Mysore:  The City Police have intensified ‘Operation Fast Track’ that was launched to nab chain-snatchers who struck on May 2, snatching the gold chains of seven women at different localities. A red alert has been sounded as Akshaya Tritiya falls next Tuesday and people tend to buy gold ornaments as the day is considered auspicious.

While the Police are doing their best to curb number of chain-snatching incidents in city, chain-snatchers somehow manage to take citizens and the Police by surprise like it happened last Thursday.  City Police Commissioner K.T. Balakrishna told Star of Mysore this morning that the teams were on the job and the criminals will be arrested soon. “More details cannot be revealed now in the interest of investigation,” he added.

Police sources said that teams have fanned out to track those involved in the crime. “We have a few vital pieces of information about the possible hideouts of the miscreants and the teams have been sent to those places. As of now, there are no arrests, but a few people involved in earlier incidents of chain-snatchings are being questioned,” a Police officer said.

The Police are also checking the previous records of the people belonging to the Irani Gang, suspected to be behind the incidents. “We are working with our counterparts in neighbouring States to hunt down the people involved in the offence,” he added.

Over 205 Policemen in mufti have been deployed across the city including the ring road junctions to track the possible escape routes used by the chain-snatchers. Also, they are keeping a watch on the movement of bikes especially on the ring road that touches a particular locality. Eight check-posts have been set up on the city outskirts along with 87 check points and 162 personnel have been deployed to keep vigil.

While three teams are engaged for cracking the case, patrolling has been intensified in the mornings and evenings at places that had been identified as susceptible to such crimes and areas women frequent for walk.

Over 30 Traffic Policemen have been asked to function at these check points to check two-wheelers and their documents. So far, over 311 bikes without registration numbers and documents have been seized.

The Police have increased vigil at parks, shopping malls and deserted residential areas looking for chain-snatchers who are on the prowl. Over 40 Garuda and 25 Cheetah vehicles are being used for patrolling in vulnerable areas. People moving suspiciously in vehicles are being flagged down and questioned, apart from noting down the registration numbers.

Interestingly, ‘Operation Fast Track’ is being implemented in close coordination by Police from Law and Order wing, Traffic and Special Branch Police. Along with registration numbers, the Police are tracking the details of owners of vehicles especially Pulsar, Karizma and Honda bikes.

The Police have appealed the public to alert them in case of any suspicious movements of two-wheelers in their areas. The Police are suspecting a gang from Maharashtra to be behind chain snatching incidents. Sources said that these criminals stay in cheap lodges in nondescript and small cities and travel hundreds of kilometres to commit the crime.