Teen steals pistol, bullets from old court premises in Ambattur

The accused, S Babu of Kamarajapuram in Ambattur, is a habitual offender. He was earlier arrested in connection with a theft case and was released on conditional bail on January 25, said the police.

While the combined court (District Munsif and Judicial Magistrate courts) in Ambattur was shifted from its old premises near the police station to Ambattur Estate, case-related properties were kept there, said sources.

Babu entered the old court buildings allegedly to steal liquor bottles kept in gunny bags around 2 pm on Tuesday. He was stealing liquor bottles regularly when he visited the police station to sign as per the bail condition. On Friday, he noticed a 9 mm pistol in one of the bags and eight bullets in another bag.

Babu took it home and showed it his friends. However, the police received information about the incident along with photos following which he was secured within a few hours. After investigation, the police said that Babu was released on conditional bail in connection with a battery theft case. After visiting the police station to sign every day, he would sneak into the old court premises to steal liquor from seized bottles.

“On Tuesday, he found a heavy cover in which he found the pistol,” said an officer. He has been under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code and will be remanded in judicial custody on Wednesday. The police said that if the court authorities had been a little more careful or asked police to guard the premises, the incident could have been avoided.