Residents of Ranikheda village in outer Delhi have divided the settlement into four parts and begun organising night patrols after a reported rise in thefts over the past two months, with villagers saying they are being forced to guard their homes and streets themselves despite a police station being about three kilometres away.
According to a report by Jagran – New Delhi, one person from each household is taking turns to patrol the lanes and boundaries of the village. Ranikheda has a population of about 4,500, and residents say theft incidents have increased during the winter period in successive years. They have also claimed that people chasing suspected thieves have faced firing.
The community patrols, locally known as ‘theekri pahra’, are a traditional form of collective watch in which residents take turns guarding a village or settlement, particularly at night. In Ranikheda, the arrangement follows the installation of closed-circuit cameras and the creation of a local social-media group through which residents say incidents are now reported more regularly.
Residents cited in the report described several recent cases. Deepen Bhardwaj reportedly told the newspaper that cash and a gold coin worth about Rs 1 lakh were stolen from his house. A vehicle was allegedly stolen from the village’s municipal park, while six buffaloes were reportedly taken from Rasulpur. Residents said complaints had been submitted to the police but that the cases had not yet led to a clear breakthrough.
The problem extends beyond Ranikheda itself. Nearby settlements, including Bhagya Vihar, Yogiraj Puram, Meer Vihar and Ekta Vihar, are home to more than 10,000 people who have moved into the area, according to the report. Residents said these colonies also face concerns linked to theft and the availability of intoxicating substances, and that they have repeatedly brought the matter to the police’s attention.
Villagers said the area had been relatively peaceful earlier but that security problems had become more visible over the past decade. They also said that elected representatives were difficult to reach after elections. Sunil Dutt Bhardwaj, a resident and retired principal, said residents had been compelled to arrange surveillance and patrols because of the repeated incidents.
Jasbir Karala, a former MLA candidate and councillor, said police had been asked to deploy beat staff and increase patrolling in and around the village. He said residents had information about those involved in livestock theft and that police were coordinating with them. He also said the seasonal theft problem had surfaced in previous years and that villagers had faced confrontations with suspected animal thieves, including incidents involving firing.
The residents’ decision to conduct their own patrols places the focus on the everyday reach of policing in Delhi’s villages and peripheral colonies. For now, the immediate demand from Ranikheda is for more police patrols, action against suspected thieves and protection for residents who are currently taking on night-watch duties themselves. The police response and progress in the reported cases will determine whether the community-led patrols remain necessary.
