GHAZIABAD: Residents of the upscale Ashok Nagar area of Ghaziabad say their houses have been targeted in mystery stone attacks over the past five days. Projectiles have allegedly been aimed at the houses at all hours, but mostly after sundown. So far, no one has been injured but the stones have shattered glass windows and dented walls, wooden doors and gates. The first attack was reported on Monday, and since then, stones have been flying around in the locality of around 100 families, making people nervous about stepping out. Some have reported seeing “a few suspicious youths” running on the roads but their connection to the stone attacks has not been established. Police have deployed drones to keep a tab on the area. Manisha Prabhakar, a resident of the area, said, “On Monday, when no male members of the family were around, some people rained stones on our house. Our glass windows were shattered. Some 5-6 other families in the same lane also saw stones fly at their houses the same day. In fact, a total of 12 houses in the entire area were attacked on Monday. The attacks intensified on Wednesday.” “We have already informed the police but it seems they are not taking our complaints seriously. So far, there have been no injuries but these attacks are making us nervous. On a few occasions, we went outside the gate and saw some youths running on the roads. We also heard sounds of bikes zipping past just before the attacks,” she said. Atul Gupta, another resident, said, “After every attack, we have informed the cops. In the last four days, we have made over 40 calls to Dial 112, which will give you an idea of how many attacks we have faced so far. The miscreants are mostly taking advantage of dark roads because of damaged streetlights after sunset. Police used a drone on Friday but failed to spot anyone suspicious.” Sanjana Singh, another resident, said that local residents have stopped sending their children to the playground. On the basis of complaints received from the residents of the area, an FIR has been registered at the local police station against unknown persons under sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of IPC. “A police force was deployed in the area on Friday. We are also keeping an eye on the area using drones,” Alok Dubey, circle officer-2 of Ghaziabad, said.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ghaziabad/mystery-stone-attacks-all-week-alarm-ghaziabad-colony/articleshow/93959753.cms