Srikant Gupta’s wallet did not permit it, but the Chhattisgarh primary school teacher bit the bullet for his wife — stealing two designer sarees allegedly worth Rs 56,000 for her to flaunt in a community gala.
She wore the sarees to the gala titled ‘Sawan Sundari (Monsoon Beauty)’ last week, but police soon came looking for Gupta, who earns Rs 2,500 per month as a Shiksha Mitra (a system under which teachers are hired on contract).
Now, Gupta, his wife, and his cousin are behind bars for the theft from a shop in Bilaspur district, about 115km north of state capital Raipur.
“He told us he stole the sarees because he wanted his wife to shine among other women in their community pageant,” said Nasar Siddiqui, station house officer (SHO) of Civil Lines police station in Bilaspur.
“Gupta admitted he could not afford the sarees, but did not want his wife to feel inferior among other women of the community. He stole the sarees and gifted them to her,” Siddiqui added.
There are no winners or losers in the traditional ‘Sawan Sundari’ galas, where women deck up in all their finery.
{{/usCountry}}There are no winners or losers in the traditional ‘Sawan Sundari’ galas, where women deck up in all their finery.
{{/usCountry}}Police started investigation on the complaint of the saree store owner, who put the price of the two stolen items at Rs 56,000. Police circulated the shop’s CCTV footage of the theft and soon got information that Gupta’s wife had been spotted wearing the sarees.
“We got a video of the gala where the woman was wearing one of the stolen sarees,” said Siddiqui.
Police zeroed in on Gupta and his wife and recovered the stolen sarees. Gupta’s cousin was held for helping him in the theft.
Police said Gupta, 26, did not have any prior criminal record.