Residents of Belagavi city are alarmed after three incidents of chain snatching were reported here on Thursday. The incidents occurred in three localities within the jurisdiction of Malmaruti police station.
A man on a motorbike snatched the mangal sutra of Mangala Veerabhadrappa Kurbar at Shivabasavanagar while she was returning home after morning walk. The chain is worth Rs. 60,000. Vidyavati Shivangouda Doddagoudar, a resident of Ramteerth Nagar, was robbed of her gold chain when she was on her way to fetch milk from a milk parlour near her residence. The chain is worth Rs.1.2 lakh.
Another incident was reported again from Shivabasvanagar where Ratna Bharamgouda Patil, a senior citizen, was robbed of her valuables right in front of her house. The snatchers approached while she was inside the compound walls of a residential apartment and started inquiring about some address nearby. She obliged to the two motor-bike borne strangers who requested her to show the exact location of the building and the latter were swift enough to snatch the golden mangal sutra worth Rs.3 lakh as she came out of the main gate and was pointing her finger towards a building.
All these incidents occurred in the morning hours. Deputy Commissioner of Police T.P. Shivkumar met the three woman and sought to know how the offenders looked. Though the police have taken up investigation, the residents of the city said they should intensify security measures in residential localities in Extension areas. They said these areas are convenient for chain snatchers to target women at their will.
They said that chain snatching incidents were being reported in short intervals and it was high time the police took concrete steps to curb it.
