VIJAYAWADA: Surge in chain snatching incidents in Patamata area is posing a serious challenge to the city police.Four chain snatching incidents were reported under the Patamata police station limits in a span of 10 days. And three incidents were reported on a single day, on August 17, and the latest one was reported on Sunday night. In the Sunday incident, two miscreants came on a motorcycle and snatched a 70-gram gold chain worth of `2 lakh from Garapati Kamalakumrai (65). Speaking to Express, the victim’s brother Kanuru Gopikrishna, who was also on the spot at the time of the incident, said: “We are returning from a relative’s place at around 7:30 pm on Sunday. I was behind my sister by a few yards. Miscreants, who came on a motor bike, went ahead by crossing us and came back to snatch the gold chain. I rushed to attend my sister who fell on the road.”
On being contacted, DCP Gajarao Bhupal said: “We have identified the accused in the August 17 case and will nab them very soon.” When asked about security measures being taken at Patamata, he said, “We are examining old offenders in Krishna and neighbouring districts and collecting fingerprints. Patrolling has been intensified in the isolated areas.”
He added that, the residents and shop keepers should install CCTV surveillance cameras, which not only helps in finding the accused but also preventing the crimes.
On August 17, around 176 grams of gold ornaments worth of `5 lakh were robbed at three different locations including Gurunanak Nagar, Srinivas Nagar Bank colony, Ramachandra Nagar. All the three incidents took place in broad day light.