What Jain or Advani call “election time”, Bhopal’s pickpockets call “season”. The city’s famed finger artists have been second to none in their eager participation in the electioneering that kicked off last week in the run-up to the November Assembly polls. Their attention didn’t flag when Rajnath Singh toyed with the idea of shooting anyone waving the Pakistani flag in Kashmir. And by the time Advani had finished counting the 2.38 lakh rallyists at Jamboree Park on Thursday, they were counting the money from a dozen wallets equally happily. When Jain went to a nearby police station, he was told he was lucky to still have his fancy cellphone. Soon after Advani left, Sriniwas Pandey, who had come from Barkheda Pathani, was heard cursing loudly — but not the terrorists. Pandey had been cleaned out of Rs 11,200 and three bank cards.
While L.K. Advani was thundering against terror here last week, “infiltrators” at his rally reached out to his flock in a way his oratory could not. The BJP councillor from Neemach, Yashwant Jain, was feeling a tug at his heartstrings every time Advani sounded off about the security of the motherland — so the little tug at his hip escaped him. As the shadow Prime Minister demanded the return of terror law Pota, Jain, getting goose pimples by now, slid his hand into his kurta pocket. Seconds later he had completely lost track of what Advani was saying. Jain’s wallet was gone, along with Rs 3,000 in cash and three ATM cards.
Unconfirmed reports said Bhopal boasted a pickpockets’ academy where ustads trained youngsters, mostly drug peddlers. “It’s easier to pick pockets in crowded places, so election rallies are ideal,” said Pawan Mishra, former officer-in-charge of Jahangirabad police station. With more rallies slated from next week, sources said, the ustads were recruiting fresh batches of trainees. The “season” had a brisk start on Monday, when Uma Bharti stunned the Congress and the BJP with a mammoth show of strength. The police said 10 people were left equally stunned when they reached into their pockets. Mishra suggested the numbers could be higher, saying many political activists were too embarrassed or resigned to lodge complaints. A senior officer estimated pickpockets’ business at rallies could be worth at least Rs 20 lakh in cash and an equal amount in mobile phones till November. He added that pickpockets were the “pampered” princes among Bhopal’s thieves. “That many are drug addicts serves as a blessing. Officers don’t want to detain or beat them, fearing their poor health could lead to death.”
That might also be the cause of increasing incidences of chain snatching from ladies across the city of Bhopal. Inspite of repeated attempts of Police to stop the menace, the incidents have proved unstoppable. Unofficially, the incidents are blamed largely on the immigrant students community of Bhopal. With incresing number of private colleges opening in Bhopal, policing the immigrant students have become a headache for the local government. A gang caught recently was headed by a state level wrestler of Madhya Pradesh state. This guy apparently used to slip out of his daily practise sessions from the T.T. Nagar stadium, to gather some gold chains and then continue from where he left! The incident happened within a few days of Sushil Kumar winning Bronze medal in the same event at Olympics 2008. Why go for Bronze, while you can get your gold (chains)? With more prominent educational institutes lining up at Bhopal () the rumored pickpocket academy can definately go in for a major expansion drive in near future.
Photo courtesy - Shehla Masood
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