Woman loses phone to snatchers off E M Bypass in fourth incident since Sept
Times of India | 11 November 2025
Kolkata: A 25-year-old woman became the latest victim in a brazen snatching incident in the Anandapur-Tagore Park area, a locality that has witnessed a spate of similar crimes in recent weeks.
The incident occurred on the evening of Nov 6 around 8.30 pm when Antara Mukherjee was returning home to the airport area in Dum Dum from her workplace in the Anandapur area. This was the fourth such incident here since September. Earlier, repeated mobile snatching incidents reported from service roads between Tagore Park and Ruby — a 500-m stretch — had made employees of a private hospital and other offices nearby flag concerns over the need to strengthen security, including setting up adequate street lights and police vigilance.
According to Mukherjee, she was speaking on her phone while walking near a reputable English-medium school when two men on a bike approached her from behind. The assailants, who were not wearing helmets, snatched her phone from her hand and sped away towards the EM Bypass Road. Mukherjee noted that the bike appeared to be a Pulsar model, and she managed to catch a glimpse of the number plate, which seemed to read L0002.
"The individual who grabbed the phone was wearing a light-coloured shirt, while the driver was also a young male," Mukherjee said in the complaint.
The theft took place in a bustling area, with several auto-rickshaws parked nearby and a two-wheeler showroom in the vicinity, yet the perpetrators managed to escape without being apprehended, the woman said. Cops have registered a case under section 304(2) BNS and have started a probe.
The back-to-back mobile thefts in the precincts of the hospital have spooked the emergency medical staffers who have to be at work till late at night. Some hospital staffers have said they came across unknown people roaming the area, especially the road outside the hospital, after sunset.
"We hope cops make some quick arrests," said Shyamal Ghorai, who works for a nearby saree emporium.
Cops said they have analysed CCTV footage and have some leads.