No police, no lighting make commute unsafe on Golf Course Ext Road, say robbery victims

Rahul Jaiswal, a resident of Golf Course Extension Road, who was working with a private company in Sector 66, was waylaid on January 28, around 11pm, when returning

Rahul Jaiswal, a resident of Golf Course Extension Road, who was working with a private company in Sector 66, was waylaid on January 28, around 11pm, when returning home. He was stopped by two unidentified men and was asked to hand over his car keys. “I had no clue why they were asking for my keys, I thought I have hit their motorbike and they are angry about it. One of them held me at gunpoint, robbed me of my mobile, wallet, gold chain and rings, and another man hit me on my head. They snatched my keys and fled with my car,” he said.

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Jaiswal quit his job and remained home for two months. He has stopped using the stretch as he is scared. His car is still not untraceable, but the incident still haunts him and he had sleepless nights due to it. “The worst part was people were passing by but no one stopped or came to help. I try to remain indoors after 10pm and if I get delayed in office, I leave my car and take a cab,” said Jaiswal.

Residents of the area say that there is an unspoken rule of not travelling on the 14-kilometre stretch connecting Golf Course Extension Road (GCER) to the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR), due to a fear of increasing crimes. More than 2,000 families are residing here. The entire stretch of SPR, starting from the NH8, including the road from the other side of the toll where it meets the SPR and then the GCER is to be avoided, say residents.

Despite assurances by the police and constant patrolling, residents remain fearful, especially after a 26-year-old woman executive was shot at by three unidentified masked men in a robbery attempt on Tuesday night.

“The road is often in bad condition and combined with lack of proper lighting and isolated and unpopulated parts it makes a good hunting ground for criminals. Combine this with a number of liquor vending shops and you get spots where criminal elements can park themselves and choose their prey at will. This stretch needs at least three to four police checkpoints at night and visibly parked patrol cars which are not seen at night. Street lighting needs to be fixed on an urgent basis,” said Nitin Sirohi, a resident of Emaar Palm Drive on GCER.

Victims of crimes say that police deployment is thin, with no checkpoint near the crossings or areas where nine car thefts were reported. In the past week, three motorbikes and two purses from elderly women were snatched on the 500-metre stretch of the road, after crossing a private school, towards Vatika crossing.

Ravi Kant, a resident of Vatika City on GCER, said that two unidentified criminals had snatched his motorbike on June 6, while he was returning from a friend’s house. “I was riding my motorbike and suddenly, someone caught hold of my shirt collar from behind. I got shocked and scared, I turned around and saw two men wearing helmets. I applied brakes and asked them what was the matter. They slapped me for no reason, pushed me on the road and they fled with my motorbike,” he said, adding that there were hardly any streetlights working that night.

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, said that the stretch is unsafe due to many reasons. Firstly, the stretch is dimly lit and secondly, it connects to multiple borders, due to which the criminals flee easily to other parts of the city. “The stretch is covered well with the CCTV cameras, but during nights, it becomes difficult to identify criminals if streetlights are not working,” he said.

Rao said the road also has potholes and the movement of vehicles is slow, which is advantageous to criminals.

Babita Patra, a resident of Sector 57, uses the stretch daily to commute to work. On July 17, she was driving her scooter when two youths on a speeding motorbike came from behind and snatched her gold chain around 8pm. “I lost balance and fell due to which I suffered a fracture on my right arm. I got up on my own and called my colleagues, who took me to a private hospital in Sector 57, but for 20 minutes, none of the commuters stopped to help me,” she said.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said that they have deployed four PCR vans on the stretch starting Wednesday night and 10 personnel are deployed on patrolling motorbikes. “We have also deployed teams in plainclothes to keep a watch on the movement of suspected people. Anyone finds anything suspicious should reach out to the police control room. Their names will be kept secret,” he said.

On the other hand, Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), which is responsible for the streetlights on the stretch, has taken stock of the dysfunctional streetlights and is in the process of fixing them.

Arun Dhankhar, the superintendent engineer of HSVP, said that they have deputed a team to check all streetlights at night and a team is lined up to repair them as soon as they receive a call from the inspection team. “Our teams are operating at night shifts also to ensure the stretch is well lit and commuters do not face any trouble driving on the stretch,” he said.

Ram Kumar (32), an auto driver, who frequently ferries commuters from Ghata crossing to Vatika crossing, said that the police deployment is thin on the stretch despite regular incidents of purse and gold chain snatching, carjacking. He says are mostly stationed at the crossing.

Residents said in such a situation it is extremely difficult for the commuters at late night to stop at the traffic lights, as it increases the risk of them getting waylaid and robbed.