Avoid wearing jewellery: RWA apex body’s advisory amid snatching spree in Chandigarh

With six cases of snatching reported since the beginning of this month, Chandigarh Resident Associations Welfare Federation (Crawfed) has issued an advisory to all constituent RWAs to stay alert and practise caution.

The CCTV footage of a 72-year-old woman being targeted by two bike-borne men outside her house in Sector 19 on August 6 has left residents worried after it was shared widely on social media.

“As people are losing their jobs amid the Covid-19 pandemic, some are turning to crime, and it is necessary for all residents to remain prepared and stay safe,” said Crawfed chairman Hitesh Puri.

According to the advisory, people should avoid wearing gold and diamond ornaments, including chains and earrings. It also asks people to keep doors latched owing to the recent string of thefts in the city, and to have phone numbers of neighbours, police control room and beat cops handy.

RL Goyal, president of the Sector 19B RWA, said: “After the recent snatching in the sector, women have started going for walks in small groups of four or five for their safety.”

SK Khosla, general secretary of the RWA in Sector 40C, where a woman’s mobile phone was snatched on August 8, said, “Roads in the sector are dimly lit and police need to be more stringent with patrolling or such crimes will keep happening.”

Claiming that cops carry out special drives to check snatchings throughout the year, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Charanjit Singh Virk said: “In evening, all beat cops patrol their respective areas. With Independence Day coming up, police checking has already been stepped up and special nakas have been deployed throughout the city.”