'smuggled truck' - Singam scene ..... burglary in place guarded by German shepherds

It happens at Nallur, a small village in Thoothukudi [Tuticorin] ~ an honest Police sub-inspector with trademark moustache, loved by his native villagers assisted by colleagues – Ettu Erimalai.   The action based Tamil masala “Singam” starring Suriya ran packed houses, dubbed in regional languages and its victory prompted its version 2. 

Head constable Erimalai [played by Vivek] would bungle consistently – in one instance, he is tipped off about a crime – ‘smuggling lorry’.  Accompanied by his aides, he would lay wait on a highway, when the mentioned lorry driven by a Sikh would come.  Erimalai would stop the lorry, search it – finding it to be empty, would as a bribe ask the driver to fuel his two-wheeler and would place it on the truck.  When the Higher official calls, that it was ‘wrong tip-off’ and he found nothing ... ! – it was the lorry which was being hijacked !!! – the driver would call to say that ‘he got a moped free for the stolen lorry’....

Miles away in Northumberland in UK,  MailOnline reports that burglars broke into landscaper's yard - and made off with some property.   CCTV footage shows two men open the gate and the owner Des Carr is offering a £500 reward for the safe return of his property !!  Des Carr, 44, used the two German shepherd  dogs called Major and Sky to protect equipment at the business AR Whitley Landscapes in Holystone, Northumberland. CCTV shows the two men break into the yard  - Grainy CCTV captured the moment of the theft but police have so far been unable to identify the thieves.

The German Shepherd, popularly Alsatian in local parlance, is a breed of large-sized working dog that originated in Germany.  The German Shepherd is a relatively new breed of dog, with their origin dating to 1899. As part of the Herding Group, German Shepherds are working dogs developed originally for herding sheep. Since that time, however, because of their strength, intelligence, trainability and obedience, German Shepherds around the world are often the preferred breed for many types of work, including assistance, search-and-rescue, police and military roles, and even acting.

That way, a property guarded by German Shepherd dogs is construed to be well guarded – not sure whether Insurers would offer any discount for such a good risk ! – the dogs were well cared for – it is reported that Mr Carr provided food and water to them and left alongwith colleagues around  5.50pm.  Three and a half hours later,  the burglary occurred.  Rather than breaking in, two men made their way in by unlocking the padlock on the main gate at 9.20pm.  Since it was dark, only their tall silhouettes were captured on CCtv.  The men were able to unlock the gates at the entrance  and coolly walk away.   

As it was a Bank Holiday weekend, it was not until 8.40am on Tuesday that the robbery was observed.  Police were called and a statement was taken later that day, but there have been no further developments since.  If you are wondering what the fuss is about – as burglaries do occur – the property burgled here is nothing but the ‘guard dogs’.  Major and Sky, the two dogs were stolen by the intruders.  The 14-month-old  Sky was six weeks pregnant when she was stolen and the average gestation period for a German Shepherd is nine weeks. Northumbria Police are appealing for anyone with any information to call them. 

Elsewhere in USA, a  police officer investigating a report of a possible burglary went to the wrong home and fatally shot a German shepherd dog that lunged at him and bit him on the boot.  Fox said police received the call at 3:45 p.m., reporting the possible break-in at 621 Lawlins Road. Patrolman Kyle Ferreira responded and mistakenly went to 622 Lawlins Road, Fox said.  Ferreira received no answer when he knocked on the front door of the wrong house;  so he went to the rear of the house and let himself into the back yard through an unlocked fence gate. When he got to the rear of the house, the patrolman saw an open window and believed he had found a possible point of entry for a burglar.

Ferreira drew his revolver and approached the window, believing he might encounter a burglar, but “a large, growling German shepherd lunged out the open window, bit the officer on his right foot and latched onto his boot,”  The chief said the officer fired his gun four times to get the dog to release his foot, and two of the bullets hit the dog. The borough’s animal control officer took the dog to a veterinarian for treatment, Fox said, but the dog did not survive.  The cop was not injured in the attack.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

30^th Apr 2015.