COIMBATORE:There has been a sharp increase in the number of snatching incidents on board city buses in 2015, according to statistics provided by the city police to Express.
Statistics show that the numbers have more than doubled, from just three reported incidents in 2014, to seven this year. However, the police have managed to detect five of the seven reported cases, and expect the incidence rate to decrease for the remainder of the year.
A total of 33 "bag-lifting" cases have been reported across the city since 2013, of which 28 cases have been detected. However, the number of such incidents committed by gangs of thieves on board city buses constitute more than half of the cases - 17, of all reported incidents, the statistics reveal.
Of the total number of incidents, only two cases are pending detection from 2013 and 2014, while three are yet to be detected this calendar year.
Police said that a majority of cases reported on city buses occur during the morning and evening peak hours. They also said that there were gangs specialising in committing such crimes.
There was also a geographical aspect or specialisation as to where the incidences occur, with a slightly higher number of such incidents occurring where there were major bus termini, such as in Ukkadam and Gandhipuram, reveal the statistics.
Coimbatore City Commissioner of Police (CoP), A K Viswanathan, said that anti-snatching and anti-bag lifting teams, comprising two teams of four personnel each have been committed to solving such crimes across the city.