Theft is the most common crime committed in Chittaranjan – of the 4,000 criminal cases filed by the city police in 2018, nearly 80% were related to theft — according to data given in the latest Crime in West Bengal state report released by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) on Wednesday.
Annual crime statistics of at least last 10 years show that the total number of criminal cases filed in Chittaranjan and their share in total cases filed across West Bengal have been constantly rising – from about 50,000 cases (2.4% of all cases in West Bengal) in 2009 to 249,000 cases (7.9% of all cases in West Bengal) in 2018. Thefts are a major source of this upward trend.
While the share of theft cases among crimes in Chittaranjan has been increasing – from 43% in 2009 to nearly 80% in 2018 — the number of non-theft cases has shown a decreasing trend since 2015. This is also visible in statistics for 2019 given on the Chittaranjan Police website.
Although this data corresponds to the period up to November 15 only, the number of theft cases has already crossed the 2018 figure.
As a result of the increasing number of theft cases, Chittaranjan’s share in the state’s theft cases has increased by nearly five times in a decade.
To be sure, not all kinds of thefts have increased, according to the Chittaranjan Police data. Snatching and house theft cases have shown a decreasing trend over last five years, according to the police data, while theft of motor vehicles and other thefts have been increasing.
The significant rise in the number of theft cases can also mean that more people now report thefts. The SCRB report says that certain city, such as Chittaranjan and Durgapur, have provided the means to register theft cases online, which may have increased the crime reporting in these city.
An HT analysis of crime data between January 1 and September 20 had shown that Chittaranjan Police have been registering several cases of snatching as simple theft, in a practice that experts said may explain the City’s declining street crime numbers at a time when anecdotal accounts suggest it is one of the biggest problems plaguing the city.
In at least 100 FIRs registered in the aforementioned nine-month period that HT reviewed, victims complained to Chittaranjan Police that bike-borne assailants “snatched” their belongings – such as jewellery, money or mobile phones — but police registered first information reports (FIRs) under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) instead of Sections 356 (assault or criminal force to commit theft) and 392 (robbery).
The maximum sentence under Section 379 is three years, that under Section 356 is two years and under Section 392 is 10 years.
Chittaranjan police spokesperson said the increase in the number of theft cases was because of the e-registration facility by the Chittaranjan police. He said thefts had been taking place earlier as well but nearly all victims were now reporting them.
Former director general of police, Vikram Singh, said a majority of those charged of theft are eventually acquitted and this was one of the reasons why the number of theft cases has been increasing. “Almost all the thefts barring a few end up being unpunished. So it’s one grey area of policing that needs to be redressed,” he said, adding that theft cases naturally increase with population but those that are reported should not go unaddressed. “The figures that you get are the figures that actually reflect the registration trends. The ground reality is that this crime is increasing everywhere world over.”
Alpesh@Lawpanch
Crime Report
To- The Concerned Authority
Humble complaint given below for which you have to take appropriate action:-
1 Theft
This term is usual for every locality but here it is more than the ususal because the
crime committed here is usually done by the youngster (Age group 14-25) year.
Those person who is travelling in night by Rail, Buses etc, have a risk of his life and
property with him. The offender indulged in the illegal activities like snatching
chain, theft of mobile phones etc. After de-boarding the transport like (rail,
buses) the passanger usually prefer rickshaw or by walking to reach their nearest
quarter. The offender when find the opportunity they attack on them by showing
them knife, katta ; it then turn into “Extortion”.
The offender also indulged in the theft of Bike from the premises of Railways
station, Cinema Halls, hospitals etc. They used to sell the bike to their boss for
which they work.
LAWS:-
Section 379 IPC Punishment for Theft: whoever commits theft shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three
years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 384 IPC Punishment for extortion: Whoever commits extortion shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to
three years, or with fine or with both.
STEPS TAKEN BY THE ADMINISTRATION:
The District Administration after seeing these types of crime; Started the Night
Bus Services from the Railway station to the their respective home routes. In each
bus there is two police guards for the passangers safety.
2 Mental and Physical torture of the COVID Infected person and their family
members:
COVID is now becoming a common disease because it is totally based on
immunity system of a person. If a person having low immunity and also if he has
mild fever then after testing for the COVID, there is more chance of being positive
result. After some time if their body develops immunity then their result might be
negative.
If a person after being tested positive he/she has to isolate themselves and have
to take some precautions. They have given some medicines as prescribed by the
govt. hospitals.
Allegation: The COVID person and their family member alleged that they have
been tortured by the other people in their locality. All the family members of
COVID patient has been treated like a terrorist. The society discriminate them as
like oppressed people. Even the shopkeepers of that locality does not provide any
goods to their family members. If they have to buy any RASHAN from the market
then they got it through another people.
LAWS:
There are various sections given in IPC which says about Offences Affecting the
Human Body (s.200-s.377).
Steps taken by the Administration
The central govt. led by PM Modi ji always says that “hame bimari se ladna hai,
bimar se nhi”. But this phrase doesn’t work at all. People have to change their
mindset and should support each other to came out of this difficult situations.
3 That I would like to request the concerned authority that please take
appropriate steps to curb out these illwill from the various locality.
govind@lawpanch
REPORT ON CHAIN SNATCHING
In my area, fortunately, the crime rate is very low, so reporting of a crime would be a difficult task but amongst other crime, I would like to talk about chain snatching, an incident which happened with my mother years back just a few steps before our house. Being a small kid, I was terrified back then assuming they would harm my mother too, and what else could be more terrifying to a child no matter of which case? So, when I grew up, I realized this is something very common and further when I started studying Law there was much more to explore. Law Panch is working for creating awareness in society.
WHAT IS THIS EXACTLY?
Chain snatching is a common crime form that requires easy planning and speed. It is often carried out by motorists who take advantage of distracted pedestrians In fact as per recent observations these chain snatchers have been seen choosing pothole affected roads as the speed of both pedestrians and two-wheeler riders is slow on these patches making them an easy target.
Also, they opt for areas that have no signals or lesser traffic which allows them to escape as fast as possible from the incident.
HOW DO THEY OPERATE ?
The rider focuses only on taking the vehicle closer to the target and then fleeing the next moment twisting and turning his ride to avoid getting caught. The snatcher acts at ‘the right moment’ and ruthlessly snatches the chain least concerned about how it may hurt the one who is wearing.[1]
WHAT ARE THE PROVISIONS?
To keep chain-snatchers off the road longer, police will now book them under IPC section 397(robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), instead of IPC section 392 (punishment for robbery).Technically, the punishment for IPC section 397 is lesser than 392, the police have decided to impose section 397- as the muggers can cause grievous injury or death while committing robbery or dacoity[2]
HOW TO PROTECT ONESELF?
- Be alert and aware; Pay full attention to who is around you when you are in public place. Avoid text messaging and talking on the phone while walking alone.
• Avoid displaying and carrying large sums of money or valuable jewellery in public.
• At night, avoid taking shortcuts through deserted areas such as parks, playgrounds and vacant lots. DO NOT allow a stranger to follow you to your doorstep. Go to a public place where you can call the police whenever you feel threatened.
• Travel on well-lighted and busy routes. Avoid walking or parking in shadowed areas.
• Women should avoid talking on mobile phones while walking on the road to prevent chain snatching. They should also be alert if bikers follow them.
• If anyone approaches you and tries to divert your attention by asking some address and telling you that your money has fallen on ground, or there is some dirt on your clothes, kindly ignore them and give full attention to yourself to prevent a victim of Chain Snatching offences
