ROURKELA: Criminals have a free run when police fails in its duty. The steel city is a victim of police’s failure on several fronts. Areas within Plant Site police limits including Gurudwara Road, Mahtab Road and Railway Colony have become a safe haven for anti-social elements of all hues including sex offenders and drug peddlers.
The rape of three minor girls in two separate incidents alongside the busy ring road has raised questions about the efficiency and ground intelligence network of the police. Sources said multiple slum pockets on the stretch of Mahatab Road from Traffic Gate to Nala Road point continue to remain safe haven for criminals of all hues including drug peddlers. While the slum dwellers of Mahtab Road have adapted to the circumstances, women from other localities rarely use the densely populated area after sunset.
A slum dweller requesting anonymity said Mahtab Road is the most unsafe for women. He claimed minor girls and women from other localities were sexually assaulted by one or more anti-social elements at secluded spots in the area. He said the victims are mostly tribal girls and women from nearby rural areas who come to Traffic Gate to sell vegetables.
Sources said several criminals left the area around Gurudwara Road and the connecting New Bus Stand road and Bisra Chowk locality after a major eviction drive for construction of the new bus stand around three decades back. Yet the remaining slums around the New Bus Stand and the newly-constructed Birsa Munda Multi-Purpose Stadium near Bisra Chowk continue to house criminals.
