Car stunts, drinking in open, youth chasing girls: Welcome to 3B2 market of Mohali

Tribune News Service

Mohali, September 1

At 1:30 am on Sunday in the parking lot of Phase 3B2 market here, youths hanging out from the doors of luxury cars perform drifting with a large crowd cheering them on.

After the stunt show is over, which reminds one of an action scene from “Tokyo Drift” movie, PCR vehicles reach the spot and patrol the area. Such stunts here are a routine affair, which the police have miserably failed to stop.

Many cafes and eating joints run 24x7 in the market to cater to youths working at night, mostly at BPOs/call centres, or those staying in PG accommodation.

From evening till late into the night, youths can be seen taking “gedhis” of the market, driving carelessly and most of them are ready to fight even at a small provocation. Many youths even sit atop moving vehicles. Serpentine queues of such slow-moving vehicles cause a nuisance to visitors.

Road safety rules are thrown to the wind every night here with no or little presence of the local police. Drinking in the open, clashes between groups of youths and eveteasing go unchecked in this main market of Mohali, which has witnessed several crimes in the recent past.

Around 1 am last Saturday, this correspondent witnessed several vehicles chasing a girl driving an SUV. One of the youths climbed on the bonnet of her SUV and kept asking her to talk to him, while the others blocked her way. After much struggle, the girl could escape. All this took place just metres away from a PCR vehicle. The police simply refused to take any action against the hooligans.

At 2:30 am today, one of the three occupants in a car was seen forcing a girl to talk to him on the road leading to this parking lot, amid all the hustle and bustle. Mohit Kumar, a local resident, said, “Hooliganism in this market has created a serious law and order situation. Local residents fear visiting the market after the evening hours.”

Deputy Superintendent of Police (City 1) Mohit Kumar Aggarwal said, “Since Mohali is becoming a cosmopolitan city, these shops have obtained 24x7 licence. There is an industrial area near this place, so a large number of people come here during the night hours. We have our teams deployed there. We have also been putting up anti-drunken driving nakas and impounding vehicles in the area.”

“We round up a number of miscreants and do regular challaning. Despite all these efforts, there could be some gaps as we have a shortage of staff. Many of our teams have been deployed at dharna sites,” he added.

Recent crimes in the market

• July 14: A 26-year-old man, who was returning home from work after his night shift, was attacked by three bike-borne miscreants with a sharp weapon in a bid to rob him near the Phase 3B2 market in the wee hours.
• July 6: A fitness coach was assaulted by over 10 men outside a dhabha in the Phase 3B2 market. It all started after the 26-year-old man confronted them for harassing his female friend.