The year’s most talked about criminal case had the unlikeliest of origins. Exotic palm trees. At a housing society in Sector 93B in Noida, an argument over palm trees that one family had decided to plant to adorn the approach to their ground floor apartment ignited a row simmering on the compound over encroachments in the common area. This would even - tually snowball into a Gangsters Act case against Shrikant Tyagi, the political functionary who insisted on planting the palm trees, the Noida Authority dispatching bulldozers to the society twice — first to take down illegal extensions of Tyagi’s house and then similar ones in other flats and mobilisation of thousands of people from various states by the Tyagi community for a mahapan chayat in Noida.
It began with a video clip that showed Tyagi arguing with a woman, a fellow resident, in their society in August over the palm trees. Tya gi pushed the woman during an abusive outburst. After a complaint from her, police filed a molestation case and eventually slapped charges under the Gangsters Act. A district court granted him bail two months later. Another case that made na - tional headlines had a stranger origin — the India-Nepal border in Bihar. The trail from there led to a hotel in Gurgaon and eventually to a village called Gharbara in Greater Noida, where a plush club designed for the entertainment of Chinese expats living in India was found to be running illegally. The man who ran it — Chinese national Xue Fei had also been living illegally in India. Tianshang Renjian (heaven on earth), which also had rooms for guests, operated from a three-storey building since November 2020 but was discovered two days after Xue Fei was arrested from a Gurugram hotel on June 13 following a tip-off from the border security forces about two Chinese citizens who were stopped while trying to enter Nepal.
They had stayed with Xue Fei in his Noida apartment, they told the forces, which put police on Xue Fei’s trail. It was a reality check for Noida police, drawing secu - rity questions, as the club passed under the radar for nearly two years. However, among their suc - cesses this year, Noida police acted quickly in some kidnapping cases and managed to save lives. On August 24, police rescued Dilbar, the son of a former JDU president of Banka district, and Shahid, his friend, from their kidnappers. The accused, who picked up the duo from Pari Chowk, demanded a ransom of Rs 5 lakh for their release. However, at the handover spot, police arrested the accused after an exchange of fire. Later, on October 3, cops rescued an 11-year-old boy kidnapped from the Luksar area in Greater Noida, from four miscreants, who demanded Rs 30 lakh in ransom from the father. Police data shows kidnapping cases in Noida have in - creased by more than 70% in the past two years. While 2020 saw 241 kidnapping cases, 2021 saw 363 cases and 2022 416 (till November 30). While all other crimes are down in the police files, thefts have gone up, from 1,939 last year to 2,215 in 2022. Cases filed under the Gangsters Act and the UP Control of Goondas Act were also up. While cops took action against 391 personnel under the Goondas Act compared to 145 in 2021, they acted against 44 under the Gangsters Act compared to 31 in the previous year.
What the CP says Police commissioner Laxmi Singh told TOI cops are taking action to stop prevalent crimes like snatching and loot - ing. “Street crimes often go unregistered. But if a case is not lodged, the officers are not answerable or do not take an interest in solving those. I have directed everyone to ensure case registrations,” she said. She added that more CCTV cameras, especially in the border areas, would help stop such crimes. “Our teams are work - ing on crime mapping. We want to install CCTV and facial detection cameras to know about the movements of criminals. Then we will set up a control room for real-time monitoring by officers, who will pass on information to officers on the field and ensure quick arrests,” the CP said. Singh said cops would also check mafia activities, in line with instructions from the CM.
“We will keep taking action against them and attach their illegal properties. That will ensure no new mafia comes up,” she added. Noida has, worryingly, emerged as a hub of cyber fraud perpetrated through call centres that target people in the US. This has brought FBI sleuths on multiple visits to the NCR cities but despite the increased vigil, call centres keep mushrooming.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword. Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes, messages, and quotes.
Start a Conversation
Post comment