NAVI MUMBAI: A thief, filled with remorse after realizing the locked house he had broken into in Neral in Karjat taluka belonged to the late Marathi poet Narayan Surve, returned the stolen LED TV.
He also left a handwritten apology note before the poet’s family members returned. The burglar’s act came to light on Sunday night when Surve’s daughter Usha and her husband Ganesh Ghare, who now live in the poet’s residence, came back after being away for 10 days.
Neral police, who have filed an FIR against an unknown person for house break-in/theft have “taken into custody” the thief’s “apology letter” in which he states in Marathi that he “did not know this was the house of poet Narayan Surve,” else he would not have broken in to steal the TV.He ended his note with the word “Sorry,” written in English.
Surve, a self-taught Dalit poet and Padma Shri awardee who died at age 83 in 2010, is one of the biggest names in Marathi literature. An orphan who grew up on Mumbai’s streets and was adopted by a mill worker, he chronicled life of city’s poor and marginalized and their struggles in a disparity-filled society.
Surve’s daughter on her return found the LED TV lying in the corner of a room, which has a huge portrait of Surve, along with his various scrolls of honour.
“The thief does seem to be a literate person but we do not know how educated he is, going by his childlike scribble in the note he left behind. We are checking the fingerprints on the LED TV and the CCTV footage outside,” said a cop.
He also left a handwritten apology note before the poet’s family members returned. The burglar’s act came to light on Sunday night when Surve’s daughter Usha and her husband Ganesh Ghare, who now live in the poet’s residence, came back after being away for 10 days.
Neral police, who have filed an FIR against an unknown person for house break-in/theft have “taken into custody” the thief’s “apology letter” in which he states in Marathi that he “did not know this was the house of poet Narayan Surve,” else he would not have broken in to steal the TV.He ended his note with the word “Sorry,” written in English.
Surve, a self-taught Dalit poet and Padma Shri awardee who died at age 83 in 2010, is one of the biggest names in Marathi literature. An orphan who grew up on Mumbai’s streets and was adopted by a mill worker, he chronicled life of city’s poor and marginalized and their struggles in a disparity-filled society.
Surve’s daughter on her return found the LED TV lying in the corner of a room, which has a huge portrait of Surve, along with his various scrolls of honour.
“The thief does seem to be a literate person but we do not know how educated he is, going by his childlike scribble in the note he left behind. We are checking the fingerprints on the LED TV and the CCTV footage outside,” said a cop.