NEW DELHI: The fear of law is evidently waning in the capital. Criminals have become trigger-happy like never before and shoot at will. An unprecedented situation seems to be unfolding where the city’s streets have turned into a playground for men with weapons and Delhi’s police seem to be watching helplessly.
An extraordinary rise in shooting incidents in the past one year has put a serious question mark on the functioning of Delhi Police and its specialised units in particular.An analysis of incidents of the past one year shows that unlike before, the number of bullets being fired has substantially increased in every case. Organised gangs have been making extortion calls like never before.
Last Dec, henchmen of gangster Himanshu Bhau had fired around over 40 rounds at the office of a builder in Dwarka, making it the most brazen extortion-related incident of 2023. The shooting was preceded and followed by a number of shootings at the city’s businessmen, builders, liquor sellers and others. Last month, two men opened fire at a property dealer’s office in Dwarka and dropped an extortion slip demanding Rs 10 lakh. A week before this incident, seven people were injured after two men rained bullets at a car showroom in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar.
In April, multiple rounds were fired at a businessman’s house in Moti Nagar. The shooters left behind a note, insisting on an extortion amount of Rs 50 lakh. The same month, a gangster’s henchman fired at the house of a businessman in an extortion attempt of Rs 50 lakh in northwest Delhi’s Pitampura and two men opened fire at the office of a car dealer in Maurya Enclave in an extortion bid.
Every month, 2-3 incidents of this nature are taking place wherein a gangster from abroad demands “protection money” and his henchmen then fire shots at his premises. The shooters are then dramatically “arrested” in 2-3 days and the case is then “solved”.
Then there are gangwars breaking out in the city as well, which were earlier restricted to outskirts and neighbouring towns to a large extent. The Wednesday’s incident, which saw a barrage of bullets being fired inside a popular hangout, has only dented the police’s image further. “The fact that criminals can dare to fire shots at this scale inside a restaurant and believe that they can get away with ease after that shows how brazen they have become. There seems a lack of fear of police and it’s a matter of serious concern,” says a retired senior police officer who dealt with the city’s crime and criminals for two decades.
Retired police officers further pointed out how a rise in these incidents also showed that the cops were unable to implement even traditional measures like street surveillance, area domination, night patrolling and beat policing. Former top cops agree that an intimidate course correction was the need of the hour and that Delhi Police needed a complete overhaul across its ranks to make the city safer.
The home ministry is learnt to be keeping a close watch on the developments and may soon order a shake-up, sources said.
An extraordinary rise in shooting incidents in the past one year has put a serious question mark on the functioning of Delhi Police and its specialised units in particular.An analysis of incidents of the past one year shows that unlike before, the number of bullets being fired has substantially increased in every case. Organised gangs have been making extortion calls like never before.
Last Dec, henchmen of gangster Himanshu Bhau had fired around over 40 rounds at the office of a builder in Dwarka, making it the most brazen extortion-related incident of 2023. The shooting was preceded and followed by a number of shootings at the city’s businessmen, builders, liquor sellers and others. Last month, two men opened fire at a property dealer’s office in Dwarka and dropped an extortion slip demanding Rs 10 lakh. A week before this incident, seven people were injured after two men rained bullets at a car showroom in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar.
In April, multiple rounds were fired at a businessman’s house in Moti Nagar. The shooters left behind a note, insisting on an extortion amount of Rs 50 lakh. The same month, a gangster’s henchman fired at the house of a businessman in an extortion attempt of Rs 50 lakh in northwest Delhi’s Pitampura and two men opened fire at the office of a car dealer in Maurya Enclave in an extortion bid.
Every month, 2-3 incidents of this nature are taking place wherein a gangster from abroad demands “protection money” and his henchmen then fire shots at his premises. The shooters are then dramatically “arrested” in 2-3 days and the case is then “solved”.
Then there are gangwars breaking out in the city as well, which were earlier restricted to outskirts and neighbouring towns to a large extent. The Wednesday’s incident, which saw a barrage of bullets being fired inside a popular hangout, has only dented the police’s image further. “The fact that criminals can dare to fire shots at this scale inside a restaurant and believe that they can get away with ease after that shows how brazen they have become. There seems a lack of fear of police and it’s a matter of serious concern,” says a retired senior police officer who dealt with the city’s crime and criminals for two decades.
Retired police officers further pointed out how a rise in these incidents also showed that the cops were unable to implement even traditional measures like street surveillance, area domination, night patrolling and beat policing. Former top cops agree that an intimidate course correction was the need of the hour and that Delhi Police needed a complete overhaul across its ranks to make the city safer.
The home ministry is learnt to be keeping a close watch on the developments and may soon order a shake-up, sources said.
