Chain snatchers' gang targeting Durga puja festivities busted; 33 in police net

The police arrested 33 members, including 26 women, of a chain snatching gang here, an officer said.

The gang members, including seven men from West Bengal's Hooghly district, had arrived here on Monday to commit crimes such as mobile phone, chain and purse snatching during the Durga puja festivities, the officer said on Wednesday.

In the course of an investigation related to a chain-snatching incident near Kalbadi temple on Tuesday, police detained two women for interrogation following verification of CCTV footage, Officer-in-Charge of Bistupur police station Alok Kumar Dubey told PTI.

The two women broke down during interrogation and told police that they were part of a gang which had come to Jugsalai to commit crime during the puja festival, the officer claimed.

A police team rushed to Jugsalai and apprehended 31 others, including seven men, Dubey said.

About the modus operandi of the gang, the police officer said the gang members would visit crowded areas of the city and snatch mobile phones, chains and purses.