BALURGHAT, Jan. 4 -- Thieves carried out a burglary at an unoccupied house in Balurghat town's Ward No. 9 Padmapukur area on Friday night after locking neighbouring homes from the outside to stop residents from intervening.
The thieves targeted the residence owned by one Sumit Ray, who stays out of town for work. His wife, Ruby Das Ray, had travelled to Kolkata a few days earlier, leaving the house vacant.
Taking advantage of the absence, the miscreants broke open an almirah and decamped with cash, gold jewellery and silver idols. The incident triggered panic and concern among residents of the locality.
Neighbours later discovered that the burglars had latched the doors of nearby houses before striking. Robin Sarkar, who lives next door, said: "Our main door was latched from outside, so we couldn't come out. We called another person who came and opened it."
A relative of the house owner, Jyotsna Das, confirmed that a complaint has been lodged.
"No one was home, so they took the opportunity. We have filed a written complaint at the police station," she said.
Balurghat police have initiated an investigation into the incident. South Dinajpur Superintendent of Police Chinmoy Mittal said: "The entire matter is being thoroughly examined."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.