Lockdown in city: Regular crimes down by 79pc

According to police, from March 25 to April 15, there were just five cases of murders, one extortion, four robberies, 12 break-ins, 49 thefts and 17 injury cases. During the same period, Traffic police registered 13 fatal cases and 56 incidents of injuries. On the other hand, from February 25 to March 15, there were nine murders, one extortion, 16 robberies, 29 break-ins, 263 thefts and 93 hurt cases. Also, 54 people died in road accidents and 297 were injured. Comparing the two statistics, police noted that there was a 44% dip in murder cases and a 75% drop in robberies while break-ins came down by 59%.

Three children, including two brothers, were injured when the balcony on which they were playing collapsed on Friday evening in Kodambakkam. The injured kids, identified as Kavirasan, 9, Pavithran, 6, and their neighbour Jeeva, 13, were playing on the third-floor balcony in E block of a flat in Puliyur Housing Board complex when the incident happened. The injured were rushed to KMC for treatment, police said. The balcony fell off due to crack, and along with it first floor and second-floor balconies too came off. The children caught in the debris were rushed to a hospital. The building is more than two decades old.

Police are searching for a trio who attacked two men with a knife and snatched their mobile phones near Somangalam on Thursday. The victims Sivanath Singh (26) and Mandeep Singh (21) of Jharkhand had come to Sriperumbudur along with 45 others for road work. The duo was near a lake when the trio came on a bike and demanded money. Since they had no money the group attacked Sivanath Singh and Mandeep Singh.