Taking things into your own hands could prove fatal

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A grocery shop owner from Nalasopara is in a legal problem after her actions inadvertently led to a teenage boy's death. The woman connected a live wire to the grille of her shop window every night during shutting.

This 18-year-old boy, paid with his life for this ‘anti-theft' measure investigations revealed. A report stated that his mother went looking for him, hours after he did not return home. She found him unresponsive behind a grocery store. He was declared dead. The incident occurred in January. It was later found that he had got an electric shock. The shop owner had decided to install this after thieves had broken into her shop during the pandemic and done away with cash and groceries.

Hence the shop owner decided to connect the iron grille in the shop's window to a live wire which she pulled directly from the electric meter. While ingenuity is one thing, this was highly dangerous.

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If there was danger of theft, there are alarms that can be bought after discussion or cash can be locked away, groceries secured to ensure that even if a thief manages to break in, he cannot get away.

There are some other methods one can explore, but you cannot take methods into your own hands in this extremely reckless way, to guard against theft in this way.

That is why we have the police to do their job, rather than try to fight crime in these ways. Laypeople must realise that expert, trained personnel in every field are present to tackle a situation. We have to leave it to them, even if we do not believe in their abilities, if that is the case or are sceptical about them.

Even reinforcements on the window could have helped in this matter. To not foresee the outcome here, is extremely myopic at best and could be fatal, as it has been proved, at worst.