Snatching chains was their way of seeking a better life in Ahmedabad
Wasim, 19, who was caught for chain-snatching, said he took to the crime to fund his drug habit.
A 17-year old accomplice of Wasim said he snatches chains to keep up his luxurious lifestyle.
Satish, 19, is heavily in debt and has turned to the lucrative business of chain snatching to pay his creditors.
Ramesh (name changed), a 24-year-old who robs senior citizens, claims he does it to feed his widowed mother. He earlier worked with
ICICI Bank as marketing agent, but says his salary was a pittance and so he had to take to crime.
The young men quoted above are among the dozen-odd criminals arrested by city cops on Tuesday, on charges of chain snatching.
Mostly school dropouts and very poor, many of them live in the Walled city area, and rely on the crime to fetch them just about enough money to feed their dependents. At the same time, there are also those that have taken to chain snatching in order to sustain the 'lifestyle' they are accustomed to.
Speak to these young criminals, and you realise that there is a number of reasons and factors that led them to crime. And cops in the city who understand their plight, say that it will be impossible to weed out such crimes, till the
time society gives equal and fair chance to every stratum of society.
Where chain snatching incidents go, youngsters in the age group of 17 to 25 are the ones who're most active. This age group mainly targets senior citizens, especially women, and makes away with gold chains. According to data available with the city police, 220 incidents of chain snatching have been reported till September 2010, while the same figure was 304 last year.
"The decrease in the number of chain snatching incidents has nothing to do better policing. Many of these young men do a proper recce of the area they plan to strike, and they hardly fail in their attempts. We will not be able to curb this nuisance till these young people get their share of social as well as economic opportunities," said a senior police officer from sector 1.
"Each one of these criminals has a different reason for foraying into the world of crime," adds sub-inspector VS Champavat, who caught three chain snatchers on Tuesday.
Interestingly, many chain snatchers commit the
crime only once or twice a month. In most cases, they manage to steal chains worth between Rs15,000 and Rs20,000, depending on their luck. But the amount is sufficient to last them a month, say cops.
Psychologist Dr Gaurang Jani says that the ostentation that the youth are constantly exposed to, via various media, is an important factor leading them to crime.
"We live under constant external influences, and ideas such the one that women look best with jewellery are drilled into us. Youths are told to be ambitious, but the means by which to attain success are not clearly spelt out. All this glitter makes them want to reach out for it. And when they can't attain it, they resort to crime," he says.
A 17-year old accomplice of Wasim said he snatches chains to keep up his luxurious lifestyle.
Satish, 19, is heavily in debt and has turned to the lucrative business of chain snatching to pay his creditors.
Ramesh (name changed), a 24-year-old who robs senior citizens, claims he does it to feed his widowed mother. He earlier worked with
ICICI Bank as marketing agent, but says his salary was a pittance and so he had to take to crime.
The young men quoted above are among the dozen-odd criminals arrested by city cops on Tuesday, on charges of chain snatching.
Mostly school dropouts and very poor, many of them live in the Walled city area, and rely on the crime to fetch them just about enough money to feed their dependents. At the same time, there are also those that have taken to chain snatching in order to sustain the 'lifestyle' they are accustomed to.
Speak to these young criminals, and you realise that there is a number of reasons and factors that led them to crime. And cops in the city who understand their plight, say that it will be impossible to weed out such crimes, till the
time society gives equal and fair chance to every stratum of society.
Where chain snatching incidents go, youngsters in the age group of 17 to 25 are the ones who're most active. This age group mainly targets senior citizens, especially women, and makes away with gold chains. According to data available with the city police, 220 incidents of chain snatching have been reported till September 2010, while the same figure was 304 last year.
"The decrease in the number of chain snatching incidents has nothing to do better policing. Many of these young men do a proper recce of the area they plan to strike, and they hardly fail in their attempts. We will not be able to curb this nuisance till these young people get their share of social as well as economic opportunities," said a senior police officer from sector 1.
"Each one of these criminals has a different reason for foraying into the world of crime," adds sub-inspector VS Champavat, who caught three chain snatchers on Tuesday.
Interestingly, many chain snatchers commit the
crime only once or twice a month. In most cases, they manage to steal chains worth between Rs15,000 and Rs20,000, depending on their luck. But the amount is sufficient to last them a month, say cops.
Psychologist Dr Gaurang Jani says that the ostentation that the youth are constantly exposed to, via various media, is an important factor leading them to crime.
"We live under constant external influences, and ideas such the one that women look best with jewellery are drilled into us. Youths are told to be ambitious, but the means by which to attain success are not clearly spelt out. All this glitter makes them want to reach out for it. And when they can't attain it, they resort to crime," he says.
Gold rush: Chain snatching the rage on trains in Mumbai
With the price of gold soaring, crimes on local trains are increasingly acquiring a yellow tinge. “Criminals who earlier picked pockets and stole mobile phones have switched to chain snatching because of an assured reward,” said a police officer attached to the Dadar railway police station. In 2009, Rs96 lakh worth of gold chains were snatched on Mumbai’s local trains, an increase of 30% over the year before.
Pick-pocketing and mobile theft is no longer a lucrative business for other reasons, according to the officer. Commuters are keeping less cash in wallets, preferring to carry credit debit cards instead. In the case of mobiles, the prices of branded phones are decreasing by the day, and some people now use cheap China-made phones. Besides, branded cell phones have the IMEI number, with which the police can track down the handset, making it difficult to sell off the phone, the officer said.
So shiny has the chain-snatching business become that people of varied backgrounds are trying their hand at it, including a former bar girl and a peanut seller.
The Thane railway police recently arrested Ashok Shinde, 20, along with his associate Swapnil Mahadik, 20, for snatching a 40-gram gold chain and the cell phone of a college student at Diva station. A first-time offender, Shinde, a resident of Diva, took to robbing gold ornaments as it would fetch him more than what he earned by hawking peanuts at Kalyan station, said inspector Shivaji Dhumal, who was earlier with the Thane railway police station.
In another case, former bar girl Yasmin alias Reshma Jaykumar Devender, 21, was arrested by the Mumbai railway crime branch officials for chain-snatching and pick-pocketing in the ladies compartments, and recovered gold ornaments and cash, collectively worth Rs96,000.
A police officer said that even the minor children of women selling flowers in the ladies compartments, women wearing burkhas, and drug addicts have taken to the crime.
Police inspector Kishore Pasalkar, attached to the crime branch of Mumbai railway police, said, “A special team of women constables has been formed to tackle chain-snatching in the ladies compartments. They wear costly saris andgold ornaments on crowded locals to nab the offenders.”
Pick-pocketing and mobile theft is no longer a lucrative business for other reasons, according to the officer. Commuters are keeping less cash in wallets, preferring to carry credit debit cards instead. In the case of mobiles, the prices of branded phones are decreasing by the day, and some people now use cheap China-made phones. Besides, branded cell phones have the IMEI number, with which the police can track down the handset, making it difficult to sell off the phone, the officer said.
So shiny has the chain-snatching business become that people of varied backgrounds are trying their hand at it, including a former bar girl and a peanut seller.
The Thane railway police recently arrested Ashok Shinde, 20, along with his associate Swapnil Mahadik, 20, for snatching a 40-gram gold chain and the cell phone of a college student at Diva station. A first-time offender, Shinde, a resident of Diva, took to robbing gold ornaments as it would fetch him more than what he earned by hawking peanuts at Kalyan station, said inspector Shivaji Dhumal, who was earlier with the Thane railway police station.
In another case, former bar girl Yasmin alias Reshma Jaykumar Devender, 21, was arrested by the Mumbai railway crime branch officials for chain-snatching and pick-pocketing in the ladies compartments, and recovered gold ornaments and cash, collectively worth Rs96,000.
A police officer said that even the minor children of women selling flowers in the ladies compartments, women wearing burkhas, and drug addicts have taken to the crime.
Police inspector Kishore Pasalkar, attached to the crime branch of Mumbai railway police, said, “A special team of women constables has been formed to tackle chain-snatching in the ladies compartments. They wear costly saris andgold ornaments on crowded locals to nab the offenders.”
New trends in chain-snatching
Chain-snatchers in the city are now inducting women as partners in their crimes
The heat is on chain-snatchers following special orders by the police chief DN Pathak to rein the crime in the city.
Along with there is perceptible, and crucial, change in the modus operandi being adopted by the offenders. For one, the Bhoiwada police recently nabbed a two people, among them a woman, for snatching chains worth at least Rs36,000.
The helmet-borne Hasamuddin Qureshi alias Toli, 21, would ride his motorcycle while his woman accomplice, Sabiha Shaikh, 41, in burqa would participate in the crime.
Inspector Bharat Gaikwad of the Bhoiwada police said, “Toli is a resident of Mumbra, while his pillion Sabiya lives at Nagpada in South Mumbai.
Besides a Suzuki motorcycle, we have recovered stolen gold chains worth Rs 36,000 from the duo.”
“Sabiya, who has been indulging in chain-snatching for the past one year, has been arrested for the first time. Her son Yunus Bond, 21, who is close friend of Qureshi, was also involved in several cases of chain-snatching,” Gaikwad added.
Taking about the new trend in chain-snatching, Gaikwad said, “If the pillion rider is a woman, then nobody suspects her to be involved in chain-snatching. They can easily pull off the crime. In fact, the police in many cases never intercept the biker if pillion is woman. Therefore, the new trend.”
The Bhoiwada police zeroed in on the offenders after Sangita Kule, 36, a Parel-resident, reported being robbed of her Rs8,000-worth chain while she was walking on the Shirodkar Street near KEM Hospital on January 1 evening.
Incidentally, the biker had his helmet on while the woman pillion rider in burqa snatched her gold chain.
When Kule chased her on foot and screamed ‘chor, chor’, the pillion rider signalled her that it was no use following them and, the motorcycle sped away towards Lalbaug.
A little over than a fortnight later, Minaxi Gaikwad, 32, also living at Parel, had come out for a after-dinner walk in the same area when a biker approached her and snatched her chain weighing three tolas, worth Rs28,000.
Gaikwad had even managed to catch hold of the robber’s hand, but the woman pillion rider rapped her hard on her hand and Gaikwad had to let go. Again the motocycle sped away towards Lalbaug.
Acting on the information in the above two cases, the police laid a trap near KEM Hospital on January 21 and arrested Sabiha and Toli under sections 379 (theft) and 34 (common intention).
The duo was transferred to the Agripada police station on Saturday, as they were wanted there in chain-snatching cases.
The heat is on chain-snatchers following special orders by the police chief DN Pathak to rein the crime in the city.
Along with there is perceptible, and crucial, change in the modus operandi being adopted by the offenders. For one, the Bhoiwada police recently nabbed a two people, among them a woman, for snatching chains worth at least Rs36,000.
The helmet-borne Hasamuddin Qureshi alias Toli, 21, would ride his motorcycle while his woman accomplice, Sabiha Shaikh, 41, in burqa would participate in the crime.
Inspector Bharat Gaikwad of the Bhoiwada police said, “Toli is a resident of Mumbra, while his pillion Sabiya lives at Nagpada in South Mumbai.
Besides a Suzuki motorcycle, we have recovered stolen gold chains worth Rs 36,000 from the duo.”
“Sabiya, who has been indulging in chain-snatching for the past one year, has been arrested for the first time. Her son Yunus Bond, 21, who is close friend of Qureshi, was also involved in several cases of chain-snatching,” Gaikwad added.
Taking about the new trend in chain-snatching, Gaikwad said, “If the pillion rider is a woman, then nobody suspects her to be involved in chain-snatching. They can easily pull off the crime. In fact, the police in many cases never intercept the biker if pillion is woman. Therefore, the new trend.”
The Bhoiwada police zeroed in on the offenders after Sangita Kule, 36, a Parel-resident, reported being robbed of her Rs8,000-worth chain while she was walking on the Shirodkar Street near KEM Hospital on January 1 evening.
Incidentally, the biker had his helmet on while the woman pillion rider in burqa snatched her gold chain.
When Kule chased her on foot and screamed ‘chor, chor’, the pillion rider signalled her that it was no use following them and, the motorcycle sped away towards Lalbaug.
A little over than a fortnight later, Minaxi Gaikwad, 32, also living at Parel, had come out for a after-dinner walk in the same area when a biker approached her and snatched her chain weighing three tolas, worth Rs28,000.
Gaikwad had even managed to catch hold of the robber’s hand, but the woman pillion rider rapped her hard on her hand and Gaikwad had to let go. Again the motocycle sped away towards Lalbaug.
Acting on the information in the above two cases, the police laid a trap near KEM Hospital on January 21 and arrested Sabiha and Toli under sections 379 (theft) and 34 (common intention).
The duo was transferred to the Agripada police station on Saturday, as they were wanted there in chain-snatching cases.
Chain-snatchings soar in Mumbai with gold prices
With gold prices touching Rs19,000 per 10grams, bullion traders aren’t the only ones on a bull run. According to the railway police, pickpockets are increasingly switching to chain-snatching these days, with increasing complaints from railway commuters.
“Criminals who stole mobile phones or indulged in pickpocketing have switched to chain-snatching because of assured returns,” said a police officer from the Dadar railway police station. He added that in 2009, gold chains worth Rs96 lakh were snatched on the city’s local trains, as against Rs73 lakh worth of gold chains stolen in 2008.
Pickpocketing and mobile thefts are no longer considered lucrative for two main reasons — commuters have started carrying credit and debit cards instead of cash, and most mobile phones can be easily traced as the IMEI number of the handset. People have also started venturing into chain-snatching, with a peanut seller and a former bar girl being arrested recently.
The Thane railway police on April 9 had arrested Ashok Shinde, 20, along with his associate Swapnil Mahadik, 20, for snatching a four-tola gold chain and mobile phone from a college student at Diva station.First-time offender Shinde, a resident of Diva, took to snatching gold ornaments as it fetched him more than what he earned by hawking peanuts at Kalyan station. Shinde had noticed women commuters wearing gold chains and ‘mangalsutras’ during Diwali.
Inspector Shivaji Dhumal said that Shinde began travelling during non-peak hours when there were fewer commuters in the compartments. “He would keep a watch on commuters who were wearing gold chains and standing near the door, busy talking on their phones.”
Police officers said many new offenders - the children of the women selling flowers in ladies compartments, burqa-clad women and drug addicts - have taken to chain-snatching.
Inspector Kishore Pasalkar, railway crime branch, said, “A special team of 10 women constables has been formed. These constables will be disguised as commuters, wearing costly saris and heavy gold ornaments.”
“Criminals who stole mobile phones or indulged in pickpocketing have switched to chain-snatching because of assured returns,” said a police officer from the Dadar railway police station. He added that in 2009, gold chains worth Rs96 lakh were snatched on the city’s local trains, as against Rs73 lakh worth of gold chains stolen in 2008.
Pickpocketing and mobile thefts are no longer considered lucrative for two main reasons — commuters have started carrying credit and debit cards instead of cash, and most mobile phones can be easily traced as the IMEI number of the handset. People have also started venturing into chain-snatching, with a peanut seller and a former bar girl being arrested recently.
The Thane railway police on April 9 had arrested Ashok Shinde, 20, along with his associate Swapnil Mahadik, 20, for snatching a four-tola gold chain and mobile phone from a college student at Diva station.First-time offender Shinde, a resident of Diva, took to snatching gold ornaments as it fetched him more than what he earned by hawking peanuts at Kalyan station. Shinde had noticed women commuters wearing gold chains and ‘mangalsutras’ during Diwali.
Inspector Shivaji Dhumal said that Shinde began travelling during non-peak hours when there were fewer commuters in the compartments. “He would keep a watch on commuters who were wearing gold chains and standing near the door, busy talking on their phones.”
Police officers said many new offenders - the children of the women selling flowers in ladies compartments, burqa-clad women and drug addicts - have taken to chain-snatching.
Inspector Kishore Pasalkar, railway crime branch, said, “A special team of 10 women constables has been formed. These constables will be disguised as commuters, wearing costly saris and heavy gold ornaments.”
Robber involved in 100 chain snatching cases held
The Delhi Police today claimed to have cracked several cases of chain snatching with the arrest of a 25-year-old man allegedly involved in over 100 such cases and said to have amassed huge property using looted materials.
Shahnawaz Khan, the accused residing in east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar, was allegedly involved in the robbing of a woman news editor of Press Trust of India (PTI) in broad daylight in May and SK Arora, Special Magistrate of MCD in March.
"We have arrested Shahnawaz Khan from Laxmi Nagar area yesterday. He is involved in more than 100 cases. From the looted material, he has amassed huge property by purchasing flats and plots in Delhi and NCR," deputy commissioner of police (East) Anand Mohan said. The arrest came following investigations into a spate of robberies and snatching by two motorcycle-borne men in various parts of the capital and its satellite towns of Ghaziabad and Noida.
After one of the victims identified Shahnawaz, Mohan said, police conducted a raid in Shakarpur area on June 29 buthe and his associate managed to give the investigators a slip. "A search was conducted in all the lanes and by lanes of Shakarpur and the motorcycle used in the crimes was found in a lane in Kishan Kunj of Lakshmi Nagar. He escaped from his residence there also," Mohan said.
Yesterday, police again received an input that some criminals involved in snatchings would assemble near Walia nursing home in Laxmi Nagar which led to the arrest of Shahnawaz.
Shahnawaz Khan, the accused residing in east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar, was allegedly involved in the robbing of a woman news editor of Press Trust of India (PTI) in broad daylight in May and SK Arora, Special Magistrate of MCD in March.
"We have arrested Shahnawaz Khan from Laxmi Nagar area yesterday. He is involved in more than 100 cases. From the looted material, he has amassed huge property by purchasing flats and plots in Delhi and NCR," deputy commissioner of police (East) Anand Mohan said. The arrest came following investigations into a spate of robberies and snatching by two motorcycle-borne men in various parts of the capital and its satellite towns of Ghaziabad and Noida.
After one of the victims identified Shahnawaz, Mohan said, police conducted a raid in Shakarpur area on June 29 buthe and his associate managed to give the investigators a slip. "A search was conducted in all the lanes and by lanes of Shakarpur and the motorcycle used in the crimes was found in a lane in Kishan Kunj of Lakshmi Nagar. He escaped from his residence there also," Mohan said.
Yesterday, police again received an input that some criminals involved in snatchings would assemble near Walia nursing home in Laxmi Nagar which led to the arrest of Shahnawaz.
21-year-old who snatched eight chains in two hours held in Mumbai
The LT Marg police have nabbed a 21-year-old youth who was involved in eight cases of chain snatching in a period of two hours on December 19 to buy playstation game and party at pubs and discotheques. The cases took place in areas falling under Dongri, Nagpada, Pydhonie, JJ Marg and LT Marg police stations in broad daylight.
The police from the Zone-II of Mumbai police had been on lookout for the accused person who very sharply executed the crime and fled from the spot. The accused identified as Shehzad Suleman Parmar, a resident of Nagpada, travelled on a bike with his accomplice. While the accomplice rode the bike Parmar targeted pedestrians.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-II, Anil Kumbhare said, “He sold the jewellery at Zaveri Bazar and bought a Playstation. Parmar then bought branded clothes and frequented pubs and discotheques in South Mumbai.”
Though Parmar’s accomplice rode the bike at a high speed, he could not escape two beat marshals — constable Sanjay Kadam and naik JA Desai — who had managed to get the bike number. Kumbhare said, “The bike belonged to Parmar’s accomplice, who is a record sheet criminal.” He added, “Parmar, after snatching eight chains on December 19, had fled to Ahmedabad but was nabbed when he returned to the city. His accomplice is at large and a manhunt has been launched to nab him.”
The police have recovered 130g of gold ornaments and Rs39,800. They are also checking if the accused was involved in any other case.
There have been 56 cases of chain snatching in Zone-II this year, out which 22 have been solved.
The police from the Zone-II of Mumbai police had been on lookout for the accused person who very sharply executed the crime and fled from the spot. The accused identified as Shehzad Suleman Parmar, a resident of Nagpada, travelled on a bike with his accomplice. While the accomplice rode the bike Parmar targeted pedestrians.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone-II, Anil Kumbhare said, “He sold the jewellery at Zaveri Bazar and bought a Playstation. Parmar then bought branded clothes and frequented pubs and discotheques in South Mumbai.”
Though Parmar’s accomplice rode the bike at a high speed, he could not escape two beat marshals — constable Sanjay Kadam and naik JA Desai — who had managed to get the bike number. Kumbhare said, “The bike belonged to Parmar’s accomplice, who is a record sheet criminal.” He added, “Parmar, after snatching eight chains on December 19, had fled to Ahmedabad but was nabbed when he returned to the city. His accomplice is at large and a manhunt has been launched to nab him.”
The police have recovered 130g of gold ornaments and Rs39,800. They are also checking if the accused was involved in any other case.
There have been 56 cases of chain snatching in Zone-II this year, out which 22 have been solved.
Chain the snatchers
In a bid to put an end to the rising incidents of chain-snatching in the city, police commissioner Shankar M Bidari has sent a circular, directing all police officers to produce offenders before an executive magistrate under the revenue department.
The circular comes in the wake of two men on a motorbike snatching gold chains from six women in separate incidents a week ago.
Taking serious note of the increasing incidents of chain-snatching, the police top brass have suggested slapping Section 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on offenders.
“Under Section 110 of the CrPC, habitual offenders will have to give an undertaking before the magistrate for good behaviour. This will help the police take stringent measures like externment against them, if they repeat the offence. But, the executive magistrate has the powers to remand him under judicial custody,” a senior police officer said.
Besides the undertaking, the offender will have to deposit a security amount, which will be decided by the magistrate.
The officer added that the purpose of producing offenders before the executive magistrate was to keep offenders under check, as their undertaking for good behaviour will enable police to take extreme measures, and such police actions cannot be challenged.
“Normally chain-snatchers are booked under Section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code. However, offenders are released on bail soon after they are remanded to judicial custody. Once out on bail, they tend to repeat the offence,” the officer stated. Police officers feel that Section 110 of the CrPC is apt to pack them off from the city. “If they are sighted in the city, they can be booked, even if they do not commit any crime,” the officer added.
Joint commissioner of police (crime) Alok Kumar said that the city police have announced a reward of Rs10,000 to anyone who provides information that would lead to the arrest of the duo responsible for last Friday’s serial chain snatching incidents.
The police commissioner issued a circular to each police station, asking them to keep watch over criminals and put up check points in vulnerable areas.
“The check points (Naka Bandi) will continue till all those involved in the chain-snatching cases are arrested,” the officer said. Police
patrolling during evening peak hours has also
been intensified.
The circular comes in the wake of two men on a motorbike snatching gold chains from six women in separate incidents a week ago.
Taking serious note of the increasing incidents of chain-snatching, the police top brass have suggested slapping Section 110 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) on offenders.
“Under Section 110 of the CrPC, habitual offenders will have to give an undertaking before the magistrate for good behaviour. This will help the police take stringent measures like externment against them, if they repeat the offence. But, the executive magistrate has the powers to remand him under judicial custody,” a senior police officer said.
Besides the undertaking, the offender will have to deposit a security amount, which will be decided by the magistrate.
The officer added that the purpose of producing offenders before the executive magistrate was to keep offenders under check, as their undertaking for good behaviour will enable police to take extreme measures, and such police actions cannot be challenged.
“Normally chain-snatchers are booked under Section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code. However, offenders are released on bail soon after they are remanded to judicial custody. Once out on bail, they tend to repeat the offence,” the officer stated. Police officers feel that Section 110 of the CrPC is apt to pack them off from the city. “If they are sighted in the city, they can be booked, even if they do not commit any crime,” the officer added.
Joint commissioner of police (crime) Alok Kumar said that the city police have announced a reward of Rs10,000 to anyone who provides information that would lead to the arrest of the duo responsible for last Friday’s serial chain snatching incidents.
The police commissioner issued a circular to each police station, asking them to keep watch over criminals and put up check points in vulnerable areas.
“The check points (Naka Bandi) will continue till all those involved in the chain-snatching cases are arrested,” the officer said. Police
patrolling during evening peak hours has also
been intensified.
All chain snatchers end up in Tirupathur
Women in south and west Bangalore, beware of chain snatchers this festive season! These swooping miscreants are eyeing gold ornaments and tracking women walking alone in these areas, especially at dusk, the city police warn.
But where are the gold necklaces vanishing? The city has already seen around 250 chain-snatching cases in the last eight months. But the police warn that the festive season till after Deepavali might see chain-snatchers doing overtime on the mean streets.
The reason behind this, police officials say, is a small town in Tamil Nadu, Tirupathur, which has emerged as the demand-generating engine, powering gangs of chain-snatchers in Bangalore. A recent raid in Tirupathur by the Kerala police has revealed that a fairly large portion of the town’s population of 30,000 is into pawn-broking.
Each gold chain fetches the chain- snatcher at least Rs30,000, while the pawn broker gets a cut of 20-30 per cent after purchasing it, explains assistant commissioner of police(Frazer Town sub-division) BB Ashok Kumar.
Tirupathur’s pawn brokers have direct links with habitual chain-snatchers in Bangalore, who get active during festive seasons for easy pickings.
Ashok Kumar, nick-named Tiger for busting gangs of chain snatchers, says: “The offenders are experts at assessing the value of gold and they only attack women wearing gold over 40 gm. They eye women who wear lot of gold jewellery, especially in south and west Bangalore. There are more strikes during festivals.’’
Most chain snatchers sell the gold to pawn brokers in Tirupathur, Hosur and Krishnagiri, all in Tamil Nadu. However, a police official involved in the recently-intensified drive against chain snatching in Bangalore told DNA: “Several groups from other states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Bihar are found striking in bursts after a 30-day lag, selling jewellery to pawn-brokers from their states.”
Earlier, the main haunts for selling stolen gold ornaments were Jewellers Street in Shivajinagar and Raja Market in Chickpet, say the police. But now, the gangs prefer to go to the city’s outskirts. Bangalore’s pawn brokers are known to exert pressure on chain snatchers to buy the gold at Rs500 per gm—a fraction of the market price. These pawn brokers are well-connected with the city’s police. This instils fear among chain snatchers, who instead choose to carry the stolen goodies to faroff places like Tirupathur.
The city police admit that this creates problems in tracking criminals as well as the stolen ornaments. This is the reason why, the police say, they find it difficult to recover the stolen gold intact in 90 percent of the cases.
Here’s a little-known fact. “Since recovery takes a lot of time, we have to get the design of the stolen ornaments from the victims and get similar designs made by the pawn brokers, after the offender(s) has been arrested,” says a police official, who did not wish to be named.
But where are the gold necklaces vanishing? The city has already seen around 250 chain-snatching cases in the last eight months. But the police warn that the festive season till after Deepavali might see chain-snatchers doing overtime on the mean streets.
The reason behind this, police officials say, is a small town in Tamil Nadu, Tirupathur, which has emerged as the demand-generating engine, powering gangs of chain-snatchers in Bangalore. A recent raid in Tirupathur by the Kerala police has revealed that a fairly large portion of the town’s population of 30,000 is into pawn-broking.
Each gold chain fetches the chain- snatcher at least Rs30,000, while the pawn broker gets a cut of 20-30 per cent after purchasing it, explains assistant commissioner of police(Frazer Town sub-division) BB Ashok Kumar.
Tirupathur’s pawn brokers have direct links with habitual chain-snatchers in Bangalore, who get active during festive seasons for easy pickings.
Ashok Kumar, nick-named Tiger for busting gangs of chain snatchers, says: “The offenders are experts at assessing the value of gold and they only attack women wearing gold over 40 gm. They eye women who wear lot of gold jewellery, especially in south and west Bangalore. There are more strikes during festivals.’’
Most chain snatchers sell the gold to pawn brokers in Tirupathur, Hosur and Krishnagiri, all in Tamil Nadu. However, a police official involved in the recently-intensified drive against chain snatching in Bangalore told DNA: “Several groups from other states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Bihar are found striking in bursts after a 30-day lag, selling jewellery to pawn-brokers from their states.”
Earlier, the main haunts for selling stolen gold ornaments were Jewellers Street in Shivajinagar and Raja Market in Chickpet, say the police. But now, the gangs prefer to go to the city’s outskirts. Bangalore’s pawn brokers are known to exert pressure on chain snatchers to buy the gold at Rs500 per gm—a fraction of the market price. These pawn brokers are well-connected with the city’s police. This instils fear among chain snatchers, who instead choose to carry the stolen goodies to faroff places like Tirupathur.
The city police admit that this creates problems in tracking criminals as well as the stolen ornaments. This is the reason why, the police say, they find it difficult to recover the stolen gold intact in 90 percent of the cases.
Here’s a little-known fact. “Since recovery takes a lot of time, we have to get the design of the stolen ornaments from the victims and get similar designs made by the pawn brokers, after the offender(s) has been arrested,” says a police official, who did not wish to be named.
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