SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2024
Team Herald
MARGAO: Even as nine gold chain and mangalsutra snatching cases have been reported in South Goa last year, the Goa police seem to have been groping in the dark looking out for the thieves as only two cases have been detected till date.
The victims say that they made innumerable trips to the police stations to find out about the progress of investigation in their cases but come back disappointed with no positive answers coming from the cops.
According to the information available with the South Goa police, nine such incidents were reported wherein gold chains and other valuables were stolen but only two cases were solved by the police.
Police records revealed that at Cuncolim, Fatorda and Verna, two such gold snatching incidents were reported respectively and ornaments worth lakhs of rupees were snatched away by a scooterist who continues to elude the men in uniform till date.
Similar incidents were reported at Maina Curtorim, Quepem and Ponda too and of which Quepem police are yet to detect the case.
In Assolna, a senior citizen who was proceeding to Church was waylaid by a scooterist who later snatched her gold chain and fled. The Cuncolim police registered the offence but are yet to arrest the thief.
74-year-old Bella Travasso was seriously injured after she foiled an attempt by an unidentified person to snatch her chain at Quepem.
An incident of a chain snatching case in the jurisdiction of Fatorda police station triggered outrage on social media after the incident was captured by CCTV surveillance cameras.
The motorcycle-borne thieves were seen snatching a chain from a woman while she was riding a bike and fleeing from the scene.
Meanwhile police have recently arrested a habitual chain snatcher Faizan Sayyed (22), a native of Belagavi-Karnataka however chain snatching cases are being regularly reported along isolated roads in Salcete villages.
In Salcete, five chain snatching cases were reported last year of which two each were reported in Cuncolim and Fatorda while one was reported at Maina Curtorim police station. Only one case has been detected till date.
Sources in police say that most chain-snatching incidents are not reported at the police stations as women often shy away from filing complaints.
At present, two member gangs of chain-snatchers are on the prowl in some parts of Salcete and these conmen have been adopting different tricks to divert the attention of the public.
Police said that the modus operandi is simple.
The bike rider approaches the victim on the pretext of asking for some local address while the pillion rider grabs the gold ornaments and they flee.
Round the clock-patrolling by the police too does not deter the thieves from committing these crimes.
