PANAJI
Local residents and the business community were rattled on Thursday when they discovered that thieves broke into five shops in the lane between Jesuit House and Cafe Tato and also along the Jose Falcao Road that leads to the Panjim Church from behind the Old Secretariat.
The robbery was discovered in the early hours of Thursday and is suspected to have taken place post midnight on Wednesday.
The thieves targeted five shops, including two wholesale liquor outlets. In all five cases, they bent the shutters to gain entry.
Panaji police inspector Vijaykumar Chodankar said, CCTV footage of the area was scanned and the leads along with intelligence inputs from the local beat police they managed to pinpoint the bus the thieves boarded.
"They were tracked down in Kholapur. Police there assisted us and we have arrested three persons," Chodankar said.
The shops targeted were 'Casa Barreto' wine store adjacent to Cafe Tato from where Rs 5,000 in cash was taken, the shop opposite next to Lakaki laundry "Mansur Enterprises" from where Rs 1.5 lakh was taken and Aradhya Wine Store along the Jose Falcao Road from where the thieves took around Rs 3,000 in cash and a cell phone worth Rs 10,000.
Another shop in the locality 'W for Woman' store was also targeted from where Rs 11,000 in cash was taken.
Police sources said, the footage showed that the thieves did a recce to survey the area and plan their robbery.
"The footage shows them moving around in the area, perhaps planning their crime," a police official connected with the investigations said.
Chodankar said it appears that they were targeting only cash as not much of the goods were taken. So far, the owners have reported about Rs 1.5 lakh of cash having been robbed, he added.
Meanwhile the police are expected to intensify patrolling in the city by deploying more personnel for night duties. The area is usually bustling with movement of people and vehicles until early morning hours as it is the epicentre for the off-shore casino entry and exit points.
