SURAT: Police have issued an advisory for citizens in the wake of a series of incidents of chain-snatching and loot in the city in the past few days.“Don’t talk over phone while walking on road. It will lessen the risk of accident as mostly a person talking on phone fails to notice vehicles moving around him or her. The person, who is talking over phone, is unaware about someone following him or her and provides an opportunity to robbers to come close and escape after snatching the phone,” the advisory says.“While walking if a person receives a call, it is advisable to stop and walk only after the conversation over phone has ended. Some simple alert moves can help prevent incidents of snatching on road,” city police commissioner Satish Sharma said.Pedestrians have been suggested by the advisory to walk on the right side of the road so as to face the traffic coming from front direction. Cops says this not only reduces risk of accidents but one can also keep an eye on a suspicious person.“Valuables of people walking on the left side of the road with traffic coming from their back have been looted in majority of the cases. Someone from behind can come close to a person and snatch his or her valuables and easily escape,” a police officer said.Shared autorickshaws are a popular mode of transportation in the city. Commuters have no other option but to depend upon on them due to low frequency of city buses.Taking advantage of this situation, thieves target passengers, who board shared autorickshaws, travelling as passengers. They steal valuables of commuters by diverting their attention.Police have asked people to ensure safety of their mobile phones and other valuables while travelling in autorickshaws. Commuters have been asked to avoid autorickshaws which already has passengers. Commuters have been advised to note down phone number of autorickshaw driver written behind the driver’s seat. They can also take photo of the details and share the image with people known to them through a messaging app.

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