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A little professional security, please
Wherever there is prosperity, there is bound to be some form of crime. In Gurgaon, that seems to be the very case. The city has attracted criminals from the neighbouring states who have refer to it as the “Sone ki Chidiya”. No surprise then that the city has earned itself the reputation of being “a very unsafe city”.
Wherever there is prosperity, there is bound to be some form of crime. In Gurgaon, that seems to be the very case. The city has attracted criminals from the neighbouring states who have refer to it as the “Sone ki Chidiya”. No surprise then that the city has earned itself the reputation of being “a very unsafe city”.
Car snatchings, robberies and burglaries in posh localities (even gated ones) in broad daylight, white collar crime, murders, rapes, Gurgaon has seen it all. And behind most of these incidents are “professional” criminals from neighbouring states such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and even Bangladesh.
The Gurgaon Police does its bit in keeping crime under check. But with a strength of only 3,300 personnel and 42 PCR vans to cover the 1,183 sq km of the district, it is woefully understaffed. Add to this the fact that it is ill-equipped and what you have is a force that’s barely able to keep the 25 lakh population of the city safe.
Though staff may be a problem, the police have tried to do something about the rising crime graph.
Gurgaon, known to be an IT hub, attracted the attention of laptop robbers who wouldn’t think twice before breaking windows of parked cars to get to the laptops left inside.
In 2008-09, the police was bogged down with nearly 300 complaints of laptop thefts. Investigation led to the information that a specialised gang of laptop thieves from Tamil Nadu and Kerala was operating in the city. An “Anti-Laptop Robbery Squad” was constituted to bust the gang.
Sadly, the police failed in catching them.
While this gang focussed on laptops, another gang, led by Delhi’s most-wanted carjacker Manoj Bakkarwala, spread fear in the hearts of people in the Millennium City. Bakkarwala, involved in more than 500 car thefts in 11 years, was arrested by the Special Cell (Delhi Police) in July last year. Bakkarwala’s arrest came just a month after he snatched a Pajero from outside the house of a DLF resident. His arrest led to the recovery of the Pajero and 37 other luxury cars.
But these were just cars. If you thought gated communities or hi-rise buildings were safe, read on.
A 116-man strong gang committed serial burglaries in hi-rise gated communities in Sector 54. Most of the gang members were from UP. “The criminals use luxury cars, are impeccably dressed and look educated. Because of their appearance and demeanor, they gain easy access to such localities and steal only cash and jewellery,” says a victim, M. Sharma, a resident of the East West CGHS in sector 54.
The burglars arrested for having broken into 15 apartments in four different group housing societies in Sector 54 hailed from Meerut. The gang leader, one Arif Khan (45), who is lodged in the Gurgaon jail, is a multi-millionaire.
Sharma says he does not feel safe anymore in Gurgaon and said that if gated communities could be targeted so easily by burglars, then what would happen to those living in independent houses in plotted areas.
Deepak Wadhawan, advisor KPMG and committee member of Business Processing Industries Association of India (BPIAI) said, safety and security was a serious concern in Gurgaon and people were yet to feel safe while taking a walk in the evening.
He said, “People in Gurgaon are ready to pay higher for the power generated from captive power plants that provide them 100 percent power back up. We have many other strengths which other cities in the world lack. But what the city needs to improve upon is the safety and security of the residents.”
Meanwhile, for the residents who live in independent houses in plotted areas, every day without an incident is a gift from god. While many have their own arrangements to keep their houses and their loved ones safe, others are planning to move to gated communities in search of better security.
Case Studies:
Robbed outside his own house
Bhagwat Lohia, DLF City (I) resident
Bhagwat Lohia’s Pajero was snatched outside his house at gun point in June last year. Though the vehicle was recovered, Lohia worries about his family.
Himself a private security man, he has directed his wife and children not venture out of home after sunset.
Lohia commutes daily between Gurgaon and Delhi where he has his office.
Lohia’s Pajero was snatched at gunpoint at 10.15 am when his driver was cleaning the vehicle outside the house.
The robbers also made off with Lohia’s revolver and 11 live cartridges lying inside the SUV.
Ever since the incident, his wife has been asking him to sell off the house and move to an apartment in a gated community where the children would be more safe.
People suffer police apathy
Charu Mathur, DLF Phase IV resident
A businesswoman, Charu Mathur moved to DLF Phase IV, hoping it would be safer for her family. She lives with her 11-year-old daughter, husband and her mother and sister-in-law. All was well till the day they heard of a robbery and an attempted rape in their neighbourhood.
The next day gates came up at the colony’s entry and exit points. Guards were posted. This regulated the visitors’ entry but the Gurgaon police was still no good. She tells of an incident where her car was hit by a tempo. When she called the police they said the area did not fall in their jurisdiction. After further explanation they told her they were caught up in some work and would arrive soon.
Meanwhile, her husband, Sanjay Mathur caught the tempo driver and handed him to the police when they arrived—two hours later. And they solved the case in a wink and let the tempo driver go. The police told them to forget it all and go home.
