REGARDLESS of how vigilant one might remain against the tricksters, the swind- lers always seem to be a step ahead of the rest, evolving their ‘techniques’ to grab their prey. One such ‘technique’ is to ‘professionally’ identify an outsider who may be new to the city.

The street criminals in Hyderabad’s Qasimabad area appear to have taken a lead in this regard.

Recently, my brother was stripped of whatever valuables he had in his pocket at the time. Upon reaching Qasimabad area, two individuals approached him and engaged him in unnecessary conver-sation. One asked him the address of, say, ‘Pakora’ Chowk, while the other started frisking his pockets, leaving them empty. My brother could not utter a single word owing to the fear that the muggers might be armed and may harm him in case he resisted. The culprits took away Rs10,000 and my brother’s ATM cards.

Just a few days earlier, two of my cousins happened to be in the same area for taking tuition classes and they suffered a similar fate at the hands of another set of muggers. I know of two other individuals who have faced similar incidents. The one thing common among all these victims is that they happened to be new to the city, having come to Hyderabad for various purposes.

We have come to Hyderabad from other cities in search of livelihood and educational opportunities, not to be the targets of such brazen crimes.

We, like many others who come here for studying and finding a livelihood, landed in Hyderabad to study without knowing one bit that we could be the prime target of muggers and street criminals because they have ‘mastered’ the art of identifying the outsiders.

The district management and other relevant authorities should apprehend the muggers who continue to blatantly deprive the poor newcomers of their hard-earned money and valuables.

Name withheld on request
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2023