Burglars have it easy in east Lucknow, cops deny

LUCKNOW: The eastern part of Lucknow has become the top striking point for burglars and auto-lifters.
The region has registered a sharp increase of 60% in thefts in homes over the past year, from 78 cases in 2017 to 127 in 2018.

Auto thefts, too, rose by 7%—from 311 cases in 2017 to 333 in 2018. The facts are based on the crime data dossier of Lucknow police.
Nine big police stations come under the city’s east region—Hazratganj, Husainganj, Alambagh, Krishnanagar, Sarojininagar, Manaknagar, Para, Banthra and the VVIP area of Gautampalli.
Of these, burglaries have increased in areas under six police stations—Alambagh, Manaknagar, Para, Krishnanagar, Sarojininagar and Banthra.
Some gangs are active in these areas to execute burglaries in a planned way, leading to the spike, police sources said.
Acknowledging the rise in the number, station house officer (SHO) Alambagh Brijesh Singh claimed that many gangs involved in these cases have been identified and will be busted soon.
“More CCTVs are being installed in Alambagh for better monitoring,” he added. Meanwhile, auto-lifting has seen a spurt in localities such as Hussainganj, Krishnanagar, Sarojininagar and Banthra.
SHO Hussainganj Deepak Dubey claimed that steps were being taken to bust the gangs.
However, SP east Sarvesh Kumar Mishra denied that thefts have increased in his area saying that records show that the crime graph had come down.
SSP Kalanidhi Naithani said SHOs have been directed to increase night patrolling to check incidents of thefts and auto-lifting.
“The total number of theft cases in the city in 2018, however, has declined,” the SSP claimed.