Phone snatched in front of police station

Phone snatching has caught up with phone snatching incidents across the city, and HSR Layout is no exception. Sometimes, drunk youth snatch mobiles from those walking on the roads with their handsets stuck to their ears. But most times, there are two-wheeler borne thieves who are waiting for hapless victims to use their phones, so they can approach them on the pretence of asking for directions and snatching their phone in the interim. The only way to prevent phone snatching is to avoid talking on public roads and take the footpaths instead. However, if you have to use the phone, stay alert for any slow movement of vehicles closer to you. If they are wearing helmets and on a two-wheeler, keep your phone away from them and be vigilant.

If you are not careful, you could lose your phone just like Ngamhao, a 20-year-old employee at Vegas Spa & Salon on 19th Main, Sector 2. On July 3 at 6.30pm, he was walking across the road in front of Bandepalya Police Station when two bike-borne thieves came from behind him and one of them snatched his Redmi phone and escaped on the two wheeler.

Usually mobile phone thefts don’t figure in the FIR as it’s considered a minor offence for which the state machinery will have to spend undue time. Such incidents are only taken as regular police complaints for insurance purposes. However, if the complainant insists, like it happened in the past to one lady (and we have reported about it), the cops are forced to take it as an FIR. The cops have registered a case of robbery under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 392. If the thieves are found and convicted, they could be in prison for ten years and also pay a fine.

Interestingly, while the incident took place in front of Bandepalya Police Station, the case was registered by the HSR Layout unit as the Bandepalya station is located in HSR Layout for want of space in its own territory.