New Delhi, Oct 4 : Ever thought where the coins collected by security forces during the opening ceremony and other events of the Commonwealth Games here would go!
Coins of Rs 1, 2, 5 and 10 (most of them from foreigners) worth lakhs were yesterday collected by Delhi Police personnel involved in security related duties for the opening ceremony at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium while frisking and they were treated as "unclaimed".
While Delhi Police claimed to have put coins on the list of over 44 items barred from taking inside the Games venues, the spectators said they were not aware of it as they were not mentioned among prohibited articles written at the back of the tickets.
"It is really unfair. I had gone through all instructions mentioned at the back of entry ticket. It does not tell anything about the coins. But security personnel have taken all," said Jack, who had come from Australia to watch the Games. Nisha, a science student of Delhi University said, "Like others, I also carried coins. Sadly I had to drop in a box meant for depositing all these items."
Delhi Police is understood to have collected coins worth more than Rs one lakh from security check points. Yesterday, about 60,000 spectators have come to the JLN stadium to watch the grand opening ceremony.
"There should be some provision for these coins. Had it been mentioned on the entry tickets, it would have really been easier for us to keep coins back at home," said E Shivahariharan, another spectator. Both Delhi Police and Organising Committee maintained that the coins were not allowed due to security reasons.
"It is a security measure and Delhi Police is responsible for it," a senior OC official said. When contacted, Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said, "These coins are considered as unclaimed objects." Bhagat refused to comment further.
According to another senior police official, "the coins collected from these events are taken to nearby police station and returned to the ones who comes to claim them else ..."
Delhi Police said they have banned items like alcohol, bottles, cans, match boxes, lighters, chewing tobacco, gutkha, inflammable items, firearms, eatables, knives, daggers, scissors, replica of toy guns or fire arms and coins, besides others. The restriction will follow to all the competition venues during the Games.
"We have asked people to follow these instruction and support us in security check," a police officer said. PTI
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