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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,...

DG rebukes RPF personnel for “embarrassing” procedural lapses

Peeved at failure of Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel in following proper procedure while detaining or releasing a person, Director General, RPF, Arun Kumar has issued a 14-point charter to the force. He has mentioned all such instances that caused great embarrassment to the administration and in process affected the image of RPF.
The DG, RPF issued the charter taking cognisance of letters sent by two State Governments about work culture of RPF, sources told ‘The Hitavada’. In the circular, Kumar has stated that some instances had come to the notice where it was found that officers did not adopt proper procedure in releasing persons detained after examination. There were further instances wherein procedure mentioned in Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was not followed in releasing arrested accused on Bond or Bail-Bond (in Bailable Offences). “Therefore, there is a need for system improvement by creating awareness among Subordinate Officers of the Force regarding the procedure in such cases,” DG Kumar has stated in the circular.
The RPF top boss has directed the force to mention all arrests in diary and follow the rules of CrPC. He also cautioned the force for unnecessarily detaining people, asking them to immediately stop such practices.
“If someone is detained or called for examination in any case for inquiry, it should be mentioned in the relevant records and proper disposal of such person should also be brought on record,” Kumar said.
“Instances have come to notice where some RPF personnel called an individual for examination to the RPF office and then forced him/her to sign documents like bond/bail bond, statement, plain papers etc,” the DG said and warned of penal action against such RPF personnel.
For supervision, the DG directed the personnel to share information of each person arrested and released on the Bond or Bail Bond to the Divisional Security Control Room and the trial court. He further instructed Zonal railways to issue supplementary instructions based on legal requirements and in the interest of transparency and administration of justice.



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