While the police often adopt a casual approach to their complaints, platforms such as Safe Dwarka and other WhatsApp groups are proving effective tools in addressing security issues.
Women of the Safe Dwarka group
The women community of Dwarka are gung-ho on the power of social media platforms in their ability to foster vigilance and safety. Speaking to City Spidey, a group of women have said that the police had been callous and unfriendly when victims reported incidents of violence and assault on the roads in the past.
Consequently, these women victims have resorted to social media platforms to vent their anger and protest against the state of security on the roads, in the parks and markets of the sub-city. Priyanka Mitra, a resident of Sector 23, has initiated Safe Dwarka, a social media platform, to aggregate all the voices that are demanding for a safe and crime-free sub-city.
So, what inspired Mitra to set up Safe Dwarka? “One of my friends living in Sector 22 was molested on the roads this month. When she approached the police, she found them to be both careless and dismissive. Since the victim had not seen the face of the assaulter, the police were not keen to register the complaint. Somehow, we managed to file an FIR after five days. But this irresponsible behaviour has broken our confidence, and hence, we decided to do something on our own and eventually this concept was born," she replies.
Petty crimes such as teasing and chain snatching, have become common in this sub-city, and people are understandably upset about the fact that the authorities have not done much to ensure a safe environment. One of the members of the Safe Dwarka group, Chandrima Majumdar, says, “Safe Dwarka and another WhatsApp group have been started so that women can share their experiences of crime. We are hoping that the authorities can finally take notice of the actual law-and-order situation.”
City Spidey’s long chat with a group of women revealed many horrific incidents. “Once a mother and her daughter, aged about 12 years, were crossing a park in Sector 23. Suddenly, two people attacked them and they started dragging the daughter. But luckily because the mother–daughter duo bravely resisted and some people were present in the vicinity to support them, the goons fled and the girl was rescued. It was apparent that somebody wanted to kidnap the girl. It was a shocking incident that happened in broad daylight,” shares Reena Chatterjee.
According to the ladies of the Safe Dwarka group, many incidents of crime do not come to light due to hesitation and fear of the victim. “We are tagging the social activists, police, women authorities and others who could listen to us and do something to improve the situation. We want to see action and not false promises. We have started this campaign for Dwarka because this sub-city is one of the most crime-prone zones of the NCR, especially as far as women are concerned. Chain snatching and physical assault are rampant these days across the sub-city,” says Maya Kaushal, a member of the group.
