ARE WE SAFE?

ARE WE SAFE?
Residents are not too sure. For the crime graph is going up, turning Bangalore into a crime capital
Design: John Jose
The Times of India


Bangalore is the best city, the leader in technological and cultural development, the byte basket and the city for all seasons.

Tired of all this euphonious sobriquets which are tagged to the brand city of Bangalore? Then here is a Bangalore which sends a chill through the spine of citizens, irrespective of seasons. The city seems to be negotiating for a new identity — The crime capital. The IT and progressive images which were synonyms of Bangalore, have taken a beating with the rising crime graph. Sample this: Mugging, robberies, chain and cellphone snatchings have become the order of the day. Take a peek into the crime statistics released by the police for the first quarter of the year. Well, the crime rate has come down except for the north division which has areas like Malleswaram, Peenya, Yelahanka, Sanjaynagar, Rajajinagar, Mahalakshmi Layout under its jurisdiction. East division follows the North.
Crimes became manifold in the first quarter of 2005 in south, west and eastern divisions where a large number of people from IT-BT sectors live.

Analysing the factors for the growth of robberies in IT-BT corridor areas — Koramangala, Madiwala, BTM Layout, Jayanagar, Bannerghatta Road — in 2005, police said crime increased last year because of the prolonged nightlife in pubs and live bands. A large number of people who earned fat salaries frequented these places and returned home late only to become soft targets for budding criminals.

WHY THE SPURT IN CRIME?
North and west divisions are a few traditionally crime-prone areas. Blue collar crimes are high in these areas with youth from lower rungs of society resorting to chain snatching, petty offences and rowdyism. The number of budding criminals is ever increasing in these areas and the police do not have an effective criminal intelligence network.

A few villages located around the northern part have merged with the city due to rapid growth. Unemployment is rampant in these villages. As an easy resort to raise money to splurge on modern lifestyle, the youths are resorting to crimes, a senior police officer said.

WHAT POLICE SAY?
A few pro-active measures taken by the police to prevent and detect crimes, curbs on endless nightlife, frequent checking of two wheelers during night and intensified patrolling have resulted in curbing the rising crime, the police maintained. “We are doing every possible thing to contain growing crime rate in north division,’’ police commissioner Ajai Kumar Singh said.

The state government has posted IPS officer Malini Krishnamurthy as DCP to the north division to manage the volatile zone which witnessed maximum violence after the death of actor Rajkumar.

HOW TO ARREST CRIME?
4Increase police visibility on the roads round-the-clock. 4Strengthen criminal intelligence collection network. 4Keep an eye on criminals coming out of jails. 4Strengthen the participation of public in the policing. I have just taken charge and familiarising myself with the new assignment. There is a system in place already and we need to strengthen it further. It is difficult for one person to change the situation overnight. Team effort is the need of the hour and I would like to provide leadership by motivating the team members

— Malini Krishnamurthy, DCP, North NORTH Zone

This zone is dotted by industrial suburbs, villages and traditional areas of old Bangalore. Malleswaram, Sriramapuram, Rajajinagar, Subramanyanagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Rajagopalanagar, Nandini Layout, Yeshwantpur, RMC Yard, Peenya, Soladevanahalli, Gangammanagudi, Jalahalli, J C Nagar, Sanjaynagar, Hebbal, R T Nagar, Yelahanka and Yelahanka New Town. DCP: Malini Krishnamurthy (Ph: 22942299) SOUTH Zone

Afew old Bangalore areas like Chamarajpet, Basavanagudi and Shankarapura fall in this division along with wellplanned areas such as Jayanagar. IT industries and educational institutions are well spread across this division. Jayanagar, Basavanagudi, Banshankari, J P Nagar, Subramanya Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Kumara Swamy Layout, Madiwala, Mico Layout, Adugodi, Koramangala, Thilaknagar, Sidadpura, Chamarajpet, central, Kempe Gowda Nagar, Hanumanthanagar, New Tharagupet, Shankarapuram, Girinagar, and Victoria Hospital.

DCP: Alok Kumar (Ph: 22942309) Next target CENTRAL Zone

This zone has a large number of areas falling under the Central Business District along with high-security Vidhana Soudha zone. Ulsoorgate, Ashoknagar, Wilson Garden, S J Park, S R Nagar, Viveknagar, Women police station, Seshadripuram, Vyalikaval, High Grounds, Sadashivanagar, Vidhana Soudha, Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha security and High Court security. DCP: G B Chebbi (Ph: 22942344) EAST Zone

It has a mix of communally hypersensitive areas, cosmopolitan Bangalore and IT Corridor. Ulsoor, Indiranagar, Byappanahalli, Mahadevapura, J B Nagar, Airport, HAL, Frazer Town, Bharathinagar, Shivajinagar, Commercial Street, D J Halli, K R Puram, K G. Halli, Ramamurthy Nagar, Hennur and Banasawadi. DCP: P Muniswamy (Ph: 22942312) WEST Zone

This division has business areas such as Majestic, Chickpet, railway station, bus stands and crime prone areas like Byatarayanapura, Magadi Road and newly created extensions. Upparpet, Chickpet, City Market, Kalasipalya, Cottonpet, J J Nagar, Byatarayanapura, Chandra Layout, Jnanabharathi, Kengeri, Vijayanagar, Magadi Road, K P Agrahara, Basaveshwaranagar and Kamakshipalya.

DCP: K V Sharathchandra (Ph:22942356)

‘We are scared’

We are scared to lock the house and go on vacation. There are many students and at night they get drunk and drive rashly. There is very little police presence in the locality.
— K Bhavana, housewife, Sanjaynagar

There are lot of street fights in the area because of some bars and liquor shops. Security has to be tight.
— Raju, paan shop owner, Bashyam Circle

The police in this area are ineffective. No counter measures have been taken by them to curb crime. There is a sense of fear among residents because of rampant crime.
— B B Nayak, advocate, Rajajinagar III Block

Ilive with my two young children and my husband travels often. The residents are scared because of rampant crime in the area. At night, there is very little movement of people and residents are suspicious when they see strangers.
— Manuja M, housewife, RT Nagar

The main problem we face here is theft of cars and strangers barging into our compounds. The police here is not efficient and there is no system to keep check the movement of strangers. Another big problem here is residents being attacked while walking late in the evening. A stranger recently barged into our compound and the police who were informed about the incident did nothing.
— Dr S Gyanchand, RMV I Stage

The area is well guarded by the police. There are regular checks and the police patrol the area regularly, making it safe for residents.
— Mahesh Patel, Patel’s Inn, RT Nagar

Often we read about murders, chain snatchings and robberies in the locality. A miscreant snatched a chain of a close relative of mine near our house some time back. The crime rate — as we all know — has not gone down.
— Dr S K Chadda, JC Nagar