Residents watch and ward off criminals

NEW DELHI, NOV 25: With the police unable to make any headway in the investigation into the murder of NDTV producer Shivani Jajodia, Vasant...

NEW DELHI, NOV 25: With the police unable to make any headway in the investigation into the murder of NDTV producer Shivani Jajodia, Vasant Kunj residents find themselves turning to the security set-up provided by their Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs).

The sprawling DDA colony is spread over 27 pockets divided into four sectors A,B,C and D. Most pockets don’t even have a boundary wall. Recently incidents of motor vehicle theft and other minor theft are on the rise, despite the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme implemented by the police in certain pockets. Most of the RWAs have hired private guards for security duties. According to Rati Manik, a resident of C-1. “The incidents of theft have gone up in this pocket and police seem to be doing nothing about it. We have been forced to put up gates and have employed security guards. We have no alternative but to make our colony secure.”

Money collected from residents has been used to hire security guards and many RWA’s are getting boundary walls constructed.

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“We realise that this is the only recourse left, police presence in the area is scarce and even the PCR vans stationed around vanish most of the times because of VIP duties. Criminals are well aware of this and strike at that time,” says VR Narayana, member of the RWA for pocket D-2.

“We have even asked the area DCP to look into the matter but nothing has come of it so far,” he added.

“Despite a recent murder in the area, we don’t seem to have learnt a lesson, the security is lax and criminals seem to have mastered the art of dodging the police,” complained Bahram Malik, a retired government employee, staying in pocket B-2. Interestingly enough this pocket falls under the police neighbourhood watch scheme but does not even have a high boundary wall. Even the private guards were nowhere in sight when this reporter visited the colony.

The area DCP S N Shrivastava, defending the police, stated, “We have to understand the limitations of policing a vast area, we have been trying to harp upon the point of constructing a boundary wall in each of the pockets but there is little cooperation from residents.”

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“We are doing our best, we have even gathered a profile of 1900 criminals in our database which has given us many successful leads,” he added.

However, residents feel insecure. “We are living in a vulnerable colony, spread over a vast area which includes illegal settlements. This allows easy access to criminal elements, even neighbours don’t bother about each other, we have to take care of our own security,” says Gopa Sanyal, a resident of pocket D-2.