One of the six shops that was targeted by burglars in Sakchi. Picture by Bhola Prasad

A gang of burglars struck at a Sakchi marketplace in the early hours of Thursday, breaking into as many as six stores, but managing to clean out only petty cash from just three of them.

Police said bad weather aided the criminals, who were four or more in number.

The outlets that took the blow at the market in Kumharpara in Sakchi’s Baradwari area were a vaccine centre, a confectionery shop and a general store. However, the burglars could not lay hands on valuables and stole money kept in cash boxes.

While they managed to flee with Rs 4,500 from the vaccine centre, Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,600 went missing from the confectionery and general stores.

Officer in charge of Sakchi police station Bhola Prasad Singh said that the same gang had raided all the six stores as the modus operandi — breaking open locks to enter — was the same.

“We visited the shops this morning. From the way the locks were broken, it appears that at least four or more men were involved in the serial burglaries that must have lasted for about an hour,” he added.

The officer in charge further said similar serial thefts had taken place in Golmuri and Telco a couple of months ago and police were trying to identify whether the same gang was involved in the Sakchi burglaries too. “Night patrolling will be intensified from today (Thursday),” Singh added.

The incident triggered panic among shopkeepers and local residents as it took place in a locality that usually remains crowded even after midnight.

Manoj Kumar, owner of the general store, said he went home on Wednesday night after securing his shop with four locks. “I arrived around 9am to find all the locks broken and the shutter partially open. Articles were strewn on the floor. Soon, I discovered that criminals had decamped with cash from two more shops in the neighbourhood,” he said.

Kumar further wondered what were the night police patrol teams doing at the time of the incident. “Had there been proper night patrolling, the gang would not have dared to commit the crime,” he said.