The autorickshaw gang appears to have made its entry once again into the city. The gang indulges in a unique modus operandi — women are deployed to steal cash from handbags and snatch gold chains.
The technique is simple. The women deployed occupy the back seat in the autorickshaw and the driver is encouraged to pick up women on share basis. The moment the victim occupies the seat, she is engaged in a friendly banter by the other women already present in the vehicle. Seizing a suitable opportunity, or by diverting the attention of the victim, the gang members either rob chains or cash from the handbag, by cutting it open with the help of a blade-like instrument.
According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) S. Varada Raju, last year, members of a gang from Tamil Nadu, who were living near Duvvada, committed 25 such offences.
“But they were caught some time during October last year. This gang seems to be a new one,” he told The Hindu .
In this year, three such offences have already been recorded by the police stations.
According to Mr. Varada Raju, women who board autorickshaw on share basis should remain cautious.
“Most of the offences are committed in areas such as APSRTC Complex, Maddilapalem, NAD Kotha Road, Railway Station Road, and Jagadamba junction,” he said.
The Police Commissionerate is divided into four zones — East, North, South, and Madhurwada, and 21 police stations are divided between the zones.
Among all the zones, the East Zone has earned the distinction of being the most crime-prone zone, witnessing all forms of crime, from eve-teasing to housebreaking.
Four police stations — One Town, Two Town, Three Town (inclusive of MVP Zone), and Fourth Town (inclusive of Dwaraka Zone), are part of the this zone, and it covers an extensive part of the city’s posh localities.
Mr. Varada Raju says that the zone has a unique combination of covering some of the most upscale localities and a few notorious slum areas.
“Probably, this combination makes the zone a very dynamic one,” he said.
In 2014, the total number of housebreaking instances during day in the commissionerate was 58, 20 under East Zone itself. Instances of housebreaking by night number 335 with the East Zone accounting for 99 cases.
Similarly, out of the 157 cases of snatching, 73 were recorded under this zone. To curb the menace in this zone, the commissionerate has dedicated 50 per cent of its total 139 beats to this zone. But still, the miscreants continue to have their way.
