Under-reporting of minor crimes is well-known in the police department for decades and this trend continues. We have come across cases where the HSR cops refuse to file FIRs (First Information Reports) related to mobile snatching, chain snatching and petty thefts. We are not sure how many grievous offences are swept under the carpet, but we will assume that most of those offences are being reported. Taking this into account, here goes a breakdown of the number of criminal and traffic offences recorded by the HSR police in 2018.
It is sad to note that for the past one week, not a single offence was recorded by the traffic police. Either they were on holiday mood or quite sympathetic to traffic violators. Or it’s just a simple police complaint that does not require an FIR which mandates the court’s intervention. To avoid this lengthy and time-consuming procedure, the cops avoid filing FIRs for petty offences, so they have more time for major offences. Fair enough. And in cases, where major thefts were committed due to the irresponsibility of the victim, such complaints are also not taken too seriously.
HSR Layout recorded 432 criminal complaints (FIRs) in 2018. That is an average of 36 FIRs every month or a little more than one case every day. On the other hand, the traffic police recorded 116 offences on the road, which is about 10 violations a month or one violation every three days. We dispute these figures for the reason stated above. They are not realistic as most police complaints that are not filed in the First Information Reports don’t make it in this statistic. Clearly, if those are included, the numbers will be far higher.
In the last four months since we began this news channel on HSR Layout, we have seen most complaints to do with two wheeler thefts, missing persons, and cheating firms. The cases that are not so frequent include car thefts, dowry harassment, sexual harassment, and financial frauds. There were no rapes or murders since September 2018. However rare they may be, but road accidents leading to the person’s death have occurred on Outer Ring Road near HSR and 27th Main Road. A BMTC bus was behind the killing of a 75-year-old citizen crossing Iblur junction by foot. A water tanker was behind the death of a young working professional riding a bike on 27th Main Road. There have been some road rage and domestic fights, but nothing that can cause an alarm. Overall, HSR is a mixed bag of serious and petty crimes.
