WE THE PEOPLE
Burglary in Bemina colonies on rise, theft of 210 gas cylinders from different households sets up shock waves
Hence residents seek DGP’s intervention, demand night patrolling by Police to curb burglary, ensure safety to them
By: Shirjeel Ahmad
Srinagar: Location and placement of Kashmir Valley needs special attention and as such all Wings of State Administration are expected to work in unison with coordinated relationship. Such a State can be compared to a Powerhouse, where any defect in the system is detected instantly and corrective measures adopted to rectify the fault. In such a system, accountability, punctuality and responsiveness become the hallmarks, which goad the officials to discharge their obligations with high sense of dedication and devotion. No room is left in such a system for any complaint whatsoever and as such sense of safety and security become the dominating features of the overall mechanism.
But when the system is imperfect and ridden with corruption and indifference, the results can be disastrous. In such a situation, the administrators turn recalcitrant and lack accountability, thus giving rise to rot in the administration. Thus people are put at the receiving end, with no one to mitigate their sufferings. They writhe in pain, with no one to give them a healing touch. This is the situation with which most of the people in Kashmir Valley are confronted with today. There are complaints of nocturnal thefts being committed in several segments of the valley, particularly in Bemina High Income Group (HIG) and Middle Income Group (MIG) where 210 gas cylinders stand stolen from different households over the last one-month. Such committal of thefts has made lives of people totally unsafe and insecure. The burglars strike at their targets with impunity with no one to haul them up. It is alleged that police personnel do not exercise proper vigil during night hours, which has exposed people to the onslaughts of burglars and frequent thefts of high order. Their uproar and protests over the burglaries stand lost in the din as no police force has allegedly come out either to catch the culprits or intensify night patrolling, especially in the affected areas so far. It is felt that most of the Police Stations, located in different parts of the valley, have abandoned practice of nocturnal-patrolling to provide safety and security to people living in those areas. This has given a free hand to burglars to break into any house and commit robbery. This is evidenced by scores of thefts committed by robbers in Jawahar Nagar, Fateh Kadal, Hyderpora Byepass, Rawalpora and Bemina colonies.
“In the past, Police personnel stationed in respective Police Stations used to exercise complete vigil by undertaking extensive patrolling of their jurisdictions during night hours, which could keep burglars at bay and restore confidence of people in the police force. Even shopkeepers would hardly engage Chowkidars for watch and ward of their shops as they used to remain satisfied with the surveillance of the Custodians of Law. As a matter of fact, Police Stations located in different zones of the valley are responsible for safety and security of people living in their particular area. It is not only booking the gamblers or offenders for minor crimes by the police personnel but they are supposed to keep lives of people and their property safe. The Police Manual is very clear about the duties of police personnel and guidelines are laid down for dealing with different types of crime. Besides they are governed guided by the law of the land. It is only question of adherence to the rules and putting law into practice. No committal of crime of any nature is possible if police personnel perform their duties faithfully,” said a group of elderly persons of Bemina and Jawahir Nagar areas.
Hence people seek DGP’s intervention, demand night patrolling by Police to curb burglary and ensure safety to them. It is high time that the Director General of Police issues directives to all officers manning Police Stations in Kashmir Valley to intensify night patrolling in their respective jurisdictions, especially human habitations to control thefts and instill confidence among the people of the state. People can develop faith in custodians of law, which is possible only if police personnel rise to the clarion call and perform their professional obligations to the best of their capacities and capabilities.
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