Saturday, October 15, 2005

Less crime during Dashain festival

Kathmandu, Oct. 15 Incidents of loot and stealing in Kathmandu Valley were drastically low during this Dashain than in the previous years. In the last three days, there were just six incidents of looting and one of stealing and nine persons have been arrested.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Krishna Basnet claimed that such criminal activities were virtually nil compared to previous Dashains and even on normal days. “Because the police worked so vigilantly that such activities were curbed,” he said. Even on normal days, there are three or four incidents of looting and stealing on an average.

Police had deployed temporary picketing groups at dozens of places of the valley. Basnet said that in Kathmandu City alone there were picketing teams in civil dresses at 96 places. Besides, such teams were deployed at commercial points and bank areas of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur.

Another police official said the people becoming more aware and the arrest of known looter and thieves before Dashain also helped. Meantime, police deployed from Sorhakhutte has arrested Raju Lama and Lekh Bahadur Chhantyal, while they were running away looting Rs. 8,000 from Shyam Lama of Naya Bazaar Thursday afternoon. Similarly, police from the crime investigation branch have arrested seven persons for pick pocketing in the transportation and commercial places.

According to DSP Pitambar Adhikary, those arrested were Ramesh Pandey, 26, of Kavre; Milan Adhikary, 24, and Ajay Karki, 16, both of Sindhupalchok; Raj Kumar Rai, 24, of Sunsari; Som Bahadur Gurung, 21, of Gorkha; Raj Kumar Katuwal, 28, of Gaushala and Deepal Uprety, 25, of Lazimpat.

Police said two unidentified men snatched away gold chain of Shila Shakya, 58, of Sitapaila at about 11:30 Thursday morning. Similarly, two unidentified persons grabbed and fled gold chain from Rajina Shrestha of Kirtipur at Soaltee turn of Kalimati. According to police, five persons brandishing sharp weapons looted Rs. 170,000 worth of goods, including one Samsung mobile, from the room of Singhe Lama at Banasthali at about 7 Wednesday evening. Lama of Sindhupalchowk had rented room at Rambabu Shrestha’s house and the robbers came to the house and took Lama under control before taking away the goods.

The same day, gold ornaments worth Rs. 60,000 were looted from the house of Anita Ghimire of Dhumbarahi. The looting took place at about 1 pm. In another broad daylight robbery one day earlier, some looters took away gold chain weighing about four tolas from Madhu Tamang of Lalitpur.

Police said that gold ornaments were stolen from the Laxmi Shrestha of Sukedhara of Kathmandu. Thieves broke open the wooden cupboard and took away the ornaments.

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