Hyderabad: On the heels of two crimes by domestic helpers reported in posh neighbourhoods/gated communities of Hyderabad, the city police started ‘Mee Surakhsha’, a community policing initiative to help strengthen security in residential areas.
Through the initiative, the police aim to create a verified residential and workforce database, temporary residents, tenants, and support staff.
Malkajgiri Police Commissionerate has appealed to all residents, apartment associations, and welfare societies to extend full cooperation during the verification drive and actively participate in making residential communities safer and more secure.
Domestic workers’ data to be registered on app
As part of the Mee Surakhsha, police will conduct enumeration and verification drives at nearly 550 residential colonies, gated communities, apartment complexes, and low and middle-income housing areas.
Data of domestic helpers, drivers, servants, maids, cooks, caretakers, watchmen, and other support staff will be captured digitally through the Hawkeye ULTRA App and via self-registration Google forms.
Police teams will also visit Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs), colony welfare groups, apartment associations, and individual residential areas to facilitate the enumeration process and raise residents’ awareness of the importance of verification and community participation.
Residents’ Welfare Associations issue advisories
Meanwhile, the United Federation of Residents’ Welfare Associations (UFERWAS) has issued advisories through WhatsApp groups wherein house owners were asked to call the police and seek a safety audit of their residences.
This audit would cover all aspects of safety, including access and entry points, the height of compound walls, availability of pet dogs, and checks of bolted-down areas.
It will also involve checks of master bedrooms, gold and jewellery boxes, and common hiding places such as keys kept under pillows or beds and mattresses, one of the UFERWAS members told Telangana Today.
Murder and robbery cases in the past month
In the first case, the wife of a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was murdered at her residence in Jubilee Hills, allegedly by the family’s domestic help, named Kalpana, and two other people.
The accused reportedly broke into the house at around 2 am on May 8 while the victim, Tanuja, was alone on the ground floor and her husband, Vinay, was out of town. The accused tied Tanuja’s hands and stuffed a cloth in her mouth before looting her valuables.
Tanuja reportedly died of suffocation while her children remained unaware on the first floor of the house.
In the second incident, a doctor couple residing in a gated community in Jawaharnagar were sedated and tied up by their domestic help on May 11, before the accused fled with their gold, silver ornaments and cash.
According to the police, the accused had organised a fake birthday party at the servant quarters and invited their accomplices on the pretext of celebrations.
