Noida: Street crimes are increasingly becoming a worry in the bustling 7x sectors, which have developed into one of the city’s prime residential locations because of the large number of housing societies there and proximity to metro’s Aqua Line.
Residents have reported several incidents of snatching, a concern that they are also now raising on social media. Multiple incidents of snatching, around eight, have been reported outside the gates of housing societies like Prateek Wisteria, Mahagun Moderne, Gardenia Gateway and Sethi Max Royal over the past few months. Four instances of mobile snatching have come in close succession, over the past month or so. These have also been captured on CCTV cameras installed outside the main gates of the societies.
Earlier this week, TOI had reported that two bike-borne men had snatched the phone of 20-year-old Hrithik Kasana from outside gate number 2 of Prateek Wisteria in Sector 77. This happened in daylight.
Another incident was reported on February 5 in Sector 75. CCTV footage shows the victim, a woman, standing outside a society gate when two bike-borne assailants – one wearing a helmet and another a cap – snatch her phone before speeding off. On February 14, Gautam Singh of Mahagun Moderne in Sector 78 fell victim to a similar crime.
Gautam took to Twitter, saying such crimes were rising by the day because of “pressure on gangs from prolonged lockdown as they want to recover their loss”. The mobile phone of Ankit Pathak, a Prateek Wisteria resident, was snatched by criminals around 8 am on February 15 in Sector 77. Pathak was standing near the North Eye intersection, which usually has police presence, when the snatchers struck.
“Less than one month and again, it happened outside the society gate around 8 am. Walking and talking on the mobile phone is dangerous. Nothing has happened for the last two similar incidents in 7X area (sic),” tweeted Nisha Rai, a resident of Prateek Wisteria, tagging Noida police, the police commissioner and the Sector 49 SHO in her tweet. “Urgent increase in patrolling is requested,” she added.
DCP (Noida) Rajesh S said the police have increased patrolling to prevent such crimes in the area.
Sector 49 SHO Sudhir Singh told TOI that two members of a gang were arrested on Wednesday. This gang, he said, was active around the Sector 101 metro station. “We are working on the other cases too,” he said.