Gold chain theft on local trains was a `1.35cr business in 2011
With gold prices touching Rs29,000 per 10gm, bullion traders aren’t the only ones on a bull run. Pickpockets and mobile phone thieves are switching to the more lucrative business of chain-snatching, if the Mumbai railway police data on commuter complaints in the past one year is anything to go by.
Confirming a steady rise in complaints, an official of the CST railway police revealed that in 2010, gold chains worth over Rs91 lakh were stolen or snatched on local trains. This figure jumped to Rs1.35 crore in 2011.
A total of 445 cases of chain-snatching were registered in 2011 with a detection rate of nearly 21%. In comparison, only 416 cases were registered in 2010 but the detection rate was a low 8%.
Pick-pocketing and mobile phone theft have ceased to attract petty criminals primarily for two reasons: commuters have started carrying credit and debit cards instead of cash, and most mobile phones can now be traced easily with the handset’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.
Deputy commissioner of police GL Bhandare of the Mumbai railway police said, “Patrolling has been intensified in the ladies compartments of local trains as well as on railway station premises to nab chain-snatchers.”
With gold prices touching Rs29,000 per 10gm, bullion traders aren’t the only ones on a bull run. Pickpockets and mobile phone thieves are switching to the more lucrative business of chain-snatching, if the Mumbai railway police data on commuter complaints in the past one year is anything to go by.
Confirming a steady rise in complaints, an official of the CST railway police revealed that in 2010, gold chains worth over Rs91 lakh were stolen or snatched on local trains. This figure jumped to Rs1.35 crore in 2011.
A total of 445 cases of chain-snatching were registered in 2011 with a detection rate of nearly 21%. In comparison, only 416 cases were registered in 2010 but the detection rate was a low 8%.
Pick-pocketing and mobile phone theft have ceased to attract petty criminals primarily for two reasons: commuters have started carrying credit and debit cards instead of cash, and most mobile phones can now be traced easily with the handset’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number.
Deputy commissioner of police GL Bhandare of the Mumbai railway police said, “Patrolling has been intensified in the ladies compartments of local trains as well as on railway station premises to nab chain-snatchers.”
No comments:
Post a Comment