Sniffer dog at doorstep, Tolly locals rue lack of neighbourhood safety
Times of India | 14 December 2024
Kolkata: The recovery of a severed head of a woman at Tollygunge's Graham Road on Friday morning reminded the senior citizens of the locality of the turbulent 70s when the area witnessed a number of murders. Among the younger lot, who cannot even remember another gruesome crime being committed here in the past three decades, there was a demand to light up the area.
However, the recovery had the maximum impact on the 40-odd residents of Adarshashila Apartment, a complex that has been standing in the area for the past 35 years and the spot where a police sniffer dog entered at a speed that left even the cops surprised.
"It was around 9 am when I was on my way to the local market that I heard several people talking about the severed head. I could see cops swarming the area when I was returning. However, the biggest shock came around 11 am when the police dog came rushing to the first floor of Block II. Although there are 40 families here, most original residents now stay elsewhere. So we are not familiar with everyone. The flat that cops came searching was meant to house paying guests who keep coming in and out of the flat at odd hours," said Titli Saha alias Tiklu, a resident of the apartment. "Crimes were common in this stretch during the Naxal period. We always avoided this place post 8 pm. Even though the area is peaceful now, the area is poorly lit," she added.
Ashok Sarkar, another apartment resident, said they had often collected signatures to push for the removal of the vat and also for proper street lights. "Of the entire area under Azadgarh, this area seems to be stuck in time. I always prefer taking an auto to the metro station or a toto to avoid walking down this stretch," said Sarkar. The residents also urged police to carry out verifications of the paying guests. "We have no control over them," said Sarkar.
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