City police recover stolen articles worth Rs 3.72 crore

A property return parade of stolen articles, including 25 two-wheelers, 1.5 kg gold articles, and other items recovered by Mangaluru police, was organised at Nehru Maidan after a gap of four years on Friday.

Mangaluru Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil informed the gathering that valuables worth Rs 4.30 crore were stolen in 2018 and the police have recovered stolen articles worth Rs 3.40 crore. In 2019, valuables worth Rs 65 lakh were stolen and articles worth Rs 35 lakh were recovered.

In all, stolen articles worth Rs 3.72 crore have been recovered so far, he added.

The property recovery parade witnessed a symbolic display of stolen articles recovered by the police attached to 12 police stations under Mangaluru Central, South and North sub-divisions.

The police personnel were also felicitated for cracking and recovering the stolen articles.

“Returning the recovered items is as important as recovery itself. The Mangaluru City Police have been transparent and this property parade programme is a standing example to it. Events, like these, should be held bi-annually and citizens should be kept informed,” Patil said.

One of the victims of theft, Celine Correa, and his wife from Parapade said they were clueless when 2.5 sovereign gold was stolen from their house in January. “We came to know about the theft only about a month ago. We are grateful to Mangaluru police commissioner who supported us throughout the recovery process,” they said.

Yet another victim of theft, Srinivas, had lost his KTM RC 200 bike in March. Srinivas, a resident of Ashraya Apartments, said he was emotionally attached to his bike.

“I was not able to believe that a bike parked in my garage was stolen. The police have recovered it as promised,” he added.

DCP (Law and Order) Hanumantharaya pointed out the reasons for stealing mostly revolve around individual greed or habitual stealing. In a recent trend, youngsters were involved in theft to support their addiction to drugs.

The police also utilised the opportunity to create awareness about an official mobile application for Android and iOS users. The app allows the users to locate nearby police stations; report emergencies and send SOS message to trusted contacts. The police commissioner urged the citizens to download the app and make extensive use of it so that the police can help the citizens better.