I had gone to sleep at 1.30am and at 3am the mobile sound shook me up. It was my wife.
“Daughter has been robbed near Pune while traveling from Ahmedabad with classmates early morning. Laptop (with her college IT projects), mobile and credit card (which we had given for emergency purposes) have all been robbed along with her new dresses in the baggage,” she sounded worried.
“Is she and friends OK?” I asked.
“They are fine. The baggage is gone,” she said.
“Block the credit card and mobile,” I consoled her and sent an SMS to daughter, who had another cell gifted by a relative: “Do not worry over material losses. They are meant for our pleasure, not pain.”
I tried to sleep. But it was already sunrise.
Dhond and nearby areas of Pune have been witnessing such train robberies for decades. There has been a clear network involving cops, thieves and politicians. No complaints will be registered at police stations to keep the record straight. When the crying students went to lodge a complaint, they refused to register at Pune station, saying “Go the place where you lost your things.”
Me not surprised. The corrupt system has never changed.
It is like this. Just ask the chief minister of Tamil Nadu to order all autorickshaws (3-wheel taxis) to run on fixed fare meters in Chennai. No chief minister has ever dared so far and never would in the near future. The drivers have been fleecing innocent passengers for decades.
Elementary. The corrupt network is too strong.
Really sorry to read this Ramesh but thank God your daughter and everyone else is safe.
ReplyDeleteThat's BAD news..... and Corruption... even I have lost faith in Government... nothing will be going to change.... because it is not the government's fault.... We are the public who are in governemnt.... except we do not have powers to corrupt...
ReplyDeleteOh shit...too bad! hope she is okay now!
ReplyDeleteOh sorry for ur daughter,she lost her project.
ReplyDeleteSame here ramesh,auto drivers fleece the passenger like there is no tomorrow.Sick people
thats so bad, laptop, cell, new dress and most importantly the project....!
ReplyDeletebut thank god she is safe.
very sad to know about this ... i hope ur daughter is fine now ... chennai is safer than pune in terms of robberies...but as you mentioned autos are corrupt...
ReplyDeleteShe must have spent so much time to do the project work. Feel sorry for her.
ReplyDeleteI was the one who wrote about a series of thefts we had faced and now, you are writing this. Things lost will not come back...police are always involved in thefts, nowadays, like you said here.
What you said about autos of Chennai is 100% right!
thats is sooo sad... and the police wala are never helping... I have faced this 'go to the place where you were rob ' situation...
ReplyDeleteas for fixed meters... I must have lost a quarter of my livelihood to these auto walas
tough luck. well at least she is fine.
ReplyDeleteautos are owned by politicians and police in chennai, hence get away with faulty meters.
It is a sad state of affairs. I am glad your daughter and friends were not harmed. Material things can be replaced anytime...
ReplyDeleteOh,very sad !I really don't know what to say .Our country's law and order system is going from bad to worst.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry but hey she is just fine. I loved you statement. Materials are for our pleasure, not for pain.
ReplyDeleteTalking about auto rickshaw in Chennai, no comments. Its so corrupt there. I was wondering why dont they use the meter? They are installed but rusted
Ramesh,
ReplyDeleteReally sorry to hear.
Economic development does not mean social, legal, morale or intellectual development in a country.
Besides strong economic growth numbers, India is going downwards in all other aspects.
Seriously I think we need revolution now..evolution would not work
boss..
ReplyDelete1.2 lacs worth of jewels were robbed from our relative at Vapi - just snapped on the road..
ask her to take care - if possible - change the route for some days (she has to come out of that crisis)
take care..
That is really sad yaar.., But your daughter and friends are safe that itself is great.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100% about the fleecing by auto rickshaw fellows . They are arrogant and rude too. Meterkkumele yum kasu keppanga..... Once my hubby got bugged he kept the money on top of the meter. hate boarding autos now a days.
loved the line : material things are meant to give pleasure and not pain !
ReplyDeleteThats really worrying! I hope she is ok, and am glad no bodily harm came to her and her friends. But not to lodge a complaint..thats too bad
ReplyDeleteOhhh god! I feel sorry for your daughter! I hope and pray that she had the project work back up in CD. I second your opinion on the police stations and Autowalas. Autos have become integral part of Chennai, that politicians are depending on this community for getting more votes!
ReplyDeleteits like that everywhere ya! Autos run withour meters, we are never tendered chage in the busses...pathetic..
ReplyDeletethankfully ur daughter is safe!
i am glad u r daughter is safe,....these r one of the reasons why my parents don allow me to travel through train even now...
ReplyDelete"Materials are meant for pleasure and not for pain"- i got smthng to learn from u r post..
Good Day..
It is a blessing that your daughter and friends are safe and fine. These train robberies are part of a larger network. The less said about corruption, the better. It is a constant battle to survive, these days, whether you are in a train, auto or bus. The important thing for our kids is to be very aware and wary. Just being at the wrong place at the wrong time can be dangerous for the safety and happiness of our kids so good, you have been on the right side so far. I also liked the bit you said about material things, makes sense to see the larger plan in life and pass it forward to the next generation.
ReplyDeleteI felt very bad to hear about it. Due to God's grace your daughter is safe and I am happy about it. Its really pathetic how the auto rickshaws drive and the accidents occur due to their recklessness. Convey my best wishes to your daughter. Take care of her.
ReplyDeleteSo long as the girls are OK--damn the stuff.
ReplyDeleteWe have become a nation of corrupt and most of the illegal activities are with the connivance of the police.
Yes, those are for our comfort! Hope she is fine! You can always buy her a new laptop, new credit card and also lots of new dresses! :)
ReplyDeleteHope she is fine, the incident must have been traumatic. More than the loss of credit card, laptop and dresses, it is the loss of all the data stored in her computer that saddens me. All that hard work totally gone.
ReplyDeleteI am glad she is safe. All the best to her.
oh, poor her.. whoever moron took her stuff, may he go to hell.!! and abt the police and autowaalahs, i so totally agree. I dont know tamil. And whenever I go to Chennai, If i need to use an auto, its a mess about the fare!!
ReplyDeleteAt least your daughter is safe though it must be a harrowing experience for her. Yes, it is a corrupt system out here. Right from the basics to the top, everything is corrupt.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the lost of your daughters things but as you say they are only objects - far better that she remained unhurt.
ReplyDeletebad news sorry
ReplyDeleteregarding police station the area are divided and one has to register the complaint in that area.
This attitude needs to be change.
Sorry to read this unfortunate incident. Had been to pune by volvo which stopped at FOOD MALL in lonavla. I left my bag under the seat and got down along with co passenger, prompted by his guts in leaving his bag containing laptop!
ReplyDeleteI was just praying that the bag should be intact when I boarded again after the coffee break... I was just lucky.
Your daughter wasn't on that day...
Sorry to visit after a long time and very sorry to read this news. I like the fact that you gave her sound advice. Most parents tend to go beserk or volatile, and then kids turn defensive. Thank god, you have given the right message and perhaps this is a wake up call to all of us to be very careful and alert about our possessions so that we are not fooled or robbed. You are right, there is no end to the corruption networking system in this country.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for visiting my blog. I've been very ill, sprained my neck weeks ago and still not able to sit without strain and work on the computer. Just hoping to feel normal and not like a headless chicken:) Tc, will try to be regular as soon as health permits.
Sorry about the incident Ramesh, we are glad she is safe, we should take care and plan well on travelling such routes, especially the timing. May God bless.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that-but thank God for small mercies!
ReplyDeleteYou are still outraged by the plundering bandits of Chennai aka Autowallahs ? We look at the bright side of things-happy they haven't resorted to the Punewallahs' modus operandi- yet!
Aam Aadmi like u and me can only crib and cry, sadly! :(
ReplyDeleteIn a similar situation, one of my friends too lost his office laptop and a few other personal belongings. Fortunately, the thieves were caught; but to get his things back from the police, he had to pay / bribe more than the cost of the things robbed! What a sad plight... :(
It was a shocking news Mr,Ramesh.In India baggage theft is very common.Ipray your daughter should get back her baggage.
ReplyDeleteK.Ragavan.
Happy to hear that your daughter is well. And I love your line: “Do not worry over material losses. They are meant for our pleasure, not pain.”
ReplyDeleteThis is so terrible, but also a blessing that she and her friends were unharmed. You gave her good advice... best not to worry about material things that are meant for pleasure not pain. I do feel bad about her projects on her laptop though. No chance she backed her files on a flash drive I suppose? I myself am guilty of not backing up daily as I should. Best wishes for your family, Ramesh. Big hugs to all. :)
ReplyDelete