Shy women keep rash of lingerie thefts in village secret for months

BAREILLY: In a

bizarre incident

, women of Prabhupur village of

Chandauli district of UP

had been puzzled and frightened for the past three months, as whenever they hung their lingerie for drying on their courtyards, the clothes would mysteriously disappear. Due to social stigma attached to the subject, the “shy” women of the village initially ignored the matter for a couple of months. However, when it became unmanageable, they informed the pradhan who herself is a woman. Police have now found that an 11-year-old boy had been stealing the clothes, but have decided not to take action against him.

Ajay Ram Tripathi

, husband of the village pradhan,

Sunita Tripathi

, told TOI, “It has been a couple of months since lingerie hung for drying on terraces and courtyards started mysteriously disappearing, only to turn up in drains a day or so later. When the thefts continued, the women finally complained to the pradhan. No other kind of clothe was ever stolen anywhere in the village.”

First, the villagers tried to find the thief on their own but failed. No family attempted to complain directly to the police. Instead, they approached the pradhan, but the social stigma was so strong that even she did not approach the police, according to a Prabhupur resident.

Finally, an elderly male villager called up the police and informed them without revealing his name.

The SHO of

Balua

police station under which the village falls, AK Singh, told TOI over the phone, “We have found that an 11-year-old boy was responsible for all the thefts. The boy seems to be of unsound mind. He does not deserve punishment for such a petty crime.”

The SHO, however, blamed the women of the village for the incident. “The women are equally responsible. They hung their lingerie to dry in the open. Such clothes must be dried inside the home, in secret,” Singh added.