Bhubaneswar, May 21: Snatchers are on the prowl again at night with around 10 such cases reported over the last 15 days in the city.

Three snatchers on Saturday night snatched the gold chain and two mobile phones from a 47-year-old woman in Rasulgarh on Saturday night.

"I was returning from office with one of my colleagues when the three youths intercepted our scooty and stopped us. One of the youth pushed me and when I fell on the ground he snatched my gold chain. Another youth took away my vanity bag with two mobiles," said the victim Sandhyarani Panda.

Later, Mancheswar police reached the spot and started an investigation. On Monday night, around six goons attempted to rob a commuter identified as Pradeep Mangaraj on Nayapalli Flyover Bridge. Mangaraj was on his way to Patia on his car when the goons stopped him.

"They asked me alight from the vehicle and when I resisted they broke one of my windows. I had no option but to come out. Then, they asked me to handover my valuables but I started running with the key of the car. Later, I called the police and when I reached my vehicle it was badly damaged," said Mangaraj.

Such snatchers used to target commuters on the national highway stretch between Palsuni and Khandagiri, but they are now resorting to the crime in internal city roads.

"Most of the city roads are illuminated properly but the snatchers are not afraid of committing the crime on those roads. This proves that they are not even afraid of police," said Debashish Sahoo, a resident of Rasulgarh.

Police officials said that several encounters in 2016 had kept the snatchers at bay but some of them have recently released on bail. "We suspect the snatchers who were recently released from jail to be behind these incidents. Besides, we are also suspecting involvement of a few students in these crimes for earning easy money," said a police official.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi said police stations concerned would intensify night patrolling. "We are also sending our men as decoys during night hours to nab the snatchers. We're trying to track the snatchers who have recently been released from jail," said Bhoi.