Hyderabad: “Our men will be on the job round the clock to tackle chain snatchers and other criminals,” said Cyberabad police commissioner C.V. Anand on Wednesday during a skill demonstration programme of the newly constituted anti-chain snatching teams.
Cyberabad police trained 55 teams consisting of 110 personnel from zonal task forces, armed reserve and other wings. The teams were trained in bike riding skills, unarmed combat and in the use of firearms.
Mr Anand said that opening fire at chain-snatchers will be the last option for the teams. After the incident at Vanasthalipuram on Monday instructions have been given to officers about the use of weapons. An inquiry into the firing is on to find out if it was justifiable.
“Policing is a cat and mouse game. Unless our personnel are attacked they will not fire at the snatchers. Cops should focus on catching them and at the same time protect civilians,” said Mr Anand.
The team which opened fire at Vanasthalipuram completed its first phase of training and they will undergo more training sessions.
“They will be taken through more training modules and will be deployed to nab the chainsnatchers. They will not be given other duties at police stations. They will be deployed in different areas and will be closely monitored by senior officers,” said the commissioner.
The commissioner also clarified that the Vanasthalipuram incident was not a decoy operation. “There was a short lapse in reaction time by the cops. The police is also working with police forces of other states to improve cooperation to bring down crimes.”
The police forces of Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai have appreciated the idea of setting up special anti-snatching teams and are interested in launching the same in their places.
“We are cooperating with each other by sharing information about criminals and helping in related aspects,” said Mr Anand.
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