| Burglars steal gold jewelry from wedding functions in Samba, Police clueless | | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times REport
Jammu, Mar 25: Stealing gold Jewelry from wedding functions has become a routine for burglars in Jammu's Samba district with people believing that police has failed to curb such crimes.
One of the senior citizens of the area wishing not to be named told early times that there is a specific gang operating from Baribrahma to Samba and are targeting mainly the banquet halls. "Though the police have registered FIR in some cases, but so far nothing has been done," the citizen alleged.
One of the resident of Jammu city told early times that during the intervening night of 5 -6 February, a marriage function of his son was in progress ,the gang of thieves struck into a room and looted gold jewelery worth 6 laks. "The ornaments belong to a lady who had come from Delhi to attend a marriage function here," he said.
He said that it is unfortunate that the said Banquet hall is running without mandatory requirements, like CCTV camera, security arrangements which facilitated thieves to steal the belongings.
He claimed that similar case happened in the nearest banquet hall, where the theft worth, 15 lac was reported. "The concerned authorities granting license to these banquet halls, have not imposed any penalty for lacking mandatory requirements," he maintained.
The affected people whose jewelry has been stolen have alleged that the police initially were reluctant to lodge FIR, but after great insistence FIRs were lodged.
Early times has learnt that the police have already constituted SIT, to crack the theft cases in the district. The SHO Vijaypur, Samba could not be contacted for the comments; however one of the senior official of the Samba district police said that they are on job to crack the case.
Meanwhile sources alleged that with no check by the concerned authorities, scores of marriage palaces operational in the Jammu city are charging arbitrarily from wealthy lots, who do not mind shelling out crores of rupees on wedding functions. "It has become a money-minting business that is growing at a rapid pace," alleged an official, on condition of anonymity. There are more than 30 marriage palaces alone in the Jammu city.
Sources said that the government seems to have gone soft on hotel, resort, farm house and banquet hall owners as scores of such structures have been operating in Jammu district without prior permission of the Housing and Urban Development Department.
Sources said that all these banquet halls and resorts did not have sufficient parking space, which often causes traffic snarls. Sources said that despite the fact that these hotels, farm houses and
banquet halls are charging exorbitant rates from the customers for marriages and other related function, the government has not fixed rates charged by the owners of such facilities.
It is to mention here that in 2010, the High Court had stayed operation of unauthorized banquet halls within the municipal limits of Jammu city. Later, 51 banquet halls had jointly filed a petition in the High Court's Jammu wing had sought a stay on the order. As per SRO 64 of the Housing and Urban Development Ministry, a banquet hall should have an area of two acres, with 30 per cent of the coverage area, 10 metre setbacks, 12 metre height and 60 per cent green area, besides licence with sanitation, power and water supply sanctions. But according to the sources hardly any norm was being followed by the banquet hall owners in Jammu. |
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