The woman raised an alarm and a passer-by informed the police control room about the incident. (Representational Image)
A BIKER escaped after snatching the purse of Pooja Devi (27), near Pal Dhaba in Sector 28 on Thursday. The incident occurred around 11 am. The victim failed to note the number of the motorcycle. The purse contained Rs 800, a cellphone and some documents.
Pooja, who runs a boutique at her house, had gone to the market when a motorcyclist suddenly came near her from behind and slammed the brake. In her statement to the police, Pooja said, “I got scared after hearing the loud sound of the brake and the motorcycle. The motorcyclist, who was not wearing helmet, snatched my purse and zoomed off. I tried to take down the number of the bike but failed. He went towards the Sector 28 motor market. I came to the market to purchase equipment for my boutique.”
The woman raised an alarm and a passer-by informed the police control room about the incident. Soon, two teams, including one from the PCR wing and another from PS 26, arrived and recorded her statement. Inspector Jaspal Singh, SHO of PS 26, said, “An FIR was lodged. CCTV cameras, installed in the market, were checked but nothing came off it. Efforts are on to identify the snatcher.” A case was registered at Sector 26 police station.
Chandigarh Police is already in the eye of a storm following the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which is hearing a public interest litigation related to the spurt in snatching in the city. On Wednesday, during the hearing of a PIL, the High Court issued summons, asking the Chandigarh SSP to appear in court on April 3. The PIL was filed by senior advocate HC Arora. Around 75 incidents of snatching have been reported in Chandigarh since January 1.
Youth held for snatching chain
A youth was caught for allegedly snatching the gold chain of a woman on the dividing road of Sector 66/67 on Thursday evening. According to information, the woman, identified as Renu, was out on an evening walk with her friend. When they were near the dividing road of Sector 66/67, a youth, who was identified as Hitesh, allegedly snatched Renu’s gold chain.
Renu raised an alarm following which some people, present at the spot, caught Hitesh and handed him over to Phase 11 police. Police officials said they have received a complaint from Renu and started investigation.