Cops in hot pursuit: Snatchers chased on bike & foot, nabbed

Greater Noida: A traffic police constable, busy making sure that autorickshaws don’t stop in the middle of a roundabout on Wednesday, heard a woman scream. He swiftly turned his trade and chased down a 19-year-old who had snatched her bag in Surajpur area of the city.
Constable Ashish Kumar’s response earned him praise and recognition by Gautam Budh Nagar police commissioner Alok Singh, who wrote on Twitter: “Well done. Commendation follows.”
In another similar incident less than 24 later, traffic police constable Amit Kumar Hooda arrested a thief who snatched the phone of a teenager in Surajpur. Around 11.30am on Thursday, Hooda followed the snatcher on his marshal bike and later chased him on foot before nabbing him in the bylanes of a densely populated area.
Ganesh Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said both the constables will be awarded.
Police said the first incident took place around 6.30pm near the Ghanta roundabout, where the woman was waiting for conveyance, on Wednesday.
Kumar, 28, said he heard the woman raise an alarm, and realised that someone had snatched her purse. He started chasing the thief, and caught up to him almost a kilometre away.
“I was clearing autorickshaw and tempo traffic from the Dadri road at the roundabout when I heard the woman and spotted the youngster fleeing with her bag on the crowded street. I started running after him and finally caught hold of him while he was moving towards Pari Chowk. Later, I handed him over to the Surajpur police station,” Kumar said on Thursday.
The woman’s bag was recovered and handed back to her. “I'm happy that I was able to help the woman,” he said, adding that he exercises regularly to stay fit and it helps to work on the ground as a traffic cop.
Kumar belongs to Muzaffarnagar and joined the force in 2015. He was posted to Gautam Budh Nagar three years ago.
Surajpur police station SHO Awdhesh Kumar told TOI the snatcher, Ram Kumar, is a resident of the area and has been booked under relevant sections of the IPC. “He was produced before the court and sent to judicial custody,” the SHO said.
On Thursday, constable Hooda caught another snatcher. “A teenager was returning back from her coaching institute near the Durga Talkies roundabout in Surajpur, when a snatcher took off with her phone. He was chased by Amit Kumar Hooda. The accused was nabbed by him in the narrow lanes of Surajpur Kasba,” Saha said.