Badly shaken by the ghoulish serial killings of children and women in the area, several families living in Nithari village, most of whom are migrants from other states, have moved out and more are leaving.

More than a dozen families have already left the locality and more plan to do so, fearing for their safety.

"At least 10 families living in this lane have left, and more are expected to leave," said Hari Sharma, who owns a grocery shop in the area.

"I will not stay here. I will go back to my earlier job in Andhra Pradesh. At least my family will be safe there," said Dil Bahadur Sahi, part of housekeeping staff with a local call centre, whose wife Nanda Devi has gone missing.

For the time being, most of the migrant families' children, including the five children of Dil Bahadur, are all locked indoors fearing danger. 

Raja Haldar, whose sister Rimpa Haldar was identified as one of the 17 victims, was a caddy at the Noida Golf Course. But now he has left his job, opting to look after his younger siblings for the time being.

This phenomenon has also given rise to concern in the local community who fear loss in their earnings by way of the rents collected from the migrant families.

The economy of the area mainly depends on the income from rented homes.

One-room tenements are rented out for around Rs 1,000 a month.

Of the 17 victims identified till now, only one child belonged to the village and all others were from migrant families.

Most of the families are from Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa, and some others are from Nepal.