Be afraid, very afraid when you walk on the road in the Western suburbs. Robberies in the area have gone up by 30 per cent, when compared to last year.

Between January and June, 1,147 cases of robberies, thefts and chain snatching were reported. That's a lot compared to 883 in the same period last year.

In a recent case, eight men on three motorbikes robbed Vijayta Gandhi outside Citi Mall, Oshiwara, at 4 pm on Saturday. While Gandhi went inside an ATM near the mall, the men robbed her bag containing jewellery, blank cheques with her signature, from her car (see illustrations, right).

Meanwhile, two other cases have gone unsolved so far. Manisha Shirodkar (62), wife of former ACP Manohar Shirodkar, was in an autorickshaw on the WEH on Saturday when she was robbed. Two youngsters on a motorbike snatched her bag containing valuables worth Rs 4 lakh at the Bandra junction.

The police cannot draw a sketch of the robbers, as the victim does not remember their faces.

In another incident, two people snatched freelance journalist Rajendra Gowda's (37) Rs 40,000 gold chain after hitting him on Friday at 10.30 pm at Juhu beach. The Santacruz police are yet to draw a sketch of the robbers.