Workers in fear as robbers run free at Ludhiana’s industrial hub

Around 20 workers at the factory of Aarti Steel Industries Limited on Metro Road in the area have been robbed right outside the factory premises in the last few months

With no proper security and police patrolling, workers at the Focal Point area, city’s industrial hub, are frequent targets of robberies, with miscreants decamping with mobile phones, cash and stuff as little as milk packets.

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Around 20 workers at the factory of Aarti Steel Industries Limited on Metro Road in the area have been robbed right outside the factory premises in the last few months.

There are at least a couple of incidences of robbery every day in the area, Shubinder Moudgil, deputy general manager (DGM), human resources, at the factory said.

“These workers earn around 10,000 per month, and having their smartphones robbed puts a big hole in their pocket,” he said.

Uttam, who also works at the same factory, was robbed on December 22.

“I was walking to the factory when four people riding on two bikes stopped me. One of them held a knife to my belly. I asked them to take away my mobile and leave me alone,” he said.

However, his smartphone wasn’t the only thing he lost. He used the same code for his UPI as his phone. The robbers took out all the money from his account, which was around ₹10,000, using the UPI pin.

The situation has worsened to the extent that the robbers snatched 15 litres of milk from a canteen boy Shankar as he did not have any cash or phone with him. “Then even tore the tyre of my cycle,” Shankar said.

Most of the workers choose not to go to the police. “They don’t do anything. They’ll just come here and disturb the workers,” DGM Moudgil said.

The workers at the factory are so scared that they avoid carrying anything valuable when coming to work.

“I don’t even take out my phone when going to the other section of the factory,” said Manoj Purohit, assistant manager, HR, at Aarti Steel Industries Limited.

Purohit said that there is no PCR patrol during the times when the workers are either coming to work or leaving.

“They may send an odd PCR sometime in the day, but it’s of no use when there is no security at the time when it is needed,” he said.

Denying the allegations, additional deputy commissioner of police Tushar Gupta said, “We have been maintaining regular patrols in the area and have also been catching these snatchers.”