Two bike-borne men snatched a gold chain and pendant from a woman who was walking back home with her daughter in New Town on Friday night.The incident took place a stone’s throw away from Kolkata Gate, a popular landmark in New Town.
Deepti Yadav, a resident of CC Block, had taken her six-year-old daughter to Shishir Park, a children’s park near her house, and was returning home when she noticed two men on a bike cross them.
“The bike was headed towards the Kolkata Gate. Then the men took a U-turn after spotting my wife and daughter. They then snatched the gold chain and pendant that my wife was wearing before speeding away,” said Deepti’s husband Devanand.
Yadav said the incident happened around 8pm. Deepti initially thought the men were trying to kidnap her daughter.
The incident highlighted once more the vulnerability of New Town residents where streets often get deserted after dark.The Yadav family had moved into their apartment two years back. They told this newspaper that they were still in a state of shock after Friday’s incident.
“We are still in a state of shock and have lodged a complaint with the police station. The gold chain and pendant is valued at nearly Rs 82,000,” Devanand said.
A senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said that they have sourced CCTV footage from cameras in the immediate vicinity where the incident took place.
“We have zeroed in on a red motorcycle whose riders had full-face helmets on. The registration plates of the bike, however, seem to have been covered by sheets of blank paper,” said the officer.
A section of New Town residents said that police patrolling must be increased in the township’s blocks immediately.A resident of DA Block, Shibash Chakraborty, said that even though New Town has three police stations now, the cops only patrol the main roads. “Streets and lanes inside the blocks are very poorly patrolled,” said Chakraborty.No one had been arrested till late on Saturday.