Jewel thieves give police the blushes

The recent spate of robberies — 14 in the past 15 days — has left citizens, especially the jewellers, shaken. The jewellers blame the cops for lack of action. Police, in turn, blame the media for blowing statistics out of proportion, claiming the number of robberies have not gone up over the past couple of years. Nikhil S Dixit and Somendra Sharma examine the issue

The one subject that has been in the news for the past month is the increasing number of robberies, dacoities and break-ins occurring across Mumbai. The numbers are overwhelming — at least 14 robberies and dacoities have taken place in and around the city in the last 15 days. The most affected, so far, are jewellers.

“They are soft targets,” said a police officer. A majority of jewellers do not like to discuss or disclose their business with the police. “They keep their operations as secretive as possible. This makes it difficult for us to help them,” said a police inspector with the Anti-Robbery Squad of the Mumbai Crime Branch.

Jewellers are easy targets as employees can leak out information to jewel thieves. Also, security is never of paramount importance when jewellers transport it from one place to another. The jeweller or his employees simply tend to carry the jewellery around in a bag. “People who intend to rob them know this and can easily keep a watch on them,” the officer said.

Jewellers, however, allege that it is the government and the police who are responsible for the spate of robberies and dacoities. “The recent dacoities have made us believe that dacoits and robbers are not afraid of the police. Though the government has assured us that it will put a stop to such incidents, nothing has been done so far,” said Dinesh Jain, director of All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) KL Prasad says that there is no reason to panic as the robbery statistics are more or less the same as last year. “If you compare the number of robberies and dacoities which have taken place this year, they are almost same as last year or the year before that,” he said, adding that the reason the issue appears so serious this time round is because the media has blown it out of proportion. “But I am not blaming the media, they are doing their job,” he added.

“However, the police are not being mere spectators,” assured Prasad. “We are taking necessary action. Foot patrolling as been increased and we have ensured that there is enough police presence on the streets. This will have a double impact — police presence will ensure that the public feels safe and it will also prove to be a deterrent for thieves,” Prasad said. 

He added that the police have also met with success and managed to solve at least four robbery-related cases in the last week.Prasad appealed to the public to come forward and help the police. “The best way to prevent such incidents is when the police and public work together,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil, who is very concerned with the increasing number of dacoities and robberies, formed a special squad of 1,500 policemen last week, who will monitor and investigate robberies and dacoities across Maharashtra.

He also ordered the Mumbai police commissioner to form a special squad of 600 policemen for the city. According to the order, the special squad will work exclusively toward solving and preventing robberies and dacoities in the city. The new chief of the Mumbai Crime Branch, Joint Commissioner of Police Rakesh Maria has been made the chief of this special squad.