Bhubaneswar, Jan. 27: Goons broke into three flats of an apartment in Nayapalli and decamped with valuables worth lakhs last night.

The robbery took place despite the presence of three security guards in the apartment. This is the second such incident in the past one month.

Police said that all the three flats were vacant. "One of the house owners is in Mumbai, while another is in Bangalore. The exact value of the stolen property is being ascertained," said inspector in charge of Nayapalli police station, Suryamani Pradhan. The police are trying to find details about the third owner.

The matter came to light this morning after neighbours found the doors of the flats broken. "The houses have been ransacked and the locks of almirahs broken. Later, we informed the police," said one of the residents in the apartment.

The cops suspect the involvement of security guards in the theft.

"We will interrogate the guards to identify the people who had visited the apartment last night," said a policeman.

The flat owners, however, suspect the involvement of house keeping staff in the incident. "The criminals were well aware that no one was staying in these flats. We think insiders have passed on the information to the burglars," alleged another house owner.

In a similar incident on December 26, burglars had broken into four flats of an apartment near Kalarahang in Infocity police station limits and had decamped with valuables worth lakhs despite the presence of security guards. Here, too, the goons had targeted the flats those were vacant.

The incident has raised question about the security of apartments.

"Two such cases have taken place despite the presence of guards. The police should arrest the goons as early as possible," said Hrudananda Das, a senior citizen.