Police rope in teenagers to tackle Vasant Kunj stalker

According to the DCP, the response of the residents of the area was quite encouraging. “I was happy to see that a number of youngsters were quite receptive and many volunteered their help,” Prakash said.

“We have asked them to be alert and inform the police or their elders if they see any suspicious person moving around in the area,” he said. “We have told them that they should not be shy of asking any stranger about his identity. This would definitely deter any miscreants…. I am positive that they could be vital in providing effective security,” the DCP added.

Local residents are enthused by the idea, but have drawn the line as far as school-going children are concerned. They would rather have older, college students involved as “security is not child’s play”. “The police have suggested a number of schemes like installing alarms and residents have been forthcoming…. I think including young children might lead to confusion. We have already had an encouraging response from youngsters and some of them are already members of the neighbourhood watch committee,” says the chairman of the federation of Vasant Kunj RWAs, Yogesh Khanna.

According to the residents, the committee would suggest ways to provide effective security and more interaction with neighbours. To begin with, it has already been decided to set up a joint security system for Pockets B-8 and B-9.

At the committee’s meeting this Sunday, which was attended by senior police officials, the victim of the latest attack, Madhu Khatri, pointed out that it was time residents realise that security was everyone’s concern. “Today it happened to me, tomorrow it can happen to someone else…. Before any other incident happens, we should make a concerted effort to be more vigilant,” she said.

A number of youngsters were present at the meeting. Shweta Nayyar, a college-going student said: “I was shocked that an incident like this could happen in our area. I feel there was a need for youngsters to chip in and therefore I volunteered.” Her friend, Nivedita Makhija, a resident of B-9 agreed. “I think we know more about who stays in the neighbourhood than the elders. It’s a good idea to involve youngsters. We can contribute a lot to improving the security of our neighbourhood.”

Khanna said, “It is high time that we entrust the affairs of the colony to the young. We have retired persons taking care of the affairs of the RWA. Often, youngsters prove to be more vigilant.”

Meanwhile, police officials are yet to make any headway in the January 8 attack on Manju Khatri. According to senior police officials, they had detained a youth and taken him to Khatri for identification. But, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. However, he said that senior police officials were visiting the area in the every evening to monitor the security arrangements.