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

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  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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ED conducts searches at Anil Deshmukh’s college near Fetri

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Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted searches at Nagpur Institute Of Technology (NIT) college at Mahurzari, near Fetri in Katol Tehsil in connection with its probe against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. Statements of five persons were also recorded by the investigation agency in its Seminary hills office, officials said.
The college is said to be controlled by Deshmukh. ED officials from Mumbai reached the institute around 12.30 pm and began the searches under the protection of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, the official said. Staff of Local police station was also deployed near the college. The searches concluded at 3.30 pm, he added. Some documents have been seized by the officials for further investigation, it was learnt.
It may be mentioned here that the ED is conducting a probe into the money laundering case related to an alleged multi-crore bribery-cum-extortion racket that led to Deshmukh’s resignation from the post of home minister in April this year. Deshmukh’s personal secretary Sanjeev Palande (51) and personal assistant Kundan Shinde (45) were arrested by the agency. However, Deshmukh has not yet appeared before the agency.
The Central agency had registered a case against Deshmukh on May 11 following an FIR registered by CBI in alleged money laundering case. Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh had alleged corruption charges against Deshmukh in a letter written to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Singh, in his letter, had alleged that Deshmukh had asked suspended API of Mumbai Police Sachin Waze to collect Rs 100 crore per month.
On May 24, the CBI had conducted searches at Deshmukh’s residence in Nagpur. Later, the ED team conducted searches on May 25 Sagar Bhatewara’s house in Shivaji Nagar, Sameer Isaac’s house in Sadar and Jafri brothers’ house in Jafar Nagar, in Nagpur city, they said. On June 16, the ED officials conducted searches at coal trader Dharampal Agarwal, CAs Bhavik Panjwani and Sudhir Baheti in Nagpur. These May 25 and June 16 searches by ED teams were connected to Deshmukh. On June 26, ED had conducted searches at Deshmukh’s Civil Lines residence in Nagpur. Deshmukh has already denied any wrongdoing.




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