Five snatchings in 24 hours, city police clueless so far

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 30

Snatchers continue to have a free run as five snatchings were reported from the city in the past 24 hours. As the rowdy bike riders attacked residents at free will, the local police sit clueless.

In the first three months of the year, 10 cases of snatching have been reported from the city. Last year, a mounting number of 159 such cases were witnessed in the city. However, despite claims of a large police presence on the roads by the city police, the snatchers continue to attack their targets.

Victim Mahila Devi (65) told the police that two motorcycle-borne youths asked her about a house address and as she began telling them, they sped away with her gold chain in Sector 15. Another victim Surakasha Devi (68), a resident of Sector 20, was targeted in the evening when the motorcycle-borne youths asked her regarding some address and sped away with her gold chain.

While Ranjit Kaur (45), a resident of Sector 38, reported that while she was sweeping the floor outside her house, two motorcycle-borne youths came and snatched her gold chain. Rakesh Bhalla (55), a resident of Sector 35, was watering flowers at his house lawn when two occupants on a motorcycle snatched his gold chain.

Meanwhile, an elderly man became the fifth victim of snatching in Sector 19 this afternoon.

However, the staff at the Sector 19 police station said they had not received any complaint till the filing of the report. In none of the incidents, the victims could note down the registration number of the motorcycles. All the victims are in shock.

In the above four cases, the police have registered cases under Sections 356 and 379 of the IPC. However, there is no clue of the miscreants. The police suspect those who committed these snatchings were the same bike riders, however, they are still investigating the matter. Besides, asking the complainants about the looks of the snatchers and make of the motorcycles, the police are also checking CCTV footages of different traffic junctions to gather clues.