Last year, there was a decreasing trend in cases pertaining to murder for gain, robbery and “grave” burglary, and snatching of chains and mobile phones registered within the city limits, said Greater Chennai City Police Commissioner Sandeep Rai Rathore here on Saturday.
Mr. Rathore was speaking at a special programme organised by the Greater Chennai City Police at Rajarathinam Stadium to hand over to the bonafide owners/complainants the missing/stolen mobile phones, bikes, laptops, and other valuables recovered last year.
Mr. Rathore, accompanied by Additional Commissioners of Police, Prem Anand Sinha and Asra Garg, inspected the seized articles before handing them over.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Rathore said 3,337.41 sovereign of gold jewels, 50.53 kg of silver articles, ₹3,60,73,051 in cash, 798 mobile phones, 411 two-wheelers, 28 autorickshaws, and 15 light motor vehicles, all of which amounts to a total of ₹.19.21 crore, were retrieved in the last six months of 2023. They are being handed over to the complainants, he said.
Property assets worth ₹265 crore were recovered in 811 cases in the Central Crime Branch in 2023. As many as 714 notorious accused persons were detained under the Goondas Act in 2023, while 464 accused were detained under the Goondas Act in 2021, and 496 in 2022.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Rathore said crime investigation teams are working in the right direction, and have been using CCTV footages to trace criminals. In addition, he said Specialised Investigation Wings (SIW) were also set up in 12 district police stations to investigate serious offences such as murder, dacoity, and robbery. Crime rate decreased in the city after they started working in full swing, he said.
Stating that new technological solutions were introduced for crime prevention and beat patrolling activities, he spoke about the launch of ‘Parunthu App’, an enhanced, 24-hour monitoring platform with facilities to record details of history-sheeters and others.
