The woman ‘snatcher’ who dressed up like a man

Kaur was seen disguised as a man and wore a pair of black sunglasses, jeans, black woollen cap, jacket and sports shoes

A 32-year-old woman who dressed up like a man and snatched cell phones and gold chains on the streets with her male friend on a bike, was arrested on Friday.

Ramanjeet Kaur alias Rinklewas.

The police said they found her involvement in nine cases of snatching, robbery and carrying weapons, reported from west Delhi’s Kirti Nagar in the past one year. The woman’s friend has also been arrested.

Vijay Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (west), said the woman, Ramanjeet Kaur alias Rinklewas, was declared a ‘habitual offender’ and an ‘externee’ in Delhi two years ago.

An externee is a person with a criminal background who is not allowed to live or return a certain area under a police station temporarily. But after her return, she went back to criminal activities.

This is the second such instance of a woman being arrested for street crimes in the last fortnight.

On January 4, a 22-year-old woman was arrested from northeast Delhi’s Karawal Nagar on alleged charges of snatching, robbing, and extortion. She too dressed like a man while committing crime.

In the latest operation, the Kirti Nagar police arrested Kaur in a robbery case. She and her aide Ramnik Singh robbed a woman of her purse containing cash and valuables on January 13. Police said the woman suffered injuries because she was manhandled and dragged on the road.

“The complainant told us that the crime was committed by two men on a Pulsar motorcycle. But on checking the footage of 37 CCTV cameras on the route, we found that the pillion rider was Kaur,” said an investigator.

In the footage, the officer said, Kaur was seen disguised as a man and wore a pair of black sunglasses, jeans, black woollen cap, jacket and sports shoes. The complainant identified Kaur as the pillion rider who had snatched her purse.

Police first arrested Singh with the help of his bike’s registration number. A country-made pistol and two cartridges were seized from him. Singh’s interrogation led to Kaur’s arrest, said police.

“Kaur was disguised as a man at the time of her arrest as well. We seized two mobile phones, four wristwatches, six snatched purses, gold and silver jewellery she purchased with the stolen money,” a police officer said. Kaur had recently purchased a flat worth Rs 16 lakh.

Kaur told police that after her husband’s arrest in 2014 in a murder case, she took to crime. She was arrested the same year with Jasjeet Singh alias Lucky, her then partner in crime.

“Kaur continued her criminal activities even after her release from the jail,” the officer added.