Patna, Nov. 13: Prompt in moral policing, crime control seems to have become secondary for the city cops. The police today decided to launch a drive against obscene posters and billboards, a day after imparting morality lessons to youths during a raid on a cyber café.

While a senior cop was talking about the requirement of the moral policing, two motorbike-borne persons snatched the gold chain of West Patel Nagar resident Kiran Jha and fled, exposing the poor state of policing in the city. But the daylight crime did not deter the city police from announcing a drive to remove eyesores to develop a “refined society”.

While the police are busy giving moral lessons, criminals are virtually having a field day. Chain-snatchers have become a serious threat to women. Fake goods trade is simply thriving.

Businessman Priyadarshan Raj (30), a resident of Ashok Rajpath, said: “The topmost priority of the cops should be crime control. This is missing in Patna. Chain-snatching, eve-teasing and loots are common now. Raids on cafés or drive to remove obscene posters is fine to an extent, but crime control is far more important.”

The police are acting promptly to stop immoral activities in the city for sure. But their effectiveness in crime control has been much below the expectations.

A resident of Kankerbagh said: “Chain-snatching has become a nightmare for women. The police have been effectively curbing immoral activities in the city but they have done precious little to tame chain-snatchers. They are going on drawing the sketches of the chain-snatchers and revising them.”

More than 60 chain-snatching incidents have been reported so far this year. Only 20 people have been arrested.

Worse, the cops are clueless on several cases. A person killed his wife, sister-in-law and three children in a city hotel on October 22. The accused, Shravan Kumar, is at large. The police have no inkling about his whereabouts.

But more than criminals and crimes, obscene billboards seem to have irked the city police force more. A senior police officer today told The Telegraph: “One can see advertisements, especially on treatment of impotency, in public places like railway stations and bus stands. Mostly, quacks put them up to dupe people. We have directed the police stations to make arrangements to remove all such advertisements from public places because they are a cause of embarrassment for several families.”

The officer added that the people behind such obscene advertisements would be arrested.

“They will be booked under Section 292 of the IPC for selling and printing indecent things. The offenders can be jailed for a maximum of five years,” the officer said.

The city police, on a moral policing spree, yesterday raided a cyber café in the Rajender Nagar area and detained around 80 teenagers. They were allegedly in compromising position. The cops claimed to have recovered several condoms and liquor bottles from the “dark café” having many cabins without computers.

“The café owner, identified as Sunil Kumar, is absconding. Several people talk about freedom of action, but we need to correct teenagers if they walk on the wrong path,” city superintendent of police (central) Shivdeep Lande told The Telegraph.

Earlier in July, the police raided two restaurants, a beauty parlour, a cyber café and a shopping complex and took 17 couples into custody.

According to the police, the two restaurants had cabins with curtains where young couples were allegedly indulging in “immoral acts” taking advantage of the dim light inside.

“The families of the girls were contacted and when they arrived, the girls were allowed to leave with them. As for the men, legal action will be initiated against them,” a police officer of the raiding team said.