Secluded places must post guards: State
In the backdrop of the shocking gangrape that took place in a deserted and isolated compound of the dilapidated Shakti Mill at Mahalaxmi, the government has now decided to issue notices to all owners of such secluded places in the city, and ask them to take adequate measures compulsorily to restrict the entry of anti-social elements in those areas and prevent such incidents in future.
The Shakti Mill was undergoing some ownership dispute issue and has been shut for years. The mill covers a vast land and its structures are in complete ruins. Since the compound of the mill has developed a dense shrub cover, and nobody except petty thieves, drug addicts and anti-social elements go there anymore.
There are several such secluded places in the city in Worli, Sion, Lower Parel, Kalachowki, Railway yards in Central Mumbai, Reay Road, the docks area, Sewri, Cotton Green Sandhurst Road, etc. Now, reacting to the Shakti Mill gangrape case, the government has decided to take strict measures to prevent offences in such areas.
Home minister R.R. Patil said, “Owners of such properties will be asked to secure it by posting security. In cases where the property is under dispute, the home department will take help from the urban development department and the BMC to determine the original proprietor and direct them to secure their places.”
City police commissioner Dr Satyapal Singh said, “It is a shocking and condemnable crime. We never had information that drug addicts frequent the place. We will ask owners of such isolated and dilapidated structures to put up warning board such as ‘trespassers will be prosecuted’, ‘the property is abandoned’ or ‘it is a disputed property and entry is prohibited’ so that nobody ventures there.”
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