5 housebreaks a day — and counting

Residents of Ekta Vihar, the Central Excise quarters at Belapur, are a scared lot these days.
In the last couple of months, the colony has witnessed a crime spree, ranging from vehicle thefts to housebreaks and even assaults on women residents. Recently, there were five housebreaks in one building on a single day!
An excise inspector who''s lived there for six years said: "The colony is deserted during the day as everyone''s at work. Earlier, there were no chowkidars during the day. Also, 55 per cent of the quarters were unoccupied. Now, unauthorised occupants have moved in. Some of them are unemployed and we suspect they are indulging in mischief. We are scared to leave our children alone in our houses now." He added, "About a month ago, I bought a brand new motorcycle. Three days later, it was stripped by thieves — even the tyres were stolen! There have been many such cases."
A lady excise inspector, who lives alone with her two-year-old daughter, said, "In our colony, there are several civil works going on, workers like labourers, gardeners and contractors are present. A fortnight ago, when I returned from a visit to my father, my scooter was missing. We found it a couple of days later. It had been totally stripped and abandoned in another part of the colony. Also, there were signs that someone had tried to break into my house. We''ve lodged several complaints with the estate manager''s office, but they are least bothered. They are the ones who are supposed to maintain the property. In spite of repeated calls to the CBD Belapur police station, no one came to take our statement."
Secretary of the Central Excise Inspectors'' Association, Maharashtra and Goa, Prabhakar Rao, said: "This is a major problem. The colony has 1,200 flats and 800 residents. The other day, a lady in the building was manhandled by a liftman. There''s a whole network of dubious people operating in our area." He added, "Some time ago, a man knocked on the door of a single mother. Her 10-year-old daughter answered the door. He told her that her mother had sent him to collect some money from the cupboard. Fortunately, the smart child didn''t open the latch. She replied that she would have to call her mother before handing over the money. By that time, he had asked for a glass of water. On returning from the kitchen, she found him trying to tamper with the latch. She hastily slammed the door. It''s obvious that people are unsafe here."
Inspector S K Narwane said, "We have picked up two to three boys involved in this racket. Vendors, sweepers etc are being interrogated, too. We have only been able to establish the fact that they are not affiliated to any gang and are not hand-in-glove with the contractors who work there. Now that the families have departed for vacations, we have implemented preventive measures. An officer and four constables have been posted round-the-clock to cover 25 to 30 buildings. Also, it must be said that people are not registering cases as the police station is far away."