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Thieves posing as cops make off with two elderly women’s jewellery in Chandigarh
Thieves approached women near temples in Sectors 23 and 29 in Chandigarh to safeguard their gold jewellery and nicked it while helping them keep it in their purses
A gang of four men, robbing senior citizens of jewellery by posing as cops, struck again on Sunday, this time targeting two elderly women in Sectors 23 and 29 within a span of few hours.
Police said both victims were near temples while wearing gold jewellery, when they were targeted by the robbers.
Kanta Devi, 75, a resident of Sector 23, told the police that she was leaving Sai Temple in Sector 29 after paying obeisance on Sunday. There, a man asked her to safeguard her gold jewellery in the wake of rise in snatching cases in the city.
He led her towards two men, claiming they were cops who will help her remove her jewellery and keep it safe in her purse. Devi said the two men helped her remove her two gold bangles and one gold ring, and put them in her purse. But when she returned home, she was shocked to find only two fake bangles in the purse.
Similarly, Santosh Kumari, 69, also a resident of Sector 23, was going to SD Temple near her house on Friday, when four men stole her jewellery using the same modus operandi. She also lost two gold bangles and a gold ring.
Both victims told the police that the accused while helping them shared a fake story of a knifepoint robbery just a few hours earlier to coerce them into following their directions.
Separate cases of cheating and criminal conspiracy have been registered at the Industrial Area and Sector 17 police stations, respectively.
This was the third such incident in the city in the past one month. In the first case, four men, posing as crime branch officials, had taken away 70-year-old Kamlesh Rani’s gold and diamond jewellery from Sector 22 on November 18.
All three incidents were captured in CCTV cameras installed in the respective areas, but so far police have failed to make any headway.
‘Seniors should remain alert’
Shruti Arora, superintendent of police (SP, City), Chandigarh said, “The gang is targeting elderly women around religious institutes and mostly during morning hours. It appears to be an inter-state gang, as such incidents have been reported in Panchkula and different parts of Punjab as well. ”
Stating that instructions had been passed to increase PCR patrolling near religious places, she urged senior citizens to remain extra vigilant when stepping out alone and not to engage in conversations with strangers. If approached by men with similar tactics, the police should be immediately alerted.
