Bhubaneswar, Oct. 21: Frequent cases of stealing valuables from inside cars by breaking the glass panes have become a major concern for residents and police in the city.

The cops suspect that a gang, which resorts to loot valuables from cars, is operating in the city.

In most of the cases, two bike-borne criminals wearing helmets reach the car and break its glass pane with a hammer. “Once the glass pane is broken, they decamp with the valuables,” said a police official.

Most of the time, the criminals wear black shirts and black helmets to hide their identity from pedestrians and local residents. After committing the crime, the criminals avoid the main road and take lanes and by-lanes to flee from the spot.

In one incident, a goon had approached the car and told the person sitting inside it that oil was leaking from his vehicle. When the person stopped the car and came out to check the oil tank, the goon broke open the window and decamped with cash kept inside.

“In many incidents, the criminals ask the car driver that he has dropped a currency note. When he comes out of his vehicle, the goons take the cash bag from inside the car and escape within no time. People should, therefore, not be fooled by such tricks,” said a police official.

The police suspect that some of the gang members are educated youths.

“Recently, a gang of criminals snatched two laptops. A few days later, those laptops were recovered from the nearby area. So, we suspect that they had abandoned the laptops fully knowing the fact that they could have been nabbed while using those gadgets,” said another police official.

A gang had been involved in snatching cases in a similar fashion in the city three years ago. The criminals used the trick of throwing currency notes to divert the attention of car drivers. The gang committed a number of snatching cases at Saheed Nagar and Kharavela Nagar.

In another development, the police have started distributing leaflets with safety tips for the residents. Besides, police personnel are being deployed at important places all along the Janpath to curb such incidents.

“We have been advising the residents not to leave their valuables inside vehicles. We will continue with our awareness drive,” said police commissioner R.P. Sharma.