South Avenue police station has it easy

At a time when the Delhi Police staff is reeling under the pressure of a pile of unsolved cases, the pressure at the recently-launched South Avenue police station is surprisingly light.

It has been nine days since the inauguration of the city’s 162nd police station, but only one case has been registered here so far.

This is in sharp contrast to some of the other territorial police stations where investigating officers are saddled with up to 100 cases at a time.

Almost equally contrasting is the number of calls made to the police control room (PCR) pertaining to its jurisdiction.

An average of four to five calls per day, this figure is a far cry from the cumulative figure of 27,000 calls that the PCR’s central command room receives on a daily basis.

The police station, elevated from being a beat of Chankyapuri on October 16, had to wait for six days for its first case — one of cheating. So far, that’s been the only one.

In the complaint, which led to the lone registration, a personnel serving in the Indian Navy alleged that he had been cheated by a stranger of Rs. 15,000 after securing his ATM pin at a kiosk in the area.

If investigation duties are nil and calm from the law and order point, what is that the staff at the police station which currently has strength of 42 do throughout the day?

Answering the question, an officer from the police station says that with terror threat constantly looming over the spots in its ambit — Rashtrapati Bhavan and Vigyan Bhavan — the emphasis is mainly on developing a full-fledged anti-terror mechanism and a contingency plan.

“We have requested for quick reaction teams (QRTs) comprising commandos carrying sophisticated and modern weapons to counter any terror attacks in the area. Their response is awaited. We are also waiting for more bikes to be allotted to us as the area needs constant surveillance,” he said. The officer added that so far the police station is not running on its sanctioned strength and like QRTs, bikes were also awaited.

As many as a dozen bikes are required to patrol the area and at present only five are available, he said.

Nine days after its inauguration, only one case has been registered so far