Failing to make the ends meet, the man sneaked into a house to steal but was caught in the act.
Indore: In a heartwarming gesture, the Indore police in Madhya Pradesh arranged ration for the family of a man they arrested in a case of an attempted theft.
21-year-old Rohit Balai used to work as a driver in Indore before the coronavirus pandemic hit and the nationwide lockdown to combat it left him jobless. Failing to make the ends meet, he sneaked into a house to steal but was caught in the act by the police.
The complainant informed the police that the lock of his tenant’s house was broken, when police reached there and went inside, they found Mr Balai inside the flat and arrested him.
When the man was questioned about his motive, he said that the lockdown moved him to penury and that he was left with no other means to provide for his family.
“The accused told us that his financial condition is very bad and his family is finding it hard to arrange food. He said that the Indore Municipal Corporation had provided free ration to his family once, which was now over,” Sub inspector of Aerodrum Police Station in Indore, Kalpana Chauhan, said.
Later, the man’s family members visited the police station and had the same story to tell about their poor financial condition. Moved by their plight, the police decided to arrange food packets for the family on humanitarian ground.
However, since theft is a criminal act, the man was charged under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
“He could have asked for help from other people instead of trying to steal,” said Ms Chauhan.
Some 122 million Indians were forced out of jobs last month alone due to the lockdown in place since late March, according to estimates from the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, a private sector think tank. Daily wage workers and those employed by small businesses have taken the worst hit. These include other informal workers like domestic helpers, hawkers, roadside vendors, workers employed in the construction industry and many who eke out a living by pushing handcarts and rickshaws.
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