Day 68-2011 : Letter to DGP, Maharashtra (Abridged)

To,

The Director General of Police
Maharashtra.

Dear Sir,

I wish you to bring to your notice an incident that happened on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at Shirdi. I and my family members, names and ages attached, had travelled to Shirdi for Darshan on that day.

During the visit jewellery from my aunt’s purse was stolen. The jewellery was kept in a yellow pouch, in the purse carried by my aunt. The list of items stolen and their approximate value are attached herewith.

Following is the sequence of events:

1. We reached Shirdi and joined the queue for Darshan at 13.00 IST.
2. We reached the Sai Samadhi at the end of the queue at approximately 14.15 IST.
3. All of us came out and went to the donation office opposite the exit from the Sai Samadhi.
4. We realised that the jewellery has been stolen at the donation office at approximately 14.20 IST.
5. We immediately lodged a complaint with the temple Security Office.
6. When asked to review the footage from the CCTV cameras, the temple security office control room advised that we should lodge an FIR at the Shirdi police station, only after which we could see the CCTV footage.
7. We went to the Shirdi police station at approximately 16.30 IST to lodge the FIR.

On reaching the Shirdi police station, my aunt was first of all rebuked by the constables on duty for carrying the jewellery to the temple. When asked to lodge a FIR, we were told that ours is not the only such case that has happened; 10 such cases of theft are reported on a daily basis. When we still persisted on registering the FIR, we were told that nothing would come of it and it would be a futile exercise. Moreover, the authorities at the police station did not want to register a FIR because we were outsiders (from Mumbai) and they assumed that we would not come back to follow up on the case or when summoned. When this did not work, the officials on duty started threatening us by saying that we were asking for trouble and if we do not turn up when summoned for a follow up on the case, even warrants could be issued against us! We were also told that the FIR will not be lodged till the Police Inspector of the Shirdi Police Station comes back to the police station from his rounds, for which the ETA was not known. This was another delaying tactic used by the officials in the hope that we would abandon the thought of registering a police complaint. All along, the officials on duty were rude to my aunt, who is a senior citizen, and the rest of us. There was no empathy for the fact that a 68 year old lady had lost her jewellery and she would be mentally distressed due to this.

I would like to escalate this matter to you in your position as the head of the state’s police force. Instead of helping people in distress, the police force is being rude to them and do not have the sensitivity to deal with such cases. If the police force of the state behaves like this, I ask you, what is the recourse for the common man?

I request you to please intervene in this matter and help us find the stolen items of jewellery. I would also like to request you to please look into the matter of the misconduct of the police officials on duty at Shirdi Police Station on that day and take the appropriate action against them.

I hope to get a favourable and swift response from you.

Thanking you,

Yours Truly.

CC: The Superintendant of Police, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra

CC: Shri R. R. Patil, The Home Minister, Maharashtra

Day 77 - Faith Busters

Yesterday I visited Shirdi, to offer prayers to Sai Baba.  I had been to the place, last time, many many years ago.  This post is prompted by yesterday's visit to the shrine.

Just after the Babri Masjid demolition, I, as an eighteen year old teenager, decided that I will never ever visit a public place of worship.  And I stuck to it for a long period of time.  The point was, I thought faith is a matter of personal choices and is best exercised in the private domain.  Bringing it to the public domain only causes great damage to the fabric of a peaceful and secular society.  Mind you, when at home, I offer prayers every day, since childhood.  And I feel good about it.  However, after many years, I again started visiting temples, even if just to keep family members happy. 

In the past few years, I have now visited three of the most renowned temples in India.  Tirupati, Palani and Shirdi.  The most striking thing that I have observed after being to these places, is that religion has become grossly commercialised.  To me, as a faithful, this trend kills the feelings with which you go to any place of worship.  And that is, to seek peace and tranquility.  What you do get is:

1) Differentiation based on your standing in the society / the money you have.  VIP passses to bypass every queue of order.  A gross violation of the belief that everyone is equal in the eyes of God.  Unless you have some influence, you are sure to be hugely disappointed with the rendezvous with God.

2) Long queues through which one has to tiringly wade through for hours to get a glimpse of the deity.  By the time you reach the deity, you are not even thinking about the deity; only how to keep your place in the queue.

3) Touts prevail (and rule!) all over the place.  These places wail for professional management!

I much rather prefer the Sai Baba temple in Chennai on ECR Road.  The place is amazing and I would encourage everyone to visit it.  It is a place where I felt like going, again and again, because of the peace and tranquility that it affords, in this fast paced world.

Not sure whether I will visit any famous shrines in the near future.  May be only if, I can obtain a VIP pass!  Or maybe not!  Ultimately, the home, is the best temple!

Jai Sai Ram!  Take care.