Thieves prowl tragedy-struck villages in Wayanad

Thiruvananthapuram: Disaster-hit Wayanad is facing a new menace with thieves posing as volunteers stealing valuables from abandoned houses. 

Police sources said incidents of theft were reported at some of the houses from where people had been evicted following the landslides. Six anti-theft squads have been formed to keep vigil in the region, the sources added.

The government has decided to restrict the entry of people posing as volunteers to the area. From Sunday onwards, registration has been made mandatory for outsiders who want to travel to the landslide sites.

The administration had shifted people who lived in houses close to the worst-hit Chooralmala and Mundakkai villages to either relief camps or other safer places. The thieves were reportedly targeting such houses. Theft was also reported from a house near the spot where a Bailey bridge was constructed.