Equipment worth Rs 2 lakhs stolen from Maharaja’s College in Kochi

Kochi: A gang of unidentified robbers entered Maharaja’s College and decamped with computers, a television set and other electronic devices estimated to be worth Rs 2 lakh. The city police registered a case on Wednesday and started a probe into the incident. The robbery took place in the department of political sciences. According to the complaint filed by N. Remakanthan, head of the department, the stolen goods included two computers, two CPUs, one LED TV and a printer.

Police suspect that the robbery may have been committed by people who were familiar with the campus and its surroundings. The ease with which the thieves gained entry into the room through the door indicates the involvement of people familiar with the college and department building, officials said.

Police has collected finger prints from the crime scene and recorded the statements of college authorities. A case has been registered under IPC sections 457 and 350 for house breaking and using criminal force.

The incident has also snow-balled into a political controversy with the pro-Congress Kerala Students Union (KSU) alleging that the theft was carried out by the students agitating against autonomy status of the college.

“The key of the department office was with them and that raises suspicion about their involvement in the incident,” Tito Antony, district KSU president said in a statement.

Maharaja’s College Protection Samithi and All Kerala Government College Teachers Union have called for a probe into the incident to apprehend the guilty. The college has been closed for the past few weeks due to an agitation launched by a section of the teachers and students against autonomy for the college.