Ranchi: With nearly a dozen snatching incidents reported across the city in the past one month, police have intensified vigilance measures and are planning more steps to curb the recent spurt in petty crimes. The incidents have triggered safety concerns among residents.City police on Saturday said that they launched special drives, increased patrolling in vulnerable areas and started verification of habitual offenders as part of the crackdown.On Saturday, police also conducted anti-crime drives at more than 50 locations across Ranchi district, checking vehicles and passengers. The exercise was part of an ongoing drive against criminals launched over the past few days.There were nearly 12 cases of snatching reported in the past month. In the latest incident, unidentified miscreants on Friday snatched a gold necklace worth around Rs 1.5 lakh from a woman behind the Bariatu police station while she was returning home after buying vegetables.Residents expressed concern over the increasing number of incidents. Barhitoli resident Radha Devi said, “Such incidents have instilled fear among people. After miscreants snatched a chain from me several months ago, I have started wearing black threads in place of mangalsutra.”Another resident, Sujit Sharma, said the fear of losing valuables while travelling in the city remains constant.SP (city) Paras Rana said investigations have revealed that habitual offenders were involved in many of the crimes. “Police are verifying the whereabouts of miscreants with criminal antecedents,” he said.Rana added that police stations, PCR vans and tiger mobile units have been directed to intensify patrolling in isolated areas, particularly during morning hours. He said the criminals were using motorcycles with fake number plates and concealing their identities with helmets and masks, making identification difficult.Addressing a news conference, Rana said they arrested two persons, identified as Dheeraj Kumar and Major Yadav, and detained a minor in connection with the alleged robbing of passengers arriving at Hatia railway station recently. Two auto-rickshaws, a printer and Rs 5,000 in cash were seized from them, he added.
