‘We recover stolen items, but not money’
There was a recent circular about chain snatchers being booked for robbery instead of theft since the punishment for the former is more severe. Will this help?
There was a recent circular about chain snatchers being booked for robbery instead of theft since the punishment for the former is more severe. Will this help?
If a chain snatcher uses a weapon that injures the victim, we will book him for robbery for which the punishment is 10 years’ rigorous punishment. Otherwise, he will be booked on charges of theft, which is punishable with imprisonment, which may extend to three years or with fine or both.
Chain snatchers continue go back to their old ways days soon after procuring bail. Does this mean their arrest does not act as a deterrent?
It would be wrong to say that there is no deterrent. Those arrested in cases of chain snatching serve jail term. They also have to shell out some money to pay their lawyers and manage surety for their bail.
Even if they are behind bars, they still have some cash left with them, which makes this crime lucrative for them.
That is the case in white-collar crimes as well. Tracking down stolen goods and ornaments is easier than following cash transactions. However, our officers have been working hard and the instances of chain-snatching cases in the city have gone down as compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.