Crime and Mumbai: Borivli police station flooded with complaints of theft

Borivli, with its posh multi-storeyed residential complexes and no slums, dismisses the popular cop theory that slums are the cause for high crime rates....

Borivli, with its posh multi-storeyed residential complexes and no slums, dismisses the popular cop theory that slums are the cause for high crime rates.

Borivli police station sees one of the highest number of theft cases in the north region — 124 cases of thefts, nine incidents of robberies and 17 chain-snatching cases in 2016.(Representation)

No heinous crimes are recorded here, but the Borivli police station sees one of the highest number of theft cases in the north region — 124 cases of thefts, nine incidents of robberies and 17 chain-snatching cases in 2016. Of these, only 43 cases of thefts have been solved, all nine cases of robberies were solved and in the 13 cases of chain snatching, the accused were arrested.

Officials at the Borivli police station said Shimpoli and Rokadiya Marg are two of the most notorious areas. One official said, “There are only residential societies here, but there is little harmony in these societies.”

“To prevent cases of break-ins and robberies, we have asked society members to increase internal security and setting up their own CCTV systems. A lot of societies have failed to follow these instruction, even though it is for their own safety,” said Gunaji Sawant, senior inspector at Borivli police station.

“Now, we have increased patrolling in these areas to ensure safety.”

Police personnel patrol the area thrice during a shift – once each in the morning, afternoon and evening. Officials said chain-snatching cases dropped when compared to last year owing to the extensive patrolling.

Of the theft cases, officials said at least 75% are of bag-lifting. “Borivli sees a floating population of at least 10 lakh a day. This leads to crowded roads as there is a market along the SV Road,” said another officer.

While police teams patrol the streets, it’s business as usual for con men, who have taken over the skywalks. There have been cases of cheating on skywalks, where men posing as police officials cheat pedestrians into removing their jewellery before fleeing.

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