BHUBANESWAR: Last Sunday, a woman of Bali Tota Sahi was riding pillion on a motorcycle with her husband when two bike-borne miscreants tried to snatch her gold necklace. But the woman, Radha Rani Pradhan, held on to it tightly. The miscreants continued undeterred and Radha Rani gave up when her dress was torn apart by the anti-social. He attacked her shoulder with a sharp object. The woman lost balance, fell on the road and sustained head injuries.
The incident happened near Nabard office under Nayapalli Police limits. The same location reported another such robbery attempt on Friday. Such threat of bodily assault to women in public has led to serious outrage.
If one goes by numbers of robberies, Nayapalli Police station takes the cake having reported the maximum number of cases last month. This, though, applies to most parts of Bhubaneswar where criminals care two hoots for the pathetic policing.
Two days back, a 26-year-old New Delhi resident who had come to the city to conduct an entrance examination was targeted by two miscreants who snatched his backpack and mobile phone around 9 pm in Mancheswar Industrial Estate. He was walking back to a hotel.
On Friday night, a businessman lodged a police complaint alleging that some anti-socials snatched Rs 38,000 from him near Unit-II Girls’ High School while he was returning home. Police confirmed the incident and said they have launched an investigation into the matter.
Amidst an alarming rise in property offences like robbery and snatching, Commissionerate Police seems to have lost the plot. Robbers are on the prowl and the number of cases are simply jumping. In November, 61 robbery cases were registered in Bhubaneswar Urban Police District, up against 53 reported in October.
The rise in property offences not only indicates the deteriorating law and order situation in the State Capital but also has another alarming side - poor detection rate. About 2, 929 property offences cases were registered in Bhubaneswar Urban Police District between January and December 15 this year. Out of them, the city cops managed to detect only 1,151 cases. The detection rate of property offences in the capital city stands at a meagre 39.29 per cent. Needless to point, anti-socials continue to have a roll in the city with scant fear of the cops.
Night patrolling has been a major cause of concern. Despite the prevalence of night curfew from 10 pm, there is little eye on availability of alcohol, open consumption as well as the trade of drugs. Bhubaneswar has reported a massive uptake in brown sugar seizures which indicates the huge availability of contraband because the seizures are the tip of the iceberg only.