The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : In Deepavali season, many petty crimes go unnoticed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 11, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

In Deepavali season, many petty crimes go unnoticed

L. Srikrishna

Pickpocketing, harassment of women by rowdy elements rampant in shopping areas

CHENNAI: A minimum of 50 petty cases of crime go unnoticed every day since people doing Deepavali shopping in T.Nagar and other areas prefer not to file complaints with the police.

On an average, five to six lakh people visited shopping malls situated in and around the commercial zones during weekends since September 30 for Deepavali purchases, according to shopkeepers and police manning the area. With just 10 days left for the D-day, the shopping season is at its peak.

Anticipating a huge turnout, the city police have provided bandobast at vantage points and deployed adequate personnel to regulate the crowd.

Vehicle entry into many areas has been restricted to a great extent to decongest traffic, facilitating free pedestrian movement, a senior police officer said.

But what is disturbing city residents is the manner in which shoppers are harassed by rowdy elements. Instead of coming to the rescue of victims, police remain spectators in many cases, public alleged.

Women who visit the bazaar alone are fair target. Gangs of youths seem to delight in harassing young women in all possible ways. Recently, on a Sunday, when a group of girls went shopping in T. Nagar area, a handful of boys jostled them and tried to touch them, despite protests by the girls.

`No complaint'

Instead of taking the issue to the police, two girls slapped a boy and threatened to lodge a complaint. Sensing trouble, the gang escaped from the area, a shopkeeper on Ranganathan Street said. Such harassment, or eve teasing as it is called, happened on a large scale, but not many chose to complain with the police, he added.

Next come the pickpockets. Utilising the crowds, they picked wallets or the shopping bags. Some of the more brazen ones then went back to the shops, returned the goods and collected a refund, a victim alleged.

Whether the pickpockets and shopkeepers are in league is a matter that needs investigation. According to the victim, he was shocked when he saw the same bag in the shop, but chose not to make a police complaint.

Duplicate products and inferior goods also find a place in the markets. By quoting low prices, many roadside vendors made big profits.

Interestingly, many shops and shopping malls have fewer complaints this season. The closed circuit TV cameras (CCTVs) installed in their premises has deterred theft and shoplifting, a big jeweller said.

While admitting that many petty crimes went unnoticed, a senior police officer told The Hindu that people can lodge complaints at the special police booths set up in T.Nagar. The police also cautioned shoppers through a public address system on the need for safety aspects to be followed, he added.

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