Hyderabad: In the second week of February this year, the Commissioner's Task Force arrested interstate chain snatcher Nitesh Jagannath Dhapale alias Deepak Patil, 34, a resident of Mumbai and native of Karnataka. Police said Nitesh who operated in many cities in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, considered Hyderabad his luckiest. The most vulnerable women he found were those near temples in Hyderabad in the mornings when the roads are generally deserted. Nitesh knew that women go to the temple wearing gold and it is the right time to strike.
Nitesh managed to snatch gold chains from nine women devotees within a month in Hyderabad before he retreated to his safe haven in Rajasthan. Like Nitesh, there are many more chain snatchers who lurk near temples to rob women devotees. According to police, majority of the chain snatching victims in the city were either returning from or going to temples when the snatchers targeted them. According to city police, more than 60 per cent of the total number of victims were frequent visitors to temples.
The snatchers conducted recce near temples and struck when the roads are less crowded. Senior police officials say that most women wear their best jewellery during temple visits, which make them more prone to robbery. According to officials from Crime Records Bureau, most cases of chain snaching occurred before 8 am, near temple or many meters away from the temple, when the area is less crowded.
“Among the victims, a large number of women were in their late 40s or 50s. They went to the temples alone wearing their jewellery. The snatchers must have followed them and waited for a better moment to strike,” said an official. Officials say that the snatchers usually wait near comparatively small temples, where the numbers of devotees are less in order to avoid risk of police vigil and the crowd. Ms K. Vijaya from Bandlaguda, who was targeted by snatchers when she was walking back to her home after visiting a temple, said that nobody was there to hear her cry for help when she got robbed since it was morning.
Snatched gold going outside
With the city police increasing surveillance on pawn shops and small jewellers in the city, snatchers are moving to neighbouring districts and states to dispose of snatched gold even at half the value. Karnataka and Maharashtra are the prime destinations of the gold snatched from Hyderabad. Earlier, most snatchers used to mortgage or sell their gold to private finance firms in the city. The small jewellers also used to buy stolen gold, paying less than the market value.
The city police then started booking the receivers for accepting the property, which almost stopped the practice. “Now, the snatchers are moving to other districts and states to sell it for a lower price. Recovery of the item once a case is detected becomes difficult because of this practice,” said a senior police official.
New measures not too effective
Despite introducing new measures and arming the police squad with small arms to tackle and contain chain snatchers, there has been no significant decline in the number of chain snatching cases. The offenders have no reluctance to strike even at the “safest area” like IT corridor, where maximum number of cops are deployed for security. Both native and interstate snatchers still have a free run on the outskirts and in the twin cities. More than 170 snatching cases have been reported so far this year in the city.
One-and-a-half years ago, when a series of chain snatchings occurred in parts of the city, police, especially the Cyberabad team, had taken up various measures including equipping a special anti-snatching squad with guns and bikes. The cops had also initiated methods to bring about awareness among women on how to be safe. However, after a brief lull, the snatchers were back in action again. Cyberabad has nearly 2,000 surveillance cameras. But women commuters say even this area is not safe.
Areas of LB Nagar, Vanasthalipuram, Ibrahimpatnam, Saroornagar, Meerpet, Manchal, Chaitanya-puri, Hayathnagar, Maheshwaram, Kandukur and Adibat-la, Rajendranagar, Kukatpally have the highest rates of chain snatchings in the city, police records show. “There are new gangs of snatchers on the prowl and it is impossible for authorities to stop the crime fully considering the vastness of the area where they are operating. There are so many residential areas and prone areas here. Now, we are conducting monthly assessments of anti-chain snatching squads in order to improve the results,” said a senior official from Rachakonda.
