Criminals from outside rule the roost in city

NEW DELHI: In January this year, a sum of Rs 9 lakh was robbed from a house in Shastri Park. So far, the robbers have managed to evade arrest. The reason: Police say the accused are based in Uttar Pradesh and that they do not have any concrete information about their activities.

In March, nine members of a gang of robbers were arrested from northeast Delhi. They were 'wanted' for a series of six robberies. But the police had no past record or information about this Meerut-based gang. This, despite the fact that they were 'wanted' in 12 cases of robbery in UP as well.

According to the police, criminals from the neighbouring areas take advantage of multiple enforcement agencies in the National Capital Region (NCR). "There is movement of criminals across borders and they take advantage of the fact that the local police may not have any criminal records against them," said deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Praveer Ranjan.
Moreover, when it comes to coordination at the ground level, a vital link seems to be missing between the Delhi Police and their neighbouring counterparts. Though inter-state coordination meetings have been going on for a long time, they have gained an impetus only in the last two years. Though the process of sharing of information about crime and criminals has begun, the police cannot afford to pat their backs just yet.

A senior officer said: "There is coordination and cooperation at the senior level between Delhi and its neighbours. But, it is the rapport among the lower-rung police staff which needs to be improved. Until that happens, criminals will take advantage of the difference in the jurisdiction of Delhi and other areas of the NCR."

Another officer said Delhi Police's priority may be different from that of neighbours. "We may want them to take action against a particular gang or person on an urgent basis, but they may have other priorities. Moreover, the criminals wanted here may be lying low to prevent detection," the officer added.

The answer to the problem, according to joint commissioner of police (New Delhi range) Maxwell Pereira, lies in local vigilance. He said: "Delhi is not a personalised society and any incursion is not immediately known. The only way to curb criminal incursions is to improve local vigilance."

Seems it's not just neighbours India and Pakistan which should improve their coordination but also the Delhi Police and their next-door neighbours.

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