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Crime rate in Delhi's satellite city Noida has residents up in arms
With 30 major thefts in the last 30 days, this satellite city of Delhi is becoming increasingly unsafe to live in, say its residents.
- IANS
- Published: 23:06 February 21, 2009
Noida: With 30 major thefts in the last 30 days, this satellite city of Delhi is becoming increasingly unsafe to live in, say its residents.
From September 2008 to January 2009, 170 major thefts have been reported. The annual number of major thefts rose from 391 in 2007 to 421 in 2008.
This week six major thefts were reported from Sectors 22, 23 and 17 of Noida. In all cases the burglars decamped with cash, jewellery and other valuables.
"I had gone to Delhi to drop my wife, who works at Lady Hardinge Hospital. My mother was sleeping on the first floor. When I returned around 2.50pm, I was taken aback to see my ground floor ransacked. The robbers took away jewellery worth Rs250,000 [Dh18,409], two laptops and Rs25,000 in cash," Balwant Negi, resident of Sector 22, said.
Major General (Retd) V.K. Anand has a similar story to tell. "I had gone to Jalandhar after giving my house keys to the laundryman outside my house. When I returned, I found the windows broken. The thieves decamped with Rs.10,000 in cash and jewellery," Anand said.
Talking about the police efforts to solve the string of thefts, Devika Garg, resident of Stellar Greens Society in Sector-44, said: "They took fingerprints from my house after there was a theft of about Rs1.6 million. Since then I have been constantly following up with the police for progress in the matter and have even spoken to senior officials, but my case is lying as it is."
Garg's house was burgled December 13 last year. Two days later, two more houses in the same area were burgled by robbers who decamped with cash, jewellery and other belongings.
Six incidents of thefts took place in Sector 12 alone within 15 days in December last year. Then, as many as four cases of theft occurred in Sector 27.
Various other sectors also witnessed a string of thefts in January.
Residents blame the increasing thefts on inadequate police patrolling in this showpiece city of Uttar Pradesh that has seen a runaway growth in recent years by attracting businesses from Delhi. This in turn led to mushrooming of apartment complexes, malls, multiplexes that beckoned both the well-heeled and the criminals.
Federation of Noida Residents' Welfare Association general secretary Munna Sharma said: "The law and order condition is really grim at the moment. Residents are living in a constant state of fear. Thefts are bound to occur when there is little police security."
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