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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| Kuhi gang-rape case |
By Dheeraj Fartode
EVEN after seven months the main accused in Kuhi gang-rape case is still at large. The case that had created sensation across Maharashtra this January has now been put on the backburner by the police machinery. It’s work as usual for the cops.
Six accused had gang-raped an 18-year-old girl at a farmhouse in Kuhi tehsil on January 18 and decamped with booty from six other houses. The incident had created flutter keeping the rural police on their toes. Senior police officers including Special Inspector General of Police (Nagpur Range) Rajender Singh and Superintendent of Police Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma had also camped at Kuhi police station.
Agitated residents took out many morchas in the district demanding arrest of the accused. Kuhi police got a breakthrough in only six days and arrested five persons. However, Ravi Pawar, the main accused who had also beaten up the victim’s father and many others, is still at large. Cops have booked his sister as the stolen booty was kept with her.
“We have conducted searches at Usmanabad, Beed and Tuljapur area as some relatives of the accused are living there,” said Prakash Hake, Police Inspector of Kuhi Police station and Investigation officer (IO) in the case.
Superitendent of Police Dr Manoj Kumar Sharma said that cops have also searched at Madhya Pradesh as the accused’s native village is Khandwa.
Ishwar Dhanjode, Sarpanch of Kuhi town, alleged that cops had lost interest in the case after initial arrests. The victim’s family, too, is awaiting some action from the cops.
Victim’s family faces financial
Meanwhile, the victim’s family is undergoing tremendous financial burden. The family has left the farmhouse where the heinous crime took place and shifted to Dhanoli village.
The girl is studying in Standard XI. Father of the victim told ‘The Hitavada’ that they did not have enough money to get monthly bus pass for their girl.
Many people including political leaders and non-government organisation activists called upon the family and assured financial help. However, only two political leaders lived upto their word.
“After the incident many NGOs approached us and assured financial aid for her education. But no one has turned up after that,” the despondent father added.
Police check post withdrawn
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| The spot where check-post was put up after the case. |
However, the cops have passed the buck on the local MLA for withdrawal of the post.
“We had approached MLA Sudhir Parwe and urged for construction of a room for operating check-post. The demand has not been met and hence police have withdrawn the check-post. It would be difficult to operate the post in a tent,” Dr Sharma told this newspaper.
MLA Parwe said he had sent a proposal in this regard to the State Government. “I had approached Home minister R R Patil for construction of the check post. If the State Government fails to construct the post then I will sanction money from my MLA fund,” Parwe said.
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