Cellphone snatched on EM Bypass

Kolkata: The city police have intensified surveillance along the EM Bypass following yet another mobile phone-snatching incident near the Panchannagram bus stop, marking the seventh such theft this year on EM Bypass.The victim, Raj Kumar Mulik, a resident of Ramnagar in South 24 Parganas, reported that the crime occurred on April 30 while he was waiting near the VIP Bazar area. Though the incident took place just before the declaration of the recent election results, the formal FIR was lodged this Sunday, prompting an immediate response from the Lalbazar detective dept.According to the complainant, he was standing in a designated dealer's area near the EM Bypass around 9 pm when two unidentified miscreants, estimated to be between 30 and 35 years old, approached him on foot. The snatchers reportedly targeted his smartphone and snatched it before fleeing the scene into the darkness.This specific stretch of the bypass, spanning from the Abhishikta crossing to Parama Island, has become a significant point of concern for commuters and residents alike, with at least seven similar snatching cases reported since the beginning of the year.