Puri: Police have arrested as many as 87 persons in snatching cases during Rath Yatra in Odisha’s Puri town.
Speaking to media persons in Puri on Monday, CT DSP KK Hariprasad said since the anti-social elements take advantage of heavy rush during Rath Yatra and resort to snatching of purses, mobile phones and ornaments, 11 anti-snatching squads on the direction of the SP.
“Each squad consisting of 5 police officials was headed by an SI. The squads in plain clothes were deployed at different places of the town including Jagannath temple, Gundicha temple, Marichikote, Market Chhak, Medical square and Bada Sankha,” said the DSP.
The squads were provided albums with photographs of the persons having previous record of snatching. The police registered 20 snatching cases between June 20 and July 1 from the town. They also recovered 123 mobile phones from the arrested persons.
Of 87 persons arrested, 44 are from Odisha, 23 from West Bengal, 8 from Andhra Pradesh, 4 from Chhattisgarh, 5 from Uttar Pradesh and one each from Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, he added.
