Indian chess players' valuables stolen after multiple room break-ins in Spain
New Delhi, Dec 26: Some of the frontline Indian chess players, including GM Sankalp Gupta, went through a torrid time while participating in the recent Sunway International chess tournament at Sitges, Spain, as they lost several valuables after break-ins at their apartments.
The train of unsavoury incidents started on December 19 with a break-in at the Apollo apartment, a property provided by the organisers for participants, where International Master Dushyant Sharma and Sankalp were sharing the accommodation.
This break-in happened when the duo was out of their room and Dushyant lost his passport, laptop and cash from the room.
Though Sankalp was robbed of his laptop and air-pods, his passport was safe.
But that was not the end of miseries for them as the translator interpreted wrongly that the players left the doors and windows open, hinting that the burglary was because of their negligence.
"We rectified this mistake in the report (to the organisers) later", said Dushyant.
Dushyant, in fact, had to leave the tournament to get the document to come back home.
Interestingly, Sankalp was able to track his air-pods online but the player complained that he did not get any support to retrieve them from Barcelona.
Three days later, Sunway San Jorge Apartment was targeted by the burglars after the last round.
Women's IM Mounika Akshaya and WGM Srija Seshadri were away for an evening walk and IM CRG Krishna was sleeping inside the room while burglars entered the apartment.
Their valuables like laptop and mobile phones were taken away, but fortunately, Krishna was not harmed.
On December 23, Sunway Arizona Apartments had a break-in when WIM Arpita Mukherjee and WFM Vishwa Shah were sleeping in the bedroom.
Between 2:30 am and 6 am, their laptops, mobile phones and cash were stolen from the bedside tables. Luckily, the players were left unharmed by the perpetrators.
"The organisers claim this happened for the first time in 10 years but while reading reviews on Google, I found out that there have been multiple such break-ins recently", wrote Sankalp to the organisers.
My depressing robbery story at Sunway Sitges Chess Festival 2023, Spain. I request the authorities to kindly take action in this since I am not the only player who suffered from this event. pic.twitter.com/FzHzRR289p
— Mounika Akshaya (@MounikaAkshaya) December 23, 2023
Robbery at Sunway Arizona apartments on 23.12.23 midnight. Laptop,mobile,bag & money stolen. Similar incidents with Indian chess players in other apartments. Requesting @SunwayChessOpen @aicfchess @ianuragthakur @IndiainSpain for prompt action. Massive security breach!
— Arpita Mukherjee (@arpita_chess) December 23, 2023
Burglary in #SPAIN #Sunway APOLO APARTMENT on 19 Dec in my room. My Laptop, Passport, cash etc & my roommate’s laptop,airpods stolen. Later on,similar thefts happened with other Indian chess players too. Requesting @SunwayChessOpen @IndiainSpain @ianuragthakur @DrSJaishankar Help pic.twitter.com/daKdjusy45
— Dushyant Sharma (@chess_dushyant) December 24, 2023
Official statement regarding isolated incidents during the @chessable Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival 2023. pic.twitter.com/qdYNpr8pU0
— Sunway Chess Festival (@SunwayChessOpen) December 24, 2023
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
