Osho commune residents allege gang of thieves has been tampering with safes inside their rooms; four employees arrested on charges of theft
Osho commune residents allege gang of thieves has been tampering with safes inside their rooms; four employees arrested on charges of theft
On Sunday, when John Brian (45, name changed), a foreigner living in the resident quarter of the Osho commune used his four-digit password to open the electronic safe in his room, the safe got locked and became inoperable.
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A day later, Melina (30, name changed), yet another foreigner found her safe similarly locked. It was clear that someone had tried to open their lockers, which had locked as a result.u00a0 Their friendu00a0 was, however, not as lucky. The thieves succeeded in opening her locker and stole a small amount kept there.
Four arrested
The Pune police have arrested four persons, including two housekeeping supervisors and two multi-purpose workers, at the Osho Commune for allegedly stealing over Rs 3 lakh from bags of eight foreign nationals in the commune. The arrests came after Swami Dhyanesh Bharati (52), the security and public relations officer of the commune, lodged a complaint with the Bund Garden police station. Interestingly, the arrested persons had been supplied to the commune by a French multinational company. Their duties included cooking, cleanliness and maintenance. Inspector Suhas Nadgode of Bund Garden Police station confirmed the arrests. "The arrested people were employees of a company to whom maintenance was outsourced," said Nadgode.
While commune officials advise foreigners to ensure they keep their valuables in the safe in their rooms, some Oshoites feel the safes are not secure enough.
John said such cases of thefts were on the rise in the commune. "There appears to be an organised stealing racket inside the commune, comprising of housekeeping boys, supervisors and security personnel. The safes were installed following complaints of money and valuables disappearing from bags of guests. Now, even the safes are not secure," he added.
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