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

  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,...

Police raid reunion event, suspected rave party

  • It was a case of wrong tip and nothing objectionable was found, even then matter was sought to be hushed up

By Dheeraj Fartode
Nandanvan police on Sunday were an unexpected guests at an reunion party at one of the upscale joint in Wardhaman Nagar. The party was thrown by a youth whose brother is politically well connected. Acting on a tip off that a Rave party is on, the cops arrived in full force, did carry out verification but left without initiating any action.

The party was having about 50 youth and venue was near an  upscale mall in East Nagpur. While majority was boys, there were just eight girls, said Police Inspector (Second) Satyajeet Bandiwar who is with Nandanvan police station. Acting on direction of a senior official, the Nandanvan police reached the party venue at around 2.50 pm. The information was about Rave party, as arrangement for entry was by invitation and gates were manned by bouncers. Those given entry were stamped with a special sign that allowed entry to the dance floor, it was learnt.
File picture
Though cops spent considerable period of time to verify the input, they left empty handed. Asked about it, PI Bandiwar said, we were satisfied there was nothing objectionable and hence used our discretion and just jotted down names of youth who were in attendance. Normally cops go for collecting blood samples but the police officer when contacted by ‘The Hitavada’ said, “we were satisfied that there was nothing suspicious about the party nor the youth were intoxicated”, he claimed.
The party was a reunion for those who had passed out SSC in year 2009 from one of the city school, said the PI. Though PI Bandiwar was hot in denial, it is stated that after complying with senior’s order, the police team could not resist the lure and had a hearty “party”.

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