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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,...

Man committs suicide; kin allege assulat by cops triggers the step

A man committed suicide in Raghuji Nagar area of Nagpur in the wee hours of Tuesday. The kin of the deceased alleged that he took the extreme step out of humiliation and depression after being thrashed by beat marshals of Hudkeshwar police station. However, the police officials denied the allegation and claimed that the man felt embarrassed after his neighbour indulged in verbal duel with him for making the calls.
Mahesh Shalikram Raut (38), a resident of New Somwari Peth, Raghuji Nagar, ended his life by consuming poison on Tuesday at around 2 am. The kin of Raut gheroed Hudkeshwar police station on Tuesday morning demanding stern action against the beat marshals. After being assured by police officials, the mob returned home in the afternoon.
DCP (Zone IV) Dr. Akshay Shinde said that the Crime Branch will conduct an inquiry into the matter. “Departmental and legal action will be initiated against policemen if they are found guilty in the probe,” he said. Beat Marshals Kishore Senad and Pravin Alam were attached to the Police Headquarters in the evening hours.
According to police, Manisha Korde and Chanda Barwe are neighbours of Raut. Korde’s brother Avinash (60) is mentally challenged. Raut was angry over Chanda Barwe as she used to torture Avinash whenever he come on the terrace, police said.  
On Tuesday, Raut learnt that Avinash was slapped by Chanda on the terrace. As Raut wanted to stop Chanda from torturning Avinash, he phoned the police control room introducing himself as Rahul Shendekar, police said. He reportedly told the cops that Chanda Barwe was torturing mentally challenged Avinash and also gave the address of her house. Beat marshals Senad and Alam rushed to the spot on the instructions of the control room, police officials said.
The cops dialed the phone number, but Raut did not respond to the phone calls. The police then went to houses of Avinash and Chanda and inquired about assault on Avinash, the officials informed. As the beat marshals were eager to know about the caller, they showed the phone number to Chanda’s son Aman who told them that the phone number belonged to Raut, the police said.
The family members alleged that the policemen entered their house and accused Raut of making fake calls. “The cops came home and thrashed my brother, which left him humiliated and depressed," the deceased's sibling Shailesh Raut told reporters. Some residents alleged that Raut was beaten up by the cops mercilessly in full public view.
The police officials refuted the allegation and said that Barwe family was indulged in the verbal duel with Raut for making the phone calls against them. Therefore, he felt humiliated. Later, his wife also picked a quarrel with him and left the home in the night, the officials said. After visiting the spot, the beat marshals returned to the police station and wrote a note in the station diary, officials said.  
A case of accidental death was registered by Hudkeshwar police. Further investigation is on.

As per PM report, no injuries on body : CP

After conducting an initial probe, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amitesh Kumar said that the man had made the same phone call to police by changing his name on July 27. “We have received an advance Post-mortem report in which doctors have not found any injuries on the body of the deceased,” the CP said. The Crime Branch is investigating the case and stern action will be taken against the policemen if they are found guilty, the CP added.
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