A Hyderabad-based techie has ignited an online debate after accusing his housing society’s residents’ welfare association (RWA) of prioritising reputation over resident safety following a theft at his home.
A Hyderabad-based techie has ignited an online debate after accusing his housing society’s residents’ welfare association (RWA) of prioritising reputation over resident safety following a theft at his home.
Shravan Venkataraman detailed the incident in a series of posts on X, alleging that members of his housing society’s RWA reprimanded him for raising concerns about security failures inside the gated community.
The controversy began after items were allegedly stolen from Venkataraman’s house. Hoping to identify the culprit, he requested CCTV footage in the society’s residents’ WhatsApp group, only to discover that the surveillance cameras had not been functioning.
“There’s a residents’ group in the society I live in, and there was a theft at my home. I asked for security camera footage in the residents group, and the RWA manager said the security footage is not available as cameras were not working, which they only found out after my complaint,” he wrote.
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Disturbed by the revelation, Venkataraman urged fellow residents to remain cautious and install personal security systems in their homes.
“I posted in the residents’ group that this is a serious issue and that residents should look out for themselves by installing their own security cameras in their homes,” he said.
According to Venkataraman, the society’s president and vice-president summoned him to the clubhouse the following day. Expecting an update on the theft investigation, he claimed he instead walked into a hostile confrontation over his warning message.
“I went there thinking they were going to resolve my issue, and they might have found who stole the items. Instead, they called me and started shouting at me as to how I could post such complaints on the residents group and how I could post that there’s no security here and that one should look out for themselves,” he alleged.
Venkataraman claimed the office-bearers accused him of tarnishing the society’s image and “ruining morale” by openly discussing the lack of security infrastructure.
He also recalled a bizarre remark allegedly made during the confrontation. “The vice president was like, ‘Today you say costly Birkin slippers are stolen, tomorrow you’ll say underwear got stolen, or a shirt got stolen, for all that we can’t help or cater finding those items.'”
Furious over the exchange, Venkataraman later exited the residents’ WhatsApp group.
The techie further shared another incident to illustrate what he described as arbitrary behaviour within housing societies. According to him, a tenant in the community was allegedly confronted by an elderly resident for walking her dog near his house. After she refused to comply, arguing that the road was a public space within the society, the resident allegedly filed a police complaint claiming the dog had damaged his car, resulting in police officers visiting her home.
The incidents prompted Venkataraman to launch a broader criticism of the functioning of some RWAs and the power dynamics within gated communities.
“Primary reason – these pre-boomer generation grew up believing they obey elders without questioning and bow down to arrogance and ego in the name of respect even while being treated like s*** – and now that these pre-boomers have grown up, they are expecting the same from youngsters or anyone they perceive to be younger than them,” he wrote.
He further argued that certain residents’ association members attempt to control how people live within societies.
“Any slight inconvenience to their worldview being caused by anyone or any family in society, they start imposing their views on how one should live in a home they are renting/owning in that society – who can come for a visit, who can’t, who can complain, who can’t, etc,” he said.
Summing up his frustration, Venkataraman claimed that “these old people who are also in charge of power – in RWA or society associations – go on a power trip whenever anyone challenges them for an actual issue.”