Chain snatching: police still groping in the dark

By Marri Ramu

HYDERABAD, JULY 22. The spree of chain snatching incidents in the city in recent times appears to have put the police at its wits end. Even as a dragnet was spread to nab the culprit with the Rakshaks and Blue Colts roped in, `he' seems to be elusive. And till now, no one knows if it is one person or a gang involved in the crime.

An unprecedented 45 chain snatching cases were reported in the last two months and 11 had occurred so far this month with a majority of them being reported from the West Zone.

Though police suspect that one, Raja Goud, a known offender, could be behind the incidents, they are not too sure. The accused was earlier convicted for chain snatching but his current whereabouts are not known.

A close examination of the chain snatchings reveal that the culprit, currently on the most wanted list of the City Police, has been very meticulous as far as `selection' of his victims and snatching spots are concerned.

In almost all the cases, his targets were lone women walking on the road or standing near their house. It is also apparent the thief has his escape route well etched out before he gets into the act. The theft location is generally at a place with many lanes and bylanes and parallel roads making it possible for him to evade the police.

This could be the reason why the police despite deployed in large numbers are unable to lay their hands on him. It was only on one occasion that a Blue Colts team came close to catching the thief. His `modus operandi' appears to be to get familiarised with the topography of the area and wait for the right moment to strike.

This is evident in the incident which happened inside the Venkataramana colony under the Panjagutta police station limits few days back. A housewife, Mrs. Sitamahalakshmi, was robbed of her five-tola gold chain when she was standing outside her house in the evening.

She is positive of having seen the thief on a street corner 15 minutes prior to the snatching. "That man was acting as if he was speaking on a cell phone but I realised there was no instrument in his hand," she recalled. The thief patiently waited till Sitamahalakshmi was alone and committed his act.

Within half-an-hour of the incident, he struck again taking away the gold chain of another woman, Mrs. Aruna of Jaffar Ali Bagh. A major constraint being faced by the police in nabbing the culprit is the delay in receipt of information when an incident occurs.

This time lag is helping the culprit or culprits escape. Police suspect the chain snatcher to be part of a gang though no concrete evidence has come to light. In few cases, however, two people are involved in the theft - one driving the two-wheeler while another is doing the snatching. Interestingly, a blue scooter was involved in many cases.

Police rounded up and interrogated 120 known chain snatchers in the city but nothing had come out of it. The City Police Commissioner, Mr. P. Ramulu, admits no clues were available but is confident that they would catch him "within three or four days".

He urged people to inform the police immediately whenever chain snatching occurs to the nearest police station or the Police Control Room at phones - 7852432,4577349 or on the telephone No.100.

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Section  : Southern States
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