AGAIN SAME SHASTRI BHAWAN

       

ONCE again Shastri Bhawan has come  in limelight. Nodoubt this building has offices of many ministries and Petroleum Ministry is one of them where the news  of theft of some secret documents has poured out. And this theft has exposed the serious lapses in security arrangements. Though this is not the first time that the theft is done in Shastri Bhawan. The senior journalists of my age must remember that this is not the first theft in the building. Going back the memory lanes, I am recalling two reports published in Nav Bharat Times some about 42/43 years ago. It happens only in India that a corrupt is arrested and bails out by prevailing corrupt practices.

Though the accused are under police interrogation,  till writing these lines, the arrest of  more accused was on.  Such lapses on the part of security compels to raise eye brows on the security system.

Recalling back, in 1973/74, the security   lapses  were exposed  by an employee turned typewriters thief. During those days the appointments were conducted through UPSC  and till then to continue the work, the government used to appoint on bonds. For so long that particular employee was working on bond but unfortunately, the post he was holding was filled by UPSC and he was on road.

He tried every nook and corner but all his efforts shattered  being a government employee. None was ready to  provide any work to him supposing incompetent and to run his family started to chew iron balls. In frustration, an idea of theft cropped up in his mind but instead of loosing his mind, thought seriously that if he theft in a poor family that family would curse him and his family. So finally, he finalised to become a thief to steal only type writers from the government offices because till a new type writer is not provided to the LDC none could dare to throw him out of the office. He would get his due salary every month. He got success by stealing so many typewriters from the offices situated in Shastri Bhawan.

The whole story was published in 6/7 columns on the bottom of the Nav Bharat Times, with picture of him climbing through the cemented nets in the building.

He had not used any key to open the gates of the offices. one day he  was  in   great trouble   when coming down the typewriter slipped from his hands and fallen at the bottom of the head of the sleeping watchman but the watchman was in deep sleep and after almost half-an-hour he came down and left the Shastri Bhawan with the typewriter. But was caught in Sadar Bazar got napping on the jute bag full of currency. Because that night he had theft all the coins from the canteens of Shastri Bhawan those days, the coins crisis was almost at peak. By taking a tea and a piece of burfi or samosa, offered a rupee note to the owner who refused to give some 75 or 80 paisa change in return. Any how payment was made with the mind that “today is the turn of canteens”.  Police tried its best to ask from where the coins are stolen or got? He told the police fearless to produce him in the court to know the facts. On hearing his pleas,the court instead of accusing ordered the government to reinstate his services to lead a life of a true citizen.

The whole episode exposed the security lapses. Those days, the most famous dowry death of Meena Tandon was in news. The same  daily had carried another story after a couple of days on the crimes in Kamala Market, just opposite of Kamala Market police station. In this story that daily had exposed the incomes of police station. Before Meena’s death,  Kamala Market and Lahori Gate police stations were on the top but the death of Meena, Lahori Gate police station and Kotwali were in race in minting money because one party was falling under Lahori Gate and the other under Kotwali because both the parties were well established rich families.

Anyhow the security lapses are not new but much worse than junk food , these two published reports almost more than four decades ago had narrated the lacunas in the security but the governments since then are sitting crossing its fingers. No solid step is taken since then that is why the law and order situation is much worse today. None is bothered. If the Prime Minister Narendra Modi seriously look into the matter himself, so many sharks may roll under the sleeves. To whom police have arrested  are just very small fry.   To nab the shark the present government will have to act like dictator otherwise those sharks will enjoy on bed of roses and the small fry will have to lay on thorns. On arresting even a shark, handle the opponants with an iron hand to make India more stronger. Less said the better.