Hyderabad: City Crime Records Bureau officials revealed that in the 650 burglaries that took place in Hyderabad this year till October, gold worth more than Rs 10 crore must have been looted.
The trend also points at the habit among residents of keeping their gold in their houses. Officials said that 99.5 per cent of burglaries take place when the householders are away.
As per the latest statics of CCRB, till October 2013, as many as 124 houses have been burgled during the day, while 426 houses were targeted at night.
The data revealed that in more than 95 per cent of the burglaries, gold ornaments were stolen by the offenders. Other properties stolen included electronic devices, cash, silver articles etc.
While there were frequent temple burglaries in 2012, this year most of the thefts took place in apartments. “Majority of the burglary cases occurred in apartments in our zone. Offenders take advantage of insufficient security measures in city apartments,” said DCP of North Zone, R. Jayalakshmi.
The stolen gold ornaments are mainly sold by the burglars to small pawnbrokers and moneylenders. Some burglars also mortgage the gold ornaments in banks concealing the fact that they are stolen property.
“The easiest way burglars dispose stolen gold is by selling them to small pawnbrokers or money lenders. Though it’s important for the lenders to thoroughly verifying the identity of the custom-ers, very few do that. Even major moneylending establishments and banks fall into the trap of such offenders,” said detective department DCP Pala Raju.
Officials said that there are also syndicates of “usual receivers” of stolen gold ornaments active in the city. The receivers, who are aware that the gold is stolen, buy the same from the offenders at less than market price. The syndicate includes goldsmiths, who alter the gold ornaments.
Next: Most people want to keep gold at home
Most people want to keep gold at home
Hyderabad: With a large section of residents opting to keep their gold ornaments in their houses, burglars have been reaping rich rewards.
Detective department DCP Pala Raju said that people kept a large chunk of their gold ornaments in their houses as women wear these ornament frequently. “In our city, very few go for bank lockers to keep their gold,” he said.
Middle class and upper middle class families also worry about the risk of carrying the gold to the bank and back whenever needed. “People have a feeling of insecurity to move the property to a locker and to the house frequently because of robbery and theft. Many feel secure when their gold is kept in their houses, under their own watch,” said R. Jayalakshmi, North Zone DCP.
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Another reason is the reluctance of people to pay service charge to banks for private lockers. “Many do not want to pay money for security of gold deposits,” added Jayalakshmi.
Also, many higher class families keep their gold in their houses to evade tax. However, they ensure that they have the best security available, which reduces the risk of being burgled.
“Almirahs and common safes used in most houses are quite vulnerable to the tools that burglars carry. Sometimes they even take away the entire chest and break it later at their convenience. Another phenomenon is that many offenders get the almirah keys after a brief search in the house, as the householders leave them behind,” said a detective inspector.
