Hyderabad police may book negligent homeowners after burglaries

Hyderabad police are considering registering criminal cases against homeowners found negligent in safeguarding valuables. Officials said repeated disregard of police advisories has contributed to burglary incidents, forcing police to spend significant resources on investigations across multiple states.

Hyderabad: The city police are now mulling the idea of registering criminal cases against people who show negligence in safely keeping their valuables.

A senior police official said that in several cases, despite the police repeatedly issuing advisories, people continue to act carelessly, leading to burglaries in their houses.

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The official cited the recent theft and burglary incidents involving Nepal nationals working as housemaids and security guards.

In a recent case, the house owner kept the keys of the safe locker in the hundi and left for another city on some work, leaving behind his elderly parents in the house. “Had the man been careful, the burglary could have been prevented. The police personnel deployed to track the case could have been put to better community use. We are seriously thinking of registering cases against employers wherever we find that they have behaved negligently,” said the official.

The police said that a large amount of money is spent on travel and lodging during investigations into such cases. The teams have to visit multiple states, stay there and move around, incurring huge costs. “We have already asked people to register their housemaids, servants and other persons working in their houses with the police. It will also deter any person with a criminal mindset from committing a crime,” said the official.