Chain-snatching has become a deep-seated problem for the city police over the course of the past decade.
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In 2003, the number of chain-snatching cases registered was around 20. The number of cases peaked in 2012, when it crossed the 190 mark.
For the city police, however, nabbing the accused is only half the job done, as there is another side to these cases — dealing with women who have been the victims of such cases.
Police officers said that victims of chain-snatching cases, who are mostly elderly women, undergo a traumatic experience and are unable to move on from such incidents. This aspect is something that the police are now planning to address.
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“Handling the victims and bringing them out of their trauma is part of our duty and we are working on it,” said Commissioner of Police Rajeev Kumar Meena. “We understand that it is COVID time, but whatever we do, we shall follow the COVID protocols, when we call them for counselling,” he added.
“It is traumatic for any woman to see her jewellery, and in some cases her ‘mangalasutra’, being snatched away by miscreants. In many cases, they begin suffering from a fear psychosis after the incident,” said Himakar of Government Hospital for Mental Care.
“There are many cases where women have also suffered serious injuries in chain-snatching incidents. The offenders mostly come in pairs riding on fast motorcycles, and confront the women and snatch their chains. This itself is a very distressing experience. In many cases, the women suffered injuries after falling down from the sudden impact. Many women also collapse due to a sudden spurt in blood pressure or their necks being cut,” DCP (Crime) V. Suresh Babu said.
“There are cases where victims have refused to go back outside. They do not want to even walk to a nearby temple or a grocery store, something that they would do regularly before such incidents. Such crimes have a lasting impact on the victim’s mental health,” he said.
Keeping this in mind, the city police is contemplating counselling sessions for women who have been victims of chain-snatching incidents.
Though the idea is still in the formative stage, it is learnt that the victims might be asked to attend up to three sessions, which will be conducted by experienced counsellors. “There has been a steady growth in chain-snatching cases since 2008, when we registered close to 170 cases. In 2010, we registered 167 cases, 183 in 2013 and 158 in 2014,” Mr. Meena said.
Declining trend
However, 2015 saw a decrease in cases at 133, followed by 126 in 2016, 119 in 2017, 89 in 2018 and 54 in 2019.
The decrease in the number of cases can be attributed to a number of reasons such as establishment of area-wise Rakshak teams, Blue and D-Colt teams and primarily the installation of a large number of CCTV cameras. “CCTV cameras have aided us in solving a number of chain-snatching cases, and it has become a major deterrent for offenders,” said DCP (Zone-I) Aishwariya Rashtogi.