Noida Sector 37 residents raise security concerns after burglary in society

Thieves cut Arun Vihar’s boundary fence and burgled a home, prompting calls for stronger security after repeated break-ins.

Noida: Residents of Arun Vihar’s Sector 37 society on Saturday raised concerns over security lapses, a day after three men allegedly cut the wired boundary fencing to enter the premises and burglarise a house.

A nearby CCTV camera captured the incident (HT)

According to investigators, the incident occurred around 3:14am on Friday in Ward 14A of Arun Vihar, even as security guards were deployed nearby. The incident was captured on a nearby CCTV camera.

Police said the total value of the stolen valuables has not yet been disclosed.

According to residents, this was not an isolated event. On June 30, thieves similarly breached the society and broke into a locked house in the exact same ward (14A). “Due to repeated trespassing and burglaries, the police must increase their vigilance and patrolling in the area,” residents urged.

A police officer privy to the investigation said a Swift Dzire was waiting just outside the society while the three men jumped in. “The suspects then broke into a locked house after breaking the locks,” the officer said.

By the time Bais could alert the security guards, the suspects had already fled the spot.

Subsequently, the police were informed and a team visited the site. “As the front portion of the duplex was locked, the suspects assumed it was an empty house. It is suspected that they either conducted a recce before the theft or were tipped off about the locked house by someone from inside the society,” a police officer stated.

The house owner, who did not wish to be identified, resides in New Delhi and has filed an official complaint at the Sector 39 police station.

The caretaker of the house, Kavita, who was staying on the second floor, was alerted by Bais. “I was asleep when Bais called out to me from his roof. When I checked the house, it was completely ransacked, and the room door of the tenant living on the first floor was also broken. We never suspected that thieves would enter a gated society,” she said.

In response to the breach, residents demanded an immediate review of security arrangements. This included revising duty rosters to ensure guards receive adequate rest, increasing night patrolling, and more closely monitoring CCTV footage, particularly in Lane A. They also called for tighter surveillance at entry and exit points and planned to raise these issues formally with the residents’ welfare association (RWA).

Col Prashant Gupta (retd), chairman of the Arun Vihar Residents’ Welfare Association (AVRWA), acknowledged the vulnerabilities. “The society is generally considered to be safe, but wards along the main road can be more vulnerable. We have installed gates to improve security. However, boundary walls in wards 4, 5, and 5A were broken during recent drain construction, following which there has been a rise in break-ins,” he explained.

Reassuring the community, Abhay Kumar Mishra, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, told HT, “A team has been formed and the suspects will be nabbed soon. We have also strongly advised the society’s security personnel to increase their vigilance.”