Two chain snatchers were arrested by Noida police on Monday during a brief encounter when they were trying to snatch a chain from a woman constable posted in civil dress at near Spice Mall in Noida. Police said the woman constable was deployed on duty in civil dress to nab the snatchers under a special operation.
According to police, the incident took place around 11 am. The woman constable Anuradha was posted in civil dress wearing a gold chain as per the plan.
When she was walking on road, two bike-borne robbers tried to snatch the gold chain from her neck. Police said the constable raised alarm and the supporting police teams chased them. Police said that during the chase, one of the snatchers opened fire at the police. The police returned fire and one of the snatchers was hit in his leg while another fell down and surrendered before the police.
The robbers have been identified as Rajender Gautam (28), a resident of Harsh Vihar, New Delhi and Monu Valmiki, a resident of Ghaziabad. Rajender, who was shot, is admitted in district hospital. Police said that he was earlier lodged in Tihar Jail in a murder case. The duo was wanted in dozen of loot cases in National Capital Region.
Superintendent of Police, Noida, Dinesh Yadav said that they have deployed woman constables at specific crime-prone areas especially to foil chain snatching incidents in the city. These constables have been wearing jewellery to lure such criminals under civil police protection cover. “This plan has been made for the bike-borne snatchers who are active in and around malls, markets, busy intersections and schools. We are interrogating the accused,” he said.