Rise in crime: Chandigarh police crack down on bail jumpers

Pulled up by the Punjab and Haryana high court for “pathetic” law and order in the city, Chandigarh Police have launched a crackdown on bail jumpers involved in snatchings, robberies and other street crimes.

In about a fortnight, police have registered about 30 cases, of which nine were registered on Friday, for failure to appear in court after being released on bail. Section 229A of the Indian Penal Code mentions this offence along with the punishment: up to one year in addition to the punishment if convicted for the actual offence.

Those booked for snatching and other minor crimes get bail easily, but with the condition that they would report in court on the dates fixed for hearing.

“We have started registering cases against those people who jumped bail and stopped appearing in court. Registering another case means enhancement in punishment,” said UT senior superintendent of police (SSP) Nilambari Vijay Jagdale.

“The move will help us put all criminals behind bars. The snatchers were getting bail easily, after which they used to stop appearing in court and made it difficult for us to act against them,” said another senior police officer, who did not want to be named.

More than 90 snatchings have been reported in the city this year. Other street crimes are also on the rise.

The HC, which has been hearing a petition on the rise in snatchings in the city, has come down heavily on the city police. In the recent hearing on April 25, the court had observed that law and order is “pathetic” in city. Earlier, the senior superintendent of police was summoned in March. The police have been maintaining all along that most snatchers are repeat offenders.

Meanwhile, police have also executed 34 non-bailable warrants and nabbed 28 proclaimed offenders in the past one month, mostly involved in street crimes.

“Registration of another case would not only make getting bail difficult but also put pressure on the accused,” said a police officer.

Sureties to face music too

To make guarantors accountable to produce undertrial snatchers and robbers in courts, police have started acting against them as well.

So far two guarantors — Varinder Kaur of Sector 18 and Ashok Kumar of Khuda Alisher — have been fined Rs 7,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively, after the snatchers for whom they stood as surety jumped bail.

Police officials said 38 guarantors have been put on notice as the accused stopped appearing before court. Another 30 applications are pending for notice, the official said, adding that in some cases applications have been moved to attach properties of guarantors.