Cops focus on goondas, chain-snatchers unchecked

While the city police focusses on detaining gangsters specifically under the Goonda Act, citizens seek police intervention to curb commonplace crimes like robbery and chain snatching cases.

With the Assembly elections around the corner, the Chennai city police is on an anti-gangster drive. The brief to the officials is simple, ‘get hold of all proclaimed offenders who can be booked under Goonda Act.’ This list is now being updated regularly and reported to the government. According to city police sources, as many as 150 gangsters were arrested in 2016 and around 70 of them have been detained under the Goonda Act. 

But city police are now being heavily criticised for its failure to curb the cases of chain snatching and robberies which are now being reported on a daily basis in the city. 

“When you look for offenders, look for those who could be booked under Goonda Act,” a police official was heard instructing his junior official. But inside sources told DT Next that the exercise has just become an exercise to garner large numbers just to impress the top bosses. 

“Some of these accused who have been arrested need to be detained and it definitely reduces the cases of gang wars in Chennai. But we see that the number of burglary, robbery and chain snatching cases are being reported regularly in the city with no effective plans on the field to curb them,” another official said. 

The eagerness of the city police to add to the number of people detained under Goonda Act is so much that, recently the Anti-Vice Squad (AVS) officials were asked to liaison with prison officials to delay the release of a notorious offender who got bail so that he could be detained under Goonda Act immediately and put back in the prison. Some residents feel the ‘visible police’ initiative, introduced by the former city police commissioner, S George, had been effective in curbing cases of robbery and chain snatching. 

“We used to see a police patrol vehicle in every street corner and it had given us a lot of confidence. But now we do not see much policemen on the field. Detention of notorious gangsters is definitely a good measure but police should also take steps to bring down the cases of burglary, chain snatching and robbery. Patrolling should be made more visible,” Krishna Kumar, a resident of Vadapalani said. 

Police sources said the accused involved in crimes like robbery and chain snatching are not big gangsters but unorganised, petty thieves. 

“More than gang wars, what scares the public is gangs that engaged in robbery and chain snatching. I am scared to let my daughter go out alone during evening or early morning hours as I get to read about instances of chain snatching and armed robbery on a daily basis. So police will have to focus more on this aspect instead of adding people on to the Goonda List,” Sethuraman, a resident of Virugambakkam said.