Skip to main content

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

By
  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,...
Post a Comment

Alleging victimisation by DGP, the Amravati IG warns of suicide

By

  • Suicide note by Amravati Range IG goes viral
  • DGP Mathur dismisses threat as over-reaction 



A wave of sensation spread in Maharashtra Police on Sunday night after “ a suicide note” of Special Inspector General (SPL IGP) Amravati Range, Vitthal Jadhav, was widely circulated on social media. This suicide note has also raised a big questionmark over leadership qualities and behavioural pattern of senior police officers assigned with sensitive tasks and supervisory duties. 
The suicide note reads thus– “From Mpsc Cadre and unfortunately Maratha You@Hon Dgp Sir Targettimg Me, I Will Sucicidede &You & Hon. DGP Will be Responsible, I CCant Bear Ur & Hon DGP'S Humilation Hence Forth.Before I Commit succidee  I will disclose Every Thingto Press And My Family Members
IG Amravati”.
IGP Vitthal Jadhav
IGP Jadhav sent the note to some police officers on WhatsApp and the officers further forwarded it to Director General of Police (DGP) Satish Mathur. After receiving the note, DGP Mathur also called IGP Jadhav but his phone was out of coverage. He later ordered some police officers posted at Amravati to search for IGP Jadhav. The officers informed the head of Maharashtra Police that IGP Jadhav was reportedly in an inebriated condition. 
Confirming this development, DGP Mathur told The Hitavada that it was his duty to pull up the officers for any lapse of shortcoming. “A Hindu-Muslim riot took place at Umarkhed during Ganapati idol immersion. I have fixed their responsibility for the riot,” said Mathur.
Mathur denied allegation of “specific targeting” of IGP Jadhav and said that Superintendent of Police (Yavatmal) was also pulled-up for not taking adequate precautions to avoid riot and its aftermath. As head of the police force it is my duty to evaluate performance of every officer and I feel that said officer had apparently over-reacted, the DGP stated. 
A senior police officer who is aware of development said that IGP Jadhav was in “different condition”  when he sent the message threatening to abruptly end his life. Before taking charge as IGP Amravait Range, Vitthal Jadhav had served as IGP, CID and additional CP in Mumbai.
It may be mentioned that allegation by senior officers against top brass is not new to Maharashtra police. Earlier, IG (Prison), Nagpur, Shashikant Shinde had lodged a complaint under Atrocity Act against Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjeev Dayal in year 2014 and following an order by JMFC Court the case was registered against Dayal. However, later High Court slammed the lower court for mechanically passing the order and pulled up Shinde for using Atrocity Act to settle his personal score and service dispute. MPSC cadre officers often grudge about the raw deal meted to them vis-a-vis direct IPS officers.
However, in this particular case, many senior officers strongly disapproved the manner in which suicide note has been posted on social media by a senior officer of the Special IGP rank. Such careless action often brings ignominy to entire police force and officers become a subject of ridicule and joke on social media, rued a senior police officer. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IGP Prasanna : The man who stopped Obama’s convoy

By
IGP Mallikarjuna Prasanna By Dheeraj Fartode  Published on Feb/17/2019 NOT many are aware of an episode during the then US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in 2010. The world’s most powerful man was made to wait for 11 minutes in his car while an Indian cop took on American officials for their unwarranted interference in the US President’s security. KM Mallikarjuna Prasanna, Special Inspector General of Police of Nagpur Range, still continues to work with the same pride, wearing his patriotism on the sleeve. “Had they (Americans) deployed their personnel for area security, then the message would have been Indians are unable to protect VIPs in their nation,” recounted Prasanna on the episode that is one of the highlights of his distinguished career of a skillful investigator. The story of the IPS officer of 2000 batch is worth a film. In fact, a movie (Nagarjun-starrer ‘Officer’) has already been made by Ram Gopal Verma last year. His real life script als...
9 comments
Read more

DCP Sunil Kolhe gets IPS cadre

By
DCP (crime) Sunil Kolhe By Dheeraj Fartode About 28 State Police Service (SPS) officers were granted  Indian Police Service (IPS) cadre on Monday. At Nagpur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Crime) Sunil Kolhe is among these officers. With their promotion, Maharashtra Government will fill-up the existing vacancies of cadre posts across the State. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India, approved the promotion and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), issued the notification of 28 state police officers into IPS cadre.  Maharashtra Government had earlier empanelled the 28 officers for promotion of SPS officers into IPS and criteria was they should have served for atleast eight years as Superintendent of Police (SP) or Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). The list includes names of officers belonging to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy.SP) batches between 1988 and 1995, who were promoted to the IPS cadre. The officers are S V Ja...
Post a Comment
Read more

How a mom won fight for justice after 15 years

By
Pintu Shirke  THE love of a mother can move mountains. But for Vijaya Dilipsingh Shirke the task ahead was much tougher. She was taking on the mountain of a corrupt system, enduring threats to life, and fighting the might of muscle power. Never did she flinch even once, and after a longdrawn legal battle of 15 years ensured that the killers of her son did not go unpunished. After all, it was a resolute mother’s promise to her  slain son. On October 31, 2017 the mother was full of anxiety waiting for a word about the outcome of hearing in the Apex Court. The decision would have a bearing on the Shirkes’ years of struggle to get justice for their slain son Swapnil alias Pintu Shirke. When the learned Apex Court judges threw out challenge of main culprits, including prime plotter Vijay Mate, and upheld life sentence handed out by the High Court, the 15-yearlong fight of Vijaya Shirke had finally reached its logical conclusion. “The promise made to Swapnil when...
2 comments
Read more