CP directs officers to keep an eye on scooterists

New Delhi: First, high-end motorcycles and now scooters, criminals, with time, are changing their modus operandi to dodge the police as well as to commit street crimes smoothly. Seeing the current situation, the Delhi Police Commissioner has asked senior officers to check scooterists thoroughly.

During the ongoing pandemic, Delhi witnessed a series of crimes where criminals started using scooties for snatchings. In a recent meeting with senior officers, Commissioner SN Shrivastava observed that scooties are being used for committing street crimes regularly, especially given the inconspicuous nature of the vehicle.

"An intensive drive in each police station should be started to check the scooterists thoroughly," he said in the meeting. The top cop clearly told the officers it should be ensured that FIRs be registered without any issue of jurisdiction. "Special Staff should function actively in each district to control crime," the Commissioner is learnt to have said.

According to investigators, scooties are easy to drive and there is no hurdle of changing gears and also offers a good pickup. "Scooty is now a very common vehicle which is owned by many people. If the snatcher drives the scooty in any lane, no one can suspect but in high-end bikes, there are chances people will get suspicious and may inform the police," the official said. Another officer said that it is easy to handle and can make sharp cuts with ease.

Another official added that these criminals mostly target mobile phones. "Professional criminals use high-end vehicles before committing the crime and they prepared a road map to flee after snatching. There are also possibilities that criminals on scooties might be new to crime or may not be professional," the official said.

This year, the Delhi Police have recovered more than 50 scooties found to be involved in the commission of crimes. Recently, police here had arrested a snatcher couple who had committed dozens of snatchings across the Capital on a white scooty.

According to Delhi Police data, till June as many as 3,063 snatching cases, 14,656 cases of motor vehicle theft, 765 cases of robbery were reported. The data further shows about 1,22,762 cases have been reported in Delhi including 1,20,148 non-heinous cases.

The Delhi Police Commissioner, in the meeting, stressed on truthful registration of crimes, and strong and firm action on criminals committing them, to have a long-term positive impact.