BADDI: A new dimension to crime has noticed in Baddi belt after a masked thieves gang sent the industrial fraternity reeling under constant fear after looting the three units during night in less than a month. Ironically no clue has ever got by the police to get lead in cases. Making maximum benefits of ill-equipped and under staffed police in belt the anti social elements were striking at their own will.
The involvement of profession thieves could not be ruled out as in three looting cases the theft was performed in a planned way. The modus operandi of all three cases was simple. Struck after midnight and first overpowered the dozing off security staff and few other staff presented in unit. A vehicle emerged in scene after few minutes to facilitate the transportation of looted goods.
The gang members entered the units in a group of two or three. Every group has given tasks to perform. They took hardly half and hour to pack the things from units. Then they disappeared in darkness with no clue left behind to trace them out.
The crime in Baddi belt was on rise ever since belt witnessed heavy influx of migrant labourers from states like Bihar and UP. There was every possibility that professional thieves from these states have reached in Baddi belt after finding it a soft target.
The police strength in Baddi belt was not enough to check these types of hard core crimes. Though Baddi police chowki has been upgraded to police station but little result to arrest the anti social activities. As per information available the belt including of Parwanoo area has 60 cops of constable rank deployed in five police stations. Sources in police revealed, the area should have at least more 50 constables to maintain law and order effectively.
The police in belt have limited number of vehicle for patrolling. Moreover the sanctioned monthly consumption of diesel for four-wheeler was less than 100 liters. However, the police needs 300 to 400 liters diesel per month to perform its routine duties. Interestingly despite strict instructions from top officials to cut down landline phone costs, telephone bills in all police stations were running almost double the permissible limits. In some cases the phone bills were even three times the limit.
As per a random survey of police stations the matter has emerged as major de-motivation factor for the police force which has to pool in to fill the deficit in actual bill with sanctioned limit. The understaffed police was unable to perform night patrolling. On an average each cop has to perform over 12-hour duty in a day.
