New Delhi, Oct 23 (IANS): If you a devotee visiting temples in Delhi on Navratris, beware of women snatchers on the prowl among the milling crowds at such places, as Delhi Police have so far arrested five such criminals in the past two days.

A day after two women from Madhya Pradesh were arrested for stealing jewellery from women devotees, three more were arrested on Friday -- two locals and one from Uttar Pradesh -- at a temple in Delhi.

The three were caught by women devotees in Najafgarh and handed over to the police.

Complainant Neelam Devi, a resident of Prem Vihar in Najafgarh, said that she was visiting Sai Baba Mandir and waiting in a queue around 1.15 pm on Friday when four women surrounded her. One of them snatched her gold chain and passed it on to her accomplice. However, she raised an alarm, following which the accused were nabbed with police help and the chain recovered.

Similarly, Madhuri Kumari, a resident of Nangli Vihar, Ranhola, alleged that she too almost fell victim in a similar fashion at the Sai Baba temple at the same time.

"Police beat staff has been deployed at the Sai Baba temple on the main Najafgarh Road for Navratris, who arrested the accused with the help of women devotees. One of the accused, however, escaped and efforts are on to arrest her," said Santosh Kumar Meena, DCP Dwarka.

The arrested women were identified as Asha and Naina, both from Delhi's Badarpur, and Annu from Ghaziabad.

"On interrogation, they told police that their gang first identifies temples that are crowded. Thereafter, they zero in on women wearing gold jewellery, especially chains. Then they surround their intended targets and after pulling their chains, pass these on to others before making a quick escape," the police officer said.