Rice stolen from locked house in Sindewahi, two held
Two men allegedly broke into a house left locked while the owner was in Nagpur for brain surgery and stole 81 kg of rice, police in Chandrapur district said.
Police in Sindewahi taluka of Chandrapur district have taken two accused into custody in a rice theft case. The accused allegedly broke the lock of a house in Khairi village belonging to Shalik Lonbale, who was in Nagpur for brain surgery, and stole 81 kg of rice. The accused, Ravindra Gurnule and Sunil Kotrange, allegedly broke into the house taking advantage of the fact that only an elderly woman was living there alone. After pressure from villagers, one of the accused confessed to the crime, following which Sindewahi police took both into custody and seized the entire stolen property.
According to information received, Khairi resident Shalik Shankar Lonbale had undergone a serious brain operation 15 days earlier and is currently undergoing treatment at Nagpur's Government Medical College Hospital. His wife Shalini, son Saurabh and daughter Sanjivani had also stayed back in Nagpur at the hospital to look after him. With the house locked and Shalik's elderly mother Saraswati living there alone, she would lock the house for safety and sleep at a neighbour's house. On the night of September 25, around 7 pm, she locked the house as usual and went to sleep next door.
Taking advantage of the empty house, the accused, Ravindra Jagan Gurnule (45) and Sunil Daulat Kotrange (35), both residents of Khairi, allegedly smashed the lock on the main door with a stone at around 8:30 pm the same night. They allegedly entered the house illegally and stole 81 kg of rice worth Rs 5,265, kept in two plastic sacks of grain, with Ravindra Gurnule allegedly hiding it at his own house.
The next day, September 26, around 6 am, Shalik's cousin Tukaram Mukru Lonbale (54) reached the spot after seeing a crowd gathered near the house. Saraswati told him that the lock had been broken and the rice stolen. Tukaram Lonbale then, with the help of villagers Ajay Shende, Mohan Vadhai, Nagesh Meshram and Gajanan Wadgure, gathered residents near the village hall and decided to search everyone's houses to trace the theft.
Under mounting pressure from villagers and fear of action against him, accused Ravindra Gurnule reportedly confessed to the crime in front of everyone. He and Sunil Kotrange allegedly admitted to breaking the lock of the closed house, stealing the rice and keeping it at his home. Villagers then promptly informed the police.
On receiving the information, a team from Sindewahi police station reached the spot. Police took both accused into custody and recovered 81 kg of rice worth Rs 5,265 from Ravindra Gurnule's house. Based on a verbal complaint from complainant Tukaram Lonbale, a case was registered against the accused at Sindewahi police station under sections 331(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Police constable Nilesh Raut is investigating the case further under the guidance of station in-charge Kanchan Pandey.
