The Capital has seen a significant jump in burglaries in the first half of 2023 in comparison to the corresponding period last year, Delhi Police data has revealed, with two out of the 15 police districts in the city — Dwarka and North Delhi — being the worst affected areas. The New Delhi district was the safest area with respect to burglaries.

Police attribute the rise to the fact that it is now easier to register burglary cases, including those reported online.

Police data till June 15 shows that this year, 3,008 cases of burglaries were reported — a 26.17% rise from the 2,384 burglary cases registered in Delhi during the same period in 2022.

Data for the corresponding period was not available for 2021, but police till July 15 that year had received 1,362 burglary complaints. To be sure, senior officers said police received fewer complaints in the first half of 2021 because of restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Police register burglary cases under three sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) — sector 380 (theft in any building, tent or vessel, which building, tent or vessel is used as a human dwelling, or used for the custody of property), section 454 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking), and section 457 (lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night).

An analysis of the 2023 police data shows that the maximum number of burglaries was reported from Dwarka and North Delhi, with an average of two complaints filed per day in these two regions.

Dwarka district, which has 11 police stations under its jurisdiction, reported the most burglary complaints, with 327 cases till June 15. In comparison, the district reported 302 burglary cases for the corresponding period in 2022.

North Delhi district, with 14 police stations, was second on the list, with 304 burglary cases in 2023 till June 15. The corresponding figures for 2022 was 192.

However, the New Delhi district was least impacted by burglars, with only 11 cases registered till June 15, which is one case less than the corresponding period of 2022, when 12 such cases were reported in the district.

HT reached out to several senior and mid-level police officers across Delhi’s 15 police districts to understand what factors were leading to an increase in burglary complaints. Almost all of them attributed the rise in cases to the policy of free registration of property theft cases adopted by Delhi Police.

“Apart from visiting police stations, the victims of property theft incidents, including burglaries, also have the option of filing the first information report (FIRs) on their own using the app available on the website of Delhi Police. It is one of the reasons behind the rise in registration of burglary cases. But at the same time, the rise in registration of cases reflects the actual situation of such thefts happening in the city,” said a senior police officer, who asked not to be named.

Among the 200-odd police stations in Delhi, three — Burari and Sarai Rohilla in North Delhi district, and Uttam Nagar in Dwarka district — reported the maximum number of burglary cases this year till June 15. Burari police station saw 85 burglary cases registered in the first half of 2023, which is two cases less than the same period in 2022 when 87 cases of burglary were registered at the police station. Both the Sarai Rohilla and Uttam Nagar police stations reported 54 burglary cases each in 2023 till June 15.

HT also asked which items are most targeted, and an inspector at the Burari police station, on condition of anonymity, said that it depends on where the burglary has taken place — it could be cash, jewellery, mobile phones, laptops, water pumps, water meters, and electronic gadgets such as televisions and music systems.

“Of the 85 cases that were registered at our police station, a majority of them were related to the theft of water pumps, water meters, mobile phones, laptops and other electric items. Most of these burglaries are reported from neighbourhoods that are densely populated and where houses are built in close proximity to each other, in such a way that one roof is attached to the other,” the inspector said.

Police said that Uttam Nagar is similar to Burari, while Sarai Rohilla has government quarters that are often targeted by burglars. Officers said that burglars in these areas mostly target locked houses after conducting a detailed reconnaissance of the neighbourhood and of escape routes.

“We recently created an anti-burglary cell with sole objective to keep a vigil on individuals and groups involved in committing burglaries in Dwarka district. The output of the team is encouraging, as our workout percentage has improved by almost 5% from last year. This year 41% burglary cases have been solved. Last year, 36% of the cases were cracked. But the problem is just with policing. We arrest burglars and produce them before courts. Most of the time, burglars are granted bail within a day or two of their arrest and they resume their illegal activities,” said deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Harsha Vardhan.

Increased motorcycle and foot patrolling by beat officers, and keeping a watch on active burglars and those released from jail are other key steps that the police are taking to curb burglaries in the city.

“We also hold meetings with residents and shopkeepers through resident and market welfare associations (RWAs and MWAs), educate them about preventive steps such as using inner locks instead of visible locks on main gates while going on vacations or out of the city for other purposes. Installing CCTV cameras is another thing we encourage people to do. We also urge them not to keep large amount of cash or jewellery at home and instead use bank lockers,” said DCP (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi.

NORTH: Tomar Enclave, Burari

CASE STATUS: NOT SOLVED

Bansi Lal was woken up by a neighbour in the early hours of June 10, and was informed that the iron mesh fixed on a window on the ground floor was broken, and three unidentified men were seen exiting his house.

“I went to the ground floor and found the entire ground floor ransacked. The almirah was open and cash, jewellery and other valuables worth around ₹3.5 lakh were missing. The burglars entered through the slot for the air-conditioner — the AC was sent to the repair shop on the day of the robbery,” said Lal.

“The burglars were so audacious that they committed the crime, despite knowing that they would be captured on CCTV cameras in our lane, and pet dogs that were constantly barking at them. They also latched the main doors of our neighbours.”

A police officer from the Burari police station said, “We have been trying to identify the suspects and for that taking help of video footage and criminal intelligence network. In most of the cases that we have solved, the burglars were from nearby areas like Samaipur Badli.”

DWARKA: Hastsal village

CASE STATUS: NOT SOLVED

The second-floor house of Kartikey, 35, who goes by one name, was robbed on January 2 in the middle of the day. At the time of the robbery, his parents were present at the first floor of the building.

Kartikey said he was asked to file an e-FIR by a policeman from the Uttam Nagar police station.

“The local police visited us only the day the burglary happened. Thereafter, nobody from the police station turned up for any further enquiry or investigation. More than six months have passed… I feel it’s because I filed an e-FIR, which I personally believe is not on the priority of the police,” said Kartikey.

A senior police officer said, “All cases are equally important for us and are probed with priority -- be it registered at the police station or through the Property Theft Application that was launched to ease the process of filing FIRs. An anti-burglary cell has been formed at Dwarka district to probe burglary cases. Our workout percentage this year is 41% as compared to 36% of last year.”

EAST: Laxmi Nagar

CASE STATUS: SOLVED

Gudia Jaiswal, 29, left her house for work on July 19. When she came back, the latch of her iron gate was broken, and the front door was ajar. She went inside and found that the house was ransacked.

“The thief took away a cooking gas cylinder, smart TV, one gold pendent set, and ₹5,000 cash. I informed the police. They checked the CCTV and found that the burglar had broken the latch, and first took away the gas cylinder. He was audacious enough to return and took the TV away from my house,” she said.

Deputy commissioner of police (east) Amrutha Guguloth said three beat personnel were on patrol on July 21 when they received information about the movement of a burglar and caught him. “During the interrogation, the burglar, Prahlad Haldar, revealed that he committed burgled at a house in Laxmi Nagar. A gas cylinder and TV (stolen from Jaiswal’s house) were recovered from him,” said Guguloth.