Youth loses cash, mobile phone, scooter to bike-borne snatchers

Jalandhar, August 25

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A 22-year-old employee of The Tribune printing press at Bulandpur in Jalandhar was robbed by two bike-borne assailants on Friday night. The victim sustained an injury on his collar bone in the incident.

The victim identified as Manoj Kumar (22) was heading to duty at the printing press on Friday night when two bike-borne persons attacked him. The suspects kicked victim’s Activa scooter due to which he fell on the road. The suspects snatched victim’s scooter, a mobile phone and Rs 3,500 cash kept in the two-wheeler trunk and fled from the spot. Both bike-borne men were wearing masks.

They pushed Manoj while he was driving two-wheeler after which he fell on the road. The victim’s collar bone got fractured due to the impact of his fall on the road. The injured victim was taken to a hospital. His shoulder has been tied up in a cast due to which he would not be able to work for two months.

Press employees said since last year, several incidents of looting and snatching had been reported from area. They said the crime was on the rise since five to six months.

An FIR under Section 304 of the BNS was registered in this connection at the Maqsudan police station against one unidentified person. The assailants are still at large. An employee at the press said, “Repeated snatching incidents pose a huge threat to workers. We need a patrol vehicle every night to keep a watch over criminal elements in the area. The work at the printing press was delayed on Friday night after the incident. Other employees have also lost their mobile phones and cash to snatchers.”

Similar incident was reported on April 24 when a printing press employee was chased and threatened by men wielding swords with an intention of looting him. The victim managed to save himself after he made repeated pleas to the assailants to spare him. The entire incident was captured in footage of the CCTV cameras installed near the spot.

Yadvinder Singh, SHO, Maqsudan, said, “An FIR has been registered in the case. Footage of the CCTV cameras in the entire area is being reviewed to identify snatchers. The previous footage dump is also being checked to find clues about snatchers active in the region.” The SHO said second unidentified assailant would also be named in the FIR.

HPS Khakh, SSP, Jalandhar, said, “Officials have been instructed to register FIRs for all sorts of crimes whether big or small to ensure speedy justice to victims. Patrol teams would be deployed in the area. Officials have been asked to hold meetings with victims. Security personnel deployed at offices have been told to take steps to prevent such incidents.”