The shocking chain-snatching incident in New Chandigarh has led to new challenges in public safety and street crime in the township. Two bike-borne snatchers attacked a woman and her child while walking in daylight in a community area. The episode was reported to have occurred.
Two men on a motorcycle came up to the woman from behind as she was walking home, eyewitnesses and residents said. Within seconds, one of the accused allegedly seized the gold chain from her neck, and the two fled together.
The woman was horrified and terrified, and close by, people ran to try to help and save her and her child in the immediate aftermath. The entire case was said to have gone by so quickly that bystanders didn’t leave much time to respond or to stop the figures at the scenes.
Locals said the accused did not wear identifiable clothing, and at the time, it was more challenging to track them down. The residents said the police patrolling the area did not uphold reasonable standards in the wake of the crime that happened. The panic and anger that developed over the robbery quickly spread among people living in the neighbourhood.
Some residents set up shop near that site and demanded vigorous police presence. A spate of thefts, robberies and snatching has troubled people there and across New Chandigarh the past few months. Women, old people and children have said they frequently feel unsafe as they pass through the streets, particularly at dawn and dusk, it was reported.
They urged authorities to increase police presence and install more CCTV cameras and tougher security in residential and public buildings, it said. Local police officials have opened what has been characterised as an investigation, scanning CCTV footage covering and around the streets and buildings for the accused.
Officials are also interviewing people who witnessed the crime and any escape routes snatchers tried for the time after the crime. The chain-snatching is often the work of fast-moving bike-borne gangs that pick up on lone pedestrians or on pedestrians who are distracted, said security experts.
They are profitable, and they instil terror and insecurity in their people. The episode had once again highlighted how unsafe expanding cities like New Chandigarh feel in fast-growing townships with increasing population densities and difficult security infrastructure to cope with.
The local people are clamouring for an expanded protective mechanism, a regular patrol and a rapid police response system to crack down on people who break the law. Citizens should stay on guard, police say, not pluck valuables out in some public space where the public can see and report suspicious behaviour right away. On the local side, they demand prompt prosecution of the accused and trust in public safety.
