chilli powder and a second’s burst is enough to incapacitate the assailant for 30-45 minutes. The immediate result is a severe burning sensation in the eyes as the liquid penetrates the skin pores, forcing the assailant to keep his eyes closed for a while. The spray also causes a very heavy irritation in the mucus membrane inside the nasal cavity, thus giving the victim sufficient time to escape. Also, it does not cause any permanent injury or scars,” Singh said.

Sujamol Rajan, working with Alliance Cornhill in Technopark, who is a frequent user of public and private transport, said many women would go for self-defence courses and buy such products, given the current scenario where crime against women is on the rise. “The situation has changed in the state with many women now travelling alone for work and study purpose. Working women have to travel alone at odd-hours and self-defence is something that helps us build our confidence. It is a welcome initiative,” she said.