Twin burglaries and countless chain-snatching incidents keep CR employees at Antop Hill in constant fear
Twin burglaries and a series of chain-snatching incidents have terrorised Central Railway (CR) employees staying in Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Nagar railway colony. Incidentally, both the burglaries took place on November 25, when the residents – a senior railway clerk and a commercial supervisor – were away for a vacation with their families. While cops have booked unknown people for theft and trespassing, colony residents allege that the lack of adequate security provisions in the area, including a proper gate barricading the society, is to blame.
A resident shows the cupboards that were broken into, at his home
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CR senior clerk S Dhillirao said, "My family and I left for a vacation. The very next day, our neighbours called to inform of a theft at our residence. We rushed back home and found that cash and valuables worth R2 lakh had been stolen."
In another incident, a few months ago, CR employee Harish Singh’s home was burgled after the thieves allegedly sprayed some intoxicating gas in the house to render his family unconscious. "We woke up late in the morning to find valuables amounting to R3 lakh missing." Singh alleged that besides thieves and chain-snatchers, the locality is infested with drug peddlers.
Speaking to mid-day, John Sequeira, Central Railway Majdoor Sangh union leader and colony chairman, said, "In the last 15 years since I have lived here, I have witnessed at least 15 housebreaking incidents and two murders in this colony. While repeated requests to the railway engineering department to increase security in the area have gone unanswered, Antop Hill police have also dismissed our pleas for regular patrolling in the area."
When contacted, Senior Inspector Sudarshan Paithankar, Antop Hill Police said, "We have come across CCTV footage recovered from a camera on the GTB Nagar railway station skywalk, where four people can be seen loitering suspiciously, holding bamboo sticks in their hands. We are probing the thefts."
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