This story is from March 4, 2005

Another village goes hunting for robbers

MUMBAI: Public outrage showed no signs of dying down even on the day after a mob lynched three burglars at Agashi village in Virar.
Another village goes hunting for robbers
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Hundreds of citizens poured onto the streets in the                        w2 †HMneighbouring village of Arnala on Wednesday to hunt down the burglars, a         )       2 †V Mrmed with an $    =2 ¶!Massortment of indigenous weapons.t $     2 ¶Â�M ¨ 2 æM ¨ 2 æ M ¨•2 \MThe mob, comprising men, women and children, mostly from the fishing community, scanned the  $ $   # $    $  #    #$    Â�2 EaMentire neighbourhood looking for burglars even as a battery of cops including personnel from the                     #  &2 uMstate reserve poli     L2 u>+Mce force tried to bring them under control.c       #    2 u8M ¨ 2 Â¥M ¨˜2 Õ^MLocal MLA Hitendra Thakur pointed out that the residents'' reaction was not totally unexpected  #                      —2 ]Msince they were frustrated following inaction against the surge in robberies. ``We have been                     )   /2 5Mhaving meetings with the  $    v2 5ËGM people in an effort to curb panic but the incident seems to have left a               $    L2 e+Msevere psychological scars on their minds.''c        #   2 eM ¨ 2 •M ¨‹2 Ã…UMAs many as 397 cases of housebreakings and robberies were registered in Vasai taluka  $                  ^2 õ7Mcomprising Vasai, Nala Sopara, Manikpur and Virar in 20$       #      F2 õ''M04. Activists and citizens groups have           ˜2 %^Mbeen protesting for long demanding an independent police commissionerate to tackle the rising       $      ##           e2 U<Mcrime, a result of the burgeoning population in rural Thane. $             2 U9M ¨ 2 „M ¨g2 ´=MOn Tuesday, a gang of four broke into the residence of Agashi!              2 ´|M-¨72 ´ŠMbased temple designer Suresh  $     Â’2 äZMSompura under the pretext of meeting his son. They later attacked his wife Ushaben with a $      $                  ‰2 TMchopper and threatened Sompura with a gun. However, the commotion alerted Sompura''s     $       #$     $ Y2 D4Mneighbour, Ramesh Devrukhkar, who rushed to confront  $       F2 D ''M the robbers. The neighbours raised an         ›2 t`Malarm following which passersby and local residents sprung into action, chasing the gang for up   $                       (2 ¤Mto two kilometres. h    $  2 ¤QM ¨ 2 ÔM ¨›2 `MArmed with sticks and bars, the crowd which swelled to nearly a thousand in number, beat up the  $                   $    2 4Mrobb”2 4S[Mers mercilessly. Three of them died on the spot. Police teams managed to rescue the fourth  $     $        $ $      ›2 d`Mrobber but had to face the irate mob''s fury. At least nine policemen were injured including the         $       $        72 “Mdeputy superintendent of Mira      "  2 “(M-¨F2 “6''MBhayandar, who has been admitted to the    #   ,2 “9M KEM Hospital. Police #     •2 Ã\Msaid that the gang which was lynched were locals and had previous police records of murders                     $ 2 ó Magainst them.  # 2 óûM ¨ 2 #M ¨ž2 SbMPsychologist Dr Bharat Shah feels that such instances are often glorified by the media which only                     #      72 ƒMjustifies them in the minds o   $   #  2 ƒ Mf the public.    2 ƒØM ¨ 2 ³M ¨˜2 ã^MThe police recorded a case of murder against the mob that lynched the burglars but no arrests        $    $          Â�2 aMwere made. "We would like to request the public to cooperate with us in curbing the crime rather  $ *                    #   V2 C2Mthan taking the law into their own hands," said se              R2 CÂ…/Mnior inspector Sudhakar Datar of Virar police.             2 CÑM ¨-NANItrated following inaction against the surge in robberies. ``We have been                     )   /2 5Mhaving meetings with the  $    v2 5ËGM people in an effort to curb panic but the incident seems to havì¥Ã�5@ ð¿0bjbjÃ�2Ã�2 "­X­X0 ÿÿÿÿÿÿˆ:::::::p $ pß¶<<<<<^``````$• Rç F„:ØØØ„::<<ۙ:::ØB:<:<^:Ø^::::::<0 P³ö–¥ Ã…:^¯0ß:- 0- :Nb::::- ::$Zq@:±4Ã¥ó„„ppäTÄ0 ppTMUMBAI: Public outrage showed no signs of dying down even on the day after a mob lynched three burglars at Agashi village in Virar. Hundreds of citizens poured onto the streets in the neighbouring village of Arnala on Wednesday to hunt down the burglars, armed with an assortment of indigenous weapons. The mob, comprising men, women and children, mostly from the fishing community, scanned the entire neighbourhood looking for burglars even as a battery of cops including personnel from the state reserve police force tried to bring them under control. Local MLA Hitendra Thakur pointed out that the residents'' reaction was not totally unexpected since they were frustrated following inaction against the surge in robberies. ``We have been having meetings with the people in an effort to curb panic but the incident seems to have left severe psychological scars on their minds.'' As many as 397 cases of housebreakings and robberies were registered in Vasai taluka comprising Vasai, Nala Sopara, Manikpur and Virar in 2004. Activists and citizens groups have been protesting for long demanding an independent police commissionerate to tackle the rising crime, a result of the burgeoning population in rural Thane. On Tuesday, a gang of four broke into the residence of Agashi-based temple designer Suresh Sompura under the pretext of meeting his son. They later attacked his wife Ushaben with a chopper and threatened Sompura with a gun. However, the commotion alerted Sompura''s neighbour, Ramesh Devrukhkar, who rushed to confront the robbers. The neighbours raised an alarm following which passersby and local residents sprung into action, chasing the gang for up to two kilometres. Armed with sticks and bars, the crowd which swelled to nearly a thousand in number, beat up the robbers mercilessly. Three of them died on the spot. Police teams managed to rescue the fourth robber but had to face the irate mob''s fury. At least nine policemen were injured including the deputy superintendent of Mira-Bhayandar, who has been admitted to the KEM Hospital. Police said that the gang which was lynched were locals and had previous police records of murders against them. Psychologist Dr Bharat Shah feels that such instances are often glorified by the media which only justifies them in the minds of the public. The police recorded a case of murder against the mob that lynched the burglars but no arrests were made. "We would like to request the public to cooperate with us in curbing the crime rather than taking the law into their own hands," said senior inspector Sudhakar Datar of Virar police. /0üøhèeÜh!N / 1 , - s t  à ›œ€Â�0úÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSúÜ#PSgd!N 0ý 1Â�h°Ã�/ °à=!°"°#Â� $Â� %°þÿà…ŸòùOh«‘+''³Ù0dÂ�˜¤°ÀÃŒØè ø  , 8DLT\ässrajeshkajeajeNormalrajeshk1jeMicrosoft Word 10.0@FÃ#@Ã�ÓeÂ¥ Ã…@Ã�ÓeÂ¥ Ã…Â…«þÿÕÃ�՜.“—+,ù®0ô hpˆÂ�˜  ¨°¸À È Õä timesonlinee+ A  Title
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About the Author
Nitasha Natu

Nitasha Natu is a Senior Assistant Editor with the Times of India and writes on gender, human rights, road safety and law enforcement. She has received the Laadli Media & Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2021. She tweets @nnatuTOI

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