Residents of Arun Vihar worry as snatchers strike twice in one day

Two incidents of snatching in a span of a few hours on Wednesday sparked panic among residents of Arun Vihar and raised concerns over the law and order situation in the area.

According to residents, armed men snatched valuables in the morning and a cellphone later in the day.

One of the victims, Mukesh Chandra, a resident of Sector 28, said he was robbed of his gold chain by two armed, unidentified bikers.

“I had gone for a morning walk like I have been doing for the past 10 years. I always take the same route to the Shaheed Smarak. Today, when I had crossed DPS around 6.45am, two men on a motorcycle came from Sector 37 and engaged in a meaningless conversation with me,” Chandra said.

He added that soon enough, the pillion rider got off and put a hand around his neck to see if Chandra was wearing a chain. “Before I could resist, the other man told him to take out a pistol after which they took my gold ring. I didn’t have anything else on me except a fitness tracker and they didn’t seem interested in that,” the victim said.

In the other incident, a phone was snatched from a woman near the Army Public School by a biker.

Residents said both the incidents occurred within hours of each other.

“We are fed up with the law and order situation. In the past few months, there have been multiple incidents of snatching, burglaries and robberies and people are angry. As the local representative, we are unhappy with policing,” said Colonel (retired) Shashi Vaid, chairman of the Arun Vihar Residents Welfare Association.

Police said they had taken cognisance of the matter. “We are investigating the cases. CCTV footage would be scanned and we will take necessary action soon,” said Shwetabh Pandey, circle officer 1.

On October 19, nine houses were burgled on the intervening night of July 6 and 7 in this neighbourhood.