Hyderabad: Bike-borne chain-snatchers have free run

Hyderabad: Five cases of chain snatching have been reported at four police stations in close proximity to each other in less than a month. The police suspect that a single gang may have been responsible for all the incidents. They have intensified vigilance in areas where cases are being reported.

Bike-borne snatchers looted two women in Saroornagar — one on November 13, and the other on November 24. They also looted a woman in Chaitanyapuri last Sunday, and another in Vanasthalipuram on Thursday. All these places are located within a five km radius.

According to the cops, in four of the five incidents, the snatchers used a bike. The driver wore a helmet and the pillion rider, who snatched the jewellery off of the victims, was masked.

“We suspect that the same duo was involved in all four cases. They are robbing women during the morning hours, before 10 am. Surpri-singly, in all the cases reported so far, the victims were very close to their homes at the time of the incident,” said a senior cop from Rachakonda.

In the incident that occurred in Chaitanyapuri, when the robbers tried snatching the chain from their victim, she fell down and sustained injuries.

With the incidence of such cases on the rise, citizens are worried. The police have intensified patrolling and visible policing. 

“Special teams have already been formed to track down the chain-snatchers,” the official said.

He added that they were checking if interstate offenders, who had been arrested before and subsequently granted bail, were involved in the incidents.