The brazenness with which crimes are committed in Delhi raises serious questions about law and order in India's capital.
Most Delhi residents have adjusted their lives to a high crime rate.
Based on my knowledge of the city, I always take necessary precautions when I go out. However, sometimes the brazenness of criminals is such that it can shock you beyond words.
I had a nasty surprise on Sunday evening (18 March 2018) as I stood in a lane many describe as India's "Fleet Street" because of the media offices there.
Two motorbike-borne men snatched the mobile phone from my hands and sped away. I ran after them, aware that the traffic light ahead was red and there was a chance that they could still get caught in the traffic. My hope was not misplaced. After all this particular intersection is notorious for its long duration of red signal.
I approached a taxi driver who was in a perfect position to drive me quickly to the traffic intersection within a few seconds. But the man kept on fiddling with his phone in the parked car despite my offer to pay him a generous amount.
"You can take an auto," he told me rudely.
A police officer later spoke of his frustrations with Delhi's generally timid public that mutely watches crimes.
"We'll have less crimes if people start helping others when they see them in trouble. Sometimes a murder takes place and the shopkeepers in that area simply close their shops so that they don't have to provide a witness account," he said.
Instead of wasting my time with the taxi driver, who began to behave as if he was deaf, I rushed to the Delhi Police headquarters located near the traffic intersection and informed the patrol car outside about the incident.
It seems to me police is casual about such crimes and perhaps aware of their own limitations. They were keen on carrying out some paperwork and formalities about the incident at another police station in the area whereas my priority was to immediately block the phone number and protect my data if a recovery was not possible.
The location of the crime is important to understand the audacity of the criminals. I was robbed outside a cafe next to the National Herald newspaper building on Bahadur Shah Zafar road. That lane has prestigious media offices, including the Times of India, the Indian Express, the Hindu, the Millennium Post, the Pioneer, and other major companies.
Constant police movement in the area is guaranteed because of the Police Headquarters and their huge car park behind the "Fleet Street." Banks and ATMs in the lane have armed security while other office buildings have unarmed guards.
The criminals of Delhi are neither afraid of the police nor the press, it seems. A security guard told me that recently a Times of India journalist's was phone was snatched by criminals on a bike.
When she raised a hue and cry later, police presence at the corner of the lane was increased for a few days.
As a major city, Delhi lacks a culture of police patrols, something that may instill fear in would-be criminals and increase public confidence. Mind you, there is an oversupply of undercover police, informers and touts in the city.
Victims of crime often complain that they receive inadequate help at police stations and police are always late to respond when criminals strike.
This is the city where India's power elite lives and police devote a huge part of their resources to keep them safe and secure. Fighting crime doesn't get the attention it deserves. That policing is flawed in the city is always a topic of discussion as well as a matter of political tussle.
The Delhi state government is angry that it cannot fight crimes effectively as police is controlled by the federal Home Ministry. The issue has been particularly hotly discussed in cases of rapes and crimes against women.
Delhi was the worst place in India in the rate of crime in 2016, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
A police officer told me that snatch thefts have risen sharply in the city due to rising unemployment. In the most daring phone snatching case reported recently, Ukraine's ambassador to India, Igor Polikha, lost his iPhone while taking a picture of the Red Fort, a prime tourist attraction.
Tourists and foreigners, especially women, must exercise extra caution in the city, which can shock even its hardy residents when it comes to crime.
(Published on 19 March 2018, Bernama)
Most Delhi residents have adjusted their lives to a high crime rate.
Based on my knowledge of the city, I always take necessary precautions when I go out. However, sometimes the brazenness of criminals is such that it can shock you beyond words.
I had a nasty surprise on Sunday evening (18 March 2018) as I stood in a lane many describe as India's "Fleet Street" because of the media offices there.
Two motorbike-borne men snatched the mobile phone from my hands and sped away. I ran after them, aware that the traffic light ahead was red and there was a chance that they could still get caught in the traffic. My hope was not misplaced. After all this particular intersection is notorious for its long duration of red signal.
I approached a taxi driver who was in a perfect position to drive me quickly to the traffic intersection within a few seconds. But the man kept on fiddling with his phone in the parked car despite my offer to pay him a generous amount.
"You can take an auto," he told me rudely.
A police officer later spoke of his frustrations with Delhi's generally timid public that mutely watches crimes.
"We'll have less crimes if people start helping others when they see them in trouble. Sometimes a murder takes place and the shopkeepers in that area simply close their shops so that they don't have to provide a witness account," he said.
Instead of wasting my time with the taxi driver, who began to behave as if he was deaf, I rushed to the Delhi Police headquarters located near the traffic intersection and informed the patrol car outside about the incident.
It seems to me police is casual about such crimes and perhaps aware of their own limitations. They were keen on carrying out some paperwork and formalities about the incident at another police station in the area whereas my priority was to immediately block the phone number and protect my data if a recovery was not possible.
The location of the crime is important to understand the audacity of the criminals. I was robbed outside a cafe next to the National Herald newspaper building on Bahadur Shah Zafar road. That lane has prestigious media offices, including the Times of India, the Indian Express, the Hindu, the Millennium Post, the Pioneer, and other major companies.
Constant police movement in the area is guaranteed because of the Police Headquarters and their huge car park behind the "Fleet Street." Banks and ATMs in the lane have armed security while other office buildings have unarmed guards.
The criminals of Delhi are neither afraid of the police nor the press, it seems. A security guard told me that recently a Times of India journalist's was phone was snatched by criminals on a bike.
When she raised a hue and cry later, police presence at the corner of the lane was increased for a few days.
As a major city, Delhi lacks a culture of police patrols, something that may instill fear in would-be criminals and increase public confidence. Mind you, there is an oversupply of undercover police, informers and touts in the city.
Victims of crime often complain that they receive inadequate help at police stations and police are always late to respond when criminals strike.
This is the city where India's power elite lives and police devote a huge part of their resources to keep them safe and secure. Fighting crime doesn't get the attention it deserves. That policing is flawed in the city is always a topic of discussion as well as a matter of political tussle.
The Delhi state government is angry that it cannot fight crimes effectively as police is controlled by the federal Home Ministry. The issue has been particularly hotly discussed in cases of rapes and crimes against women.
Delhi was the worst place in India in the rate of crime in 2016, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
A police officer told me that snatch thefts have risen sharply in the city due to rising unemployment. In the most daring phone snatching case reported recently, Ukraine's ambassador to India, Igor Polikha, lost his iPhone while taking a picture of the Red Fort, a prime tourist attraction.
Tourists and foreigners, especially women, must exercise extra caution in the city, which can shock even its hardy residents when it comes to crime.
(Published on 19 March 2018, Bernama)
