As theft turned hi-tech and its practitioners ‘progressed’ to the more daring and lucrative acts of ATM break-ins and online fraud, one would have imagined that the age-old trick of pickpocketing was on the expressway to extinction.
Far from it. The ‘traditional art form’, as one officer chose to put it jokingly, is very much alive and kicking.
When the North Police nabbed two of a three-member gang for pickpocketing from a private bus in the city on Tuesday, one managed to flee, the number of people nabbed for the offence in their station limits alone rose to seven in last one month. Multiple arrests on similar charges were recorded in other police stations, including Maradu and Elamakkara, in the city limits during the same period. “It is being kept alive by a mix of migrant women, especially from Tamil Nadu, and local residents ‘specialised’ in pickpocketing.
In fact, a Thrissur-based lobby is active arranging lawyers exclusively for securing bail for the women. Recently, when I produced an accused in a court, there were two lawyers representing her,” said Vibin Das, Sub Inspector, North Police.
He said that most of those engaged in pickpocketing have been at it for long, and having left without the capacity to migrate to technology-driven crimes, they have chosen to continue with it.
They often don’t carry ID, and in cases where ID is found, it would be fake leaving police without a legitimate address to issue warrant.
Hunting grounds
Prajeesh Sasi, Sub Inspector, Elamakkara, said that crowded city bus services between Aluva and Ernakulam are the favourite hunting grounds of pickpockets. “They operate in groups of two or three persons. One member creates the hustle and bustle for diverting the attention of their potential targets, robs valuables and then hands them over to another member who promptly leaves the scene with it,” he described their modus operandi. It is not easy to track them down as their presence is mostly inconspicuous. Often the travelling public capture offenders red-handed and hand them over to the police. On rare occasions, the police shadow people with a track record for pickpocketing if they were found loitering around bus stops to check whether they were up to something.
Byju P. Babu, Sub Inspector, Maradu, said that there were serial offenders with 20 and 30 cases of pickpocketing against their name. “Tackling this crime is a very tough task and the police need to be very vigilant,” he said,
The police invoke either IPC Section 380 or Section 379 depending on whether pickpocketing happens aboard a bus or outside it. While the former entails imprisonment of up to seven years, the latter involves a shorter term of three years.
However, rarely does the accused get to serve the full term as they often manage to secure bail and resume their ‘profession’.
