Unable to live in fear anymore, the residents of Sriram Nagar and Arumugham Nagar in Podanur have sought the intervention of the district administration on Monday over the frequent house burglaries in the area for the last one month.

According to A. Usha Sridaran, a resident of Sriram Nagar, two culprits broke into the house of a Lakshmi from the 4th Street on December 21. The culprits had reportedly looted Rs.15000 in cash, silver utensils, and dresses and escaped.

“They broke into another house on the 3rd Street the very next night and escaped with Rs.600 in cash, despite being chased by the inmates,” she said. She admitted that if such incidents continue, it will only worsen the fear that is fast spreading among the residents. “They had attempted to burgle another house in the area the following day around 2.30 AM, but ran away when the inmates of the house raised noise,” she added.

Alleging that the culprits survey the area at nights, Usha said that the residents have reportedly seen some unfamiliar men standing on the terrace of one of the houses. But they ran away after the residents shouted at them. “We suspect that the culprits escape through a hole in the compound wall of the nearby Vellalore dumpyard,” she added.

The resident took the issue to S.P. Velumani, the Minster for Municipal Administration and Rural Development. He assured them that he will look into it. But, despite the night patrols by the police, burglars continue to strike at will. “Now, the youth of our area have started patrolling at nights. We have requested the police to set up a police booth and install CCTV cameras in the area,” another resident added.

A petition has also been sent to the District Collector Archana Patnaik in this issue.