Drugs link to rising theft cases in city

SHILLONG:  At least 60 percent of the theft cases and burglary reported from parts of city is related to the craving of the criminals including juveniles to get money for purchasing drugs.
A senior police official said that there is a link between the rise in theft cases and that of the spurt in the use of drugs. According to police, the criminals, who are drug addicts, resort to thefts for easy money and the recent instance of the murder of an old woman in the outskirts of the city indicates this.
Last month, a 70-year-old woman was robbed and subsequently killed allegedly by drug addicts near Mawshabuit.
“We have been conducting awareness programmes in schools and colleges to deter the trend of youths getting addicted to drugs,” police added.