52-year-old member of women snatchers’ gang targeting PGI patients held
Accused took advantage of crowds and snatched gold items using a cutter; the gang was operating for last six years
A 52-year-old woman snatcher was caught by alert bystanders as she attempted to steal the gold chain and purse of a 60-year-old woman boarding a bus at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) while her accomplice managed to flee, police said on Thursday.
Chinder alias Ruldi of Bagriya village in Sangrur was part of an organised gang that frequently targeted people visiting the hospital. She was waiting at the PGIMER bus stop with her accomplice Premo and grabbed Preeto’s chain and purse containing ₹150 and an Aadhaar card as she boarded the bus.
As Preeto, a resident of Kansal village, raised an alarm, alert bystanders managed to catch hold of Ruldi while Premo fled and handed her over to the police.
Ruldi is married and part of a six-member women’s gang operating at the PGIMER campus for the last six years. “She and her accomplices would take advantage of the crowds and snatch gold items with the help of a cutter that cuts gold articles easily,” police said.
The gang stole from people at PGIMER, especially patients who were distracted while filling forms and completing admission processes. They could not be nabbed earlier as complaints were filed by the victims after the crime had been committed and the gang members had left the area, police said.
A case under section 379(theft) and 356(use of criminal force to commit crime) of Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Sector 11 police station.
