Canine dog helps nab thief in Kalighat

Kolkata, Jul 02: A pet dog helped a family catch a thief in their house in south Kolkata's Kalighat area, and recover the stolen goods, police said on Saturday.

The incident happened at Jadu Bhattacharya Lane near Kalighat Fire Station, a stone's throw away from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's residence, they said.

A thief entered the house around 4 am on Friday, breaking the latch of the main door, and after stealing a few items, he was having food from the refrigerator, police said.

Noticing someone was there, the woman of the house woke up and raised an alarm. Hearing her screams, the others woke up too.

As Prasenjit Chakraborty, a young member of the family, tried to catch the thief, he was attacked with a knife, police said.

Soon, their dog Rocky pounced upon the thief. The dog bit him and kept holding on to his leg until the five-member family overpowered him. They then called the police who arrested the thief, an officer said.

"It's definitely a brave job. Initial investigation has revealed that the thief, a vegetable seller of the area, was put-up to the job by a neighbour of the family," he said.

"The accused was trying to steal gold ornaments worn by the deity of the household," he said, adding that the neighbour has also been arrested.

Prasenjit, who was attacked by the thief, was taken to the SSKM Hospital where he received 35 stitches on his neck and shoulder, police said.

A case has been filed and an investigation is underway, they said.