Woman corporator and 80-year-old among victims of chain snatching on Makar Sankranti day
Woman corporator and 80-year-old among victims of chain snatching on Makar Sankranti dayu00a0
The gangs of chain snatchers are sparing no time and efforts to make their presence felt. In a span of 24 hours, as many as five cases of chain snatching were reported from different parts of the city on the day of Makar Sankranti.
Just a day before Commissioner of Police Meeran Borwankar had voiced her concern about the rising incidents of petty crimes in the city.
The police had employed heavy bandobast on the day of Makar Sankranti, as women come out in large numbers decked in heavy jewellery. However, jewellery worth Rs 3 lakh was looted in the five incidents.
Borwankar had admitted in a press conference that the police wereu00a0 successful in solving more than 90 per cent cases of major crimes like murder, attempted murder and dacoity, but small crimes like chain snatching and vehicle thefts were still a matter of concern.
A necklace worn by PMC corporator Kavita Vairage was snatched on Saturday evening on the Nehru Road in Gultekdi area by two unidentified men who had come on a motorcycle. The complainant said the necklace was worth Rs 90,000. A case has been registered at the Khadak police station in this regard and police sub-inspector Nikam is investigating the case.
In the second incident, an 80-year-old woman Geeta Dwarakanath Kelkar from the plush Patwardhan Baug area, was robbed of her mangalsutra worth Rs 40,000 at 5.30 pm in Erandwane. The chain snatchers had also come on a motorcycle and fled immediately. Assistant police inspector S D Deshmukh is investigating the case.
In a third incident in Nigdi around 2.30pm, gold chain and mangalsutra worth Rs 58,000 were snatched from a 30-year-old woman Manisha Jagtap. In two more cases on the same day, one in Vishrantwadi and the other in Tingarenagar, two women were robbed of their gold chains. In none of the above cases the robbers have been identified.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Prabhakar Patil said: "We had urged citizens to be cautious on this day. Women walking alone on the streets are always a soft target. The investigation in all the cases is on."
