The police have been feeding crumbs to the inmates in 10 lock-ups in Mumbai for the last 25 days after the central kitchen of the contractor supplying food gets burgled
Hotel Ramnath
Getting thrown behind bars might finally provide criminals with some food for thought. There’s little other food to be had anyway.
Surve ran his kitchen at Hotel Ramnath at Nagpada, which has also been shut down since the theft. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
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Prisoners in police lock-ups across the city have surviving on bare crumbs and scraps for the last 20 days because the usual caterer has been unable to prepare their meals ever since his utensils were stolen.
Srikant Surve (in white) of Ajanta Caterers
Srikant Surve of Ajanta Caterers in Nagpada has registered an FIR with the Nagpada police station, stating that his servants fled with utensils worth Rs 1 lakh on August 5. “We have been serving food for the criminals since 25 years. I took over the business from my father in 2005. We make food for around 120 to 150 prisoners every day. This is the first time that I am helpless and cannot supply food. The value of the utensils is so high that I cannot arrange for them in such a short span,” Surve said.
He added, “The meal comprised daal, rice, chapati and sabzi. Apart from that, we also delivered tea two times in a day at all the police stations. All these meals have been stopped. I cannot even make any alternate arrangements, since I am already broke.”
Since then, the cops have had a tough time feeding the inmates. There are ten lock-ups across the city that are catered by this kitchen. On average, there are around 120 to 150 accused criminals held in the lock-ups. In some cases, cops are merely feeding the inmates leftovers from their own tiffin boxes. “We feed the inmates vada pav or samosa pav or whatever is left over from our tiffin boxes,” said one of the officers.
Cops bear expenses
But there are also some police stations where the cops are paying out of their own pockets to ensure that the prisoners get at least two square meals. As an inspector from Azad Maidan police station pointed out, it is a Catch-22 situation for them. “We cannot afford to buy food for them but neither can we keep them hungry. If their health deteriorates or someone dies in the lock-up, we will have to face a custodial death probe. The meals, which used to be cooked and delivered at the lock-up, have not been coming for more than two weeks. We are providing meals to the accused in the lockup from our expenses.”
A police officer from Agripada police station, said, “We are providing food to the accused locked in the Saat Rasta lock-up and are hoping the bills will be reimbursed by the higher authorities later.”
But most can’t afford this on their limited salaries. “It is next to impossible to arrange two to three meals for 10 to 15 prisoners in day. One day’s food for each person costs around Rs 100 to Rs 150 and we cannot afford this from our current salary. We managed to feed them for a while, but it has become harder over such a long period,” said an officer from Matunga police station.
Investigation
Meanwhile, the police are investigating who is responsible for the theft at Srikant Surve’s kitchen. Recalling the incident, Surve said, “On August 5, I went to the Matunga police lock-up to deliver food. After the delivery, I tried calling my kitchen but there was no response. Then I tried my manager’s cell phone as well, but his phone was switched off. I dialled the numbers of other staffers too, but they were also not responding. I realised that something is amiss and rushed to my kitchen.”
When he reached the spot, he was shocked to see that the kitchen was entirely empty. No utensils were there and the staff was missing too. The staff comprised of five people, but they have all been missing since then, which is why Surve suspects their hand in the theft.
Senior Police Inspector Sanjay Baswat of Nagpada police station said, “A case of theft has been registered under Section 381 of the Indian Penal Code. We have retrieved the CCTV footage in which the suspect is seen loading the utensils in a tempo. The search is on for the accused and they will be arrested soon.”
2 brass vessels of 1,000-litre capacity
2 large aluminum vessels
8 tea kettles
150
Average number of inmates in the 10 lock-ups
Rs 150
Average cost of a day’s food for each inmate
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