NEW DELHI: The rising cases of snatching incidents, one of the most ruthless and blatant crimes that instil fear in the minds of the people, especially women, have possibly forced people to avoid going out alone on lonely or deserted streets. In most cases, the police get hold of the criminals but a way to prevent such crimes still seems a distant dream.
However, according to official data, accessed by this newspaper, there has been a decline of 13.2 % in total snatching cases in the first eight months of 2023, when compared to the data of the corresponding period of last year. As per the figures, the city has witnessed a whopping 4922 cases of snatching till August 15. Last year, in the same period 5671 cases were recorded throughout the capital. In 2021, Delhi had recorded 4,468 such kinds of street crime till July 15.
Not all cases went unnoticed, a few even made headlines this year. Just a couple of months back in August, this year, a 23-year-old school teacher suffered injuries when three men snatched her mobile phone while she was travelling in an auto-rickshaw. The school teacher named Yuvika was pulled out of the rickshaw and dragged to a distance by one of the culprits as she tried to hold on to the phone.
The snatchers then fled the spot with the phone, leaving Yuvika injured. Both the accused were later arrested but the incidents of snatching did not stop. Though not a case of Delhi, but, a brazen street crime was reported from nearby Ghaziabad when a 19-year-old girl lost her life in a mobile snatching incident. The victim girl, identified as Kirti Singh (19), studied at ABES Engineering College in Ghaziabad and lived in the college hostel.
On October 27 when she was going to her home in Hapur in an autorickshaw and was accompanied by her college mate, two bike-borne men tried to snatch her phone. In the process, the woman fell down from the moving auto-rickshaw and hit a road divider. She suffered grievous injuries and was subsequently hospitalised and put on a ventilator.
After battling with life she finally passed away at the hospital after two days. Delhi Police officers told this newspaper that the police is actively pursuing all the cases of snatching and the solving rate has increased due to the multi-pronged strategies adopted by DCPs of all districts. “The police are countering the menace of snatching by increased night patrolling in vulnerable areas and installation of high-tech CCTV cameras,” the officer said. He further informed that they regularly identify the hotspots of snatching and accordingly deploy resources.
