Hyderabad: Once considered a petty crime, chain snatching has grown to become an organised crime run by well armed offenders with high skills. Most snatchers have sharp weapons or country made firearms for use against the public if at all they are caught, senior officials say.
The gangs, most of them from other states, conduct a reconnaissance and plan the escape routes before striking the target. Lack of coordination between different state police departments helped the snatchers to move freely to different cities with arms.
Previous offences and arrests showed that the gangs coming to Hyderabad from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and other North Indian states had country made weapons with them since they could easily access the weapons in their states.
“With gold price shooting up, other property offenders now chose to snatch chains other than committing offences like vehicle lifting or burgling houses. Earlier the snatchers were not so organised. Now they really are,” said a senior official from Cyberabad adding that the gangs are armed and ready to assault the victims.
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