BHUBANESWAR: With criminals on the prowl, it seems even gated communities in Bhubaneswar are not safe, let alone residential colonies. Four armed burglars proved that when then roamed freely across all the floors of an apartment in Pahala area for about 30 minutes on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.
The anti-socials left after not finding any locked flat in the four-storeyed building. The CCTV footage of the weapon-wielding miscreants easily accessing Usha Enclave went viral but the police are still clueless. In the video clip, the criminals can be seen holding sharp weapons and checking each flat on all the floors of the apartment.
There are about 21 flats in the apartment but all the owners and tenants were reportedly present for which the goons backtracked. However, it is suspected that the same group managed to target two flats and steal valuables in neighbouring Sunrise Sarovar apartment the same night.
After the locals came to know about the thefts at Sunrise, inhabitants of Usha Enclave decided to examine their apartment’s CCTV footage on Wednesday night and were shocked to find that the anti-socials had paid a visit to their apartment.
“There is hardly any police patrolling in the area. As very little can be expected from the cops, we have to now think about the security ourselves,” Ashish Mohapatra, a resident of Usha Enclave told The New Indian Express.
The panicked residents’ woes compounded as they did not receive any assistance from Pahala police on Thursday. A resident said cops declined to receive the complaint as no theft took place in the apartment. “It seems the police will only intervene after we are harmed,” she said.
The residents pointed out that senior citizens staying in the apartment fear for their lives after the incident.
Instead of acting, Pahala police sent a message to owners and tenants in the area mentioning that thieves are targeting locked flats across the city and advised them to keep their security guards on alert.
“Direct the security guards to patrol continuously with torch and whistle. If possible, deploy extra security guards to patrol till 4 am. Without your cooperation, it will not be possible to nab the thieves,” read the message. With no support from the police, the residents of Usha Enclave have decided to set up iron fencing around apartment walls and a gate at the entrance.