Allahabad: Rejecting the bail application of an accused in a chain-snatching case, the Allahabad High Court has said such crimes need to be taken seriously as they create terror among women and restrict their mobility. A spurt in incidents of chain-snatching is a matter of grave concern and has created fear psychosis rendering many women reluctant to step out of their home, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh said.
The court said offenders must be instilled with a sense of fear so that women feel safe, as it rejected the bail application of one Amit of Kanpur Nagar who is allegedly a habitual offender involved in several chain snatching cases. Even as the chain-snatchers continue to prowl the city with repeated incidents of them targeting women, a sense of fear has been instilled in women who have now stopped wearing gold ornaments or at the most wear a very thin one that is not even visible, Justice Singh said in his order pronounced on June 29.
Undoubtedly, rights of the accused are important", the court said, "but equally important is the societal interest for bringing the offender to book and for the system to send the right message to all in the society." The court said that "undue sympathy" for the offender would do more harm to the justice system by undermining the public confidence in the efficacy of law. Such incidents need to be taken seriously and the offenders must be instilled with a sense of fear so that women feel safe and free as such incidents not only cause terror but also restrict their mobility," the court observed.