Watches worth Rs 5 lakh looted in Royapuram

Police said the shop employees, who came to open the store on Thursday morning found the shutter locks broke open and watches kept inside missing. Later, store manager Perumal lodged a police complaint. Police have registered a case and have picked up finger prints from the store. They have also collected Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footages from the store and also from private cameras installed in the area. Burglars now seem to concentrate on looting valuables as currency has become scarce. The crime rate in Chennai had come down by nearly 60 per cent in November as the burglars took a break following demonetisation. The city police also claim that an area wise listing of criminals and handing over them to the beat patrol teams had been instrumental in the reduction of crimes in the city. City police had listed 14,551 criminals under various heads according to their modus operandi. The patrol teams were asked to monitor the activities of these criminals and to keep them under constant check.