Golf Course Ext Road, one of the most dangerous since lockdown

The Golf Course Extension Road has become one of the most dangerous spots for commuters during nights. In the last month, many commuters have fallen victim to robbers,

The Golf Course Extension Road has become one of the most dangerous spots for commuters during nights. In the last month, many commuters have fallen victim to robbers, who operate on this stretch on motorbikes up to the Kherki Daula toll plaza via southern peripheral road (SPR), the police said.

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The police have attributed the recent surge in increased criminal activities to outlaws who were forced to remain indoors during the lockdown. The police also said that most of the streetlights are also defunct, which makes it further unsafe.

Preet Pal Sangwan, the assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that they have arrested more than 50 criminals from this stretch, many of whom were drug addicts and had robbed commuters of their vehicles and belongings. “The suspects arrested were majorly from Nuh and Rajasthan. They sell the vehicles for half the price to dealers in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Some of them carry out thefts to fund their drug addictions,” he said.

The police said that 13 carjacking cases have been reported on this 14-kilometre stretch since the lockdown.

Sangwan said that crime on the stretch has seen a sharp increase after lockdown. “We are conducting nakabandis, gathering intelligence and also conducting raids based on the information we have received regarding the suspects,” he said.

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, said the crucial part of the process is keeping a tab on those recently released from Bhondsi jail. “The process involves gathering intelligence from informants about the suspects’ latest activities and whether they were involved in similar activities on the same stretch,” he said.

Rao said the biggest challenge is to identify the suspected vehicles due to darkness on the stretch.

Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), which is responsible for the streetlights on the stretch, assured action soon.

Arun Dhankhar, the superintendent engineer of HSVP, said that they regularly check streetlights on this stretch but some miscreants damage them intentionally. “We have directed the electrical team to repair the damaged light at the earliest. We are taking a stock of the situation on the entire stretch and a team will be sent every night to check if any lights are non-functional” he said.

Residents of Golf Course Extension Road said they are scared to step on to the roads at night. “It has been more than 15 days since we complained about the absence of streetlights, but no one from the agency responsible has come to solve the problem. It is scary to drive on Golf Course Extension Road at night,” said Vaibhav Jaiswal, a resident of Unitech Escape on Golf Course Extension Road.

Rao said they are increasing police patrolling in the areas where lighting is poor. Special care is taken in sectors that have offices and markets. “We have also deployed three PCR vans on the stretch to attend to any emergency,” he said.