State to issue ordinance with provisions for stricter punishment for snatching crimes
The state government will soon come out with an ordinance enhancing punishment for crimes like chain snatching to up to 10 years. A senior government official said today that the move is aimed at enhancing women’s security and to deter criminals from committing such crimes.
At present, snatching is an offence under Section 379 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), i.e. theft. The offence has provision for maximum punishment of three years, or a fine, or both.
Minister of state for home Pradipsinh Jadeja told reporters that the punishment for snatching under the existing provisions is not adequate to deter criminals, which is why the government has decided to come out with the ordinance. He said that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had approved the proposal to insert two new clauses in section 379 of IPC to provide safety and security to women, especially women.
“We will add clauses 379 (a) and 379 (b) to IPC 379 through the ordinance. The ordinance will be sent to the Governor in the coming days for his approval,” Jadeja said.
The state government said in a statement that once the ordinance is issued, a person attempting snatching would be sentenced for a jail term of not less than five years and maximum of 10 years, with a fine of Rs25,000. For chain snatching, the minimum punishment would be enhanced to seven years with a fine of Rs25,000.
Under IPC 379 (a), there will be provision for three additional years of jail sentence for a person attempting chain snatching and injuring anyone in the process of escaping. Similarly, under Section 379 (b), the offender would be sentenced to a jail term of not less than seven years and maximum of 10 years, and face a fine of Rs25,000 in the event of causing death during the act of committing the crime. “We are confident that the stringent punishment will discourage many people from committing such offences, which will help in lowering crimes,” Jadeja added.
Ahmedabad police data shows that 220 cases of snatching were reported in the city in 2016, which surged to 326 in 2017. In 2018, 152 such incidents have been reported as of July.
Majority of these crimes took place around religious places, near banks, malls and other crowded places.
According to officials, most of the victims targeted by snatchers are women, who end up losing mangalsutra, gold chain, purse and other valuables. A good number of these victims are female senior citizens who are more or less helpless against the sudden attack Incidentally, last year saw several incidents wherein men were targeted by snatchers. Police had said that at the time that this could be because many women had started to cover their necks with stoles and dupattas in a bid to safeguard themselves from chain snatching attempts.
CRIME SHEET
At present, snatching is an offence under Section 379 of IPC, i.e. theft. The offence has provision for maximum punishment of three years, or a fine, or both.
Under IPC 379 (a), there will be provision for three additional years of jail sentence for a person attempting chain snatching and injuring anyone in the process of escaping.
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