Cops advise pedestrians to use footpaths, to avoid Chain snatching

In a bid to check rising instances of chain snatching in the city, cops advise pedestrians to use footpaths

Assistant Commissioner of Police Sangramsinh Nishandar of the Crime Branch has advised pedestrians to walk on the footpath to protect themselves against chain-snatchers. "Pedestrians who walk on the road become vulnerable to attacks by chain snatchers, who come riding on bikes, snatch gold jewellery off pedestrians and zoom away. If one keeps to the footpaths, one is out of reach of chain snatchers," explained Nishandar.u00a0

Evenings worst
"Eighty per cent of chain-snatching incidents take place between 6 pm and 8.30 pm in lonely stretches of the Vishrambagwada, Kothrud and Warje neighbourhoods. The Crime Branch has released sketches of suspects based on the description provided by eyewitnesses to the Vishrambagwada police station on Monday.

Call 100
"Call the police control room number 100 in the first 10 minutes of a chain snatching incident, so the the police can swing into action early. We created four four anti-chain-snatching squads recently, comprising eight to 10 members each, led by an inspector to tackle the menace. We have also beefed up patrolling in the city to nab the miscreants," Nishandar added.

Prashant Inamdar, the convener of the NGO Pedestrian First, said it needs to be understood why pedestrians walk on the road instead of the footpath.

"The administration has a careless attitude towards maintaining footpaths. Moreover, many footpaths have been encroached by hawkers, leaving little space for pedestrians, who have no option but to walk on the road," said Inamdar.