Snatchers will face harsher punishments: Delhi top cop

With the amendments in law, snatchers will stay in jail for longer, and hence out of crime for a longer period of time AMULYA PATNAIK, commissioner of police, Delhi

NEWDELHI: The Delhi Police have recognised snatching as one of the Capital’s biggest law-and-order concerns and proposed drastic changes that call for harsher sentences for the guilty, the city’s police commissioner told Hindustan Times in an interview.

An average of over 7,000 snatching cases are reported in Delhi every year, with snatchers striking frequently and violently. The menace of youngsters on motorcycles grabbing phones, jewellery and chains is now the most common street crime in the city.

“The ministry of home affairs is pursuing an amendment that will make the punishment for snatching more severe,” commissioner of police Amulya Patnaik said. “With the amendments in law, it will become tougher for criminals to get out on bail. The snatchers will stay longer in jail, and hence out of crime for a longer time. They will also fear getting arrested because of the longer jail time. The Haryana police has done it in 2015,” he said.

As things stand, a snatcher is booked under IPC 379 (theft), for which the punishment ranges from just a fine to a maximum of three years in prison. They can also be booked under IPC 356 (criminal force during theft), for which the punishment is a maximum of two years in jail.

In the proposed amendment, sub-section 379 ‘A’ will deal with simple snatchings, and 379‘B’ will be applied if physical force is used. Patnaik said that under the proposed amended law, the minimum jail term for 379 ‘A’ will be five years, which could go up to 10 years.