By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Mar. 13: A man reached Kalanki Metropolitan Police Sector on Tuesday this week with a complaint that his wallet had been picked. He informed the police that his money was stolen while travelling by a public bus in Kalanki area.
Facing with legions of such complaints for quite a while on a daily basis, police found nothing new in that complaint as many victims of pickpocketing in Kalanki, Balkhu and Lampati neighborhoods had lodged complaints with the police in recent past.
However, unlike in the past, it had everything to do with women, not men. The victim gave details of two women pickpockets donning yellow and black T-shirts alongside their identities.
Basing their operation on those details, police then launched a manhunt. A few days later, they arrested Samjhana Pariyar, 24, of Gongbu-11 and Shrijana Upreti, 23, of Sindhupalchowk district. A nother woman also landed in the police net the same day.
The police ascertained that they were pickpockets, and recovered Rs. 36,500 from them.
"The confiscated money was pickpocketed on that day. They had just pickpocketed two persons that day," Police inspector at Metropolitan Police Sector, Kalanki, Mithu Khadka, said.
Based in Kalanki, Balkhu and Gongabu areas, they have been pickpocketing passengers travelling on public transport for three years now, revealed the investigation. Police are searching for their collaborators, seven of whom are men.
"There is a trend of women pickpockets getting into crowded vehicles and pushing passengers there and surreptitiously taking money out of their pockets," said Inspector Khadka.
Police detain 77 women pickpockets
Pariyar has given a statement to the police that she used to pickpocket only from 9 to 5 am – the office time. This is the time when the pressure of people and passengers is high, so they take advantage of the situation, said the police.
Superintendent of Police and spokesperson at Metropolitan Police Range, Kathmandu, Ramesh Kumar Basnet, said the Range had detained 77 women pickpockets in the last two months from Kathmandu and Lalitpur districts.
In the past, most of the incidents of pickpocketing took place in the Old Bus Park, Indrachowk, Micro Park (in front of Nepal Airlines Corporation), Kathmandu Mall, Bhotahiti and Ratna Park, among other places, police said.
According to police records, more than 10 passengers are robbed of their possessions in Kathmandu every day. "Even with so much looting, bus operators have not shown seriousness," said SP Basnet, adding, "Necessary arrangements have to be made for the safety of the passengers before the situation worsen."
Some buses were equipped with CCTV cameras, but many have now become dysfunctional, he added.
If any pickpocket is caught for the first time, s/he will be jailed for one month, and will be made to pay compensation equivalent to the damage. The punishment is two-month jail term, if caught for the second time, according to police.
Code name use by pickpockets
It has been found that they use sign language like Da for money, kan for mobile, Rame for the victim, Kashi for pickpocketing master, Tan ko Da if they sense a lot of money with a passenger, Jute ko Da if a passenger possesses few monies.
In addition, they use sign language -- such as Kanchha for vehicle, chhapa for male victim, bhadri for women victim, mam for driver, male for assistant driver, Tapki for fleeing the scene or getting off the bus, Akal Ja for moving forward inside the bus and Chhical Ja for moving backward.