With members of a ‘Bihar Gang’ looting jewellery outlets and banks in Bengal repeatedly over the months the police have sounded a high alert for the jewellers in all the three major towns of East Burdwan today. The district police authorities in apprehension of more robberies have asked the jewelers to down the shutters of their outlets by 7:00 pm, everyday.

Also, patrolling in the jewellery hubs of Burdwan, Kalna and Katwa towns has been intensified. Sonapatti, the jewellery corridor in Kalna town, according to the police, remains as the most vulnerable spot because of its close proximity to Nadia border with a river transit passage. Security has been beefed up in different sensitive locations, the senior police officers said. SP, East Burdwan, Kamanashis Sen said that sufficient CCTV grabs have been gathered by the police from different locations which has helped in the identification of the presence of ‘Bihar Gang’ members in Burdwan and Kalna.

The gangsters were spotted loitering in front of different jewellery shops in those two towns. The police have also received tip-offs that the gangsters are planning a series of operations in the jewellery hubs. The jewellers have pressed panic button, even as they expressed concern over the loss of sale revenue due to this sudden ‘cut’ in business hours. Swarup Konar – the secretary of the ‘Burdwan Sudder Swarna Byabsayee Welder Society’, a jewellers’ body said: “On Wednesday evening, the policemen accompanied by some Civic Police Volunteers visited the outlets and briefed us about their apprehension.

They also circulated photographs from the CCTV footage among the jewellers to help identification of the gangsters.” He added: “Our business was ruined during the Covid19 lockdown, which however started firming up in last few months. But the intrusion of the Bihar Gang has now left us panic struck.” The Society has also organised auxiliary security cover besides the police patrolling. The Society has installed 43 CCTV cameras along BC Road – the jewellery hub in Burdwan town. The town recorded at least a dozen major robberies in jewellery outlets and banks since 2015.