Snatchers roam free at night, target cellphones

Manama 

Taking advantage of lack of security at night, robbers snatched a mobile phone from a woman near Sacred Heart Church here a few days ago. The victim, who is working in a construction company, was returning home on foot after meeting her friends around 10.30pm when the incident occurred. 

On the way, two people accosted her and snatched away a Samsung Note S4 cellphone from her. “Two persons came close to me. One of them snatched my phone. I immediately started shouting. But both of them fled the spot within a few seconds. Unfortunately, no one was there at that time,” the woman told DT News. 

She has filed a complaint at Hoora police station and the police are investigating. 

“The CCTV installed at the place where the robbery took place has captured the movements of the mobile phone snatchers,” sources said. 

Alarming incidents 

Citing similar incidents in some areas of Gudiabiya, Paul, who has been residing here for 25 years, said, “Snatching of mobile phones and other valuables has been occurring regularly in some areas of Gudaibiya and other surrounding areas for a long time.” “Many people have lost their high-end cellphones as they fell prey to mobile snatchers. But many of them do not report the incident to police.” 

“I usually avoid passing through some lanes of Gudaibaya at night. Especially, the lanes behind the Awal Cinema are dangerous. I use busy lanes whenever I need to go out during night,” he said.

Last month, the CCTV footage of a robbery attempt in Gudaibiya went viral on social media. 

The footage showed an Arab man rescuing a Filipina from the clutches of a robber, who pushed her aside and tried to snatch her purse late night. 

As the robber tried to run away with the purse, the woman chased him. A man who came that way at that time retrieved the purse from the thief and returned it to the woman. 

The CCTV footage was uploaded on social media, attracting more than 130,000 views in a day.