In recent months, these men have prowled the streets of Delhi with varied degrees of ferocity. They have made away with whatever they could — mostly women’s bags and jewellery. They are always armed, hunt in pairs and creep up from behind on their motorcycles.

One such incident happened on Tuesday, around midnight. The targets — a senior editor with Business Standard Kishore Singh and his wife — were driving home in their car after dinner at Greater Kailash. On route to Mayur Vihar, Singh stopped at the traffic signal before the Moolchand flyover on the Bus Rapid Transit Corridor.

Singh recalled: “Two men on a bike pulled up beside us, when one of them suddenly swung a concrete slab at the front left window. After the window broke into pieces, he reached inside, grabbed my wife’s bag and made away.” The bag contained cash and two mobiles, he said.

Singh registered an FIR (209/08) at the Defence Colony police station, where officers admitted there had been an alarming rise in snatching. The targets and loots were different, but the modus operandi similar, officers said. They were always on a bike and armed with country-made pistols.

Snatchers’ pick (2008)
* July 1: One man was killed and another injured when they tried to stop chain snatchers in East Delhi’s Nand Nagri. The deceased was shot in the head.

* June 10: Two women were seriously injured in Chilla village, Mayur Vihar after being shot by goons. They too had resisted.

* June 14: One businessman escaped with minor injuries after being shot by snatchers. But he lost his bag.