ON THE LOOSE
18 cases of robbery across Chennai in 24 hours
Some Mugged At Knifepoint; Activists Blame ‘Attitude’ Of Cops For Spurt In Crime
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 12.06.2018
Between Sunday and early Monday, 14 incidents of chain snatching and four robberies rocked Chennai. But the police have not registered complaints of robbery and instead have asked the victims to submit their complaints as if they had ‘lost’ their phones, cash and gold jewellery.
Lawyers and retired police personnel said the attitude of the police has emboldened robbers. With the state assembly in session, police refuse to entertain complaints of robbery, they said. Such reports, the government fears, will become ammunition in the hands of the opposition.
Senior counsel and former special public prosecutor of human rights court V Kannadasan cited the case of a victim from Thiruvottiyur to drive home the point. “The victim, Arvind, was subject to police negligence. His phone was snatched by two men in March. When he approached the H-8 Thiruvottiyur police station, they asked him to write that he had lost his mobile,” he said. But on May 2, Arvind came across a vernacular daily which reported the arrest of two men in the same area. He recognised the robbers and approached the police again, but they turned him away, Kannadasan said.
A retired DGP said policemen do not register robbery cases as that would invite the ire of seniors. The officer said how one of his friends went to a police station to register a case of gold theft but the police gave him a community service register instead.
To contain the menace and solve cases faster, Chennai police plans to install more than 1,500 cameras all over the city but that could be of little use as robbers often cover their faces with helmets and ride stolen vehicles. “Police often say that new gangs are involved but what have they done to stop them,” asked retired police officer S Aravindan.
Kannadasan said only “stringent punishment” would deter such robbers who have come to believe that they can get away after committing a crime.
But a senior police officer denied that 14 incidents of chain snatching took place on Sunday. “The numbers are inflated. There were only four incidents in the wee hours of Monday,” he said.
18 cases of robbery across Chennai in 24 hours
Some Mugged At Knifepoint; Activists Blame ‘Attitude’ Of Cops For Spurt In Crime
TIMES NEWS NETWORK 12.06.2018
Between Sunday and early Monday, 14 incidents of chain snatching and four robberies rocked Chennai. But the police have not registered complaints of robbery and instead have asked the victims to submit their complaints as if they had ‘lost’ their phones, cash and gold jewellery.
Lawyers and retired police personnel said the attitude of the police has emboldened robbers. With the state assembly in session, police refuse to entertain complaints of robbery, they said. Such reports, the government fears, will become ammunition in the hands of the opposition.
Senior counsel and former special public prosecutor of human rights court V Kannadasan cited the case of a victim from Thiruvottiyur to drive home the point. “The victim, Arvind, was subject to police negligence. His phone was snatched by two men in March. When he approached the H-8 Thiruvottiyur police station, they asked him to write that he had lost his mobile,” he said. But on May 2, Arvind came across a vernacular daily which reported the arrest of two men in the same area. He recognised the robbers and approached the police again, but they turned him away, Kannadasan said.
A retired DGP said policemen do not register robbery cases as that would invite the ire of seniors. The officer said how one of his friends went to a police station to register a case of gold theft but the police gave him a community service register instead.
To contain the menace and solve cases faster, Chennai police plans to install more than 1,500 cameras all over the city but that could be of little use as robbers often cover their faces with helmets and ride stolen vehicles. “Police often say that new gangs are involved but what have they done to stop them,” asked retired police officer S Aravindan.
Kannadasan said only “stringent punishment” would deter such robbers who have come to believe that they can get away after committing a crime.
But a senior police officer denied that 14 incidents of chain snatching took place on Sunday. “The numbers are inflated. There were only four incidents in the wee hours of Monday,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment