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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.

Why is Mamata Seeing Ghost of Bangladesh?

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Why is Mamata Seeing Ghost of Bangladesh?

Mamata is seeing a ghost of Bangladesh behind the massive outrage and waves of protest over rape and murder of the trainee doctor. And the reasons are many.

It’s been over a fortnight. Yet with each passing day the voice of protest is getting louder and stronger. From the streets of Kolkata it’s pouring into roads of hinterland. The cry for justice for a rape victim has consolidated into a wail of demands to set a lot of wrongdoings right. Here in lies the fear and trepidation. Wasn’t the issue that brought the youth of Bangladesh out on the thoroughfares a simple, innocent one of quota reform?

The chief minister of Bengal, known for understanding the pulse of people better than many, was quick to read the signages floating in the political horizon.

The most obvious reason for her to be tensed is that both the regime change in Bangladesh and the mass protest in Bengal, were student-driven to begin with. The two incidents---end of 15 year old Sheikh Hasina government and turbulence in West Bengal, over the heinous crime, falling back to back, the first on August 5th and the latter from August 9th onwards, give natural scope for comparisons. More so, because in both the cases the movement strayed beyond an affected constituency to include aggrieved people at large, cutting across socio-economic demography. If the quota reform protest started by students in Bangladesh became a mass uprising against an autocratic regime, the campaign demanding justice for the rape victim and overall safety and security of women in Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal soon snowballed into a movement of no-confidence against the government. Slogans--”Mamata must resign” also got floated in social media much in line with the call for ouster of Sheikh Hasina. In fact “Resignation of Hasina” became the single point agenda into which all other fringe demands coalesced.

Incidentally, even before people started drawing parallels, that there could be a thread of commonality in the way the upheaval in Bangladesh and Bengal played out, Mamata was quick to point out that the Opposition were trying to pull off a Bangladesh by politicizing the tragic incident: “A coordinated approach has been executed by the BJP and the CPIM with support from the Centre to defame Bengal and exploit the situation....They want to make a Bangladesh here. They are taking cues from student unrest in Bangladesh and are attempting to capture similarly. I have no longing for the chair. I came here to serve people.”

Not only Mamata, her political lieutenants are consistently equating the turmoil in Bengal with the mayhem in Bangladesh. Cabinet minister for North Bengal development Udayan Guha threatened to take stern action against those, who would be trying to exploit the situation by emulating a Bangladesh like movement. “ Even after the hospital was vandalised, the police did not open fire on anyone. The police will not allow a Bangladesh type situation. We will not allow Bengal to turn into Bangladesh, Guha thundered.

Is the government’s fear unfounded?

Apart from the similarities on ground zero, as to how and where the future course of events are heading to, there are ample reasons for Bengal to mull on-- as to what led to a Bangladesh like boiling point. To begin with, it’ll be appropriate to talk of Bangladesh and the prevailing situation, that made the students’ protest become big in magnitude. The students were out on the streets because of a high reservation in public jobs. Unemployment and stagnant job market in private sector coupled with a high rate of inflation drove the educated youth to rebel against the government.

But soon the students found enormous number of sympathisers, who were equally at the receiving end. According to Bangladesh citizens, the last two terms of the Sheikh Hasina government were a mockery of democracy. Even elections would be compromised. As Hasina grew from strength to strength, she politicized institutions. The rank and file of police owed allegiance to the ruling dispensation. Extortion, harrassment and raids by police and people in power became rampant. An atmosphere of fear and repression reigned and people got restless to overthrow the government.

Politicization of institutions has been happening in Mamata government too. Allegations are quite strong that police in Bengal functions at the beck and call of political bosses. The lapses and alleged loopholes on the part of police in handling the rape and murder of the young doctor have yet again revealed a sense of confused or misplaced loyalty.

But above everything else both Hasina and Mamata governments allegedly seem to have twined in accepting corruption as a way of life. In Bangladesh jobs of primary and secondary teachers got sold at premium, Rs 10-12 lakh in the Hasina regime. Even police had to pay up for prized postings and transfers. In Bengal busting of the teacher’s recruitment scam has revealed how unsuccessful and ineligible candidates got government jobs in schools in exchange of bribes.

Similarities are multiple and inescapable. Mamata has good reasons to be apprehensive. It’s not only she, who can see and connect the dots. People, out on the streets, clamoring for justice, can see a providential pattern somewhere in the unfolding of future events in these two places-- Bangladesh and Bengal. True, they share more than 2,217 odd km of border. They share the same umbilical cord, other than language, culture, ethos, icons. Even emotions are the same. So she cannot take any risk.

(The writer is a senior jounalist based in Kolkata. Views personal)

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