Ghaziabad: Fewer snatching cases have been reported this year, with 79 cases reported between Jan 1 and Aug 15, compared with 245 such cases during the corresponding period in 2025 and 293 in 2024.Police attributed the decline to several measures, including extensive use of UP Police’s YAKSH app. The digital platform uses artificial intelligence, big-data analytics and multimodal technology for crime prevention, investigation and beat-level monitoring.Police have verified 33,978 criminals, feeding their details and photographs into the system along with geo-tagged residential addresses. The data has helped in crime detection and action against repeat offenders, police said.Across Ghaziabad police commissionerate’s 2,132 beats, police have geo-tagged 3,680 lanes and localities and fed 14,745 CCTV cameras into the app. Officials said having photographs and details of criminals on the platform has aided identification during vehicle checks and other police action.A police study found that 69% of snatchers operating in Ghaziabad come from other districts. Of 91 snatchers arrested this year between Jan 1 and Aug 15, a total of 63 were from outside the district, including Delhi, Meerut and Baghpat, according to police data.Wave City ACP Priyashri Pal, who is also the spokesperson for the police media cell, told TOI that identifying and curbing criminals from other districts remains a challenge. Teams drawing 25% of personnel from each police station now carry out barricading and intensive night checking along district borders and sensitive border areas, she said, adding that suspicious persons and vehicles are thoroughly screened and the movement of outside criminals is closely monitored to control snatching incidents.Police have also pushed residents, housing societies and trade associations to install CCTV cameras on their premises. “CCTV is the third eye of the police, and it helps to solve any case. Even criminals avoid taking the risk of committing crimes when they see CCTV cameras,” Pal said.She said police have taken action against 58 accused under Section 129 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita this year, invoked the Gangsters Act against 12 persons, externed 10 snatchers from the district, and arrested 24 snatchers following exchanges of fire.
