Patna, Sept. 12: Police have drawn a sketchy plan to put brakes on chain-snatching in the city. They have decided to publish sketches of suspected chain-snatchers in newspapers so that residents could identify the criminals and inform police about them.

A section of cops is doubtful if the plan would help curb the crime, as similar steps taken in the past have not helped much. One of them said: “Similar steps were initiated in the past. But they were not implemented properly. The new plan of sketching the criminal is quite dicey. Sketches will not ensure a catch.”

Recalling a previous incident when the police had released the sketch of an eve-teaser, he said: “The picture of a man, who had molested a teenager near JD Women’s College on February 27, this year, was also released. No one has been caught yet.”

Using sketches to nab culprits bombed elsewhere also. The Telegraph in its September 9 edition had published a report on how the Delhi police made and maintained a file of sketches of terrorists. These, however, had not helped to catch any of the terror masterminds.

Yet, the senior police officers of the city decided to try out the plan as the number of chain-snatching incidents have escalated. Three chain-snatching incidents were reported yesterday from the state capital.

A group of armed persons stopped one B.P. Singh on Bhootnath Road under Agamkuan police station around 1pm and fled with his wife’s gold chain. The criminals pointed a country-made pistol at Singh’s children. They threatened to kill them if Singh’s wife did not handover her chain to them.

Within 10 minutes of this, the same group, who were on two motorbikes, stopped one Prabhat Kumar at Gandhi Nagar and snatched his gold chain.

Later in the day, two motorbike-borne criminals snatched a gold chain of Jagat Narayan Road resident Urmila Devi. She was returning home after buying vegetables.

According to the plan, the cops would seek the help of sketch artists to produce pictures of criminals based on the description of the victims. Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Alok Kumar passed an order in this connection yesterday.

A police officer today told The Telegraph: “From now, police will visit the houses of victims of chain-snatchers. Based on their description, the artist would draw up sketches of the criminals, which would be published in newspapers and other media to make more people aware and help the police nab the criminals.”

He added: “Chain-snatching is common in places like Shastri Nagar, SK Puri, Kankerbagh, Rajiv Nagar, Patliputra and Buddha Colony. These are quieter areas of the city and not too many people visit them. Hence, it is a perfect place for the criminals to strike.”