New Delhi: Trouble broke out in yet another Noida residential complex Thursday, when a group of residents clashed with the apartment’s security guards. The fracas resulted in two security guards being detained by police and two female residents ending up with minor injuries, ThePrint has learnt.
The brawl allegedly started when two security guards of the Hyde Park complex, in sector 78 Noida, descended on an ongoing general body meeting of the newly-formed apartment owners association (AOA) and “attacked” those present there, DCP Noida Harish Chandar told ThePrint.
“The guards took out bamboo poles that hold the fence in the area together (and attacked us). My sister and I were trying to shield ourselves from the blows when we got injured,” alleged Rakhi Marwah, one of the two women injured in the scuffle.
Police were called in by the residents and the two guards were taken into custody, based on a complaint made by the two injured in the incident, the DCP added. A complaint has been registered in the matter in Sector 113 police station, he said.
But many panicked residents in the complex that houses roughly 2,500 flats mounted guard on their flats till Friday morning, refusing to allow any guards near their homes, said ThePrint spoke to.
Guards deployed at the complex’s entry gate when ThePrint visited Friday claimed ignorance about the previous day’s incident and said they were posted there after the brawl.
Meanwhile, residents interviewed by ThePrint alleged that the brawl was the result of a rivalry between the old AOA members and the new committee which was elected on 15 October.
“We noticed a few members of the ex-AOA giving instructions to the guards,” said Marwah.
ThePrint reached Pushpendra Pratap Singh, member of the ex-AOA on call, but received no response till the time of publication of this report. The copy will be updated once a response is received.
Details and videos of the incident are being shared on social media.
Don’t spread lie. It’s ALL Residents VS Ex AOA.They asked Guards to abuse and beat public by baton. One guard confessed that Pushpendra Pratap asked him to do this. See complete uncut video link https://t.co/Ff6XFQB1DF @coprajaneesh @myogiadityanath @PMOIndia
— Sachin Srivastava (@sachinsri87) October 21, 2022
पहाड़ी ग्रुप ने चुनाव में जीते कैंडिडेट के लिए स्वागत समारोह रखा, जिसके तहत पहले से प्लान पुराने AOA के लोगो ने अपने पाले हुए गार्ड को हमले के लिए भेजा, पूरी घटना वीडियो में है, निवासी किस तरह शांतिपूर्वक अपना कार्य कर रहे थे। इन गार्ड को डंडे से हमले करने के लिए किसने भेजा? pic.twitter.com/sqvrUqmwma
— HPAOA (@HydeParkAOA) October 21, 2022
The Hyde Park incident is only the latest in a series of trouble in many Noida residential complexes in recent months.
In August, a female resident of Noida’s Jaypee Green Wish Town had allegedly assaulted a guard at the complex in a state of inebriation, for delay in opening an entry gate.
Another incident of a guard being allegedly slapped by a woman in a Noida high-rise was also reported in September.
Earlier this week, Srikant Tyagi, a resident of Noida’s Grand Omaxe complex, who had allegedly assaulted a female resident of his complex for objecting to the planting of some palm trees in the complex’ common area by Tyagi, received a hero’s welcome by family and members of the Tyagi community, after being released on bail.
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Old vs new
Residents and members of the Hyde Park AOA blamed members of the complex’s former AOA for Thursday’s clash while talking to ThePrint.
“The ex-AOA has existed for three years (the usual tenure is a year, though elections were not held in many complexes in the past two years of the pandemic) and despite repeated requests and applications by residents, they were not holding elections. Finally, on the midnight of 14 October, a day before their tenure got over, they sent a mail (to all residents) saying a new association has been formed by nominated members (the existing AOA had nominated themselves) as they were unopposed,” claimed Sujeet Kumar, treasurer of the newly-formed AOA.
This was, however, opposed by the residents and even appeals and submissions also made to SDM Alok Gupta, resulting in elections being held and the new AOA formed, claimed the residents.
ThePrint also spoke to SDM Gupta, but while he accepted that there had been some issue at Hyde Park, he did not divulge details.
“There were attempts to sabotage the GBM, which is a mandate for the validity of an AOA’s existence. From cutting off power supply at the society and sending guards, every attempt was made to thwart our attempts at GBM,” Kumar added.
Thursday’s incident has left most of the residents stunned.
“I cannot comment on whether it was members of the old AOA who instigated or instructed the guards, but it seems unlikely they would act entirely on their own and target residents, that too with bamboo sticks,” Puneet Arora, a resident of C Tower in the society said.
A resident of Tower B added on condition of anonymity, “A lot of money (collected as maintenance charges from residents) is left over even after all the wages, and maintenance dues are paid by AOA. That is enough money for people to do these kinds of backhanded things.”
Meanwhile, there was complete silence on the part of the guards who were posted at the complex Friday. “Hume kuch nahi pata. Hume toh subah hi bheja (we don’t know anything, we were sent only this morning),” said one of the two posted at the entry gate. Other guards at the complex were equally tight-lipped.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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Source: The Print
