RAIPUR: Thieves appear to have developed a strange attachment to the Congress office in Chhattisgarh's Ambikapur town. So much so that after allegedly stealing dozens of steel taps from the building for the third time, they left behind a handwritten 'Love You' note on the dust on the floor before quietly walking away.
Recurring Theft at Rajiv Bhavan
The latest theft at Rajiv Bhavan in Ambikapur's Gandhi Chowk area — considered one of the city's busiest and most sensitive stretches — has now turned into equal parts police case and political embarrassment. According to Congress functionaries, unidentified thieves struck the party office on the intervening night of Friday and allegedly made away with around 72 to 73 steel taps and other bathroom fittings.
Visuals from inside the building showed broken basins, damaged flush systems and empty faucet pipes hanging from restroom walls like a plumbing apocalypse. But what truly stole the spotlight was the message allegedly scribbled in dust on the floor before the thieves fled — 'I Love You Ambikapur'.
Congress Leaders Express Concern
District Congress president Balkrishna Pathak said this was the third theft reported at Rajiv Bhavan, raising uncomfortable questions over how the same office keeps becoming a recurring target while the culprits continue to remain out of reach. He visited the spot after the incident and claimed the thieves operated with such confidence that it appeared they had no fear whatsoever of being caught.
'The way the taps were removed, it looked like they had all the time in the world,' a Congress worker remarked sarcastically, while pointing at the gutted bathroom fittings. Congress also claimed that FIRs linked to previous thefts at the same office had not led to any major breakthrough so far.
Allegations of Law and Order Failure
Pathak suspected the involvement of drug addicts or anti-social elements and accused the administration of allowing law and order to deteriorate. He said the 'love you' message left behind was nothing less than an open mockery of the police machinery. The irony, however, was difficult to miss. In a state where political slogans usually dominate party offices, Rajiv Bhavan this time woke up to missing taps, smashed washrooms and an unexpected declaration of affection written in dust.
Police said the matter was being investigated. Whether the mystery thieves were driven by romance, plumbing ambition or simply scrap value, remains unclear.
