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Snatchers back to terrorise Panchkula residents after Covid lull
Snatching incidents in Panchkula saw a dip during the Covid pandemic-induced lockdowns; only 28 cases were reported last year compare to 61 and 45 in 2018 and 2019 respectively
With Covid-related restrictions being lifted earlier this year and things returning back to the pre-pandemic setting, snatchers are also back at it again.
Snatching incidents, which saw a dip during the Covid-induced lockdowns, are once again on the rise.
A total of 25 incidents have been reported in the district in the first five months of 2022, only three short of the 28 cases reported in the entirety of 2021.
The five-year data shared by the police department shows that the highest number of snatching incidents — 61 were reported in 2018, followed by 45 in 2019.
With the onset of the pandemic, 2020 witnessed multiple lockdowns and curfews, leading to a drop in snatching cases as well. There was a dip, with only 35 cases being reported in 2020. The figure dropped to 28 last year.
This year has seen a spurt in the cases, with 24 cases being reported in the first five months. Three cases were reported in January, a figure that doubled in February. The cases remained low for March and April, with only four and one cases, but the number rose to seven in May.
Gurmeet Kaur, a 65-year-old resident of Sector 7 who fell prey to a snatcher back in May 2015, said she was returning home from the gurdwara when two bike-borne men snatched her purse.
She lost her reading glasses, mobile phone and ₹15,000 cash, the FIR lodged in Sector 5 police station mentions. It has been over eight years, but the horror of the incident is still fresh in Kaur’s memory.
“The police did nothing. Neither, they recovered my purse nor any of my belongings,” she said, adding that she now keeps her purse and mobile phone at home whenever she steps out.
Another victim, Veena Rani, a retired government employee from Sector 21 said, “I was standing outside my house, when two bike-borne men snatched my gold chain.”
Four years after the incident took place on June 1, 2018, Rani said, “Now I have stopped wearing gold. Forget about wearing it, I don’t even keep it with me.”
Vibha Kamra also lost her purse and phone to a snatcher. Having shared the IMEI code, police managed to recover her mobile phone after a long delay, but it was no longer in a usable condition.
Data shows that of the 194 snatching incidents reported since 2018, police have managed to arrest 158 accused snatchers in 103 cases.
A total of 90 cases still remain solved. The highest pendency is from the year 2018, wherein 27 snatching incidents remain unsolved.
