Bhubaneswar, Dec. 4: The involvement of a few students in incidents of snatching has emerged as a new headache for police here.
The police said that an estimated 2,000 of such petty criminals were involved in several crimes in the past two years. They said the snatchers usually take shelter in the growing number of slums in the state capital.
A police official said that although the number of snatching cases has come down in the last few months, several gangs were still active in the city.
Though the police had registered 119 cases of snatching in the city last year, sources said the number was much higher as most often cops were reluctant to register cases related to theft of mobile phones and petty cash.
"In most cases of mobile snatching, the police ask victims to lodge missing complaints," a source said.
Deputy commissioner Sat-yabrata Bhoi said that this year the police had so far arrested around 500 snatchers, including some students. "We have launched a special drive against snatchers which has helped us bring down such incidents. Besides, we are also keeping tabs on snatchers after they are released from jail. The drive will continue," said Bhoi.
The recovery of 50 smart phones worth Rs 6 lakh on Wednesday from eight accused, including five minors, has left the cops worried as returning the cell phones has become a problem.
"As most of the cases related to snatching of the recovered mobile phones had not been registered either due to lack of interest of victims or reluctance of the police, we are handing over the stolen phones to owners who produce bills and receipts," said a police official.
The cops said the snatchers included a number of engineering students. Data revealed that while 23 engineering students were arrested for petty crimes such as snatching and robbery in 2014, the number went up to 35 in 2015.
"It's easy for us to keep tabs on known snatchers as we have been tracking them even after they are released from jail. But the involvement of students in snatching is a headache as they don't have previous records and we are unable to keep tabs on them," said a police official.
