Real-life dramas play out at home minister Anil Deshmukh’s first redressal camp in Nagpur

NAGPUR: ‘Sir, if my husband is released today on bail, he will murder me tomorrow,” said a sobbing Nayan Rokde to the State home minister Anil Deshmukh as he gave patient hearing to 50 complaints at his first complaint redressal camp that lasted over two hours at Police Gymkhana on Monday.
City police chief Amitesh Kumar, helping Deshmukh analyze and allot the cases among the DCPs, immediately rushed the senior inspector of Ajni police station to oppose the bail of Nayan’s husband assuring the woman all possible legal help to ensure her husband Vickey remained behind bars.
“We will attach his crime chart while opposing bail but if the court allows him bail then there would be very little we can do except take preventive action as soon as he is freed,” said the CP whose thorough homework on 50 cases was one of the reasons behind the success of the camp. City police had already registered eight FIRs in these cases even before the camp was held. The cases would be reviewed by the CP himself.
Tears rolled, voices rose, tempers flared and emotions boiled over over as Deshmukh’s first of it’s kind initiative to give justice to the aggrieved people saw complainants coming from places as far as Bhilai in Chhattisgarh from where Purnima Thakur had come with her complaint of being duped of Rs 34 lakh. Savita Savarkar had come from Ghugus in Chandrapur to lodge a complaint against a city-based criminal Dilip Dakah who had been threatening her.
Elderly couple, Gopal Prasad Pathak and his wife were almost in tears as they narrated how their tenants were not vacating the shops. Pathak’s wife pleaded their physically challenged daughter could be better looked after if one of the shops in the basement was made available. “We will give you justice,” said Deshmukh to him as CP transferred the case to the DCP Economic Offence Wing (EOW) who was also made ‘nodal officer’ to co-ordinate between the complainants and respective DCP and government agencies.
Deshmukh had also summoned different government agencies at his camp apart from police. He issued directions to senior officers, including additional collector. Deshmukh questioned the deputy registrar as to how cheats manage to sell same property to many people and make multiple sale deeds too. He was also miffed regarding touts present at the registrar office.
Deshmukh also sternly tocked off a leader of his own party for purchasing disputed property. He directed strict action against at least two more leaders.
Corporator Manoj Gawande highlighted open consumption of ganja and criminal activities at Rameshwari and Bannerjee layout. Deshmukh and CP Kumar assured action within a short time.
Satyanarayan Kumbhare and Nakul Thakre, two of the complainants, sounded hopeful after the camp. “The opportunity to directly voice our complaints to the home minister was a welcome experience. Hopefully the land mafia would now face some action,” he said.