Pizza Robbery On The Rise In Noida

And now if you’re done laughing, can we talk serious?

Delhi-NCR’s eastern shoulder, Noida, is infamous for a number of criminal controversies, notorious personalities, and most commonly snatching and armed robberies. The city is no stranger to loosing chains, mobile phones, and bags to snatchers on bikes, but the latest addition to this ‘snatching list’ is something that is so ridiculous that it’s almost unbelievable!

Pizza Thug

Pizza. Yes, pizza. The food item is being snatched from delivery boys who say that on an average, there are 8-10 such incidents in the city every month, but most remain unreported. And while they also add that there is no fixed number of stolen pizzas, there is news of at least 2-3 robberies every week. “It’s not as if they steal only one pizza when they rob you. Saare le jaate hain jitney ho aapke paas (they take all the pizzas that you’re carrying). Normally, a delivery boy carries 4-5 pizzas when out for delivery”, says Ramesh a Dominos delivery boy.

The latest robbery took place on 6^th January, when Rajnish, a pizza delivery boy, was robbed in Sector 58 when he was looking for the delivery address. Luckily for him, a PCR van was in the vicinity and the mobile thieves were caught within 15 minutes. But this is an exception, because not every robbery is reported or brought in the limelight.

Image: (representational image) The Times Of India

It’s Only Pizza!

So why haven’t we heard about these pizza stealing incidents before? Well, simply because they are seldom reported because it’s only pizza! A manager at a Dominos restaurant in Noida, says, “We make a written complaint about it, but most times, no FIR is filed. A written complaint is required because we have to document stolen pizzas, and report it to our superiors. Par FIR ka jhanjhat kaun lega? Pizza hi toh hai. (But who would go through so much hassle? It’s only pizza.)”

On the contrary, the pizza boys often insist on reporting such incidents to avoid any fingers from being pointed in their direction. A pizza delivery boy at a joint in Sector 18, tells us, “Initially, it seemed funny, but when the incidents started happening more regularly, it became ridiculous.”

Even the police, acknowledging that such crimes do occur, say they cannot investigate, if the cases aren’t even being reported. “Yes, we have heard of the odd cases of delivery boys being robbed in the city, but we can’t take action or investigate, if the cases aren’t being reported,” says a senior police official.

Image: Gumtree

So, the next time your pizza doesn’t turn up in 30 minutes, you know where it could possibly be.

Source: The Times Of India

Featured Image: Evening Standard