Panchkula residents feel unsafe as incidence of violence, loot rise

Panchkula, March 8

The city has witnessed three shocking incidents of loot and attempted loot since January, two of which remain unsolved. As a result, the residents of the city have been living in constant fear.

Panchkula residents have raised questions about police patrolling in various localities and said they feel unsafe. Residents raised questions about the scant number of police personnel deputed in the city. As per data collected from police sources, there are over 1,900 police personnel deputed in various police stations and crime branches, among other places in the city.

SK Nayar, president of Citizens’ Welfare Association, said there has been an increase in cases of theft and violence in the city, leaving the residents in an unsafe, insecure and vulnerable environment. He recently raised the matter, in writing, with DGP Shatrujeet Kapoor. He said the reasons behind the residents’ fear was shortage of police deployment and non-operational CCTV cameras in the city, adding that there has been no increase in police personnel deputed in the city for many years, though the city’s population has increased manifold.

Subhash Chandra, president of Residents Welfare Association at Sector 2 said incidents of violence have been increasing in the city. He said, “There is a deterioration of law and order at Panchkula. We had written to the CM regarding the rising crime graph few months ago, to no avail.”

Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and order) Mukesh Malhotra said the department had deputed 28 motorcycle riders, 9 PCR vans, 19 emergency response vehicles, 10 SHO vehicles, 17 police post vehicles, 4 vehicles of the crime branch and 24 quick response teams, adding that the police teams have been patrolling the city regularly.