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,...
Fall out of turf-war between two gangs, Mitthu Singh was shot at by rival Gomekar gang and later he was attacked by swords near hospital before any medical help can be extended One accused arrested, QRT and SRPF deployed By Dheeraj Fartode In a sensational incident, four assailants opened fire at a goon at Kanhan on Thursday over sharing the booty of gambling and later attacked him with swords when he was being taken to a hospital at Kamptee. Deceased Mitthu alias Shital Gopal Singh (30), a resident of Kanhan Colliery was also an accused in double murder case in 2009. Court had sentenced him to life in the case. However, he was later acquitted by the High Court while allowing his appeal. A senior police officer informed that Mitthu was trying to establish his supremacy in the area and had physically assaulted many persons including his rival goons. The murder is apparently a fall out of dispute over sharing the ill-gotten money, the police officer added. Earl...