In the last few days, a bizarre incident has been reported at many locations around Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Popularly known as the “Chaddi Chor Gang”, there is a panty thief gang that roams around cities and rural areas while stealing undergarments of women. CCTV evidence of an undergarment theft in Vijayanagar region has come to light. Such incidents have been so common that villagers have actually stopped drying their clothes outside.
Recently, Sunita Kori, along with the support of other people of Bilgawan village, troubled by continuous undergarments thefts made a police complaint about the same. The bandit has been successfully arrested, and the stolen garments have also been recovered. According to ASP Suryakant Sharma, the thief has disclosed some interesting information about the entire situation. He revealed that he tears and discards the stolen undergarments after stealing them. Quite a few cases of theft and assault have already been filed against the detained suspect, Vijay aka Lalu Thakur.
Another case of theft, shared by Kalpit Saraogi, a resident of the area, has come to light in Vijayanagar, where CCTV footage shows a masked man snooping around and stealing undergarments that have been left outside for drying. He also shared some previous instances when someone had stolen utensils that were kept for birds, but now the undergarments have gone missing. Despite the CCTV footage, Kalpit did not report the incident to the police.
In the case of the Chaddi Chor Gang in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, it appears that the focus on stealing undergarments could be highly indicative of a fetishistic inclination towards such items. To put it in another way, this case is symptomatic of paraphilia.
Read More: Paraphilic Disorders: Symptoms, Types and Treatment
Paraphilias are persistent and recurrent sexual interests, urges, fantasies, or behaviors of marked intensity involving objects, activities, or even situations that are atypical in nature. While not innately pathological, paraphilia can develop into a disorder if it causes injury, suffering, or functional impairment to the affected person or others. There are several difficulties associated with its treatment and management. Thus, individuals are encouraged to seek professional help without hesitation or shame, as it is all a part of human behaviour!
