Bike Attack

Bike Attack
The Times of India

Residents of posh areas in Bangalore are becoming easy targets for criminals on bikes

Crime scene

A man riding pillion on a bike snatched IT professional, Patriciah Joseph's handbag while she was just a few minutes away from her home in Koramangala. Two guys on a bike followed entrepreneur Kamal Singh and his girlfriend to their home off the Indiranagar-Koramangala Ring Road, all the time threatening to force them off the road.

A man on a bike repeatedly zoomed past Sameera R, student, threatening to touch her, while she was walking on a deserted road in Indiranagar. On his way back home off Eijipura, design student Rahul S was attacked by four guys on two bikes.

While they took his watch, cell phone and wallet, he returned home with a few bruises. The above are just some of the bike crimes that have become regular in Bangalore's posh areas. According to reports, areas topping the list include Indiranagar, Koramangala, Jayanagar and Richmond Town.

Time of the day

While most of these happen right after sunset, there have been instances of similar daylight crimes too. The time of the day does not deter criminals. “I was walking back home at around 8.30 pm when I was accosted,” says Patriciah.

“The guy on the bike snatched my bag and in addition to the cash, I lost the cell phone that I was. carrying in it. I felt worse because I was just a few yards away from home and couldn't do anything about it.”

Easy Target

People walking alone after dark are easy targets to bike-borne criminals lurking around to make some quick bucks. Youngsters returning home on bikes after a night out could encounter such unpleasant incidents. Says Kamal, “I was going to drop my girlfriend back home when two unidentified guys on a bike kept following us.

They were young guys themselves and they kept passing comments. They wanted us to stop and tried to run us off the road. Luckily, we were not too far from home and reached safe. We complained to the cops and after that we have seen a couple of policemen hanging around all the time, but such crimes have not stopped.”

Cop speak

Says joint Commissioner of police, crime, Narayan Gowda, “We have been getting many such complaints from posh areas. That is probably because criminals feel the women in such areas are bound to wear expensive jewellery or carry cash in their bags.

We have caught many such criminals. We have regular patrolling in these areas by our Hoysalas or Cheetahs; we even have plain clothes policemen in private vehicles patrolling such areas. But if a crime does happen, people should help us nab criminals by reporting the crime immediately.”

What you can do to stay safe:

*Avoid exhibiting your jewellery on roads

*Carry handbags with short straps; those that sling a long way down are easy targets

*Shout for help immediately or make a noise. Bangaloreans are usually quite helpful

*Always carry something that can help you defend yourself

*Report the crime immediately