Residents of Rani Khera village in outer Delhi have divided the settlement into four parts and started conducting night patrols after a rise in thefts over the past two months, with police promising increased patrolling and action against suspected offenders.
The village, which has a population of about 4,500, is around three kilometres from the nearest police station. Residents say thefts increase during winter every year, but the recent incidents have pushed households to organise what is locally known as thikri pehra, a traditional system of community watch in which residents take turns guarding streets and village boundaries.
Under the arrangement, one young person from each household performs night duty by rotation. Residents are also monitoring the lanes and approaches to the village, while some households have installed closed-circuit television cameras. They say the measures became necessary after repeated thefts and what they describe as inadequate security arrangements in and around the village.
Residents told Jagran that thieves have targeted homes, vehicles and livestock. Deepen Bhardwaj reported the theft of Rs 1 lakh and a gold coin from his house. A vehicle was stolen from the village’s MCD park, while six buffaloes were reportedly stolen from nearby Rasulapur. Complaints have been submitted to the police, but residents said the cases had not yet produced a clear lead.
Residents also alleged that people attempting to chase thieves have faced firing. Sunil Dutt Bhardwaj, a resident and retired principal, said the village had been compelled to install cameras and organise night watch because of the increase in thefts. He said a local social-media group had also made it easier for residents to record and share information about incidents.
Rani Khera is surrounded by colonies including Bhagya Vihar, Yogiraj Puram, Meer Vihar and Ekta Vihar. Residents estimate that more than 10,000 people from outside the village live in these areas. They said the wider settlement has inadequate security arrangements and that complaints about alleged narcotics activity and crime have been repeatedly brought to the police and local representatives.
Resident Jasram said the problem had become more pronounced over the past decade, while other residents, including Kripal Dabas, Ombir, Vinod and Yogendra, said the recent increase in incidents had led to the decision to begin community patrols. They have asked the police to increase night rounds, saying residents do not have weapons to confront suspects.
DCP Shashank Jaiswal said the police had directed beat staff to be deployed and asked for increased patrolling in the village. He said the police had information about suspected livestock thieves and would take action against those responsible. Jaiswal also said cooperation from residents would help the police identify and apprehend suspects.
Jasbir Karala, a former MLA candidate, and councillor Manisha Jasbir Karala said they were in contact with the police over the thefts. They said the problem generally intensified around winter and that residents had also confronted suspected livestock thieves in the previous year, when firing was reported.
The police response and the community patrols will determine whether the additional beat deployment and village patrolling reduce incidents in Rani Khera and its surrounding colonies.
