Lucknow, Jun 20 (IANS): The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to amend criminal law to give strict punishment to chain snatchers.

According to sources, the UP Law Commission has submitted a report to the government, recommending up to 14 years imprisonment for the chain snatchers.

The report said that strict steps are needed to ensure the safety of women.

The report recommends imprisonment of 3 to 14 years and fine for such criminals.

The commission said that there is no separate provision for such offences in the law, so there should be provisions for punishment in chain snatching cases by adding the theft section in IPC.

The commission recommended adding the word 'snatching with theft' in section 410 of IPC.

According to the Law Commission, there has been a steady increase in the cases of chain snatching.

The commission said that 827 cases of chain snatching were registered in 2015, 1025 in 2016, 1098 in 2017, 1425 in 2018 and 1233 in 2019 in the state.

Such incidents are being reported in Moradabad, Bulandshahr, Aligarh and Meerut in large numbers.

Apart from this, chain snatching incidents were high in Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Fatehgarh, Jhansi, Mathura, Mainpuri, Aligarh and Bareilly.