Cops gear up to curb loots on Surat roads

SURAT: Police have started taking several steps in a focused manner to tackle the menace of thefts, loots and chain-snatchings on city roads.
Senior officers have asked cops to increase frequency of patrolling on motorcycles in the areas where maximum number of loots had been reported of late. Intense patrolling and strict checking by police had yielded positive results in the past. Traffic police points at a few locations had helped stop chain-snatching incidents at some places.History-sheeters involved in similar cases and those arrested in the past three years will be cross-examined and if found involved in any suspicious activity, they will be arrested.
If anyone is found with a mobile phone registered in the name of some other person and if the possessor fails to give a proper explanation, he or she is likely to be considered a thief. Action could be taken against him or her for keeping a stolen material. Police can check any suspicious person and one will have to produce papers to prove that the mobile phone is his or hers. Those found purchasing stolen mobile phone should also be arrested for theft, the directive by senior cops said.
To keep a check on trade of stolen phones, police will keep a vigil on mobile shops and markets known for dealing in used mobile phones. Shop owners selling phones without bill will be punished. Persons arrested multiple times for mobile loots and thefts could be jailed under Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA). Crime branch team has been instructed to work with local police to detect mobile loot and theft cases.
“Due to sudden rise in chain-snatching and loot cases, we have started a drive against these crimes. Some instructions have been issued to city cops. No incident has been reported since police started to take focused action in this connection,” city police commissioner Satish Sharma said.