Pune: Thieves burgled around 20 houses in Patan village in Maval taluka, about 60km from Pune, after residents were evacuated following a landslide that killed three members of a family on Monday.The burglars took advantage of the deserted village after authorities asked residents to vacate their homes as a precaution against further landslides.Three members of the Tikone family were killed when their house, located at the foothills of Visapur Fort in Patan, was buried under debris in the landslide early Monday morning. The victims were identified as Nandu Tikone, his wife Anita, and their son Dnyaneshwar, who were asleep when the landslide struck. Dnyaneshwar’s pregnant wife survived as she was away from home at the time.Vijay Tikone, a member of the Patan gram panchayat said, “After the landslide, authorities asked all villagers to vacate their houses to prevent any further tragedy. They made no arrangements for us. We locked our houses and shifted.”He added, “On Wednesday morning, one villager who had gone to feed cattle and another who had returned home after a night shift noticed that the door of a house was open. He called me and I asked him to check the other houses. When he told me that the doors of several houses were open, we rushed to the village,” Tikone said.Burglars had broken into around 20 houses. “Before leaving the village, most of us had kept our valuables, including gold and silver jewellery, inside our homes. The thieves stole everything,” he said. “Following the burglaries police have started patrolling the village,” he added.“To protect our houses, all the male members have returned to the village. The women are still staying with our relatives,” he added.
