RAWALPINDI: The culprit who snatched the purse of a schoolteacher early Friday morning was arrested and the stolen items recovered.

The victim’s brother, Mohammad Junaid Ahmed, a resident of Dhoke Chaudhrian, told Race Course police that his sister, a schoolteacher, was heading to her school when a motorcycle rider snatched her purse.

CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media, sparking concerns among residents of the city as the suspect was seen violently snatching the purse from the victim, who fell on the ground. She was seen collecting some of the valuables that fell from her purse.

Another woman from a neighbouring house came out in the street and two other motorcycle riders also stopped to help her. Police obtained the CCTV footage from nearby homes.

The Rawalpindi police announced the arrest of the culprit through a tweet.

According to a tweet by the Rawalpindi police, the person behind the purse snatching incident, Anees Iqbal, had been arrested.

“CPO Mohammad Ahsan Younus had taken notice of the incident and ordered the immediate arrest of the suspect. During the arrest, the suspect tried to open fire on the police during which he got injured on his wrist by his own pistol,” the tweet further said.

In another tweet, the Rawalpindi police said the suspect had a criminal record. The motorcycle used in the robbery and the woman’s purse, Rs2,000 and a mobile phone have been recovered.

Later in a press release, a police spokesman said the suspect was arrested from Race Course area and had been involved in other robberies.

Sources in the police revealed that the suspect was arrested with the help of CCTV images and intelligence.

When the complainant in the purse snatching case was contacted, he refused to give any word on the incident.

Mobile phone and purse snatching has become a common crime in the garrison city and people are often deprived of valuables. Five snatching incidents were reported on Thursday to Race Course, Naseerabad, Sadiqabad, and Cantt police stations.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2021