Chennai cops register first snatching case under new BNS

Chennai's enforcement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, saw swift action from the police, with the first snatching incident swiftly handled. Subsequent cases and arrests followed, marking a significant shift in law enforcement practices in the city.

CHENNAI: Less than an hour after the new criminal law - the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita , 2023 - kicked in, Chennai witnessed the first offence - a snatching case punishable under the law. In another 20 minutes, it became the first ever case registered by the Chennai police under the new law. It was at 12.50am on July 1 when a two-member gang snatched a mobile phone from Aftab Ali, 27, from Ranigram district in Assam, and escaped. The victim had just got down at Perambur railway station with his brother Mujbeer Rehman and was on his way to their brother's house in Nungambakkam. After alighting from the autorickshaw, the duo held their mobile phones in their hands and were looking at Google Maps when the duo snatched their phone. Based on their complaint, the Thousand Lights police registered a case under Section 304(2) (snatching) at 1.10am. The offence of 'snatching' has been introduced in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Till now, the offence was not listed as an exclusive offence in the IPC, 1860. It was left to the discretion of police to treat it either as 'theft' or 'robbery'. Now 304(2) of BNS stipulates that whoever commits snatching shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to a fine. Though Thousand Lights police station became the first to register a case under the BNS, the Ice House police made the first arrest under the new law. One Sarathy, 21, of Natesan Salai filmed a woman taking a bath. Police registered a case punishable under Section 77 (act of watching, capturing, or disseminating private images of a woman without her consent) of BNS, and arrested him. On their part, the Greater Chennai Traffic Police (GCTP) witnessed the first case for traffic violation at 12.30am at Pulianthope. The traffic investigation wing, however, registered the FIR at 5am against three men - Vijay, Karthik, and Prashanth on charges of riding a bike and ramming it into two parked bikes at Jamalia and causing severe injuries. Based on the complaint from bike owner Senthil Kumar, a grocer, police booked a case under 281 and 125(A) (rash and negligent driving, driving endangering human lives) of BNS at 5am. Director general of police Shankar Jiwal said new FIR forms have been distributed to all police stations in the state. However, he said there is no restrictions in using the old FIR forms with the signature of the station house officer. Greater Chennai police have also given training sessions to the policemen in registering FIRs.