Unsafe apartments in Bhubaneswar turn nightmare for residents

The unabated loot incidents from apartments in Bhubaneswar have not only raised serious questions over the effectiveness of urban policing but also turned into a nightmare for those who chose the high-rises in the capital city, believing them to be bastions of safety and comfort, only to find themselves grappling with a growing sense of insecurity and vulnerability.

A sudden surge in loot in the capital city and a recent incident of armed burglars entering an apartment with swords and sharp-edged weapons in Pahala area, have left the occupants of the flats in various apartments here in a state of panic.

While the notorious criminals are mainly targeting locked houses in the apartments, the surge in crime is giving sleepless nights to the flat owners in the city.

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“There is a dire need for police patrolling. Maybe the robbers would not have dared to enter the apartments if the patrolling teams were stationed at prime locations. We are living in fear now,” a resident of the apartment alleged.

Recent Loots from Flats in Bhubaneswar:

Last week, some unidentified miscreants allegedly looted lakhs of rupees along with gold and silver jewellery from four flats of Vishal Garden apartment located at Uttara Chhak in Bhubaneswar.

Earlier in October, two burglars allegedly gang-raped a woman after looting her apartment in Maitri Vihar area in Bhubaneswar. The woman was with her little daughter when the burglars barged into her apartment and committed the heinous crime. Later, the accused were arrested by the Commissionerate Police. 

Similarly, after looting 500 grams of gold ornaments worth lakhs from a scientist’s flat in an apartment in Chandaka area on the outskirts of the capital city on September 14, the miscreant targeted the same apartment on the very next day and allegedly looted gold jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh from the flat of a software engineer while the latter along with his wife had gone to their village for Nuakhai celebration.

What Commissionerate Police Has Said:

Amid the surge in the loot incidents in Bhubaneswar, the Commissionerate Police has issued advisories urging netizens to remain cautious. Residents have been encouraged to remain vigilant.

Read More: Apartments in Odisha’s Twin City asked to install IP-enabled cameras to curb theft cases

To counter the increasing risk, police have recommended that apartment communities reinforce their security measures. The Commissionerate Police took to social media to spread the word among residents about the danger posed by these criminals.

The Commissionerate Police had also earlier directed to install IP-enabled cameras at the entrance and exit points of apartments to check theft cases.