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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

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  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
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Maharashtra DGP ask force to refashion investigation style in missing persons cases

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Missing persons from Nagpur City

Year   0-18    above 18 Total Traced

2010 247         471            718   358
2011 724        1623           2347  1926
2012 596        1267           1863  1311

Director General of Police (DGP), Maharashtra, Sanjeev Dayal, has asked the force to refashion their style of investigations in missing persons cases. Stopping short of pulling-up the field workers, the state police boss however has spoken his mind on treatment meted out to relatives of missing persons at police stations. Hence he has asked police officers to reorient their outlook in handling cases of missing persons.
Sanjeev Dayal has issued a list of do’s and don’ts to the department as he tries to instill a sense of disciplined approach in dealing with frayed nerves of families. Knowing well the high hopes pinned on police department, he has set out a new approach on investigating the reports of missing persons.
It is a known fact that people became desperate while going through police’s formalities while seeking help of those in uniform to trace their near and dear ones. DGP it is learnt has issued a circular to Maharashtra Police expressing his unhappiness at handling of investigations in the cases of missing persons.
The top cop has scolded force for their uncaring attitude in handling emotions of relatives, whose dear one goes missing. The magnitude of problem in missing persons cases can be gauged from date with Nagpur police.
There is a whopping 537 per cent increase between 2010 and 2011 in cases of missing persons in Nagpur city alone. Expressing grave concern over daily increasing graph of missing persons, the DGP issued a circular dated October 6, 2012, directing units heads to take efforts in tracing missing persons. He directed creation of missing persons cell under Crime Branch. Though Commissionerate have the arrangement, in district police force the cells are not in place.  
The units bosses have been told to depute Sub-Inspector level officer for probing the cases of missing persons, of person aged 12-years and above. Top officers are asked to cover this subject in every crime conference. Similarly senior police officers should monitor the progress by force in tracing the missing persons.
When asked, Joint Commissioner of Police (Jt.CP) Sanjay Saxena said they have started implementing the instructions in the circular of DGP. The investigation in missing persons cases is very difficult, especially in age group of 0-12 years. During investigations we hit a wall as there are no leads to explore and no clues to explore. This explains the swelling figure of missing cases that remain investigated on the police record.
The investigation of any crime starts with registration of a First Information Report (FIR) in a police station. The registration of a FIR pre-supposes a cognizable offence.  However, in the case of missing person there is no system of registering FIR across the country.  Complaints of missing children are treated as any other non-cognizable offence and only an entry is made in the Station Diary of the police station,  said a senior officer on request of anonymity.
Same procedure is followed in the case of missing children. The follow-up procedure thereafter is registration of information in a format and in sub sequence register. Cops allot a number to complainant and then message about missing persons is forwarded to Control Room and police stations of city.
Social workers say, when a person goes missing nobody knows the real intention behind it.  In case of 0-12 year-old-child, it could be possible that the child for various reasons has run away on his or her own will. Although, reason for child or girl missing can vary, which could be sexual gratification, sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, kidnapping etc.
In city, 4928 persons went missing during past three years and cops have been successful in tracing 3595 persons. Still 1300 persons are missing that includes many teenagers. 


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