KANPUR: Technology saved a house from being burgled when a resident of Kanpur, who was in New Jersey, USA, informed the local police after watching live the CCTV footage of miscreants breaking into his residence at Shyamnagar area of the city on Monday night.
Responding to the call, police rushed to the house when burglars were still inside. As the cops tried to zero in, the intruders opened fire. In retaliatory firing by the cops, one miscreant got injured and was nabbed while others escaped.
It was around midnight on Monday when Vijay Awasthi, 38, a software engineer in New Jersey, received an alert on his mobile phone. The signal was from the CCTV cameras and sensors he had installed at his ancestral house at D-Block, Shyamnagar under Chakeri police station, to save his house from burglars.
When he checked the footage, Vijay was shocked to find some intruders inside his house named Harihar Dham. "He saw one miscreant trying to break the lock of a room. Vijay used the mic option to warn the intruders. But his warning had no impact on them. Instead, they broke the CCTV camera and entered the house," police said.
Vijay then immediately called up his neighbour in Shyamnagar, who informed the police control room. A patrolling team of local police reached the site within five minutes, says inspector of Chakeri police station, Madhur Mishra.
Soon, police commissioner Vijay Singh Meena, DCP, East, Pramod Kumar, and police forces of half-a-dozen police stations also reached the spot and cordoned off Vijay's house from all sides.
The miscreants who were on the roof and hiding behind the water tank, were warned and asked to surrender. However, they opened fire on the police. In retaliation, the police also opened fire, in which one of them, Sonu, a native of Hamirpur district, was injured.
"The police climbed the roof from the neighbour's terrace and took out Sonu, but no other intruder was found. Probably they jumped into the vacant plot on the rear side and escaped," police said. Sonu was admitted to Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital.
The entire operation took over three hours.
DCP, East, Pramod Kumar, said that as a precautionary measure, police force has been deployed at the house. The condition of the injured miscreant is improving. "A Police team has been dispatched to the hospital to interrogate him to find out about his aides," the DCP added.
The locals of the area were in panic due to the sound of gunshots and the blockade raised in the entire area to prevent the miscreants from fleeing. The neighbourhood was awake after midnight to witness the action and heaved a sigh of relief when it ended around 3.30am.
Police said a tenant and caretaker were also living in Vijay's house. But the tenant had gone to his village a few days ago. On Monday night, the caretaker had also gone to his native place. Vijay’s two sisters Poonam and Preeti live in the Barra area of the city. The keys of the house remain with both of them. The police called them immediately to cross-check the belongings.
"Technology not only helped save a house from being robbed but a crook was also caught. We reached the spot within five minutes of time. Overwhelmed by the quick response, the family from New Jersey America thanked the Kanpur Police," Inspector Chakeri police station Mishra said.
