LPG cylinders catch thieves' fancy

Believe it or not, along with gold and cash, now LPG cylinders have been added by thieves in their list of favoured items. In the last one week alone, theft of 17 LPG cylinders has been reported from various parts of the city and the police are puzzled over the burglars’ new-found love.

Gopal Lal Jain of Mangal Vihar locality in Mansarover lodged an FIR at Mansarover police station on October 1 stating that two LPG cylinders kept in his kitchen were stolen recently.

Likewise, such cases were reported in various parts of the city including Pratap Nagar, Vaishali Nagar, Jawahar Circle, Shipra Path and Chomu when thieves targeted only LPG cylinders. It appears that the domestic help or maid could be behind this burglary, said a police officer with the Mansarover police station.

Like the victims, the police are also shocked with the new trend. “It is of course the outcome of the new policy on the LPG cylinders. Though it is a petty theft but can’t be taken lightly,” said Sukhdev Jangid, assistant commissioner of police, Mansarovar.

Most of these cases were witnessed in the posh colonies including Mansarover, Jawahar Circle,and Vaishali Nagar in the single-storey and double-storey houses.

“They did not touch anything else in the house while we were away for a birthday party. After we returned we were surprised  to see  that two filled LPG cylinders were stolen from the kitchen,” said Shikha Yagnik, a native of Lal Bahadur Nagar situated under Jawahar circle police station area.

What is more interesting in these cases is the fact that when the victims including housewives and other family members went to register FIRs, policemen on duty did not take them seriously .

According to police, such a thing never occurred in the past but between October 1 and 7 at least 17 LPG cylinders were stolen from various parts of the city. Some of the victims have stated that three LPG cylinders were stolen from their houses, police added.

The police believe that it could be the handiwork of the domestic help in connivance with the thieves. Had there been the involvement of burglar gangs, they would have decamped with other valuables, said a senior police officer.