2 nabbed red-handed while attempting to burgle Baina school on Easter Eve

Security system alert helped caution Principal, rapid response from police

THE GOAN NETWORK | APRIL 01, 2024, 01:02 AM IST

VASCO

Two burglars were caught by Vasco police late on Saturday night while they were trying to break into Our Lady of Candelaria School in Baina. They are suspected to be involved in all school burglaries in South Goa.

Despite numerous burglary reports from schools across Goa and demands for better security, it was an alert principal on Easter Eve that led to the capture of the burglars at Baina school.

The burglars were caught on CCTV cameras inside Our Lady of Candelaria School, triggering a movement alarm on the principal’s phone. The principal promptly alerted the parish priest and the Vasco police, resulting in the capture of the burglars red-handed.

The situation was so urgent that the parish priest urged the parishioners to assist the police, who initially cordoned off the school area.

The police had to enter the school in the dark and a scuffle ensued, resulting in minor injuries to the police staff. The burglars were apprehended and taken to the police station.

School principal Shifra Gracias received an alert on her phone at around 11 pm on Saturday.

“I received a notification on my phone that movement had been detected in the school, and I checked the footage immediately, where I saw two hooded boys inside the office. They were wearing hoods and were opening the office cupboards, and we had to take action and apprehend them without alerting them. I immediately called the parish priest, and we also contacted the police to inform them about the incident. I also spoke to our Lower Division Clerk, who reached the site, and finally, the police managed to apprehend the culprits from the school,” said Gracias.

Parish Priest Fr Dominic D’Souza said that he had urged the parishioners to help the police nab the culprits.

Accused linked to school burglaries across State: Vasco Police

VASCO: Vasco Police Inspector Kapil Nayak on Sunday informed reporters that the two persons nabbed while attempting to burgle Baina school have been linked to various school burglaries reported across the State.

“We got a call at around 11 pm on Saturday that there was movement of unknown culprits in Our Lady of Candelaria School, and I sent our patrolling staff to the school, and we surrounded the school. The school was dark, and our staff conducted a thorough search, managing to find the two culprits who were trying to hide. Finally, after a scuffle, we managed to apprehend them. We then took them to the police station and recorded a complaint from the school headmistress and registered the offence under Section 457, 380 of IPC,” said Nayak. “We then interrogated both the accused because recently there had been three similar cases of school burglaries reported from Mormugao Taluka, two in Vasco and one in Velsao. We later arrested them, and during the interrogation, they confessed their involvement in all three cases in Mormugao and other school burglaries in the state as well. The two accused are Jahid Siran (32), a resident of Udupi, and Moulali Sattar Jamadar (28), a native of Dandeli in Karnataka. We have already arrested the two persons, and our further investigation is in progress to find out more details,” he added.

Police on lookout for third accused

VASCO: Vasco Police Inspector Kapil Nayak said that there was also a third accused involved in the series of school burglaries reported in the state.

“We had been interrogating both the accused in the past cases, where they admitted their involvement, but they also revealed that there was yet another person who was part of the gang. We have now realised that there is a third accused in the case, and he is from Udupi, and his name is Vijay Shetty. We have been told that he is in Udupi, and we have already sent our team there, but his location has not been traced yet. We have already tightened our intelligence to apprehend the accused,” said Nayak.

3 accused got to know each other in jail

VASCO: While the series of burglaries had been a headache for the Vasco police, they were shocked to realise that the three burglars had hatched plans to burgle schools as a gang while they were together in jail. “We found that the three burglars, previously involved in separate theft cases, met in jail and formed a gang. They have extensive criminal records across various states, with Vijay Shetty having around 18 cases, Jahid Siran having three, and Moulali Jamadar having multiple cases. These individuals are habitual offenders. While two have been arrested, our team is pursuing the third accomplice,” said Nayak.