Courts must act tough in chain snatching cases: Experts

Hyderabad: Experts say that lack of severe punishment is the main reason for the rise in chain snatching incidents. In most incidents, the criminals, after being released from prison, commit the same offence. Severe punishments and invoking the PD Act against the accused may prevent offences, say experts.

In many cases, police register a theft case under Section 379 or “use of criminal force for attempt to steal” under Section 356 of IPC. The punishment for these charges is imprisonment up to two years. In many cases, the accused come out on bail in one or two months. And after lying low for sometime, they resort to the same offences again.

“The main reason behind chain snatching is that they can gain a booty at one go, unlike dacoity and robbery that needs planning. Since the punishment is also less, they opt for these offences.” said a senior official.

In order to curb chain snatching, special provision should be enacted under the law. Rules similar to dacoity and robbery offences, which invite imprisonment up to 10 years, needs to be enacted.

“A case under Section 354 for outraging the modesty of a woman should also be booked, as the offenders attack woman and harass them to take the ornaments. The accused can get maximum punishment,” said advocate A. Chandra Shekar.