Gandhi's missing glasses; CID takes over

The case of a missing pair of Mahatma
Gandhi’s famous round-rimmed spectacles
was handed over to the state CID for
investigation. The spectacles went missing
in November from Gandhi’s Sevagram
ashram but a formal police complaint was
filed only on Monday. On Monday the board
of trustees of Sevagram ashram met and
decided to lodge a complaint with the
police. Why the authorities of ashram did
not lodge a complaint, is still a mystery.
“We first asked inmates here about the
missing of the spectacles and felt that if
anyone had taken it would return it, says
Madhav Gadkari, chairman of the ashram
trust.“The matter was brought to the notice
of the board of trustees in a meeting, held
on Tuesday and it was unanimously decided
that the matter should be referred to the
police for investigation,” he said and
informed that the ashram lodged a formal
compliant wit6h the police on Tuesday
evening.
SM Waghmare, Wardha superintendent of
police (SP), informed that offences have
been registered against unknown persons
and the matter was handed over to the state
CID on Tuesday for further investigation.
The spectacles were among a number of
personal articles were on display in a locked
cabinet at the ashram hut. The spectacles
were found missing when an inmate of the
ashram went there to clean the articles
sometime in February.
However, the ashramites did not lodge a
complaint with the local police then. The
spectacles were donated to the ashram by
Nirmalaben Gandhi, the daughter-in-law of
Mahatma Gandhi who used to live there till
her death. Waghmare said that no one has
been arrested in this regard so far.
"We have interrogated some inmates in this
regard," he further informed. Mahatma
Gandhi, came to Sevragram, some 75 kms
from Nagpur, after getting an invitation
from the industrialist, Jamanalal Bajaj and
settled down there in 1936.The ashram, will
celebrate its platinum jubilee on June 16 this
year.
Many belongings of Gandhi are on display at
the ashram kuti, providing a glimpse of
Gandhi’s simple lifestyle. Though the ashram
gets over 3 lakh visitors every year, there is
no proper security at the premises.