Spurt in snatching cases in Patiala, 8 cases reported till mid-September
The police said they have installed CCTV cameras and increased night patrolling in the city but there is no dip in the incidents
Snatching incidents are on rise as more than eight cases in different parts of the city have been reported so far this month.
The residents said that the city is no longer safe especially during the night.
Most victims of snatching incidents in the city have been women, especially during the wee hours of the morning when they are out for walks. Public places including railway stations and bus stations are becoming common places for snatchers to strike.
The police said they have installed CCTV cameras and increased night patrolling in the city but there is no dip in the incidents.
On Saturday morning, two unidentified persons on a motorcycle attacked a 28-year-old woman. They struck her on the head with an iron rod while she was out for a morning walk but their bid to snatch a gold chain from her neck was unsuccessful.
“The accused dragged her by the hair for a few metres before fleeing. She was rushed to the local hospital, where she got stitches on her head,” said Vinay Kumar, a resident of Tripari area.
In another incident, a local resident, Nishat Sharma, was waylaid by unknown miscreants on Bahadurgarh-Ghanaur road on Friday night.
Sanaur station house officer (SHO) Karamjit Singh said his complainant said that unidentified men looted him of his gold chain, ring, mobile and ₹4,500 at gunpoint.
On September 1, Suman Lata was robbed by unidentified snatchers when she was out for a morning walk in SST Nagar, police said
“The accused hit her on the head with an iron rod and looted her of gold chain and bangles ,” the police said.
A snatching victims, pleading anonymity, said the police was reluctant in registering a case.
“Police labelled it a minor incident and asked me to go back home. On being pressurised, they registered a case but no investigation has been done so far,” the victim said.
Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Yogesh Kumar, said the investigation on all the incidences are ongoing and police has rounded up several habitual snatchers, who were out on bail in different cases.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP), Mandeep Singh Sidhu, said that police teams have carried out crime mapping numerous times to identify vulnerable spots across the city.
“We have already increased patrolling. Also, police stations across the city have been directed to respond to distress calls immediately,” the SSP said.