The Tribune, February 4, 2005

6 shops burgled in Kalka
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, February 3
Burglars struck at six adjoining shops in Kalka last night amidst heavy police deployment. Because of elections today, hundreds of cops were on duty at the municipal committee office, just 50 metres away from these shops. Cash and goods worth Rs 44,500 were stolen from the shops, after the miscreants forced their entry by breaking the front locks on the shutters. However, nobody seemed to notice the burglary till about 6 am today, when one of the shopkeepers, Mr Anand Kishore, reached here and found the locks broken.

Mr Ghanshyam Garg, whose shop was also burgled, said it was strange that the miscreants had struck amidst such heavy police deployment. “I had passed through the market around 1 am and found the cops sitting here. At that time, the locks of my shop were intact,” he said. While cash worth Rs 15,000 each were stolen from Odena Tailors and Fair Deal Enterprises, Rs 4,000 each was stolen from Prem Provision Store, Banarasi Pan House and Anand Brothers. Rs 400 cash and some machinery worth Rs 2,500 was stolen from Sabab Hair Dressers. The shopkeepers said the cash boxes were missing from the shops and some of the empty boxes were found at a distance from the market. The shopkeepers said that though they informed the police, no FIR was registered because of the elections.