Ask any Dwarkaite about the status of law and order and security issues and it is sure to be met with either a sullen look or a shocked expression that says it all. "Lawlessness has reached its nadir. Never before had the citizens felt such a sense of insecurity in the sub city," says Sunil Sareen, a resident of sector -19 and a member of Dwarka Forum.
Even a couple of days back, a resident was attacked by some miscreants and it was with great difficulty that he managed to go to the police station and lodge an FIR.
The very recent incidents when armed gangs made away with goods and vehicle from the Football House and held up MTNL staff of Sector-19 at gunpoint before getting away with cash and equipment, are pointers that these organised gangs are operating at their own sweet will without any fear. A few days back a 65 year old man was recently shot at in an incident of carjacking.
"One such incident of firing shot to snatch the car is equal to many incidents of chain snatching or pretty crimes. The snatchers have now no fear of law enforcing agencies. Now, the time has come when high authority should do something drastic to restore a snse of security among Dwarkaites. Chain snatching and burglary has become order of the day.
Recently four houses were burgled in Hum Sub Society and Dakhinayan in Sector 4 Dwarka. All is definitely not well on the policing front for the sub city.
Reacting to the reports that the condition of law and order has got out of hand, ACP MS Randhawa, informs that a lot of steps have been taken to remove the chasm that exists between the public and the police. Making the working of the police more transparent was one such step. Another initiative was the Eyes and Ears Scheme launched recently in Sector 7 Dwarka. The ACP claims that, contrary to the situation being projected, there has been a drop in the crime rate.
In fact, there is 70 percent reduction in chain snatching. The ACP also informed that the police are working on putting more pickets and increase patrolling. The police also advised that the residents and the RWAs too should be equally proactive and go in for higher technology installations of anti-burglary alarms, magic eye, and CCTV systems, etc.
But these claims are hardly of any consolation to the residents. There has not been much improvement in the situation and in fact it is deteriorating. No amount of security vigil can hide the fact that things are not what meet the eye." Take the case of the recent house breaking and burglaries at Hum Sub Society in Sector 4 Dwarka.
According to society residents the thefts took place in broad daylight and in apartments where the spouses went out for work. There has bee a definite similarity in all these cases indicating the involvement of professional gangs and those who have been working in collusion with some insiders or those who provide information.
The police on their side feel that though the police had a tough task cut out for them, it is also the responsibility of the residents to be vigilant and take all necessary precautions to curb crime.
There is an iota of truth in this too. Very often, RWAs do carry out the verification of security guards with seriousness. At times it is mere formality and security agencies get away with bad and sub-standard arrangement. Also residents are often unaware of their neighbours. they are either too busy to interact or just not bothered about it. This makes it very easy for gangs of thieves to infiltrate into the societies. Despite claims of transparency and openness in public dealings, residents still complain that in many cases, the police avoid registering FIRs.
The claim that cases of thefts and crime in general has gone down are actually a result of many cases not getting filed in spite of the persistence of residents. This is quite shocking and though the DCP has assured that any incident irrespective of the seriousness can be recorded by calling the police control roo on phone no. 100, there is much room for improvement.
There is some relief finally as the police have arrested Sanjeev (19 Yrs.) and Saleem (19 Yrs.) from Sector 21 Gurgaon for their involvement in robbing Ramesh Bareja, a 65 year old businessman from Dwarka. These youngsters had even robbed an ATM machine from Gurgaon.
Residents feel that it is very important for the police to instill a sense of security among residents. At the same time, the police feel that residents should also be extra careful by ensuring that their houses are fitted with proper antiburglary alarms necessary to keep robbers at bay.
