When 25-year-old Rupa Tyagi got down from a metro feeder bus at the Munirka bus stop at 9.30 p.m. on Tuesday, she was taken aback on seeing the heavy police deployment.
She looked around suspiciously for any possible untoward incident that may have occurred, but nothing seemed “unusual” besides the guarded bus stop.
While she was getting her dinner packed from an eatery at Pratap Market, located just behind the bus stop, the shopkeeper reminded her that “it is December 16 tomorrow”.
The bus stop is the now infamous point from where the gory “December 16 gang-rape” incident took off in 2012.
“For a moment, I was scared seeing all the policemen. It is definitely not like this every day,” said Ms. Tyagi, who has been living in the area for five years.
On tracking the stretch from the Indian Institute of Technology up to a few kilometres before Mahipalpur, one could unfailingly notice a policeman or two deployed at every bus stop.
Mocking the security arrangements, the owner of a taxi stand near Munirka’s DDA Apartments termed it “gang-rape case duty”.
“What is the point of deploying police only at bus stops in this area? In no other bus stop across the city will you find these policemen. It is nothing but mere symbolism,” he said.
A constable deployed at “the bus stop” asserted that policemen guard these points daily. However, he also agreed that the numbers were more on Tuesday as it was nearing the day that marks three years since the incident.
“On a daily basis, at least two constables are deployed at every bus stop that falls under the Vasant Vihar police station. On Tuesday, there were seven constables guarding this stop because it has become a sensitive place after the incident. Some groups have also organized a havan here on Wednesday morning,” he said.
The havan is being organized by former MLA Anil Sharma.
While the main roads in the area were well lit, the footpaths remained dark, with trees blocking all the streetlights. It is ironic that heavy security arrangements could be seen only at bus stops and that too only in Munirka and its surrounding areas. The difference is so stark that only a few minutes away from the “Munirka zone” if one travels through Mahipalpur towards the Airport of Gurgaon — the route which the accused took and later dumped her — the dim lights and dark spots come haunting back.
What is the point of deploying police only at bus stops in this area? In no other bus stop across the city will you find these policemen
