In Ghaziabad village where cop shot dead, many families leave, scared by ‘carpet searches'
Ghaziabad
: Since Sunday night's shootout with aides of a gangster that led to the death of a 27-year-old Noida police constable, many families have left Nahal village amid round-the-clock police surveillance, questioning of locals and 'carpet searches' to find those who had attacked the police team.
Police have so far made 14 arrests, but prime suspect Aadil remains elusive. That night when Saurabh Kumar Deshwal was shot in the head, police were successful in arresting Qadir, the gangster who they had gone to pick up after a tipoff from an informer. Aadil is Qadir's brother and is believed to have led the attempt to ambush the cops when they were on their way out of the village with Qadir.
Nahal's streets have been deserted for three days, but now, so are many of its houses, with locks hanging on them as fear of arrest haunts the village around 3km off NH-9.
Nahal has a population of 40,000. Village Pradhan Tasawwar Ali told TOI on Wednesday, "About 70% of the people living here have left. They need to go out every day to earn and feed their families, but an atmosphere of fear now prevails here. So they have left and are staying with their friends or relatives.
They have left their livestock behind. We don't know how to take care of them."
The Pradhan said sudden summons by police for questioning had scared locals.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Alarma con cámara a precio especial en Buenos Aires (ver oferta)
Verisure Alarma
Empieza ahora
Undo
"We met the police commissioner on Wednesday and requested that innocent people should not be disturbed through night searches or by suddenly being taken into custody. Two days ago, 35 people were taken. Today, 15 people were rounded up. These are all innocent people. They have no information," said Ali.
A resident of the village who left recently told TOI many feared being arrested. "My family has been living in this village for more than 50 years now.
We are a family of 14 and have never seen anything like this in our lives," the 30-year-old said. "I have come to a relative's place with my whole family. It became difficult to even sleep at home with continuous sirens of police vehicles scaring people. We will only go back once the situation is normal.
"
Ali said village representatives had told the police to "punish the guilty but leave the innocent alone". "Many families have young children, pregnant women and elderly.
We are ready to support the police as responsible citizens to catch the criminals and get them punished. But not at the cost of the innocent," he said.
"It's also not easy to be living here for those who haven't left because one can barely go out. Besides, shops are closed. I want police to pick up the real culprits at the earliest so the rest of the village can live peacefully again," another local resident said.
DCP (Rural) Surendra Nath Tewari told TOI that 14 people have been arrested after they were identified from CCTV footage.
"No one has been detained. People are only being brought in for questioning and then let go. We have identified a few more people from the footage, but we are yet to get a clear and complete footage from the night. We are also working on that," he said.
Tewari said PAC and police personnel from 5-6 stations were deployed at the village to maintain law and order.
"Such incidents tend to spark fear among people, so some families have left the village," the DCP said, adding that senior cops met the village's pradhan and assured them that no unnecessary arrests would be made.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
RBI-led initiative to curb digital frauds gains momentum, banks roped in to set up DPIP
In a bid to rein in the increasing incidence of digital payment frauds , major public and private sector banks have been roped to develop Digital Payment Intelligence Platform (DPIP) as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) under the supervision and guidance of the RBI . The proposed platform seeks to bolster fraud risk management by facilitating real-time intelligence sharing and gathering, thereby preventing fraudulent digital transactions, sources said. According to sources, the institutional structure of the proposed entity would be created with the help of both public sector and private sector lenders as fraud is a common monster. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Earlier this month, a high-level meeting in this regard was convened to finalise the structure of the platform where senior bank officials, RBI officials and other stakeholders were present. Since the issue is one of the top agenda for both the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), sources said the platform should become operational in the next few months. Live Events Once operational, DPIP will collect and analyse data from various sources to identify potential threats and prevent fraudulent activities. By enabling real-time data sharing, the platform will help prevent scams and ensure secure transactions. Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) has been assigned for building a prototype of DPIP in consultation with 5-10 banks. It is going to leverage advanced technologies to curb payment-related frauds. RBI, in June last year, formed a committee, chaired by A P Hota, former MD & CEO of NPCI , to examine various aspects of establishing this digital public infrastructure. According to the latest annual report of the RBI, there has been a significant surge in bank frauds, with the amount involved rising nearly three times to Rs 36,014 crore in FY25, compared to Rs 12,230 crore in the previous year. Of this, as much as Rs 25,667 crore worth of frauds were reported by public sector banks as against Rs 9,254 crore a year ago. Frauds have occurred predominantly in the category of digital payments (card/internet) in terms of the number and primarily in the loan portfolio (advances) in terms of value, it said. While card/internet frauds contributed maximum to the number of frauds reported by private sector banks, frauds in public sector banks were mainly in advances, it said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Maoists kill civilian, surrendered cadre in Bijapur ahead of Amit Shah's visit
RAIPUR: Day ahead of UnionHome Minister Amit Shah's visit to Chhattisgarh, Maoists gave a grim reminder of the ongoing insurgency in Bastar region by killing two civilians on Saturday night in the Bijapur district. The victims included a former Maoist commander who had recently surrendered to police. Five armed Maoists entered Sendrambore and Ampur villages in Pamed region around 8 PM on June 21 and they targeted Veko Deva alias Sandeep, a former section commander of the Maoists' 2nd Company Platform Party Committee Member (PPCM) who had surrendered recently, and Sunnam Sammiah, a village committee member from Jaralli Revolutionary People's Committee (RPC). Both were allegedly killed by strangulation, on suspicion of being police informers. Initial reports suggest that the victims were strangled to death. The police have confirmed receiving information about the incident and dispatched teams for verification. Bijapur SP Jitendra Yadav confirmed, 'We have received credible input. A team has been sent to the location to confirm the details.' The killings took place in a sensitive area close to Telangana border, just 10 km from the Pamed police station and about seven km from Dharmavaram security camp, which came under attack last year by the Maoists' Battalion 1 of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villa For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas in Dubai | Search ads Learn More Undo That ambush left 12 security personnel injured and involved heavy gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. The NIA has recently filed a chargesheet in that case. This latest act of violence is part of a disturbing trend in Bijapur, one of Chhattisgarh's worst Maoist-affected districts. So far in 2025, Maoist violence has claimed the lives of 22 civilians, with 71 killed in 2024 alone. This killing spree coming just days after three other civilians were slain in the same district is seen as a desperate attempt by the Maoists to assert presence amid their declining influence.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Maoist killed in Bijapur encounter was a mid-day meal cook in Chhattisgarh govt school, say Basta police
RAIPUR: One of the seven Maoists killed during an anti-Naxal operation earlier this month in Bijapur district of Bastar division worked as a cook in a govt school, police revealed on Saturday. Seven Maoists were killed in multiple encounters by a joint team of security personnel during an anti-Naxal operation in Indravati National Park area of Bijapur between June 4 and June 7. While one of them was identified as Mahesh Kudiyam, who served as an active party member of the national park area committee of Maoists, it was later known that he was working as an assistant cook at a primary school in Irpagutta village too. The matter came to light on Saturday when few villagers from Irpagutta claimed before a scribe that Kudiyam was not associated with the Maoist organisation, rather worked as a cook in a village school for preparing mid-day meal. It was found that Kudiyam also got remuneration in his bank account and was appointed by the village school management committee. He was paid the salary till Marc 2025 and is survived by his wife and seven children. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending Local Enterprise Accounting Software [Click Here] Accounting ERP Click Here Undo Police had to then issue a statement saying that Kudiyam was a CPI (Maoists) party member and had clear links with the group. 'The circumstances under which Mahesh Kudiyam came in contact with senior Maoist leaders including Central Committee member Gautam and State Committee member Bhaskar, are currently under investigation. A thorough, impartial, and professional inquiry is being conducted into all aspects of the case,' a statement issued by Bastar police said. During the first fortnight of June 2025, a series of intensive anti-Naxal operations were conducted by security forces in National Park Area of Bijapur district. Following exchanges of fire between security personnel and Maoists, the bodies of seven cadres were recovered. Among the deceased were two senior Maoist commanders Narasimha Chalam alias Sudhakar - a Central Committee member of CPI (Maoist) carrying cash reward of Rs 40 lakh and Bhaskar Rao, a State Committee member who carried Rs 20 lakh reward. One of the other recovered bodies was identified as Mahesh Kudiyam who worked as a cook and continued his association with Maoists. He carried Rs 1 lakh cash reward. Police have once again urged all individuals directly or indirectly associated with the banned organisation to immediately sever all such ties. 'Continued association with this extremist outfit poses a serious threat not only to public safety and regional peace but also to the lives and future of those involved,' police said.
