Snatch thefts are climbing a steep graph in Ranchi.

In the fourth successful rob-and-run incident in three weeks (see box), two men on a bike snatched Rs 5.40 lakh from the accountant of a boutique hotel in the capital on Thursday afternoon, hundreds of commuters on a busy thoroughfare acting as zero deterrent to their daredevil plan.

The incident took place around 12.45pm in front of Eqra Masjid in Hindpiri, barely 100 metres from hotel Capitol Hill on Main Road.

Accountant Vijay Kumar had withdrawn the money from IDBI Bank, which is just 200 metres away from the hotel, for salary disbursement and was walking back when the bike zoomed past him. The pillion-rider lunged at the bag containing cash, catching Kumar unawares near the mosque roundabout. He lost grip and the bikers sped away with the cash towards Mallah Toli in Hindpiri.

The operation, Kumar told police, was so swift that he couldn't see the snatchers. All he could recall was that the pillion-rider was wearing a black shirt and the bike was a Hero Honda.

Purchase manager of Capitol Group Anit Singh said that Thursday was the salary day at both Capitol Hill and sister hotel Capitol Residency, which is on Station Road, 1.5km away.

"An employee of Residency, Ranjan Prasad. withdrew Rs 4 lakh from the same bank for salary disbursement at his hotel. He reached safely on his bike. Minutes later, Capitol Hill accountant Vijay Kumar informed us of the snatching. We called police," Singh said.

On why the hotel authorities didn't consider sending Kumar in a vehicle to fetch the money, which would have boosted security, a Capitol Hill official cited traffic bottlenecks. "Main Road is notorious for snarls on weekdays. A person can cover the distance to and from the bank faster on foot," he said.

General manager of Capitol Hill Narendra Singh couldn't agree more. "The bank is a stone's throw from our hotel. Besides, two employees of the group went together. Unfortunately, one was robbed once the other parted ways," he said.

Ranchi city SP Kishore Kaushal, who inspected the spot along with Kotwali ASP Anshuman Kumar and Kotwali thana OC Vijay Kumar Singh, did not rule out organised crime, given the frequency of incidents of snatching in the capital.

"Criminals seem to know who is carrying how much cash and where. These are signs (of organised crime). We have collected clues and the perpetrators will soon be brought to book," Kaushal said.

Police were last seen scouting for surveillance cameras at business establishments near the bank and the mosque. "Footage recorded by CCTV cameras may give us clues on the bike duo," an officer said.

How safe do you feel in Ranchi? Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com