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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 3:50:26 am

Kolhapur cop sets new standard for investigations

Yogesh Kumar Gupta Kolhapur: When a police officer takes genuine interest in securing justice for citizens duped in financial fraud, investigations can move swiftly enough to lift the crushing burden off affected families. Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Yogesh Kumar Gupta has demonstrated precisely that. His firm and sensitive handling of a cheating case ensured relief for Akshay Deepak Dhale, a young entrepreneur from Kolhapur who had fallen prey to a Rajkot-based company that allegedly...

Kolhapur cop sets new standard for investigations

Yogesh Kumar Gupta Kolhapur: When a police officer takes genuine interest in securing justice for citizens duped in financial fraud, investigations can move swiftly enough to lift the crushing burden off affected families. Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Yogesh Kumar Gupta has demonstrated precisely that. His firm and sensitive handling of a cheating case ensured relief for Akshay Deepak Dhale, a young entrepreneur from Kolhapur who had fallen prey to a Rajkot-based company that allegedly promised to secure large government loans for business expansion. Gupta’s intervention compelled company representatives to travel to Kolhapur and assure repayment of the money collected, effectively forcing them onto the back foot. Dhale, a resident of Sadar Bazaar, had dreamt of expanding his late father’s small printing business after losing him during the Covid-19 pandemic. Lured by promises of securing a multi-crore loan under a Central government scheme, he transferred ₹69 lakh — raised from nearly 15 friends and relatives — to the company’s account. The loan, however, never materialised. When Dhale began making inquiries, he was met with evasive responses. The financial shock left the family devastated. Initial attempts to seek police help reportedly went nowhere, with the matter labelled as “non-criminal” and dismissed at the preliminary stage. Acting on advice, the family approached the district police chief directly. Gupta’s decisive stand altered the course of the case, leading to concrete assurances of refund from the company. However, a far larger challenge now looms before the Kolhapur police chief. Across Kolhapur — and reportedly other parts of Maharashtra — several Marathi youths claim to have been duped by a Morbi-based businessman who allegedly promises to set up “innovative” enterprises for aspiring entrepreneurs. The scale of the alleged fraud runs into crores of rupees. The businessman, said to be linked to a major tile industry in Morbi, is accused of luring youngsters through social media promotions and advertorials in prominent English dailies. Contracts are structured to appear transparent and legitimate. Prospective entrepreneurs are promised exclusive access to novel business models, often involving products sourced from Chinese markets, complete with projected marketing strategies and attractive feature lists. According to victims, payments are collected upfront, but the products eventually supplied lack the promised specifications and hold negligible market value. Several youths across Maharashtra are believed to have suffered losses. Those who have confronted the accused allege they were threatened with defamation suits and warned that a team of “expert lawyers” would ensure their financial and reputational ruin if complaints were filed. While some victims have resigned themselves to debt and despair, others who attempted to pursue police complaints claim they were turned away. For many of these young entrepreneurs, SP Yogesh Kumar Gupta represents a ray of hope. If he chooses to take up the matter with the same resolve demonstrated earlier, it could not only restore faith among affected youths but also send a strong deterrent message to fraudsters operating under the guise of innovation-driven enterprise.

Warriors of Night

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

We name our daughters Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati; we worship the divine feminine power in the temples but oppress, repress and even attack the feminine power amidst us. That is the irony in the way India sees its women.

After the safety of the daylight fades, women are seen as easy prey by the predators of the night.

We mark the nine nights of Navratri, the festival of the goddess, by celebrating the dedication and valour of nine real-life women who brave the challenges of the night to pursue their dreams.


Part - 4


Never felt unsafe

The singer says there has been a generational change over the last two decades

Never felt unsafe

Work has no timings for Aisha Sayed. Sometimes, she begins her studio recording at 12 AM and finishes by 5 AM; at other times, concerts and live shows start at 9 AM and she’s done by midnight. In her field of work as a performer and singer, Sayed is used to not getting a night’s sleep and often returning home when most of the city is set to wake up. “I have been travelling at night but I have never, ever, felt unsafe in Mumbai,” says the singer-performer who began her career at the age of 13 years. Her father spotted her talent for music and took her to meet a sound engineer who was their neighbour in Bandra. The family helped her get opportunities and from there, her career began.

Being among the top contenders in Indian Idol, season 3, in 2007 catapulted her to fame and it opened up a world of new performance opportunities across the country. “I was just 20 years then and I was travelling the world, performing at the most lavish weddings, staying at the most luxurious hotels and performing at big corporate gigs,” she says. Safety, while on work, is has never been an issue for her for the organizers arrange a security detail for the performers. “They escort us until we reach the room. And since we travel with our team in a big group, there is always safety in numbers,” says Sayed, who sings in 10 languages. Her peers have faced instances of audience members being rowdy. “Once in Delhi, a group of drunk men followed my colleague to her room and kept banging on her door late into the night. But I have been fortunate,” she says.

Work assignments have taken to varied places, from the most luxurious international destinations to far-off venues in the hinterland of India where she’s travelled through dark, dense forested areas. “I have driven through areas where the only light is that of your car’s headlights. Turn around and you see pitch darkness,” says Sayed. She’s always got a little prayer on her lips when travelling through these remote areas for miles together. She recalls a show in Chattisgarh where she had to travel for nine hours at a stretch through remote and forested areas. “No place in our country is as safe as Mumbai,” she stresses. She would know, considering her extensive travels. She advises women to travel in groups while in places that are unfamiliar or unknown and never to venture out at night alone. “Keep your family informed of your whereabouts,” she says.

While her agreements state that proper security at all times, Sayed says that she drives her own car if she’s out at night for parties or personal work but insists that the people of Mumbai are largely helpful and cooperative. A rickshaw driver who once drove to home in the wee hours of the night, after a recording, waited at her gate until the watchman let her in. Friends and colleagues have dropped her home several times.

Mumbai, she feels, has changed—and it’s for the better, in the past two decades. “Earlier, on buses and trains, men would use the crowd as an excuse to touch women inappropriately. That has gone down. There is a generational change that I see,” says Sayed. She used to take the BEST buses and trains to her training classes and for recordings in the early days of her career.

Her timings are inconsistent and her shows take her to various cities and towns. But the Mumbai-bred girl emphasizes that her city is very safe for women, despite the various incidents of violence. “Mumbai is the only place where a woman can wear what she wants, wear bright red lipstick, leave her hair open and look glamorous and still be safe.”

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