The retail outlet of Vishal Mega Mart. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Sept. 22: With just two weeks to go for Durga Puja, the steel city is witnessing a spurt in crimes such as theft and burglary.

A gang of robbers tried to break into the Vishal Mega Mart on the National Highway 33, under MGM police station area, in the small hours today. But, their plans were thwarted by an alert security guard patrolling the area around the retail store.

The gang of thieves entered the shop premises by breaking the glass entrance around 2.45am.

While they were cleaning out the cash box, the security guard, who was some distance away from the entrance, realised something was amiss and began to shout. Panicked by the guard’s alarm, the gang left. The security guard then informed store officials, who rushed to the spot. Some clothes were strewn on the spot.

The timely alarm also prevented the gang from decamping with the store cash.

“A gang did break into the retail outlet today. When the security guard, who was patrolling the area heard noises he alerted the neighbours. Hearing his cries the thieves fled and failed to take away any valuables from the store,” confirmed a senior official of Vishal Mega Mart.

After the store officials informed police, officer-in-charge of MGM police station visited the store.

On his part, deputy superintendent of police (Mango) Shailendra Kumar Sinha, too, confirmed that the thieves failed to decamp with the money, despite successfully opening the cash box.

He added that since the area was an isolated one, police patrols were common in the neighbourhood. The force now plans to intensify patrolling in the area after today’s break-in attempt.

With the festival season round the corner, the city has witnessed a rise in thefts and burglaries. And despite their claims of stricter vigilance, in most cases the police have not been able to solve them or recover the stolen goods.

A fortnight ago, thieves broke into the house of one Gopal Shah at Chotagovindpur in suburban Govindpur and decamped with gold ornaments worth Rs 5 lakh and more.

Besides jewellery, the thieves also took away three briefcases containing insurance papers and bank pass books. The police have not made any breakthrough. They interrogated the domestic help at Shah’s home and took no further steps.

At the Reliance Fresh robbery in Adityapur, robbers decamped with Rs 4.08 lakh but the police seem to have abandoned the investigation after preliminary interrogation of the security guards.

Deputy superintendent of police (city) Madhusudan Bari said the police are trying to solve all the cases of theft and burglary.

“We are trying our best to curb theft by stepping up the patrolling,” said Bari.