Last month, when the city police nabbed a chain snatcher in Virugambakkam, they were surprised to find that he was a Class X student. While college students taking to such crimes is common, the involvement of juveniles in chain snatching is a recent trend.
According to the police, gang leaders who operate chain snatching networks are training juveniles to take to the crime.
“Teenagers, especially a few college students, are trained to snatch chains. Now, school-going juveniles are also being lured into the world of crime,” said a senior police officer. He said that similar to pickpockets, a few anti-social elements train the children to snatch chains and phones.
“These juveniles are trained to drive the bikes to commit chain snatching offences. There is a technique in riding the vehicle too, as one has to slow down and cut the sound as they close in on the target and accelerate once they snatch the chain,” said a crime inspector.
Girija Kumarababu, general secretary, Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW), said that though most often juveniles are roped in to drive the bike, in some cases they snatch chains too. “When they don’t get caught, they become emboldened to repeat the crime,” she said.
Often, the money earned by selling the loot is used to purchase ganja and alcohol. “Earlier, a few college students used to snatch chains to spend the money lavishly and impress their girlfriends. Now, the money is largely used to buy narcotics,” added the inspector.
New attire
Localities such as T. Nagar, St. Thomas Mount and Adyar in south Chennai and Anna Nagar in central Chennai are places where chain snatching cases were reported since 2013.
It is not always that the chain snatchers wear shirts and trousers.
A few days ago, a gang wearing dhotis and half-sleeved shirts snatched gold chains from two women on Velu Street and Railway Border Road in West Mambalam.
“We were able to zero in on them after checking CCTV footage from the locality. Otherwise, going by their attire, we would not have suspected them. We will be nabbing them soon,” said a police officer.
“The upper middle class population lives in the four localities. Hence, the chain snatchers feel they can find more targets in these areas. Besides, there are many wide streets in south Chennai, and they can escape easily,” said a senior police officer.
“All the chain and phone snatching cases are booked under robbery. We are also installing more CCTV cameras and conducting vehicle checks. Special anti-snatching teams have also been formed in every station,” said an officer.
Dim street lights
“Dim street lights aid the offenders. The Chennai Corporation has to ensure that tree branches near the lights are pruned and bright lights are installed,” said a police officer.
V.S. Jayaraman of the T. Nagar Residents Welfare Association called for intensifying police patrolling to prevent such crimes.
Giridhar, a resident of Nanganallur, said the concept of visible policing should be reintroduced.
