By Radhika Mishra
SUDBURY- Two Indian and households in Sudbury, MA have fallen victim to targeted robberies following a similar pattern to break-ins occurring all over eastern Massachusetts and other parts of the country.
“In the last 48 hours, Sudbury police responded to two (2) Residential Break-ins, one on Twin Pond Lane and one on Cudworth Lane,” Sudbury Police said in a statement on its Facebook page. “In both, the homes were unoccupied and the residents had just returned from vacation. Currently, there is no connection between the residents, other than they are both of Indian descent.”
Anxiety and uncertainty continue to penetrate the South Asian community in eastern Massachusetts as two new cases of home robberies affecting Indian households appeared in Sudbury. The break-ins occurred over the weekend and were discovered when victims arrived home after traveling.
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“Residential break-ins are infrequent for Sudbury, but regionally there is an increase exhibiting similar patterns. Specifically, evidence suggests that entry was gained through a 2nd floor window at both homes. This is consistent with an on-going residential break-in investigation, where often the victims are of South Asian and/or Indian descent,” said Sudbury police in a statement posted to their Facebook page.
Over the past few months, Massachusetts towns such as Weston, Lincoln, Wellesley, North Attleboro have reported cases, in some towns multiple, of Indian and South Asian homes being broken into and pilfered of their jewelry. The FBI has gotten involved with what seems to be a nationwide problem.
Many South Asian residents keep expensive and valuable gold jewelry in their homes which has caught the attention of what experts believe to be a highly organized criminal ring that pilfers the jewelry and resells it. Authorities believe the estimated profit is in the millions and with the abundance of home invasions in the past few months, that number is only increasing.