Nagpur News.
The outgoing year has seen major spurt in the quantum of crime in Nagpur. The chain snatching, thefts and robbery reached crescendo during the past 12 months even as the former city commissioner Dr. Ankush Dhanvijay faced much heat for the rising crimes in the city. The year had been really bad as regard to security concerns of Nagpurites.
Here’s the major crimes that took place in the year 2012 and that sent the wave of shock across the city’s social circles.
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- High Profile Coal Scam Connection
Even as the coal scam was exposed at national level, most of the companies and affluent people based in Vidarbha caught the eye of storm as they were netted by the CBI as prime accused in the scam. The names of companies like JLD Yawatmal Energy, Abhijeet Group, JAS Infrastructure, AMR Iron and Steel and Solar Industries India Ltd appeared into limelight as the CBI conducted thorough searches at its premises. Names of Industrialist Manoj Jayaswal, his son Abhijeet Jayaswal, Congress MP Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda, brother and Maharashtra’s Education Minister Rajendra Darda notoriously made the headlines. These activities kept the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) busy for most part of the year 2012. The new year would see some more developments on this side.
- Contractor’s House Bombed
The ill intentions of extortionists in Nagpur crossed limits when they threw locally made bombs on the house of high profile contractor Sunil Jejani. After the bomb went off, the perpetrators threatened Jejani over phone and asked for ransom of Rs 10 lakh against his life. Jejani brought the matter to the police who succeeded in arresting the ill doers.
- Flourishing Flesh Trade
Some of the plush beauty parlours, massage centers and spa were caught involved in flesh trade as police raided these places. These also included Lahoree Guest House, Glow Saloon Parlour and Jingle Bells Parlour.
- Son drove rash, Father Faced Action
In the first of its kind in Nagpur, a father was booked after his teenage son recklessly drove the car over few people near Kriplani turning at Dhantoli, killing two ITI students – Vaibhav Ghuguskar and Sagar Bawne and seriously injuring two others. The father of this teenage boy Sushil Jham was booked for the crime.
- Gruesome Murders
-NCP Leader Ganesh Mate, 54, was abducted mysteriously and murdered. Police pointed the suspicion to security owner Mickey Bakshi and arrested him along with his other accomplices. Though earlier investigated as murder by Sadar police, state CID opted to charge Bakshi and three others with abetment of suicide, kidnapping, assault and other charges. A senior source in CID claimed that the agency could not find any evidence to suggest Mate’s death was a murder.
– Prakash Pohare, Editor-in-Chief of Marathi Daily Deshonnati allegedly shot down his press worker Rajendra Dupare along with his security guards at the printing press at Gondkhairi. Pohare and others were arrested by Nagpur (Rural) Police. Nagpur Bench of Mumbai High Court has rejected his bail plea on many occasions.
-Famed city property dealer Manjit Singh alias Monty Gulhar, a property dealer was shot dead in filmy style attack at Hotel Great Maratha in MIDC area. Monty was shot at point blank range which killed him on the spot. Later police arrested all the accused.
-A notorious gang suspected of operating the extortion racket took to gruesome broad day light murder of Vijay Thawkar who owned Thawkar Jewelers at Hudkeshwar. Vijay, brother of NCP leader Raman Thawkar, was shot dead at his shop at a point blank range. Few arrests have also been made later.
-In another incident Kailash Bhimrao Dongre, a property dealer was killed at Manewada road.
– Pradeep Bhoyar who owned Galaxy Beer Bar in Imambada was murdered by a gang of rivals following old rivalry.
- Public Outrage Turned Deadly
-Three saree clad Bahurupiyas mistaken as the gang members who were involved in the series of rapes and thefts in the city were lynched at Abha Colony in Kalamna. Haasan Solanki, Supra Nagnath and Punjabrao Shinde were stoned to death by the people who took them out from the police van. As people went berserk, attacking all the four, police watched as mute spectators. One of the four was rescued by the cops.
-Vasantrao Naik slum dwellers vented their ire on a dreaded goon Iqbai Shaikh who victimized them quite often. The residents lynched Shaikh near Maharajbagh. The enraged people later gheraoed the Sitabuldi police station, following which, the police arrested his brother Akram Shaikh alias Bhuru and his accomplices. The police also exhumed the body of a trader Rohit Jain who was killed and buried him in Vasantrao Naik slums by the two.
- Kalamna Cold Storage Collapse Brought Death Trail
At least 17 people lost their lives and 16 others injured after a six storey building housing Pravesh Cold Storage and Warehouse collapsed at Chikhli in Kalamna. Police arrested the owner of the cold storage Pramod Khandelwal and his other family members for the negligence.
- Crushed Under Wheels
-Nine year old Virat Zade, student of Central India Public School was ran over by his school bus as the driver negligently drove ahead without seeing that Virat who dropped his tiffin box beneath while disembarking the bus had bent down to pick up the box. Following the incident, High Court issued strict directives to ensure safety in school buses.
-More recently, a six year old Reyansh Praveen Jain of Swami Narayan School was crushed to death and four other children injured badly when the auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling was hit by a recklessly driven truck.
- Chain Snatching, Robbery, Thefts Ruled the Crime Chart
The incidents of chain snatching remained the order of the day in Nagpur during the past 12 months. Almost every other day the cases of robbery, thefts and chain snatching made headlines. While this included the high profile robbery of Rs 1.25 cr from an alleged hawala punter near railway station, most of the cases of robbery to the tune of Rs 1 to 5 lakh happened in great numbers. Lakshman Gandhi, cashier of Vidarbha Premier Co-operative Society near Tilak Putla, Mahal was robbed of Rs 1.23 lakhs by unidentified goons. Lakhs of rupees were looted from the houses Deputy Mayor of Nagpur, Sandeep Jadhav and a treasury officer. Chain snatching caused serious security threat to the women in Nagpur who moved out in late evening hours on traffic less streets. The former commissioner Ankush Dhanvijay faced much criticism from the citizens.
- Rave Party at Caramel Lounge, License suspended
State Home Ministry suspended bar and eating house licenses of Caramel Lounge and its associate restrobar Sanjha Chulha at Mount Road, Sadar, after the police raided the place and detained 173 boys and girls, most of them minors. The inquiry was being conducted for some time and finally in the recently held state assembly’s winter session, the government took the decision to suspend its license.
