Cocktail of crime

Law breaking and violence characterise a city that is otherwise on the move

Sandeep Yadav Ghaziabad

It is Friday night and the thin weekend crowd at Silvercity multiplex, Ghaziabad, could not have been a pleasing sight for the proprietors. The men far outnumbered the few women present. Even the otherwise crowded McDonald’s bore a funereal like despondency and the story was no different at the other eateries in the complex. The Rupali Petrol Station just across the road was already shut. When confronted with the question about the sparse crowd and meagre presence of women in the vicinity, an elderly gentleman looked up quaintly and said, “time to dekho boss, ye Ghaziabad hai (Look at the time boss, this is Ghaziabad)”. Feigning ignorance when this reporter told him it’s just eleven, the man seemed to lose his cool. “Baithe raho yehin, khud pata chal jayga jab koi utha le jayga (Keep sitting here and you will come to know when somebody will abduct you)”, he replied contemptuously. Of course the rain had played spoilsport but the shadow of underworld and violent crime as its natural by-product looms large on the daily life of the people in this western Uttar Pradesh (UP) town. Unlike, Delhi and Gurgaon, Ghaziabad is still struggling to gain the status of an A class dwelling site in spite of possessing all the ingredients that have made its counterparts the place to be in. Crime is the culprit.

Ghaziabad, with a population brimming close to l0 lakh, is one of the most industrialised cities in UP and has recently made it to the Newsweek’s list of the ten most dynamic cities of the world. It has excellent connectivity with Delhi and serves as the abode for the salaried class that cannot afford the living expenses demanded by Delhi and Noida. The latter being the IT hub and home to Special Economic Zones attracts professionals who base themselves in Ghaziabad which is comparatively cheaper. The Grand Trunk (GT) Road linking Ghaziabad with Noida is strewn with professional institutes of all vocations pulling a large chunk of student population crowding the lanes of the two cities and boosting their economy. So far so good. But what spoils the party is the soaring crime graph. Not a day passes when some violent incident does not disrupt life for the citizens and keep Ghaziabad away from the A class city status.

Many reasons have all lent hand in giving shape to the image the city has. Brijesh Kumar, Justice, Supreme Court, enumerated, “Apart from the socio-economic and psychological conditions causing criminal tendencies to spurt, consumerism, price rise and scarcity of resources due to population explosion have also weakened the moral fabric of the society”. Unbridled construction activity is the latest scourge.

In last the two years eight multiplexes have cropped up and six others are in various stages of construction. While three new flyovers are functional today, thirteen more are planed. It is boom time for contractors. Local politicians masquerading as contractors are using clout to bag lucrative contracts, with the blessings of their political bosses. Competition is rife, and murder and kidnappings are part of business. The police is hapless. “What can the khakhi do when the criminal is wearing a khadi. Half of these so called youth leaders are rogues involved in all sorts of illegal activities. The moment we try to lay our hands on them our bosses from Lucknow show us our place”, says a district level police officer on the condition of anonymity. Land prices are soaring, stakes are high and the rule of the game is that every bullet fired begets money.