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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,...

Fake theft complaint: The Rs 61 lakh theft at Dhantoli, which never took place

  • Mystery deepens as complainant has now claimed that cash worth Rs 40 lakh and 1.5 kg gold was found in another room 

By Dheeraj Fartode
The mystery behind big theft worth Rs 61 lakh at Dhantoli has been solved by complainant himself, who has now claimed that the “booty was simply misplaced and found elsewhere in the house.” The cops also sincerely believed this explaination since the complainant is closely related to an influential political leader. The man, who had taken entire police machinery for ride, just said ‘sorry’ for the inconvenience and the good cops closed the case. 

Police Inspector of Dhantoli Police station, Maroti Shende confirmed the information and said that complainant Ramkumar Shankarrao Motghare (60), a resident of 3rd floor, Manindra Smriti Apartment, Dhantoli approached the police after two days and told that the booty was placed at another spot in the home and he simply forgot about it. The police had registered the case under sections 454 and 380 of Indian Penal Code, are tight-lipped about the issue. 

The entire theft from the beginning was shrouded in mystery and cops on the spot too suspected foul play or an insider’s job. According to some of the cops who had visited the spot claimed that they were surprised as to why the window of bathroom was open and the glass panes were missing from the places? Who had broken one glass of the window ? Cops are not ready to believe that a businessman can just forget exact place of booty worth Rs 61 lakh? 

The police have interrogated eight to ten daily wages worker due to complaint lodged by Motghare, but found them innocent. The domestic aides and workers had to face police brunt and humiliation, but since the complainant himself had retracted from the theft story, who will compensate the poor workers, asked another low rung police staffer. 

First complaint by Motghare said that he along with family members was out of station from Sunday morning. When the family returned at 8 pm they found the front door ajar and as they went inside did not immediately suspect anything. 

However, when the family members found lights on, they checked each room. Door of an almirah was noticed slightly open and entire booty was stolen.  Motghare, who owns President Wine shop and also other business interests, told the police that Rs. 40 lakh cash plus 1.5 kg gold ornaments were stolen. Senior police officers including Additional Commissioner of Police (South Region) Anant Shinde, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-IV) Chandra Kishore Mina, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) G M Sakharkar had visited the spot.

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