Thieves strike at swimmer Bula Choudhury's home, make off with all medals, Padma Shri
2
Kolkata/Hindmotor: Thieves broke into the Hindmotor house of former ace swimmer Bula Choudhury and cleaned up her trophy cabinet that contained almost all her awards — over 150 medals and mementos that she had won during a career spanning more than a decade-and-a-half.
The loss included the
Padma Shri
brooch she received in 2009 and 10 gold medals won at two editions of the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games.
An inconsolable Choudhury said: "They took away things that are of no value to them but invaluable to me. From 1979, when I started competing as a nine-year-old, till I retired in 1995, all that I earned were medals. They are all gone."
This is the third theft at the house christened 'Sundar Bari'.
In 2014, there were two thefts at the house in a span of seven months. Jewellery, mementos and electronic items, including an LED TV, had been stolen.
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Choudhury — now a resident of Kasba — had last visited the Hindmotor house a month ago and was due to go there again on Sunday.
It was her brother Dolan, who discovered the theft on Friday, when he opened the house to have it cleaned.
Thieves also took all the taps from Choudhury's house, leaving the washrooms unusable.
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"All the medals from the drawing room glass cabinet are missing. The basins in the bathrooms had been smashed and the taps removed. Even the stop cocks in the cisterns are missing," said Dolan.
While the padlock on the front door was intact, the lock on the grille at the back of the house was pried open. The accused had cut the back door.
Chandernagore deputy commissioner of police Arnab Biswas said, "The house, located at the corner of a road, had been closed for about a month.
It is unclear when thieves broke in." Police suspect two persons were involved.
Five suspects have been picked up for interrogation. A CID team, along with forensic and fingerprint experts, is collecting evidence from the house.
Choudhury, the 'Queen of Seas', first made a splash in the 1979 national swimming competition, dominating her age group by winning six golds. In 1984, she won four golds at SAF Games in Kathmandu. In 1991, she won six golds at the Colombo SAF Games. Choudhury went on to cross the English Channel in 1989 and again in 1999. In 1990, the Indian govt honoured her with Arjuna Award.
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