Burglars struck the house of a trader named Ganesan at Sree Murugan Nagar II Street near Thudiayalur in Coimbatore. The culprits gained entry into the house through the bathroom ventilator and looted the cash, jewels, expensive clothes and a two-wheeler, and liberally spilled sambar powder all over the house.

Ganesan, the house owner, sells used trucks. He had gone to Kerala with his family yesterday to attend a function. The burglars, before breaking into his house, locked the front and back doors of nearby neighbours to stop them from foiling their robbery plans, like comedian Vadivelu did in one of his films. In all, the burglars stole cash worth Rs.3.1 lakhs, 10 sovereign jewels, some silk saris, and a two-wheeler.

At about 6 in the morning, the neighbours found out that their houses had been locked from the outside and the miscreants had used sarees, pants and dupattas to latch the doors in the neighbourhood such that they are unable to come out even if they hear some sound. With the help of other residents, they managed to break the locks open and were stunned to find the doors of Ganesan’s house wide open. They immediately informed the police.

The police found that, in addition to looting the valuables, the burglars had spent considerable amount of time in the kitchen looking for chili powder in order to spill it all over the house and disable the sniffer dogs. There was no chili powder in the house and the burglars instead settled for sambar powder and spilled it all over the house.

A similar burglary was reported last week at the house of one Gopalakrishnan in the same area. The burglars gained entry through the bathroom ventilator.