Chandigarh: Thieves smash car windscreen, steal bag containing jewellery worth Rs 2.50 lakh

The Hisar resident, Chirag, along with his family members had come to Sector 44 for attending the wedding of a relative. The incident happened around 8 pm when the Hisar family came to Sector 22 for shopping. The bag was lying in the rear seat. Chirag reported to the police that they parked the car in the parking lot and went to Shastri Market and showrooms. When they returned, they found the right side windscreen of the car was smashed and the bag was missing. Then a call was made to the police control room.

In his statement to the police, Chirag said that he left the bag inside the car presuming that it would be safe here because thieves would not dare to steal it at such a crowded place. Three police parties — one from PCR wing, one from local police post-22 and one from crime branch — rushed to the spot. A case was registered at the Sector 17 police station. A police officer said, “The place where the car was parked is not covered by the CCTV camera installed outside a showroom. Efforts are being made to trace the thieves.” A case was registered at the Sector 17 police station.

As the festival and marriage season has started, rampant incidents of thefts are being reported in the city. On October 4, two unknown men took away a purse containing shagun money of around Rs 6 lakh and jewellery items from a wedding venue in Khukrain Bhawan, Sector 35. A day later, three men robbed a Sector 22 resident, Shanpreet Singh, of his cell phone near the Ramleela venue at Sector 22 market. On October 7, two incidents of thefts of bags loaded with cash and jewelleries were reported in Sector 22 and Sector 8 respectively.

Snatching too is a matter of concern. A senior police officer said, “Instructions were issued to all the beat box incharges for conveying to the local residential welfare associations, market welfare associations to tell local residents and customers not to carry costly items with them. And also not to leave behind the items in their motor vehicles parked in the public parking lots. The management of all the community centres, hotels being used for marriage functions were instructed to install CCTV cameras in working condition.”

Meanwhile, two men riding a black motorcycle snatched the purse of a woman in Sector 44 on Tuesday night. The woman was returning from the market. Her family members were walking behind her when the pillion rider took away her purse. Police started an investigation.