Photographer turns into amateur sleuth after cops refuse to file FIR

BENGALURU: Ashish Gupta, a 25-year-old photographer, woke up on Friday morning to find his laptop, phone, cash and other valuables worth '80,000 stolen. When he approached the police, he was laughed at and led out of the station. The policemen regretted the inconvenience caused to him, but refused to file an FIR. Unwilling to let it go, Ashish began investigating the case himself and was soon joined by a group of friends who began sharing information along with the pictures of the accused on a social media platform.

Ashish has been constantly tracking his stolen iPhone for the last three days to track down the location of his cook-cum-driver Lal Mohan, who allegedly stole the valuables from the photographer’s house on October 2.

Investigating his own case, right from tracking the location of the accused to contacting the family of the accused in Assam, and verifying the movements of Lal Mohan, a troubled Ashish could have been saved the ordeal if the Indiranagar police had registered the FIR.

While talking to Deccan Chronicle, Ashish, a resident of Indiranagar, alleged that when he approached the Indiranagar police on October 2 night to register the FIR, he was shooed away by the police.

“I was fast asleep when the theft took place. I learnt about it only on Friday evening. After a frantic search of more than two hours, I approached the jurisdictional police to register the FIR. But to my shock, the police officer on duty refused to file the FIR. He told me ‘Don’t worry. No need to file a complaint. The cook will return home’.”

“Despite repeated pleas, the cops didn’t listen to me and asked me to go home. I gave them all the information pertaining to Lal Mohan. But, they looked disinterested. If the police had taken up the complaint and acted on it he could have been nabbed,” he said.

Even when Ashish posted a complaint on Bengaluru police official page against the cops at Indiranagar, alleging that they refused to register the FIR, he reportedly received a lukewarm response, directing him to approach the same police station again to lodge the complaint.

Left with no other option, Ashish began tracking down his iPhone with the help of a phone tracker. Two days after the theft, Ashish learnt that the accused was still in the city near K.R. Puram railway station.

Ashish contacted his father in Arunachal Pradesh and told him about the incident. Soon, people were sent to Lal Mohan’s house in Assam to check whether he had contacted the family members. But, no information was available.

After a background check, Ashish, learnt that Lal Mohan was previously working as a security guard in the city. He started working in Ashish’s house since September 18.

When DC contacted Indiranagar police inspector, he said, “I was unaware of the incident. I will conduct a check with my station staff members and will do the needful.”