A gang of thieves broke into the residences of as many as three former ministers in the Kautilya Nagar area near Patna airport.

A gang of thieves broke into the residences of as many as three former ministers in the Kautilya Nagar area near Patna airport. A gang of thieves broke into the residences of as many as three former ministers in the Kautilya Nagar area near Patna airport.

As the fear of quake aftershocks sent thousands in Patna into the streets on Sunday night, burglars in the state capital made most of the situation by striking at the houses of high-profile politicians.

A gang of thieves broke into the residences of as many as three former ministers in the Kautilya Nagar area near Patna airport and decamped with valuables worth lakhs of rupees on Sunday night.

Most of the residents in the area were either out of their houses or on the terrace owing to the rumours about possible quake aftershocks.

The burglars first entered the residence of Muneshwar Choudhary and took away Rs 6 lakh in cash, jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh besides other valuables. Choudhary, who was a minister in the Rashtriya Janata Dal government, was away in Vaishali when the incident took place. His daughter and nephew were, however, at the house when the thieves entered the bedroom on the ground floor after removing its window grille.

They adopted the same modus operandi to break into the house of Kripanath Pathak, another former minister who is living in the same locality. The burglars took away an LED television and a set top box. However, they left the stolen items at a distance away from the Congress leader's house probably due to the fear of being caught.

The burglars didn't spare the residence of former minister late P. N. Sharma too. They, however, could not get much except Rs 4,000 in cash, a belt and a watch from his house. According to Sharma's son, whose family is living there at present, the burglars opened the window grille to enter the house.

The Patna police swung into action only when the incidents of thefts were noticed on Monday morning. A team of forensic science library (FSL) also visited the residences of all former ministers to ascertain the role of any local gang.

Kautilya Nagar is considered to be a VVIP colony as a large number of ministers, former ministers and legislators live in the area. The locality has been witnessing incidents of thefts at regular intervals. However, the police are yet to make any breakthrough.

Thieves had entered the house of Bihar minister Ram Lakhan Ram Raman, who lives in the same locality, some time ago. Other former ministers, who faced similar experiences, include Ashok Singh, Diwakar Prasad Singh, Gajendra Singh and Gaurishankar Nagdansh.

Well-known politicians like Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, Lalu Prasad and Raghuvansh Prasad Singh are among those who have their houses in the same area.