Out of Rs 9, 05, 35, 412 Stolen Goods during 2019-2020, Rs 5, 37, 86, 517 Recovered Valuables were displayed at the Property Return Parade, held at Police Parade ground, on Saturday, 3 September 2020 at 11 am. 2 Kg 277 gms Gold, 25 Two-wheelers, 19 Mobile Phones, Rs 48,13,951 cash and 11 other items, worth Rs 1,49,35,611 were handed over to the owners during the Parade today.
Mangaluru :The city police, led by Police Commissioner Vikas Kumar Vikash, along with DCP Vinay Gaonkar, and other police personnel on Saturday, 3 October returned valuables worth Rs 1,49,35, 611 to the owners – and the balance of recovered items after finalization at Court, will be handed over to the owners soon. Police returned a bunch of items, including jewellery, vehicles, electronic items/mobile phones, two-wheelers etc to the owners on this day. Most of the items were taken away during thefts, chain snatching or robberies. In regular cases, if police have recovered any stolen valuables, the owner of the items will have to go through legal and administrative processes to get these back.
Addressing the media, the Police Commissioner said, “The city police have done a great job in recovering nearly 5 lakh worth of valuables stolen between 2019 till date, and today we handed over part of the recovered items back to citizens. People own these items through their hard-earned money. When we returned the items, they felt very happy. Imagine gold stolen on a wedding day, it would be a terrible thing, but it has happened. And our police personnel through their dedicated efforts and techniques have been successful in recovering jewellery in such cases, thereby making the family happy. I know some items have sentimental value more than the cost, but for the thieves it is a different story. Transparency in the police department has played an important role in recovering the valuables. Also through our latest technology, cyber crime force, and through communication through Twitter, Whatsapp, Facebook, Internet etc it has been easy to apprehend the culprits”.
“We are also trying to introduce people-friendly policing, which will help the relationship between police and citizens. We are also cracking down hard on drug dealers who are making the youngsters addicted to drugs and ganja. We have been successful in nabbing many drug dealers, and we are in the process to break down the drug smuggling chain. While the police do their job by catching the culprits, the citizens need to be more pro-active. I would also like to commend all the police personnel for their excellent efforts in catching the culprits, and recovering the items to the best of their abilities, and they will be recognized with mementos and certificates ” added Vikas Kumar
A bunch of citizens were handed over keys to their respective vehicles which were recovered, also recovered jewellery and other items to the owners by the police commissioner along with DCP- and we could see the happy faces when these citizens received their lost valuables. “The intention is to return stolen properties to victims after we seize them from the accused. Once the case is over or the court orders return of seized property, we hand over valuables to complainants. It also enhances a person’s confidence in the police,” said DCP Vinay Gaonkar speaking to Team Mangalorean. Several citizens shared their experiences and thanked the police department for their pro-active approach, while interacting with Team Mangalorean. A woman, Laxmi (name changed) who fell prey to chain snatching in 2019, said, “Within 10 days of getting a job in 2019, my Mangalsutra was snatched at Panambur. I am thankful to the police department for catching the thieves and returning my mangalsutra today, which is a very sentimental item for me.”
Vidhyadhar Bhakta and Mrs Vidhyadhar Laxmi
Yet another story is of Vidyadhar Bhakta and his wife Mrs Vidyadhar Laxm, who reside in Maroli, Mangaluru–Vidyadhar Bhakta is a businessman, who on 29 July 2019 afternoon, had left nearly Rs two lakhs in his car, and went to purchase some items, parking his car near Clock Tower in the City. When he got back, he found that someone had opened the car lock, and stolen the cash. Immediately he complained to the Bunder police station, and to his surprise, the cops had nabbed the thief within a few hours. Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Bhakta said, “I am very grateful to the entire team of Bunder police station who sleuth into this case, and nabbed the culprit so quickly. After the theft, the cops gave me full assurance saying that they will catch the thief, and I shouldn’t worry. And, yes they did a great job in catching the thief. We all learn from our mistakes, and this incident is an eye-opener for me to be very careful, and not to leave cash in the car”.
Ananth Baliga who got back Rs 3 lakh cash money of valuables stolen
Yet another person, Ananth Baliga now residing in Kadri temple road, working for an chemical company explained his story-“On 3 September 2019, while I was at work, late in the afternoon, one person named Mohammed Feroz had entered our apartment on the third floor, and stole gold and cash worth Rs 3 lakh 50 thousand. My parents who had gone out at that time, noticed the cupboard broken, and valuables stolen. After I got back from work, I lodged a complaint with the Bunder police station. The Sahayog apartment in Kudroli had no CCTV nor a security guard during that time, and this gave an easy chance for the culprit to enter our apartment and steal. The thief had also stolen my mother’s mobile phone, and we found that he had kept the gold in a Bengaluru pawn shop and borrowed money. Three months after the theft, Feroz had used my mom’s mobile phone to make a call, and thus the police were able to catch him from the phone call details. I would like to appreciate and extend my gratitude to the entire team of Bunder police station who worked hard in nabbing this person- a job well done by them. We have moved from that apartment in Kudroli, and currently staying in a flat on Kadri Temple road, which is well secured. Out of the nearly Rs 3.5 lakh worth of valuables stolen, today I received Rs 3 lakh, which is better than nothing. Thanks once again to the police for their efforts”.
The programme was compered by Assistant Sub Inspector Harishchandra Baikampady.
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