Picture used for representative purposes only.
A steep rise in burglary cases in the high-end DLF City colonies of Gurgaon have made residents break out in sweat. They say there have been several burglaries in the past three months, but that police are still clueless about who the perpetrators are.
The most recent incident was reported from the E block on Sunday, where three burglars, including a woman, were caught on camera just before they robbed a house in broad daylight while the family was away. The incident was captured on a CCTV camera installed at a neighbour’s house. The thieves decamped with Rs 50,000 in cash and jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh from businessman RK Bhan's house.
His wife, Usha Bhan, is a schoolteacher. When she returned home in the evening, she found the locks of the doors broken and the house burgled. The Bhans suspect the involvement of someone known to the family. The burglars were caught on a CCTV camera set up at the house opposite Bhan’s. But the cops have not been able to identify any of the accused yet. An FIR has been lodged under sections 454 (house breaking) and 380 (theft) of the IPC.
“No one seems to care about the safety of citizens here. When my house was burgled, the police just lodged an FIR and then forgot about it. No headway was made in the case,” recounts Dhruv Bansal, whose 61-year-old mother was gagged, beaten up and tied up in the bathroom of their DLF-I residence by two domestic helps on March 21.
Angry residents of the neighbourhood held a meeting under the banner of DLF Qutub Enclave Residents’ Welfare Association (QERWA) to discuss ways to keep a check on such incidents. The local councillor, Rama Rani Rathi, said authorities have been neglecting the issue of residents’ safety.
“It is alarming, to say the least," the councillor added. "Despite paying maintenance charges to the builder, the security of the residents is at stake, as no one is ready to take the responsibility of safety in the colony. The civic bodies and the builder are only bothered about generating revenue, but not ready to look into serious security concerns.”
“We are examining the CCTV footage in which the burglars are seen leaving the house in an auto,” said Tanya Singh, ACP (DLF), Gurgaon. "We are hopeful the case will be cracked soon."
