An audit of dark spots and dimly lit places, conducted by the Delhi Police, has revealed that there are 986 dark areas in the capital. Out of 15 districts, the audit found that five of them — 139 in Outer Delhi, 129 in the South, 118 in Southwest, 101 in Southeast and 91 in West — had the most dark spots, say reports.
Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana discussed the issue at a recent crime review meeting. “He asked all DCPs to not only identify dark areas but also spots with dim lighting and poor phone network,” said a senior police officer.
Another officer said they have observed that network issues often act as a hindrance for users of women’s safety mobile app ‘Tatpar’ when they try to share details. “Asthana also asked DCPs about their efforts to improve the situation, they said they had sent letters to the authorities concerned,” he said.
Data shows that the lowest dark spots — five — are in New Delhi and Northeast Delhi. A total of 17 in Central, 32 in Northwest, 34 in North Delhi, and 49 in Shahdara have been recorded. Delhi Police spokesperson Suman Nalwa said, “For the first time, we are not only identifying dark areas but also identifying such areas where phone networks don’t work, and are approaching agencies concerned to work on the issues.”
Asthana also reviewed crime data and found an uptick in robbery and burglary incidents between January 1 and February 23. As many as 502 robberies took place in Delhi as opposed to 405 in the same time frame last year, while 676 burglaries were reported this year as compared to last year’s 487.
“Five districts reported the highest robberies — 72 in Northeast, 60 in Dwarka, 51 in Outer district, 50 in West, and 42 in Outernorth. Last year, 63 took place in the Northeast, 16 in Dwarka, 27 in Outer district, 8 in West and 24 in Outernorth Delhi,” an officer said.
Data further shows that the lowest incidents — two — were reported in New Delhi district, 17 in Southwest Delhi, 20 in Shahdara, 24 in East and 25 in Central Delhi.
The maximum number of burglaries were reported from Dwarka with 89, 75 in Outer, 56 in North district, 55 in Southeast and 54 in South Delhi. Data shows around 1,552 snatching incidents have been reported this year as compared to last year’s figure of 1,556. As per police data, the maximum incidents — 249 — took place in Northeast district, 142 in West, 132 in East, 129 in Shahdara, and 123 in North Delhi.
