A man snatched a purse from a woman in front of an Axis Bank branch in Salt Lake's BD Block in front of around 40 people who had turned up to deposit or exchange Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes on Friday morning.
Police said they had been patrolling the areas around banks but learnt about the snatching only after the woman, Suvidha Bagla, 38, lodged a complaint. No one was arrested till late on Friday.
Suvidha said the purse contained ornaments she had just collected from her locker in the bank. She was calling her driver standing on the pavement in front of the bank when a man, his face covered with a piece of cloth, tugged at her purse.
"I held on to the straps of the bag but felt a sharp pain in my arm and had to let go of it," the BD Block resident said. "About 50 people were standing in the queue but none gave him a chase. The snatcher just ran away. I never thought such a thing could happen in front of so many people."
Residents of Salt Lake Metro talked to said it's a shame people were not safe even in front of banks where police vigil was expected.
"Today I visited at least four banks in Salt Lake in search of one where I could deposit Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes without waiting too long. I did not see any cop around any of the banks," said Nilanjan Dutta, 45, a businessman and resident of ED Block.
A police officer of Bidhannagar North police station, where Suvidha lodged her complaint, said none of the residents standing in the queue alerted them about the snatching.
"None of those in the queue chased the snatcher or alerted us. We have started an investigation based on a complaint lodged by the woman," the officer said.
"We are scanning the CCTV footage of the area and are investigating the case," said Santosh Pandey, the deputy commissioner, detective department, Bidhannagar commissionerate.
Chain snatch
Two men on a bike snatched a gold chain from a young woman in EE Block near the Wipro crossing late on Wednesday. Rakhi Sarkar, 21, was walking towards the Karunamoyee bus stand when the pillion rider snatched the chain.
