Chandigarh, March 15: Rapping the Chandigarh Police for presenting data rather than taking action against snatchers in the city, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today minced no words while asking cops whether they would act only when their kin became victims of the menace.
As the case came up for resumed hearing, the Chandigarh Police tried to place before the Bench data on action taken against snatchers in the city. Visibly unimpressed, the Bench asserted that it wanted action and not figures.
Taking cognisance of a petition alleging failure of the police in checking the incidents of chain snatching in the city, the High Court had earlier issued a notice to the UT Administration.
The Division Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal had also put the UT Home Secretary and the Inspector General of Police on notice on the petition filed in public interest by advocate Hari Chand Arora.
The petitioner claimed that 161 incidents of chain snatching had taken place in Chandigarh during 2016, which increased to 238 in 2017. The upward trend was continuing with as many as 43 incidents of chain snatching taking place during the first 50 days of this year.
Arora added that the arrest of chain snatchers was quite low vis-à-vis the incidents. Referring to the information received under the Right to Information Act, he submitted that the maximum incidents of chain snatching were taking place in the areas falling under the Sector 34 and Sector 39 police stations.
He said 98 incidents took place in areas under the jurisdiction of these two police stations last year.
Arora said the information received further indicated that CCTV cameras had been installed by Chandigarh Administration only on borders, in the police stations, police posts, police headquarters and at traffic lights.
The cameras were not installed at other strategic points within Chandigarh.The information further disclosed that not even a single snatcher had so far been caught in CCTV footage, revealing that the cameras installed at traffic light points were not being monitored properly.
The petitioner also underlined the need to instal more CCTVs inside the sectors, which could be monitored by welfare associations.Referring to the latest incident of chain snatching in Sector 44-B, Arora said the snatchers walked into a residence and snatched the chain of an old woman, who sustained injuries in the incident.
Source Tribune India
