A farmer from Pune district has filed a complaint with Pune rural police that five tonne fish worth Rs five lakh were stolen from his farm pond over the last six months. While police have launched a probe into the theft, they suspect an underlying political rivalry to the reason behind the complaint that has been registered.
A First Information Report (FIR) in the case has been registered at Bhigwan police station by 69-year-old Bapurao Namdeo Pawar, a resident of Pondhwadi village which is in Indapur tehsil of Pune district. The FIR was registered three days ago.
Pawar, in his complaint, named three persons from the same village and has alleged that they have stolen around 7,000 carp fish and around 5,000 tilapia fish over the last six months. He has said that the approximate weight of the stolen fish could be around five tonnes and has pegged the cost at Rs 5 lakh.
Inspector Jeevan Mane, in-charge of Bhigwan police station said, “After receiving the complaint, an FIR was registered and a probe has been launched. The complainant has named three persons and one unknown accomplice of theirs in the FIR. We are also consulting with the district fisheries officials for verification of claims of the yield of fish made by the complainant. Investigation is on from all possible angles.”
Police officials however have their own doubts. An officer from the police station said, “While the claim of the theft of fish is being probed, it is clear that stealing this large quantity of fish without anyone noticing is difficult. We believe that an underlying political rivalry between the complainant and the suspects he has named, is the cause behind this complaint. Six month ago, Gram Panchayat elections were held, the complainant and suspects belonged to two factions of a political party which fought against each other. Since then there have been multiple complaints filed by both sides against each other. We will probe all facts of the case.”
