Native chicken thefts leave Chikkaballapur farmers sleepless

Chikkaballapur: Forget gold, cash or silver — in parts of rural Chikkaballapur, thieves now have a new, unexpected target: native chickens (naati koli). Over the past three months, villages across the district have reported a surge in night-time thefts of country chickens, leaving small farmers anxious and angry.

In several villages — including Kaivara Cross, Mastenahalli, Konganahalli, Ulapanahalli and Kattariguppe — CCTV footage has captured masked miscreants swooping in during the night, picking up chickens penned outside houses and escaping in minutes. Small farmers in these areas usually keep their native chickens in bamboo baskets or makeshift sheds just outside their homes. But villagers now say these simple arrangements have turned into easy targets for well-organised petty gangs.

“They come in the middle of the night, find the coops near our verandas, lock us inside the house by fastening the door from outside, and then stuff all the chickens into sacks and ride away on bikes,” says Nagaraj, a local from Kattariguppe. He recalls a recent incident: “Around 1:30 am, three men came on a bike, locked my sister and brother-in-law inside the shed, and looted all the chickens. They even threatened that if we tried to come out, they’d attack us with machetes.”

In some cases, the gangs have used intimidation to scare families into silence. If the homeowners attempt to resist, they are threatened with sickles and sticks. “They lock the doors from the outside. If we force our way out, they threaten to cut us down,” says another villager.

Thefts have turned so rampant that some farmers say they have lost chickens worth lakhs of rupees in just a few months. Ganesh, who recently filed a complaint, said, “I lost five chickens in one night. We have no idea who they are — we only have suspicions and filed a complaint in fear.”

Unable to bear the repeated losses, affected poultry farmers have begun filing complaints at multiple rural police stations in Chikkaballapur, urging authorities to trace the culprits and put an end to the chicken theft network.

What was once seen as a petty rural nuisance is now turning into a serious organised crime concern, as CCTV clips and villagers’ accounts point to repeat offenders operating in a coordinated manner.

While the police have begun collecting CCTV footage and taking down statements, frustrated farmers say they won’t rest until the gangs are behind bars — and their beloved naati koli are safe

once again.