The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : For suspects, naive and lonely are targets

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Saturday, Mar 29, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

For suspects, naive and lonely are targets

There have been at least half-a-dozen such incidents in Madurai in recent years, says
S. Vijay Kumar

She was a 72-year-old woman returning home after dropping her grandson at school on Wednesday. Two well dressed men claiming to be police personnel in mufti intercepted S. Velammal of Bypass Road and cautioned her of frequent chain-snatching incidents in the area.

They advised her to remove the gold chain she was wearing and keep it safe. When the victim removed the five-sovereign chain, one of the suspects offered to bundle it in a packet. It was only an hour later that Velammal realised that she had been cheated. The packet contained small stones.

In a similar fashion, R. Sornam (56) of Tahsildar Nagar was cheated on the same day. While she was returning home from market, two youths advised her not to wear jewels in public and asked her to keep them safe in her bag. In the process, they relieved her of the ornaments by replacing them with duplicate ones.

The case of Velammal or Sornam is not unique or isolated. There have been at least half-a-dozen such incidents in Madurai in recent years. For the suspects, lonely and naive-looking women are the targets. In another case in the S.S. Colony police station limits, women claiming to be representatives of Madappuram Kaliamman Temple walked into a house and decamped with more than 15 sovereigns of gold ornaments.

In this case, the women warned the housewife that the life of her husband was in danger and a special puja had to be performed with jewels to overcome the threat.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), R. Ramrajan, such crimes occurred only due to utter ignorance of victims.

“We have an effective surveillance mechanism in terms of foot, two-wheeler and van patrolling in residential areas. But police can do little in safeguarding individuals from getting cheated out of ignorance or greed. Women should ignore strangers offering unsolicited advice. The media has to play a vital role in enhancing the awareness level of such people by educating them.”

Mr. Ramrajan said the police were developing images of suspects with the help of inputs given by complainants. "We are using computer-aided portrait building technique. Firm action is being taken to keep habitual offenders at bay," he added.

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