Residents say robberies are commonplace in the area in spite of the cops' presence
On Friday, between 5.30 am and 6 am, six unidentified men tried to rob Jai Sarvamangal jewellery shop at Shaam Kamal building located in Vile Parle (E). Ironically, the police chowky is at the corner of the building.
Worse, this is not the first time that shops in the police chowky’s vicinity have been robbed. Four months ago, a nearby shop was robbed by a gang of robbers. On Friday, the robbery took place when the watchman was taking rounds around the society. He saw six men trying to break into the jewellery shop in the society on the ground floor. The thieves threatened him, but he managed to escape and called for help.
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The Vile Parle police station is at the corner of Shaam Kamal Co-operative Housing Society, which houses the jewellery store that was broken into. Pic/Kranti Vibhute
The thieves couldn’t open the jewellery shop because the watchman alerted the society and the police. There were CCTV cameras outside the jewellery shop, but they were defunct.
J Shetty, the society’s chairman, said, “The watchman managed to escape and immediately called the police and shouted for help. He ran to the other side of the building, near the railway station, but no one helped him. The thieves fled before I could help.”
Bakulesh Thakkar, secretary of the society, said, “Two years ago, I was robbed of good worth Rs 1.2 lakh at my drug store. At least 25 robberies have taken in this vicinity, including in our society. But the the police has not caught the gang. We might install CCTV cameras in and outside our society soon.”
Shashikant Talegaonkar, senior inspector of Vile Parle police station, said, “The matter is under investigation. We have called the watchman and a case will soon be registered. I understand that this has happened right near the police station, but the officers are on rounds in the area and cannot sit at one place.”u00a0
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