Danger round the corner

The past few years have seen a steady rise in the incidents of chain-snatching, robbery and individuals posing as cops, especially in the suburban areas. Turner Road, Ram Krishna Mission Marg, S.V. Road, St. Sebastian Colony and Mount Carmel in areas like Bandra, Khar and Santacruz are highly prone to chain-snatching.

Anandini Thakoor, Chairperson of the H/West Ward Federation, says, "A lot of chain-snatching episodes take place near churches where women head out for mass wearing jewellery."

The culprits often snatch chains off the women's necks and speed away on bikes or run off into one of the by-lanes, making it extremely difficult to trace them. They grab and push the victims, who are often left injured.
Warren Fernandes, Secretary of St. Sebastian Homes Society, highlights the lengthy proceedings and follow-up that victims of chain-snatching have to go through to retrieve their jewellery in case the culprits are caught.

He says, "The victims have to approach the magistrate court wherein the police typically take their own time; it is a tedious procedure." He also believes that if chain snatchers are not caught, this attitude could encourage them to move on to bigger crimes like breaking into homes and robbery."

Diana Ray (name changed on request), a resident of Bandra, has been a victim wherein she was robbed off her bangles and earrings when an unknown man approached her on the pretext of informing her about some cop who wanted to meet her.

She shares, "A man dressed in civil clothes approached me saying that some Inspector Sharma wanted to meet me. I told him I don't know any such person. I don't know what happened after that—but the next thing I remember is that my bangles were in his hands."  The culprit in Diana's case has not yet been caught by the police.

Citizens have been complaining about the indifferent attitude of the police and the difficulties faced while filing a complaint. Surindra Khubchandani, a social activist, shares an incident that happened within his family.

He says, "My mother-in-law had stepped out of her house for just an hour and when she came back, she saw that the flat was forced open. Jewellery worth Rs. 15 lakh and cash up to Rs. 50,000 were stolen."

The family had a tough time filing the complaint at Khar police station and the follow-up was even more harrowing. "Post a couple of months of filing the complaint, the cops informed us that they have caught the robber. My family and I came rushing back from Lonavala, where we had gone at the time. However, to our utter disappointment and annoyance, the cops said that the person they had caught was not the robber who broke in to our house."

Khubchandani shared another tale about Khar police station's inefficiency in yet another case. There was an instance of purse-snatching near 3rd Road's Gurudwara and despite the woman trying to file a complaint, the cops didn't let her do it.

Senior Police Inspector Dattatray Pandurang Bhargude of Khar police station says, "Instances of such crimes have reduced since past one year. We have officers policing every nook and corner of our area, dressed in both uniform and civil clothes. We are also rounding up criminals who have had previous criminal records."

We ask westcoast residents about how safe they feel in their neighbourhood

"There has been a rise in the cases of break-ins and chain-snatching and this has made me a tad nervous. Lately, when I walk on footpaths that are dimly lit, I tend to be extra careful as I fear such crimes. My husband and I are working professionals, so there is no one at home during the day. This makes my apartment quite vulnerable to a break-in. We have put in extra security locks on the doors and we make sure that the watchman is always around in my society." -Jayshree Kharwa, Santacruz resident

"Chain snatching has become a regular affair in my area. In one case, a woman was hypnotised and was made to believe that her jewellery will be robbed so she should remove it and tie it up in a handkerchief. When the woman reached her home, she realised that the handkerchief with the jewellery was taken by the two culprits. Security should be tightened in societies with watchmen and cameras." -Prajakta Bagul, Malad resident

Owing to the steep rise in the number of cases of robbery, break-in and chain-snatching, Mumbai's top cop gave directives last week. To tackle the increasing level of street crime, Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria has ordered all senior police inspectors in the western suburbs to conduct night patrols more often.

Ten police stations from the suburbs have been given the directive as these are the areas where crime rate is exceptionally high. Few of these areas include Versova, Oshiwara, Bandra, Juhu, Khar and Santacruz.

West Region Control Room: 2655 2195, 2641 2021, 2645 7900, 2657 2299