BENGALURU: A group of thieves made away with rice, toor dal, moong dal, groundnuts, cooking oil, sugar, two gas cylinders and milk powder tins from an Anganwadi centre in Anjanapura village on Mysuru Road, on the outskirts of the city, recently. As a result, 21 Anganwadi students have had to go without food for the past three days. The groceries were used to prepare breakfast and lunch for students in the age group of three to 11 years. The accused reportedly gained entry into the storeroom of the Anganwadi centre by breaking open the locks, and stole only the foodstuff.
A teacher, KP Maheshwari, filed a complaint. The incident came to light when she came to the centre around 9am and found that the food items had been stolen, presumably the previous night. “There are 21 children in the Anganwadi centre. We give them milk for breakfast, and fresh lunch in the afternoon. For the past three days, the students are not getting any milk or lunch.
The accused made away with 25kg of rice, 10kg of toor dal, 3kg of groundnuts, 11kg of milk powder, 5kg of moong dal, 10kg of other cereals, 3kg of sugar and two cylinders. They ransacked the storeroom but did not take any other items. The stolen valuables cost around Rs 20,000,” Maheshwari told TNIE.
Police visited the spot and found that some youths practice drama regularly, in an open space next to the Anganwadi centre. “We cannot point fingers at the youth who have been practicing here for the past few months, but we are not ruling out their involvement. Education department officials have also been informed about the incident so that fresh stock of food items are sent,” said an officer who is part of the investigation. A case of theft under Section 379 IPC was registered against the accused.