LUCKNOW: In Bhagwanpur Tiwari village of UP’s Deoria district, no one was prepared for a heist powered entirely by steam, soy sauce, and a Class 7 appetite.
Prathamesh Kumar Mishra was an ordinary boy with an extraordinary weakness: momos. Near Dumri Chauraha on the Deoria-Kasya road, the momo stall stood like a temple, and Prathamesh was its most devoted pilgrim.
Enter Deepak, Rakesh, and Pintu—three locals who understood something fundamental about human nature: never underestimate the persuasive power of “free”. They did not carry crowbars or masks. They never charged him for the momos he ate daily.
Thus began one of eastern UP’s most unconventional exchanges: gold for momos.
Gradually, the free momos were accompanied by small amounts of money and persuasion. They convinced him to bring valuables from his house. Unaware of the seriousness of his actions, the boy removed jewellery from the family cupboard in phases and handed it over to them.
Prathamesh, unaware that the law takes a dim view of barter systems involving family gold, became a silent courier. A ring here, a bangle there. Jewellery left the house in polite phases, never rushing, never alarming anyone. The momos, meanwhile, arrived in enthusiastic quantities.
It was only when the sister of Prathamesh’s father Vimlesh Kumar Mishra, came visiting and asked for her jewellery that reality cleared its throat.
They opened the cupboard, and it stared back. It was empty. Missing were the gold necklaces, multiple gold rings, bangles, mangtika, nose pins, earrings, and silver toe rings.
Prathamesh cracked immediately. Through tears, he confessed the unthinkable: the jewellery had been exchanged, piece by piece, for free dishes of momos. Not stolen. Traded. With sincerity. With hunger.
The police arrived. It didn’t take them long to calculate the cost of the momos— Rs 85 lakh.