In view of the rising incidents of chain and mobile snatching in the city, Ghaziabad Police has decided to identify spots from where more than five cases have been reported. But on the other hand, plans to cover all areas of Indirapuram through CCTV surveillance has been put on hold.
As per an internal assessment by the police, Indirapuram is the “second-most prone area” to have reported such incidents. “The maximum number of cases has been reported from Sahibabad followed by Indirapuram and Kavi Nagar,” a police official said.
Alok Kumar, president of Federation of Apartments Owners Association (FedAOA), said, “The plan, once started with much enthusiasm, is now on the backburner due to lack of diligence from the police administration.”
Kumar also said that he tried to follow up several times with the police, urging them to issue letters to RWAs and seek their support, but to no avail.
“At its general board meeting held in September, the federation had spoken in favour of installation of CCTV cameras among member societies. Many societies, like Niho Scottish, have indeed installed cameras outside the society. But, on the whole, the plan fizzled out due to lack of encouragement by the police,” he added.
In the same meeting, the federation and representatives of police and district administration had urged RWAs to install high-resolution cameras outside their gates.
SDM City, Vivek Mishra, and then SHO of Indirapuram, Sachin Malik, had spoken on the importance of camera surveillance before the AOAs of Indirapuram, Raj Nagar Extension and Crossings Republik.
Kumar added that the transfer of Indirapuram SHO and SP City had somehow put spanner in the works.
SSP Upendra Kumar Agrawal told City Spidey that the police administration is in talks with different agencies regarding CCTV coverage of the city.
“For now, we are in talks with Ghaziabad Development Authority and Municipal Corporation to install cameras across Ghaziabad,” he added.
Agrawal also assured that the police will also persuade high-rises and commercial establishments to do the same.
Meanwhile, Agrawal has directed all Station House Officers (SHO)s to compile a list of chain and mobile snatching incidents in the last five years. He also asked for a list of criminals who were arrested for loot-and-dacoity cases between 2013 and October 2018, but are currently on bail.
