The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Cat burglar who's got police guessing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 26, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Cat burglar who's got police guessing

A number of crime cases are yet to be solved. And several criminals are yet to be tracked down. That may well be in the nature of things. But one criminal has been bothering the policemen more than anyone else. His identity is not known. He leaves behind strange clues or very little at times. The mystery of the `bureau puller' in the city's southern suburbs continues, as it has for the past four years.

After striking at will, stealing cash and jewellery from 58 houses in Madipakkam, Pazhavanthangal and Adambakkam and nearby areas, the silent burglar has the Chengai East police still pursuing him.

His method of operation is simple. Almirahs in living rooms and bedrooms are pulled close to the windows from outside with the help of a long hook. They are then skilfully broken open and valuables stolen while the residents are asleep. A majority of the thefts take place between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.

More than 75 such burglaries have been recorded so far. In a few cases, arrests have been made and valuables recovered. But in 58 cases, the police have neither recovered the stolen goods nor have they nailed the culprit. Gold jewellery weighing more than 800 sovereigns has been stolen. The ease with which the burglar has been able to operate has left police baffled. The fingerprints at the scene of crime in all the cases are of one person, but the police have no clue as to who he is. All the police can say is he must be strong enough to pull an almirah weighing 200 kg. Police say the suspect targets houses in thinly populated areas. After casing the house in the evening, the burglar strikes late in the night — or even a few days later. He appears to wait patiently outside the window, if necessary for hours. In one case, the police recovered 13 cigarette stubs from near the window of a house - indicating that he could have waited for three or four hours before making his move.

In one instance, the residents heard the noise of their almirah being dragged. But they were so terrified that they did not raise an alarm or look towards the window. The burglar is said to scale compound walls to prevent sniffer dogs from picking up the scent. In a bid to deflect criticism that they have not done enough, police say they have increased patrolling in the past one month. According to them, not a single case of `bureau pulling' has been reported since then. They have taken fingerprints of 472 men in the Madipakkam sub-division but none matched that of the suspect. At least 30 policemen in plain clothes are on rounds in these places. Not only that, the Madipakkam police have started distributing pamphlets listing guidelines for residents. They suggest that almirahs should be placed beside a wall such that they cannot be pulled using a hook through the windows. They should be locked and the keys kept in a place which cannot be reached from outside.

The residents should ensure that windows are bolted and that window grills have only small gaps. The police have appealed to the residents to appoint night watchmen in their areas and inform them immediately if there is any suspicious movement. "We are hopeful of nabbing the `bureau puller'," an officer of Chengai East police district says.

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Cat burglar who's got police guessing