How safe are we?



Yesterday, trouble walked into another of my friend’s life. Trouble in its characteristic style came unannounced to my unsuspecting friend. He and his wife were walking towards their car after going to the McDonalds at Janakpuri, Delhi. There, they became victims of carjacking. When his brave wife gathered enough courage to attract attention, the assailants left them behind and fled in my friend’s car. Before fleeing, they stabbed my friend in the neck; multiple times with a broken beer bottle. The locals rushed them to a nearby hospital where my friend regained consciousness after surgery. His wife suffered a fracture in her arm.

Today has been long and stressful. After being woken up at 2am in the morning to be told this shocking news, I’m slowly returning to normalcy in the evening. My friend being moved from the ICU to a private room is the only good thing that has happened today.

Even when we are minding our own business, violence is thrust into our life. Unfortunately, Bengaluru is no better!

How safe are we? Should we start living in fear? Should we stop going out after sunset?

Picture Courtesy: http://www.ridelust.com

Tags: Musings,Delhi,Janakpuri

Comments

  1. Oh god that is so scary! I am really petrified when I hear stories like this. Glad your friend and his wife have survived the incident.

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  2. I don't know about Bangalore, but Delhi is amongst the most unsafe cities in India.You have reacted to this incident as it concerns you,but there are a number of car-jacking incidents which take place regularly and go unreported.
    Look,Delhi is a city of VIPs and so long as they are covered with extra security,the common man has to fend for himself as we have no choice.This is where the civil society has to ensure that it's voice is heard.

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  3. This is indeed shocking. I agree with Mr. Chowla, Delhi is becoming worse day by day. But other cities of India are slowly catching up. Just a couple of months ago, in my upscale neighbourhood in Mumbai, my friends were robbed during the day. Fortunately, there was nobody at home when this happened.

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  4. Shocking! I read about this in your tweets but this is goddamn serious. We can only hope things like this does not happen to our dear and near ones...

    New Delhi is just a scary place to be... Not that other cities are better but the capital appear to lead the way in lawlessness. :(

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  5. @Radha - My friend is okay now after surgery. He is still in the hospital and not discharged yet.

    @BKC - How do we make sure our voice is heard? This incident was reported by TOI yesterday. A police complaint was raised. My friend's wife spend an entire day looking through the CCTV footages gathered from nearby places. The footages were pathetic and the most of the cameras needs either servicing or better placement! I also wonder why people do not report carjacking incidents?

    @Aparna - This is also the case with Bengaluru. The crime rates are going up! I haven't heard of any incidents where there robbed and also tried to kill the victim!

    @ScorpioGenius - You are right! The capital is "leading" the way in lawlessness. Similar crimes are happening in all major cities!

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