Panchkula: For years, he allegedly committed snatchings on Tricity streets, leaving a trail of around 60 cases. Finally, “serial snatcher” Vicky alias Devender Singh, 46, has been arrested along with his brother-in-law, an alleged accomplice. Both have been taken on five-day police remand for further investigation.Vicky originally hails from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and is currently a resident of Dera Bassi. ACP (crime) Aman Kumar said the accused came out of jail six months ago and resumed snatchings with his brother-in-law, Ali, a resident of northeast Delhi.Panchkula police had been on Vicky’s trail since July this year, when he allegedly snatched a gold chain from a woman in Sector 16, Panchkula. A case was registered at the Sector 14 police station on July 25, 2026.The ACP said the accused purchased two sports bikes, on which they went on reconnaissance trips before targeting people. They used fake number plates made with black tape for the purpose.Following two snatching cases in Panchkula, police began tracking the accused’s movements through CCTV cameras. They scanned footage from more than 1,800 cameras before tracing them.“We are trying to find out how many total cases are registered against Ali as he is from Delhi,” said the ACP.Police said Vicky is not into drugs and used the money earned from snatching to support his family.Their area of operation spanned Panchkula, Chandigarh and Mohali.Campaign to bust snatching networksThe arrest is part of a wider police effort to identify criminals involved in such cases and dismantle the larger network.During the month-long campaign, crime unit teams arrested 36 persons in 19 cases of theft and snatching.According to DCP (Crime and Traffic) Amrinder Singh, police seized cash, six mobile phones, 78 vehicles and other stolen property from the arrested accused. The vehicles seized included bikes, scooters, cars and a tipper.Two major vehicle theft gangs were also busted during the campaign. Police action was not limited to those directly involved in theft and snatching.Action was also taken against persons allegedly involved in buying stolen property, supplying it further and dismantling stolen vehicles to sell their parts.
