so we were robbed yesterday.....

brownboy66

Well the morning started in the most unexpected way with the discovery there had been a burglary at our house. My wife had gone downstairs to make a bottle for our baby to discover a mess all over the floor in a room we've sort of turned into an office. Her first thought was the baby had wondered downstairs, got bored, and decided to throw everything on the floor. It was only after a hole was discovered in the iron bars into our living room that the connection was made. The crims had gone through our neighbours property, past their guards, over their fences and into our back court yard, carefully removed a pane of glass without breaking it, then bent the iron bars back enough for a child or very, very thin man to slip through the newly created space.

So what was taken? One work laptop, one very old laptop with a dead battery, one cell phone, a digital camera (which was not working), and an unopened bottle of 12 year old whiskey! You can tell which one I'm cut up about.

So the police were duly called, and I must admit - as irritating as the burglary was - it sort of pales next to the sight of some guy in a police uniform standing in your house with a sub machine gun at 8.30 in the morning. Don't get me wrong - its not the first time I've seen a machine gun. I've been up close and personal with the occasional H&K, Accuracy international, kalashnikova , etc - but that was a long time ago and not before I've had coffee! The police response was impressive to say the least - but considering we live in Chanakyapuri in Delhi and we're foreigners....(I'm sure the story is different for locals).

So what's the reaction? Needless to say my wife is very unsettled with the idea of criminals in our house while our children are upstairs sleeping - and rightly so, that is the most concerning aspect. Does it affect our regard for India - of course not. Crime happens everywhere and we are fortunate compared to most. Re the theft - absolutely couldn't give a rats ar#@* about the gadgets. Funnily enough - the most valuable stuff was left behind (high end PC/Server, 200gig external hard drive, external optical drive, external DVD writer, IP cam, 120 watt speaker set with active sub woofer, etc). All of the items taken are replaceable - but the whiskey! The way I see it:

1) no one got hurt,
2) nothing of family value (photos, momentos, jewelery, etc) got taken,
3) nothing in the "what an incredible hassle" category got taken (i.e passports, credit cards, etc).

So overall - what should have been a relaxing day became a bit more frantic than usual. What have we learned?

1) we need stronger bars on our windows,
2) we're going to look at getting an alarm (even if its only to let us know what's happening)...
3) leave more broken gadgets lying around
4) hide the whisky

so what's your thoughts Indian residents? Any words of wisdom?

batistuta

No words of Wisdom, Mate, Just glad that you are ok and yes, sorry about that whisky.

dcamrass1

As another one that likes a good whiskey and get's a bit p..... the way some people gulp down a good whiskey not knowing what the drink I now put a Chivas Regal ,Glenffidich or as such single Malt bottle filled with cheapist whiskey in a very visable place and keep the good stuff for who appriciate it in the cubord.
Hoping there wont be a next time

rangers

Ahh..Its a news for others but a note of caution to you.
People are watching you and your material belongings.
You gota be more careful around.
New Delhi is not so safe place.Watch whos watching you.

smiles
sanjay

Aishah

Sorry to hear your story, bb.Apart from the whiskey sounds like you got off fairly lightly but that's not the point.. someone in the house is more scary. O>K> fix the security bars and make all 'shipshape' and good locks on the doors etc. This sort of thing can happen in any country, not just India, but it gives you a nasty feeling just the same. Hope you have put something over the bars by now ready for tonight?

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Khandoma

Jeez, Brownboy, what a crappy wake-up call. So sorry for you and your family.
This is the kind of thread where one is torn between sincere commiseration (anyone who's ever been burglared will feel for you and share your wife's feeling of distress and disorientation) and jest, just to keep your spirits up in unpleasant times.
So, after much thinking, I believe that you were burglared by a bunch of French dwarf rugby supporters operating internationally. They evidently tried to steal any device allowing you to watch the quarter finals and support your team : the PC to view the game, the phone to call friends, the whisky to, ahh, well, you know what that's for. And they got spooked by your baby when he/she crawled into the room wearing an all-black jersey. True to character, they left with a few broken trinkets before the action really started.
Pretty sure you'll get your revenge come Saturday...
Hang in there mate.

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Prashant.M

Sorry to hear about the burglary brownboy. Great to hear that it was limited to that.

Can't think of any words of wisdom, but that's normal for me . Do or get a professional review of security at home. How about a security system with door sensors, motion detectors, CCTV and a hookup to a central monitoring station. Of course motion detectors will be off when the family is at home. Sensors for each window and CCTV will be an expensive proposition.

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capt_mahajan

Sorry to hear this, brownboy. Glad nobody got hurt.

Looks like you can afford expensive security. So I would suggest get it .

Do you have a 24 hour properly vetted watchman?

CliveG

It's a real shame and can take some time for the victims to get over. Burglary can happen wherever you are in the world and often it is not what was taken that is the problem it is the invasion of your own space that can hurt most. Words of wisdom? Drink the next bottle whiskey before anyone can get at it!

shashank.aggarwal

Sorry to hear the BB...I hope we could have shared that whiskey ..

Anyways as you have mentioned that they didn't touch the more expensive gadgetry, it shows that they did not have any knowledge about that stuff ..

In most of such cases house staff is found to be involved in one way or other...in your case your neighbor's staff might have given them the cue...as otherwise it is difficult to know where the window is, whether the bars are thick enough to be bent using force..unless of course the window faces the main road.

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ranjan154

Thank God, you and your family is safe. Now forget it as a bad dream and start afresh.....

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brownboy66

Thank you all for your kind words of support Most appreciated! In reply:

Batistuta - thank you! People safety was really my priority too - so after establishing that everyone was ok it was more a case of sitting back and watching the day unfold. Very illuminating!

Dcamrass - great advice! Needless to say that is what will happen when I find a suitable replacement!

Rangers - yes, my suspicion is directed at some workmen next door who coincidentally were working for the past month on some scaffolding on a neighbouring property overlooking our back courtyard where the break in occurred. They finished the job on Monday and have since left the area. Hmmmmmm

Aishah - yes the bars have been repaired, and we are looking at other measures too. My wife is a bit unnerved by the whole "invasion" thing, but will get over it in time. Personally I'm not the least bit worried as most thieves are really just after the loot so to speak. They simply want to get in - grab the valuables - and get out quickly. Its when they get disturb or things go wrong that it can get nasty. That didn't happen - so now we need to concentrate on making sure it doesn't happen again. Oh and yes, this sort of thing can happen anywhere.

Khandoma - I knew it! After the elaborate subterfuge regarding the jersey's for the semi final, I'm not the least bit surprised by this sabotage! (amazing how many french words there are to describe this sort of situation). Thank you for your humour, and you kind intentions We are fine, really it was a very minor thing. Needless to say I'll be posting a reply to you on monday

Prashant - yes, all the things you've mentioned are being considered. I was interested to hear what other residents have done, what their thoughts were. What we will probably do is use a combination - stronger bars where needed, some deadlocks, and a few sensors in the hall way.

Capt - thanks for your good wishes and yes, we do have a watchman and the company we use has been thoroughly checked out. The watchman is out the front, and the rear (where the break in occurred) is not covered because it backs on to another property that has guards on their front. Somehow the crims managed to get past everyone. The area director for the company arrived yesterday morning about an hour after the police to apologise for the break in! Like it was his fault! As a result they've assigned another watchman out the back! And yes - we are now looking to get some sort of electronic monitoring as well.

Mr Clive G - I'll drink to that! thank you.

Just a couple of things to add. Thanks for your support and kind words. It really was a minor thing with no ill consequences. The family are fine (as you can imagine the kids thought it was cool to have the police around). Personally I'm more than happy they stole a laptop with a dead battery and a camera that doesn't work. Saves me the trouble of getting rid of it!

Also we are kind of embarrassed by all the fuss (especially mindful that we are so fortunate to be where we are, being foreigners, etc). It wouldn't be as easy for our indian friends. You read of much worse crimes happening all over the place, and there are others who actually have real crime to deal with, so we really just keeping a low profile because we have nothing to worry about. The reason for this post was just to get a few ideas - so the kind words are a real bonus. Thank you all.

brownboy66

Hi Shashank! My reply crossed with your posting.

Thank you! Yes - I agree re the whiskey Will have to save that for the next Delhi IM get together. My thoughts also re the choice of stolen property (they clearly didn't know what all the boxes were for).

The police have already questioned our housekeeper. We are fairly confident she wasn't involved. As I mentioned in a previous post - the workmen next door are a different matter. Too many coincidences there. The back window isn't visible from anywhere - except the very high scaffold next door. It occurred to me that you would have to have visibility of the window, bars to know they could be forced - which points to the workmen next door. Just speculation anyway.

brownboy66

Thank you travinfo! Yes - we have incorporated the episode into our family adventure and have moved on to the next one. In years to come we will look back on this and say "yes, and what about the time we got robbed - do you remember the man with the machine gun"!

Oh - I forgot to mention the police turned up with a tracker dog. A Doberman called Jenny?

So yes, the story will go "the time we got robbed, the man with the machine gun (before coffee), and the dog called jenny"

Ricco

Bad news been burgled, it takes a long time to feel comfortable in your own house again.

My advice to you is to beef up the security a little, and try to put it down to experience.

Whatever you do don't move to the U.K., where a visit from such people is often repeated. Monthly in some cases.