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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| temple thefts |
By Dheeraj Fartode
Even abode of God is not safe when it comes to thefts. About 115 cases of theft were reported from places of worships in city during last three-years. Although top brass has not classified thefts as per places of worship of different religion but Joint Commissioner of Police, Anup Kumar Singh, said, temples might be figuring in maximum numbers.
Analysing the crime figures for last few years it is clear that during 2012 and 2013 there was spate of incidents of strikes by thieves at places of worship. But somehow during last year the cases of thefts shows marked decline, perhaps lustre at places of worship were not that attractive to warrant risk. Or perhaps, fear of God prevailed!
According to information, total 29 thefts were reported in the city in year 2012 and the figure zoomed to 46 in year 2013. In year 2014, the incidents dipped and in all 40 thefts were reported across the city. It seems cracking of few gangs and individuals helped in lowering the crime at places of worships in city. The data also reflects that temples in Zone-I and Zone II were mostly broken-in i.e. 31, 32 were reported respectively in last three years, followed 29 in Zone-III and 23 in Zone-IV. Moreover detection was also quite low, in Zone-I only four out of 31 reported cases could be detected.
In Zone I, Rana Pratap Nagar Police Station with 11 temple theft in three years have topped the tally across the city. The police could find accused only in three cases of thefts. Other police stations where thefts occurred at places of worships are -- Sadar reported 10 and detected 5; Panchpaoli 9 and 3 respectively; Ambazari- 7 & 1; Tehsil- 7 & 4; Ganeshpeth- 7 & 1; Yashodhara- 7 & 5; Sakkardara- 7 & 2; Hudkeshwar- 7 & 2 and Nandanvan-7 & 2. No places of worship at Ajni and Wadi PS were targeted during last three years.
Secure temple premises, says CP K K Pathak
Commissioner of Police K K Pathak said every temple administration should secure the temple and ensure that thieves do not have easy access. “They should deploy their own guards to ensure that premises are protected. Asked about detection, the top city cop said, small thieves are normally involved in such thefts. We are trying to nab them and 16 cases out of 40 were detected in year 2014, he informed further.
Deposit cash in banks : Dr Jambhekar
Hemant Jambhekar, Co-ordinator for UK, Vishwas Hindu Parishad International, has suggested a few guidelines for temple management so that thieves does not get anything valuable from the premises. He said the offering, especially cash or things of value must be deposited in bank every two to three days.
Similarly, he said priest and people associated with daily management must see to that unauthorised person loitering near temple should vacant the premises. Even police should ensure that such persons are not found roaming around temples as more often they tend to break-in during night time. Also temple managements must install CCTV in temple presmies so that security is full proof.
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