After a lull of a few months, the attention diversion gangs are again on the prowl. Recently there were two cases where cash bags were snatched away from persons after diverting their attention. In both the cases, the modus operandi was similar. The offenders came on a bike, both driver and pillion rider wearing helmets, and after diverting the attention of the persons, snatched away the cash bag and sped away. In both cases, the victims had just come out of a bank after drawing cash. According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) S. Varada Raju, such incidents did happen earlier also.
“It is suspected that the offenders would have followed the persons. In one case the victim was a young girl and in the other case it was a 50-year-old man,” he said. According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) J. Muralidhar, in the previous cases, the accused were found to be natives of Tamil Nadu. “In the recent cases also it could be the work of gangs from the same place. They specialise in attention diversion crimes,” said Mr. Muralidhar.
“Cross border or inter-state gangs from Bihar and Tamil Nadu, operate in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in cities such as Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, and in many of the cases it has been found that they move in batches and with families,” said Mr. Varada Raju.
On Friendship Day, traffic police caught 67 youngsters for underage driving and it is reported that a few of them had consumed alcohol. The incident had put the police in an embarrassing situation, as many were supposed to be from influential families.
According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Mahendra Patrudu, parents of the teenagers were called and counselled.
“Concepts like Friendship Day and Valentine Day are new. And youngsters tend to go overboard in their celebrations. They should realise their priorities and draw a line between celebrations and indecency. And parents should play a major role in delivering this message,” said Mr. Patrudu.
Policing would be there, but even society and parents should cooperate in handling such sensitive issues, he added.
vizagdesk@thehindu.co.in
