According to sources, unidentified persons had stolen the glasses several years ago. Neither has the thief been caught, nor has anyone bothered to replace the spectacles till now.
According to information available with MiD DAY, following this incident, which was reported to the local police, a permanent picket was positioned at Gyarah Murti with a commando deputed at the spot 24 hours a day. Besides, traffic cops are present on a regular basis too.
Guarded response
"It is anyway a high-security zone as Gyarah Murti is adjacent to Presidential Estate with the boundaries abutting. Therefore after this incident a permanent police picket was put in place there," a senior Delhi police officer stated.
Sources in Delhi police said that they investigated the case after the matter was reported to them, but they couldn't find the glasses anywhere. When MiD DAY tried to investigate if a case was lodged in connection with the incident, cops said they were not aware of what had transpired.
"We remember that the matter was definitely reported to the cops at the time, but whether an FIR was registered or just a daily diary entry was made is not clear," a senior police officer posted in New Delhi for the past several years said.
As far as the probe into the matter goes, Delhi police sources said: "Apart from the possibility of the glasses being stolen, there is also the likelihood that someone who didn't like Mahatma Gandhi might have defaced the bust. But as the cops couldn't trace the glasses, none of these theories can be confirmed."
Not a priority?While conjectures are being drawn by everyone about what actually happened, the fact that the government has either overlooked the issue, or has failed to replace the missing article is a statement in itself. It's also a point worth noting that while hundreds of crores of rupees were spent over the last couple of years for creating infrastructure and beautifying Delhi, Gandhi's glasses could not be restored.
"All MPs and senior political leaders of every party live in New Delhi district where Gyarah Murti is located. It is really unfortunate that no one has even noticed that Mahatma Gandhi's sculpture is without glasses or if anyone did take notice then no action has been initiated so far," a source said.
Experts say that the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) is responsible for the maintenance of the Gyarah Murti sculpture. The area falls under the jurisdiction of the Chanakyapuri police station.
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International Recognition
>> The Government of India awards the annual Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize to distinguished social workers, world leaders and citizens. Nelson Mandela, the leader of South Africa's struggle to eradicate racial discrimination and segregation, is a prominent non-Indian recipient.
>> Gandhi never received the Nobel Peace Prize, although he was nominated five times between 1937 and 1948.
Watch out
Last year in September, a gold wrist watch gifted to late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri by his Russian counterpart, Alexei Kosygin, was stolen from his memorial in New Delhi.
The theft came to light on September 3, but authorities at Lal Bahadur Shastri Memorial, located adjacent to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's residence. Memorial director prof AK Das approached police about the theft of the watch, gifted to Shastri during the 1966 Tashkent conference to broker peace with Pakistan.
In 2008, fourteen antique brass covers of tombs and minarets of the Tipu Shahi Mosque in Kolkata were stolen. Though the police arrested three persons in this connection, they failed to recover the antique pieces.
Miscreants entered the mosque and took away the brass covers, each weighing 5.5 kg. The estimated worth of the antique pieces is at least few crores.
Trivia
>> Gandhi is pictured on 2 US postage stamps in the Champions of Liberty series, issued 26 December 1961.
>> The railway station at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa is named in his honour (Mahatma Gandhi Station) because it was here that in 1891 he was unceremoniously thrown out of a first class train compartment just for being a coloured person. This was his first experience of racism and became a turning point in his life.
>> Had 4 sons - Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas and Devdas.
>> After his death India went into mourning for 13 days!
>> Gandhi was a veteran of two British Empire wars - the Boer War (1899) and the Zulu Wars (c.1904), where he helped in organising the transport of wounded soldiers on stretchers.
>> He had 2 elder brothers (Laxmidas and Karsandas) and one younger sister (Raliatbehn).
>> He used to write letters to Leo Tolstoy, with whom he was friends. He even named his ashram in his honour -- Tolstoy Farm.
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