After murder, slew of robberies in Bandra Tata Blocks worry residents

Barely two months after the murder of a senior citizen in Tata Blocks area of Bandra (W), the residents are paralysed with fear and apprehension. Over the last few weeks, at least one incident of robbery and three incidents of attempt to robbery were witnessed. Due to this, those living in the area have been gripped by panic waves. On Sunday, Ruhanghis Sethna, one of the residents, registered an FIR with the Bandra police after an unknown person tried to break into a few locked houses in the colony.

This comes after the residents made several appeals, including approaching Ratan Tata himself, to enhance the safety and security of citizens in the colony. Last week, the residents held a meeting with the trustee members of Bai Hirabai Tata Memorial Trust and MLA Ashish Shelar. The trustee members have ensured to employ security guards, but the residents are apprehensive; despite several requests and demands, things have remained unchanged.

Sethna described the chain of events that happened on Sunday night, saying: "I was leaving from home with my kids when I saw a tall man try to break inside a few homes in the neighbourhood. He was lurking around for at least 20 minutes. I immediately called up the police, but nobody was deployed. Then I had to alert some patrolling cops. However, before they could hunt him down, the thief had disappeared."

As there have been a series thefts and mischief happening the neighbourhood, she registered an FIR. A case was registered for theft and trespass. A few weeks ago, unknown men had broken into two senior citizen's homes, robbing one of them. However, out of fear, the two did not register any complaint.

For residents, however, these criminal activities have become a routine affair, and they are almost losing hope as nothing much is being done to improve the situation.

Zameer Palamkote, another resident said: "The trust has reacted positively towards the need for security in Tata Blocks. The trustees said that they were extremely concerned for the security of all the tenants, but are unable to implement security due to lack of funds. The residents and the trustees have appealed to Ratan Tata for a corpus to be granted towards security; we are eagerly waiting for the trust to come back with an effective security plan which will help secure the estate and the residents."

Apart from three properties of the colony, there are as many as 10 more smaller societies in the area. The three properties of Tata Blocks have about 270 flats, with 253 families living in them, with a dozen lying vacant. 75% of the residents there are senior citizens, majority of whom are in their 70s. There are about 10 gates in all these compounds, none of which have a security guard.

The area, according to the residents, is infested with junkies and drug peddlers who roam about throughout the day. "We do not have security guards. The place is badly lit and is frequented by anti social elements and drug addicts all the time. These people steal scrap materials frequently from our colony and there is nobody to stop them. At a rear entrance, there is prostitution also taking place inside rickshaws. There is nobody to stop them," said a resident.

dna audit
This correspondent visited the buildings in Tata Blocks during the day, and several illegal and anti social activities were witnessed:
1. Drug peddlers in handicap carts
2. Illegal tempos and rickshaws parked (residents claim many vehicles are lying there for over 7 months)
3. Compound has no security guards and many people were found freely walking around fearlessly
4. Since the buildings are spread around acres of land with trees and greenery inside, a lot of couples found indulging in indecent activities within the building premises
5. No CCTV cameras
6. Encroachment on the footpath
7. Absence of metal parts on gates, metal electric boxes and gutter covers, etc which are believed to be stolen.

About Tata Blocks in Bandra
Located off SV Road, it is among the oldest parsi residential colonies in the city which was built around 1930. The buildings are managed by Bai Hirabai Tata Memorial Trust. Tenants pay a rent in the range of Rs100 to Rs5,000. 75% of residents are senior citizens.

Murder of a senior resident
On March 8, a 78-year-old retired Bombay high court staffer, Darius Kapadia, was robbed and murdered by a former domestic help and his friend in Kapadia's home in Tata Blcoks. The duo killed Kapadia by slitting his throat and later assaulted his wife Lily, before fleeing with Rs7.5 lakh in cash, 20 grams of gold and a Motorola cellphone. The accused, Jay Navrang (21) and Kamal Jadhav (20), were arrested a day later.