How inaction fuels crime in India’s capital
Escalating violence demands swift and decisive action from its enforcement leaders
Delhi, besides being the capital of India, the most populous nation in the world, is a city with a grand and glorious history. As the seat of great empires since ancient, prehistoric times, it is older than Rome and boasts as many surviving monuments. It has beautiful gardens, broad boulevards, and a densely inhabited medieval Mughal city, Shahjahanabad, nestling right in its midst.
Growing rapidly on all sides from New Delhi, the imperial citadel the British built a hundred years ago, the National Capital Region (NCR) is now a bustling conurbation, with satellite cities in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. It is home to over 20 million inhabitants. It is also a city I love, having come of age here, arriving as a seventeen-year-old freshman at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, over four decades ago.
That is why, like many Delhiites, I am deeply concerned and distressed by the steady rise of crime in the capital. I do not want Delhi to become a city stalked by fear, where crime and disorder are allowed to grow unchecked. Let me explain why I feel this way.
On 29 September, just a couple of days ago, a plainclothes police officer on his night beat was mowed down. Sandeep, a 30-year-old Delhi Police constable on a motorcycle, was killed in the North-Western district of Nangloi. CCTV footage shows a speeding WagonR smashing into him, dragging him for 10 metres, before it collided with another car. Sandeep sustained severe head injuries and was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.
On the run
The car is now in police custody, but both the driver and co-passenger are missing. The incident occurred at 2:16 AM, while Sandeep was patrolling in plain clothes in this crime-infested area. The culprits are on the run. No arrests have been made so far. Sandeep is survived by a wife, a five-year-old son, and a mother.
On 28 September, in the same Nangloi area, there was a frightening shooting at the Roshan Halwai sweet shop. Two motorcycle-borne criminals fired several rounds from a semi-automatic pistol at the shop’s counter. Fortunately, no one was killed or injured. Acting swiftly, the Special Cell of the National Capital Region apprehended the suspects, Hariom and Jatin.
After the shooting, police recovered an extortion note from the assailants signed in the names of Ankesh Lakra and Deepak Boxer. Boxer, who has been extradited to India, is currently in jail, as is Lakra. If so, how are they masterminding operations from behind bars? The extortion note also reportedly contained pictures of two other gangsters, Jitendra Gogi and Fazza. But these two are already dead.
Hours earlier, near New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, gangsters opened fire on the Impress Hotel in Mahipalpur. The area is dotted with cheap hotels, which cater to a section of tourists and working-class travellers. However, it is also becoming a den for shady activities. On my way to the airport from Jawaharlal Nehru University, I have passed by that road several times.
That is why it is shocking that shooters fired at the hotel last Saturday, leaving guests and staff cowering in terror. It is alleged that the Lawrence Bishnoi-Goldy Brar crime syndicate is behind the attack. The motive? Clearly, extortion and protection money. It was reported that last year, Brar had allegedly demanded Rs 20 million from the hotel owner.
Delhi deserves better
The Police Control Room was contacted by Impress Manager Surya Pratap at 3:28 AM: “An unknown person fired multiple shots outside the hotel, spreading panic and chaos.” The receptionist, in the statement, said that between 2:30 and 2:40 AM, four to five rounds were fired, smashing the windows. The Vasant Kunj police station, right opposite my university, is investigating.
Just a day earlier, a luxury car showroom, “Car Street Mini,” was attacked in Naraina, West Delhi. The showroom was less than a kilometre from the Naraina police station. Three men barged in and fired 20 rounds. A Mini Cooper, a Mercedes, and two BMWs were damaged in the attack. The shooters snatched the salesperson’s phone and threw it away after leaving the premises.
The note they left behind read, “Bhau Gang, Since 2020,” referring to the Portugal-based Himanshu Bhau, a fugitive from India since 2022. Earlier this year, in May, another shooting occurred at a car showroom in Tilak Nagar, again in West Delhi. The attackers, it was reported, demanded Rs 50 million from the proprietors of “Fusion Cars.”
The Delhi Police is a huge force of close to 100,000 uniformed personnel, directly under the control of the central Home Ministry, led by Minister Amit Shah. If so, why is the law and order situation so deplorable? Could it be due to the political rivalry between the ruling BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which governs the state?
I certainly hope not. Delhi’s citizens deserve better. The authorities must act swiftly to secure our national capital from the clutches of criminal elements and lawlessness.