A CORRESPONDENT
BOKAKHAT: In various parts of Bokakhat sub-division, incidents of theft have increased simultaneously with the ongoing wild elephant menace. Farmers cannot leave their homes to harvest paddy in the fields as thieves loot everything in their absence. On Friday, while the family of Thanu Das of Rojabari was busy in the paddy fields, thieves stole Rs 25,000 in cash along with other household items.
In broad daylight, another theft occurred at Balijan, Bokakhat. Thieves cleaned out the house of social worker Deepak Hazarika. At around 11:55 am, the family had gone to Bokakhat Chariali to purchase essential items for their daughter studying in Guwahati. When they returned around 1:00 pm, they noticed that the lower part of the house had been broken open. They found three steel almirahs, trunks, and wooden drawers broken and ransacked. The thieves took away approximately Rs 12 lakh worth of gold ornaments, cash, and other valuables kept in the steel almirah. After the family informed Bokakhat police, officers arrived and began an investigation, though as of the time of reporting, no clues about the thieves had been found. Meanwhile, in another incident at Lakhoujan, thieves broke the backdoor of the residence of Aditya Dutta Baruah on Monday night while no one was at home. They entered the house, broke open the almirah, and stole about one and a half tolas worth of gold ornaments.
That such thefts are occurring in a busy area near National Highway 37 has raised serious concerns among the public, with the police seemingly in deep slumber. Till date, they have not been able to catch a single thief or recover any stolen items. There are also allegations that Bokakhat police have not registered FIRs for several theft cases and only made entries in the general diary before wrapping up the so-called investigations.
The organizers further informed that similar vaccination drives will be undertaken in other areas of Dibrugarh in the coming weeks, with a special focus on public institutions, residential colonies, and neighbourhoods with considerable stray dog populations.
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