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Shirdi's popularity is growing by leaps & bounds owing to the growing number of people visiting
and by the ever increasing record donations being made every year. Lakhs of devotees flock
to Shirdi for Baba's Darshan by Plane, Train, Cars and even Buses.
But this Limelight of Shirdi has now caught the imagination of Dacoits
who have started targeting devotees traveling to or returning from Shirdi by Buses
and then robbing them off their Valuable such as their Gold Ornaments & Cash.
Just in 2013, three major Dacoities in the RTC and A.P. Tourism Volvo Buses
were reported on the Hyderabad`Andhra Pradesh - Shirdi Bus Routes.
Worried over such increasing attacks on Shirdi-bound buses by robbers in some parts of Maharashtra,
the APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) which operates 8 services on the Shirdi route,
including those returning from Shirdi, are now diverting the Shirdi bound buses via the Solapur-Timburni route
to ensure the safety of passengers, despite the detour resulting in an additional 50 km. journey.
There is a ghat section and a jungle between Bhoom and Jamkhed in Maharashtra
which is a robbery-prone area. All heavy vehicles like buses and trucks tend to go slow
on this stretch, taking advantage of which, the robbers attack and loot them.
Earlier, the Buses used to shuttle on the
Hyderabad-Humnabad-Omerga-Naldurg-Osmanabad-Bhoom-Jamkhed-Ahmednagar & Shirdi route.
But since the dacoity attacks, the RTC authorities have diverted the buses and now operate
on the Hyderabad-Humnabad-Omerga-Naldurg-Solapur-Timburni-Ahmednagar and Shirdi route.
1) APSRTC is now planning to provide police escort in some long-distance services, especially those bound for Shirdi.
2) APSRTC has also urged the Maharashtra Police to intensity its patrolling on these routes to bolster passenger safety.
3) The Maharashtra police has also set up a local control room and picket in these robbery prone areas.
4) Police personnel will accompany MGBS`Hyderabad-Shirdi buses up to Ahmednagar,
and, in the return direction, board those returning to MGBS from Shirdi.
5) The Buses are also being equipped with Vehicle Tracking System, GPRS facility and
two surveillance cameras being installed in each bus, with a 48 hours footage storage capacity.
While, APSRTC is diverting its buses, private bus operators continue to operate
their buses on the old Hyderabad-Naldurg-Bhoom-Jamkhed-Ahmednagar route.
To ensure passengers safety, all these buses are operated in clusters of four buses,
besides police patrolling vehicles accompanying them on the Bhoom-Jamkhed section.
Taking a detour consumes an extra hour and passengers complain about reaching late.
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In November`2013 -
Armed dacoits attacked a non-AC Shirdi-Hyderabad bound bus near Jamkhed`Maharashtra.
At night, dacoits hiding in the bushes, suddenly rushed on to the road, on their bikes wearing masks.
4 bikers overtook the bus and stopped their two-wheelers in front of the vehicle.
As soon as the bus stopped, 5 other dacoits, who were following the bus on bikes, entered the bus
and first assaulted the driver. While one dacoit caught the driver threatening him at knife-point,
four others threatened the 22 passengers with iron rods and knives and decamped away with their, in all,
about 16.5 tolas Gold and nearly Rs.28,000/- in cash, including Rs.6,100/- from the bus driver.
The bus driver subsequently approached and recorded this incident with the Jamkhed police,
who after a couple of days managed to arrest four members of the gang of dacoits, who have
confessed to having committed the crime and the police hope to soon recover the stolen valuables.
In March 2013 -
7 kms out of Karmala, robbers struck a Shirdi-Hyderabad-bound Bus at Sholapur`Maharashtra.
The bus was pelted with stones which broke a window and which sounded like a blast near the bus.
Thinking that the Tyre had burst, the two drivers got down to check it.
Suddenly, about 20 youngsters appeared out of the darkness with knives and sticks
and ran towards the bus shouting abusive words.
They attacked both the drivers, who quickly managed to get on to the bus
and quickly close the door just as one of the robber tried to throw a heavy rock at the driver.
Immediately, the driver started the bus and drove away, saving the lives of the 35 passengers aboard.
In May`2013 -
An Shirdi-Hyderabad bound RTC bus was attacked by a gang of 10 dacoits @ Bhoom`Maharashtra.
Few Devotees were returning to Hyderabad from Shirdi after having Baba's Darshan
when their Bus made a stop @ a Petrol Pump to refill in the wee hours of the morning.
Suddenly, a few dacoits got into the Bus & threatened the Driver & Passengers with Knives
before running away with their gold and cash. A couple of passengers were injured in the process
as they tried to resist the Dacoits. A Complaint had been registered at the local Police Station.
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- VIDEO -
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcCb86rgSdA[/youtube]
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“Justice being taken away, then,
what are kingdOms but great rObberies?
For what are rObberies themselves,
but little kingdOms?
....St. Augustine
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“PeOple whO relieve Others Of their mOney with guns...
are called rObbers.
It dOes nOt alter the immOrality Of the act...
when the incOme transfer is carried Out by gOvernment !”
....Cal ThOmas
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In-Law(http://i43.tinypic.com/dyq2c5.jpg)rOhit beHaL