A village in Madhya Pradesh's Betul, named Malkapur, is in the limelight for their unique letter to a thief, who stole a water pipe from 'Mokshadham' (cemetery). The pipe was bought by locals for watering the plants inside the cemetery.
The letter is titled 'Ek Paati Chooron Ke Naam', and starts by addressing the thief as 'Priya chor' (dear thief).?
It goes on to say 'Ek din isi Mokshadhaam mein aana hai. Isliye yahaan se chori kiya gaya saamaan chup-chaap yahan rakh jayein (At last, one day you also come here for your final journey. Therefore, please return the stolen goods to the cemetery, quietly).
As of now, there are over 70 plants in the cemetery, as locals plant saplings on the birthday or in the memory of the deceased relatives. For watering the saplings, people had bought pipes and valves using public donations and all these goods were kept inside the cemetery itself.?But a few days later the pipes and valves were stolen and the incident troubled the villagers.?
After an FIR was registered, the police started an investigation, but could not find a solid lead. It was then the people of the village, wrote a letter to the thief.
This letter, with a touching message to the thief, has been pasted on the walls of houses in the village. The letter reminds the thieves that in the end, even they have to come here, and appeals to them to return the stolen goods.
Originally written in Hindi by Raghvendra Mishra.