CHAIN GANGS

CHAIN GANGS
Serial chain-snatching is back to haunt Bangalore’s roads. Times City traces the history and roots of this crime
Vinay Madhav | TNN

Bangalore: Ravi built his house, chain by chain. A teetotaller and loner, he kept to himself at his hometown near Kanakapura. People there thought his only passion was to ride his motorcycle to Bangalore.
But his one folly was to ride his motorbike barefoot, which did not miss the sharp eyes of a police constable attached to the CCB. He detained Ravi near Banashankari and questioned him. Earlier, victims of chain-snatchings had told the police that the snatcher rode barefoot. The constable also noticed that Ravi had smeared grease over two of the four digits on his number plate.
Further interrogation revealed an interesting story. It was 1998, and Ravi was building a house in his hometown at a cost of Rs 13 lakh, a big sum then. He had raised money through chain-snatching.
Soon after the cops picked him up, Ravi’s father had filed a habeas corpus petition in court. Police produced him before the court and took him into custody. By the time Ravi was remanded to judicial custody, police had recovered more than 24 gold chains he had snatched from women across the city.
Apart from the original colour of his motorcycle, Ravi had petrol tanks and side tanks in three different colours, which he changed regularly. He often covered one or two numbers on the number plates, which had made it difficult for the police to track him.
Ravi is a commerce graduate, as are many of the organized chain-snatchers in the city. Last year, Subrahmanyanagar police arrested a gang of five hailing from Dakshina Kannada district, but settled in Pune. All of them were engineering college drop-outs and had snatched over 58 gold chains in Bangalore.
While Ravi was caught in 1998, and there have been stray incidents, the history of chain-snatching on motorcycles dates back to 1982. Two motorcycle-borne persons had sparked terror with serial chain-snatching. Unlike the present, the situation became very serious and there was a move to shift city police commissioner Harlankar from the post. The police even launched ‘Operation Tiger’ to nab the duo.
However, it took over two years to catch the culprits, by which time they had snatched over 52 gold chains, of which 39 were mangalsutras. The two were brothers — Narendra and Gopal — hailing from Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. They struck every 30-45 days, and each time, they snatched at least five chains, starting from Byappanahalli, J P Nagar, Vijayanagar to Fraser Town.
In the recent elections, the duo’s brother contested an assembly seat in Bangalore, and lost. One of the two chainsnatchers was very active during the election. Sub-inspector B B Ashok Kumar, who had nabbed them then, is now ACP in Fraser Town.
New challenges
Since then, chain-snatching on motorcycles has evolved significantly. Time and again, gangs strike and police keep arresting them. “Every time, it is a new gang. Once arrested, no gang continues chainsnatching, which makes the job more challenging for the police,’’ points out S K Umesh, JP Nagar police inspector.
“They look for upper middle-class areas. There is little or no neighbourhood surveillance. They choose calm localities to crowded ones. While Mahalakshmi Layout and parts of Rajajinagar are usually affected by chain-snatching, in neighbouring Basaveshwaranagar, people quickly react to such incidents. Malleswaram market is not targeted, while residential areas near Chord Road are a favourite hunting ground,’’ he points out.
Most of the incidents take place in corridor-like areas, running through Bangalore North, West and South divisions. It is mainly in parts of Malleswaram, Subrahmanyanagar, Rajajinagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Vijayanagar, RPC Layout, Girinagar, Banashankari, Jayanagar 6th and 7th Blocks. “They look for easy exits and many escape routes,’’ says Ashok Kumar.
“These are all areas close to the Ring Road. Once they strike, they want roads without many signals, and some exit roads alongside a straight road. Chord Road and areas near Ring Road provide perfect exits. They can sneak into the next area and be lost,” says Kumar.
DCP Syed Ulfat Hussain, who headed the CCB when Ravi was arrested, says though chain-snatchers originate from all over the city, they prefer to operate only in these areas. “It may be a matter of convenience. Though they operate along Malleswaram border, they do not venture to Yeshwantpur, which is just 1 km from there. We have studied many cases, and the results are the same,’’ he says.
Meanwhile, the new duo have posed a challenge to the police. They ride a black motorcycle, wear full-faced helmets and target women walking on isolated roads. In the evenings, the two-hour power cuts are an advantage. The rider comes with great speed from the opposite direction. He can take a U-turn without even reducing the speed. While the pillion snatches the chain, the motorcycle goes into a wheelie for some distance, before zooming into the darkness.
Even before snatching the chain, the pillion makes sure he gets the angle right. If it is not, he raises his hand, as if he is going to beat the victim. When she ducks to escape, he gets the proper angle. The duo has never missed an opportunity, or even snatched half a chain so far.
Most times, chain-snatchers have been arrested due to their own mistakes. City police commissioner Shankar Bidari’s deadline of 72 hours to nab the duo, seems to be a hurried announcement.
Where does
the loot go?
Earlier, there was a set of pawn brokers in Raja Market or Sapphire Road in Shivajinagar, who used to accept the jewellery. Sometimes, the police would get information which was leaked during the transaction. Not any more. “Now, there are many people who receive these stolen goods and it has become a big challenge for us. Some small-time banks are giving 60% loans on gold and chain snatchers may pledge this gold, take the money and never return. Instead of giving it in one chunk, they may be pledging them one by one,’’ says Hussain.
LOOK OUT
The pair rides a black motorcycle, wears full-faced helmets and targets women walking on isolated roads
They strike in the evenings, usually during the two-hour power cuts
Rider comes with great speed from opposite direction, and sometimes takes U-turn
Pillion snatches chain, motorcycle does wheelie and zooms off
Pillion may raise hand to hit victim, to confuse her and get the angle right
MODUS OPERANDI
They target calm, upper middle-class areas
Hot targets: Mahalakshmi Layout, parts of Rajajinagar, Malleswaram, off Chord Road, Subrahmanyanagar, Rajajinagar, Vijayanagar, RPC Layout, Girinagar, Banashankari, Jayanagar 6th and 7th Blocks. They stay away from Malleswaram market, Yeshwantpur
Choose areas close to Ring Road for easy exit