COIMBATORE: Twenty-six-year-old Lavanya was riding pillion on her father’s motorcycle, heading towards the
Coimbatore Railway Junction to catch the
Intercity Express to Chennai on the evening of March 4. Her dad
Vellingiri, a special sub-inspector of police attached to the Ukkadam (law&order) Police Station, was in uniform. When the duo reached the
North Taluk Office, a man on a motorcycle snatched Lavanya’s one sovereign gold
chain and sped away.
The incident lays bare serious shortcomings to check chain snatching incidents, that are giving the city a bad name. Chain snatchers are throwing an open challenge to police and the message is loud and clear — catch us if you can.
As per the data available with the city police, snatching incidents are on the rise. As many as 29 chain snatching cases were reported from January to March 10 this year. Police have managed to solve about 19 cases so far. Women in the city lost more than 50 sovereigns of gold chains worth Rs 11.68 lakh. Police commissioner
K Periaiah told TOI that they managed to recover about 30 sovereigns of gold chains and arrested more than 10 chain snatchers in the last two months.
According to police sources, most of the chain snatchers hail from the neighbouring districts. “After committing the deed, they flee from the city and strike at other districts. So, it is not easy to trace them,” a police officer said.
Periaiah said that the city police have prepared a data bank, which contains photographs and addresses of chain snatchers. “Once they come out of the prison, special police teams monitor them closely,” he said.
Many first-time offenders looking for easy money resort to chain snatching, Periaiah said. “School and college dropouts have been involving in chain snatching incidents. Some of them are addicted to alcohol and drugs. They want money to fuel their habit. They mainly target middle-aged women in the city as they rarely fight back. The snatchers know that they can easily pledge the stolen gold at shops in other districts. We have also issued warnings to goldsmiths and pawn brokers against buying stolen gold ornaments from the snatchers,” he said.
“We have identified Nanjundapuram Road, Trichy Road under the Ramanthapuram police limits, Ganapathy and Saravanapatti under the Saravanampatti police limits and Race Course police limits as hotspots of chain snatching and have increased vehicle checks across the city,” Periaiah added.
Meanwhile, police sources said that in 2016, certain police officers had severely assaulted some notorious chain snatchers, leading to broken legs. “After the incident, they were not able to walk properly for more than two years. As a result, chain snatching incidents came down drastically. However, the snatchers managed to come out of the prison after securing conditional bail and as a result, the number of snatching cases increased again in 2017 and 2018,” an officer said.
Chain snatching incidents are increasing in rural Coimbatore also. In 2017, as many as 51 incidents were reported. Perianaickenpalayam, Thudiyalur, Vadavalli and Pollachi are the chain snatching hotspots in the rural areas.
