HYDERABAD: Covid-19 is undoubtedly one of the deadliest diseases that mankind has ever seen and one that continues to drastically affect the lives and livelihood of people across the globe. But there seems to be at least one ‘positive’ effect the Coronavirus is having, bringing relief to the residents as well as the police from the ‘seasonal’ crime in the State.If the State police officials are to be believed, the graph of crime rate has been witnessing a downward trend for the last few days in Hyderabad and rest of the State.
As soon as summer sets in, the notorious inter-state gangs start operating, committing robberies and thefts as well as indulging in chain snatchings. But the police said that these gangs have not been active in the last few days. “Fearing the spread of Coronavirus, these inter-state gangs seems to have kept their plans on hold this summer,” a top police official told Express. “We have a reason to believe that the members of these gangs are afraid of Coronavirus and are not committing any offences. Due to virus threat, many families are also staying indoors, cancelling their summer vacations. That is another reason why the gangs which specialise in robberies of locked houses are not active,” the official said.
Another officer said that no major crime took place in Hyderabad and in the districts in the last few days .
“Corona scare could be the only answer for these criminals to stay away. These criminals too seems to be worried over contracting the infection,” he said.“However, there is a flip side to the crime scene in times of Corona. There is no drop in cybercrimes. Maybe because they don’t have to fear the virus,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad, which is notorious for its traffic snarls, is now breathing easy with less traffic as people are staying indoors. At major junctions, traffic is moving smoothly much to the delight of those who venture out of their homes. As cinema theatres, museums, parks and other public places are closed, people are forced to stay home.