Zooming chain-snatchers a real threat on roads

ALLAHABAD: With a passion of riding swanky bikes and donning branded attire, Vikas and scores of his ilk who can ill afford the luxury opt for an easy way out -- chain-snatching! The culprit who was nabbed by the city police a couple of months back was an intermediate dropout and son of a peon of a state government office.
With a sudden spurt in incidents of chain-snatching on city roads baffling the police, in an attempt to put an effective check on the menace, SP city Awadhesh Kumar Vijeta has identified 25 checking points in addition to the existing ones.A sub-inspector and two constables would be deployed here during peak hours to conduct checking of vehicles. The emphasis has been laid to concentrate upon the police stations under which the maximum incidents have occurred within a short span of time, Vijeta pointed out.
What makes the job of identifying chain-snatchers more difficult is the fact that rarely any culprit continues chain-snatching once he is arrested. Over the past two years, over a dozen chain-snatchers have been nabbed and all of them are first timers with no previous history of snatching or loot, informed a police official.
They essentially look for upper middle-class areas. There is little or no neighbourhood surveillance. They choose calm localities to crowded ones. While the stretch from Hindu hostel crossing up to Hanuman temple crossing proves to be an ideal spot, similar isolated areas of Darbhanga, George Town, Tagore Town, parts of Meerapur and parts of Chaitham Lines-Govindpur road are usually affected by chain-snatching, claimed traffic inspector I P Singh. In crowded areas like Katra, Colonelganj or Kareli, the snatchers do not strike for the fear of being caught, he stated, adding, they look for easy exits and many escape routes.
After senior officials sat down to analyse the vantage points and places of residence of the culprits arrested so far, it was gathered that though the snatchers originate from all over the district, but preference is accorded to only these areas.
Meanwhile, currently motorcycle borne snatchers are giving sleepless nights to the police. They wear full-faced helmets and target women walking or traveling on isolated roads. In the evenings, ill-illuminated streets are an advantage. The rider comes with great speed from the opposite direction. He can take a U-turn without even reducing the speed. While the pillion snatches chains, the motorcycle goes into a wheelie for some distance, before zooming into the darkness.
Even before snatching the chain, the pillion makes sure he gets the angle right. If it is not, he raises his hand as if he is going to beat the victim. When the victim ducks to escape, he gets the proper angle.
*Where does the loot go?
The most convenient place for selling off the loot is the small time jewellers located in isolated pockets of the city. The Meeraganj market of jewellers too happens to be a favourite spot of snatchers where jewellers readily buy looted items at throw away prices. At times information leaked during the transaction process has resulted in chain-snatchers being nabbed, but this has happened on rare occasions.
*Look out !
l Be cautions of suspicious looking bike riders who tend to follow or drive in close range. Try to catch a glimpse of the number plate and other visible identification marks of the snatchers as well as the vehicle used
l Immediately inform the police control room and provide maximum details about the direction towards which the snatchers are headed
l Rider comes with great speed from opposite direction, and sometimes takes U-turn
l Pillion snatches chain, motorcycle does wheelie and zooms off
l Pillion may raise hand to hit victim, to confuse her and get the angle right