MARGAO: A series of gold ornament snatching incidents have been reported in Margao, Maina-Curtorim, and Fatorda, creating fear among residents, especially women. While several have fallen victim to old school chain snatchers who speed away on two-wheelers, a more disconcerting trend is the sweet-talking conmen who pose as police officers and swindle gullible citizens of their cash and gold jewellery.
The majority of the victims are women who are targeted by thieves while walking on the streets or waiting for public transport.
On Monday, 72-year-old cashier, Santosh Virdikar, who works at a private company, lodged a complaint with the Fatorda police after being deceived by two individuals posing as policemen. The culprits stole Virdikar’s gold ornaments worth approximately Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 68,000 in cash, belonging to his employer. When Virdikar was returning home on his two-wheeler, the fake policemen flagged him down in Fatorda, claiming to be conducting a safety check. Speaking in Hindi, they asked for his licence and appeared concerned for his well-being, warning him about chain-snatchers operating in the area. They convinced the senior citizen to hand over his gold chain, bangle, and ring, which they wrapped in a white paper for safekeeping and returned to him. When
Virdikar reached home, he found that the thieves had replaced his gold with metal chains and had also stolen his cash.
On the same day, the two fake policemen also struck Aquem. The culprits arrived on a two-wheeler and approached Mira S Kamat and her sister-in-law, Pusha Deshpande who were walking home after shopping. The two men claimed to be Crime Branch officers and advised them on gold theft prevention. They asked the women to remove their gold chains, which were then wrapped in a white paper and placed in the complainant’s purse. However, when the women later checked, the gold chains weighing 20 grams each, worth Rs 1.60 lakh, were missing.
In another incident, two unidentified individuals engaged a 63-year-old woman in conversation outside her residence in Davorlim before snatching her mangalsutra valued at Rs 1.90 lakh. The Maina-Curtorim police have registered a case under Sections 356 and 379 of the IPC.
Similarly, in Aquem, a motorcycle rider snatched a woman’s mangalsutra and other gold ornaments worth Rs one lakh as she walked along the road.
These incidents highlight the need for increased police presence, better street lighting, and more surveillance in vulnerable areas to prevent such crimes.
