Chain snatchers haunt city as Dasara nears

• 7 pm: R.S. Naidunagar | 8.30 pm: Vijayanagar Second Stage | 9 pm: V.V. Mohalla 8th Cross | 9.30 pm: Saraswathipuram
• Three gold chains snatched; one futile attempt

Mysore/Mysuru: Dasara is when lakhs of tourists descend on Mysuru and every nook and corner bustle with tourists. With barely 18 days for the grand festivities to begin on Sept. 26, four chain-snatching incidents reported in city last night have cast a shadow on the celebrations.  

There are apprehensions that if chain snatchings take place, particularly during Dasara festivities, the city‘s image may take a beating. Notably, all four incidents last night were reported in crowded places in different localities and the targets were elderly women who were busy in their routines.

R.S. Naidunagar

The first incident was reported at 7 pm at R.S. Naidunagar Main Road in Narasimharaja (NR) Police limits. The woman, identified as 72-year-old Girijamma was eating Gobi Manchurian under a tree where street food was being dished out. As it was evening time, there were many customers for street food.

As Girijamma was busy eating, she did not notice a Dio scooter that stealthily approached her. The criminal came near her and the person on the pillion grabbed her 30-gram gold chain. The scooter rider then sped away and vanished into the dark even before Girijamma raised an alarm.

Vijayanagar Second Stage

The second incident was reported from Vijayanagar Second Stage near the water tank at 8.30 pm behind a shopping mall. 64-year-old Vanamala was walking toward her home when two persons on a bike approached her.

Both were wearing dark jerkins and wore monkey caps and were not wearing helmets.

As they neared Vanamala, the pillion rider grabbed her gold chain. Vanamala, who was alert as the bike approached her, caught hold of her chain firmly and did not yield to the criminals. After tugging a couple of times, the bikers fled, panicking as Vanamala shouted for help. Even this place was crowded and many rushed to the victim’s help but the criminals had escaped.

V.V. Mohalla 8th Cross

The third incident was reported at 9 pm from V.V. Mohalla 8th Cross near the Ganesha festival pandal. 55-year-old Sujatha, wife of Amarnath and a resident of Gokulam, was walking home from a shop after buying some items. As she walked, a bike with two men approached her and snatched her 20-gram gold chain.

Here too, Sujatha told the V.V.  Puram Police that the two men were wearing dark jerkins and sported monkey caps.

Saraswathipuram

The fourth incident was reported at 9.30 pm from Saraswathipuram where the target was S. Malathi, a middle-aged woman. She was walking toward her home and was near the big culvert at Saraswathipuram when two men suddenly came from nowhere to snatch her 30-gram gold chain.

 All the women have lodged complaints with the jurisdictional Police and teams have been formed to nab the criminals. The estimated value of the gold chains is Rs. 3,76,000. According to Police sources, while a Pulsar bike was used for three crimes, a Dio scooter was used for the fourth crime. Cases have been registered at NR, Saraswathipuram, V.V. Puram and Vijayanagar Police Stations.

“Either the gang has changed the vehicles to mislead the Police or they are one group of criminals. We are scanning CCTV footage of the localities and we are noting down the time of the vehicles (target bike and scooter) passing in each area before or after the crime,” a Police officer said.