Thirteen-year-old Mahesh, a resident of Sector 56, was allegedly kidnapped by two unidentified persons last evening.

He was picked up from near the Sector 40 roundabout while on his way to his a tuition class.

The kidnappers took him to the jungle adjoining the Sukhna Lake, where he was tied to a tree and thrashed.

On frisking the boy, they found the keys to his house. They took the address from him and went to the house.

His parents were out searching for him and the men found the house empty. His mother Geeta Devi's trunk was opened, jewellery and cash allegedly stolen.

The Police Control Room was informed about the case, yet no FIR has been lodged at police station-39.

“When Geeta realised that Mahesh was missing, we informed the PCR. While searching for him, we thankfully found him,” Mahesh's father Rajaram told Chandigarh Newsline.

Mahesh had apparently raised an alarm and was rescued by some passers-by.

“We went to the Sector 39 police station, where we were told that the offence did not take place in their locality and we should go to Sector 26 police station,” he said.

They went to Sector 26 police station and were referred back to Sector 39 police station. “However, on our repeated requests, the policemen at the Sector 26 police station at least recorded our complaint. The Sector 39 cops told us that they would investigate the matter and since we have already found our child, we should go home and relax,” Rajaram said.

That was not the end of the goof-ups for the day committed by Sector 39 police.

A burglary was reported from the home of Anil Kumar in Sector 56, which is in the same area. Television, jewellery, a DVD player and various other articles were stolen.

Sunil Kumar, his brother, said: “Sometime after the theft was reported, the police came and said they have recovered the television and the DVD player from a nearby house. The ground floor, where the objects were found, belongs to a man called Soni. The other items are yet to be recovered.”

A case of theft was registered, but Soni is yet to be arrested. Inspector Rajesh Shukla, SHO of Sector 39 police station was not available for comments.

The tale of the missing inverter

Having failed to prevent or curb a spate of snatchings in the city, the Chandigarh Police seem to be turning a blind eye to thefts as well.

The most recent example is that of an NRI couple, who had a harrowing experience trying to report a theft. Not only did the police personnel refuse to visit the spot, they did not even bother to register a case.

Used to the prompt response of the German police, it was nightmare for Baljit Singh, who had come to his parental home in Sector 38-B.

Last night, Singh had invited a few of his friends to his place for a get together. Around 9 pm, the lights went off.

“We thought it was a technical snag,” said Singh. He got in touch with the electricity department, but nobody took the call. Around midnight, when he went out to see his friends off, he noticed that the inverter box in the driveway lying open, the inverter gone.

He called up the police station 39 and was asked to come and lodge a complaint.

“I asked if somebody could come to my house and at least examine the spot. The policeman said the officer-on-duty was out and would visit us as soon as he returned,” Singh said. “We kept waiting till 1.30 am, but nobody turned up.”

This morning, Singh called the police station again. He was told that the person on night duty had already left. If he wanted a complaint lodged, he was to go to the station.

The couple went to the police station. They took along a dhobi who lives nearby, who said a similar theft was reported a few days ago.

“The dhobi even gave the police a description of the people who had decamped with the inverter battery the other day. Still, the police did not act,” Baljit said.

Baljit's visit to the police station-39 was equally harrowing.

“We were given a very casual hearing. The policemen on duty asked me to write the complaint myself instead of taking it down himself. I wrote it and then was shunted from one table to another. Finally, my complaint was received and I was again told that somebody will come,” Singh said.