Bhubaneswar: Police fail to un'mask' criminals

BHUBANESWAR: With the face mask becoming a new normal these days to fight the Covid-19 virus, the city police are faced with a new challenge to ascertain the identities of criminals, who have been committing offences wearing masks.
The matter assumes significance as different police stations in the capital city have been struggling to trace some snatchers, who decamped with chains and mobile phones from people in the last few weeks. Some theft and burglary cases too have remained undetected owing to the difficulty police are facing in unmasking the criminals.
“We do have the CCTV footages of the accused in some snatching cases. But we are unable to make any headway as the accused wore masks,” said an investigating officer.
Police said use of mask by criminals before the outbreak of Covid-19 was rare. “Earlier, people in neighbourhoods used to suspect the movement of persons in masks. Now, wearing mask is mandatory. It has become difficult for the community leaders even to keep a watch on suspicious people,” the officer said.
Experts said snatching and other offences are likely to go up as the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a blow to financial conditions of many people. “We apprehend more challenges for the police in the coming days. Police can track the movements of habitual offenders. Wearing masks, the first time offenders may also commit crimes. Police should strengthen its intelligence system to identify the culprits,” said R K Bhoi, a retired police officer.
Sources said the commissionerate police have asked police stations to remain more vigilant and urged citizens to adopt adequate safety precautions against snatching and theft. “We are watchful and have kept an eye on movement of criminals,” commissioner of police Sudhanshu Sarangi said.
Interestingly, improper use of mask helped Khurda police crack a murder case on Wednesday. Six persons, who had lowered their masks below their mouths, were captured in a liquor store’s CCTV footage while stabbing an employee of the store on Tuesday. Police identified three of them and arrested them in connection with the case.