Bhubaneswar, Sept. 20: Frequent incidents of theft are being reported at the Kalinga Sports Complex.

While last evening, criminals allegedly looted around 10 cell phones and cash worth Rs 25,000 after breaking into a dormitory occupied by the players of Under-19 Rugby team of Kerala, three youths were detained today when they were trying to break the lock of a dormitory occupied by the rugby players from Bengal.

The incident that occurred last evening was the sixth such case that took place in the complex in the past three months.

A fortnight ago, the goons had also looted mobile phones and other valuables from the hostel of College of Physical Education.

"Last evening, when we returned to the room after our practice session, we found the door lock broken. We were also shocked to find around 10 mobile phones and cash worth Rs 25,000 missing from our dormitory," alleged Shyam Sahi, a rugby player of Kerala.

Later, the players lodged a complaint at Nayapalli police station.

Sources said the criminals often targeted dormitories occupied by players from outside the state.

The 60-acre complex is a multipurpose stadium with facilities for hockey, football, swimming, tennis, basketball and athletics. It hosts a number of state and national-level tournaments.

Stadium authorities blamed the inadequacy of security guards deployed on the premises for recurrence of such incidents. "We have around 20 security guards deployed to cover the premises. The majority of the guards are posted at the 10 entry and exit gates of the complex. However, there is no restriction on outsiders' entry to the stadium as it is a public property," said a stadium official.

The police suspected the involvement of unemployed youths living in various slums around the stadium. "We have detained three youths and are interrogating them," said inspector in charge of Nayapalli police station Suryamani Pradhan.

Officer in charge of the sports complex Barija Mohanty said they had discussed the matter with the police station concerned.

"I have written to the state sports department for installation of closed-circuit television cameras at the entrance to the dormitories and hostels to prevent such incidents," said Mohanty.