By IANS,
New Delhi : Are articles deposited by visitors to the Commonwealth Games venues going missing?
Yes, says Sandeep Nagpal, who deposited his lunch box at the gate before entering the cycling velodrome at the Indira Gandhi Stadium complex.
When he returned, the box was there — minus the food.
“I was lucky to find only the food missing. Other visitors complained about other articles they deposited after being told they could collect them later,” Nagpal told IANS.
Some women got into a row with policemen about lip sticks and perfumes they had been asked to leave behind at the gate but which they could not locate when they returned to claim them.
Delhi Police have banned bottles, hand bags, radios and back-packs among 44 items inside the stadium.
Also banned are coins, lunch boxes, musical instruments, cameras and even papers.
Although the restrictions are printed on the back of the tickets, many spectators seemed be in the dark about the rule.
Delhi Police spokesman Rajan Bhagat told IANS that it was unfair to blame his men for the missing articles — and money.
“I am not aware of any slackness on the part of policemen. But, yes, we have strict security norms for entry into the venues. And we ensure proper checking,” he said.
“We advise visitors to check the list of restricted items before going for the matches.”
He added that it were NGOs stationed at the stadium gates who collected coins from visitors, not Delhi Police.
“We collected Rs.5,117 in coins on the opening ceremony. That amount is still with us,” he said.