the weekly observer issue 3
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The widow of a scrap
dealer who died in police
custody claims there
were wounds on her hus-
band’s body, despite
Bangalore Police claim-
ing that he died after a
cardiac arrest.
Reshma Pasha was
called by Victoria Hospital
on August 31 at 7.30 a.m.
and was told that her hus-
band, Mubarak Pasha, had
been admitted there after a
suspected heart attack in
custody of Kormanagala
Police Station.
Reshma said, “The hos-
pital said my husband is in
serious condition. When we
got there, we saw his body
in the mortuary and there
were no police officers
present.”
When she arrived at the
hospital with her brother,
Chand Pasha, both claimed
that they saw extensive
bruising on his neck, groin,
arms and legs.
When Reshma asked for
the post-mortem report,
she was told she would have
to wait for 21 days. Two
lawyers appointed by the
Social Democratic Party of
India (SDPI) are now acting
on behalf of the family for
this case.
Mubarak Pasha was ar-
rested on August 19 for
allgedly stealing a gold
chain. But according to
Reshma, “The gold chain
was ours and we also had its
receipt but the Koraman-
gala Police Station took
both from us.”
Reshma also said that
she was unable to talk to
her husband while deliver-
ing food to him in custody.
They could only communi-
cate through gestures ex-
cept for one occasion.
“The court hearing was
on August 26, but the day
before the hearing I finally
got a chance to talk to him.
My husband confessed that
the officers were physically
torturing him and begged
me to get a lawyer for
him.”
On the day of the hear-
ing, the judge declared that
Mubarak would be granted
bail for Rs. 4,000. Reshma
said, “Me and my brothers
collected the money and
went to free him on August
30.”
However, Pasha was not
granted bail and the next
news the family got of him
was from the hospital.
Rohini Katoch Sepat,
DCP of South East Banga-
lore said, "The case is still
with the judicial magistrate,
we are awaiting results to
form a conclusion."
“We used to pay Rs.
3,000 as house rent. But
now that my husband is
dead we have to move to
my sister’s place.” Reshma
works as a garbage-collec-
tor under Gopinath Reddy,
a contractor under BBMP.
She hasn’t received her
salary for the last four
months.
She used to support her
family when her husband
was unemployed and will
now single-handedly take
care of the upbringing of
her three children.
Saheli Sen Gupta
Pulaha Roy
Aadhira Anandh
ObserverVolume 14 | Issue 3 Thursday, September 4, 2014
The Weekly
‘Heart attack’ victim was beaten to death, claims wife
Calls to an abuse helpline
for the elderly have risen
by 50% in last six
months.
“There is an increase in
the number of cases we re-
ceived. The issues reported
are usually on property and
finance. The children want
the property from their par-
ents and if they don’t give it
to them, then they assault
them.” said Sandhya a
counselor at the helpline.
The total number of
calls registered last year was
8,851 while by June this
year it has shot to around
13,000. The helpline was
started as a joint venture
between Bangalore City Po-
lice and Nightingales Med-
ical Trust. There have been
a total of 1603 calls re-
ported in August 2014.
Nalini, (name changed)
was in jail because of a
fraud committed by her
own son.
“After my husband died,
my son started a fake chit
fund company in my name
and eloped with the money
and I was arrested.”
Rani T. Kabbachira,
chairman of Ashreya Seva
Trust said, “There was a
particular incident in which
a mother, Ganga (name
change), was beaten up by
her son, after he stuffed
clothes in her mouth so that
no one would hear her
screams.
She was brought here by
her relative 10 days ago
when he got to know about
it.” Mr. Abhishek Goyal,
DCP Crime, said, “The eld-
erly people should make
sure that they are financially
independent at this age and
look beyond their blind at-
tachments.”
Helpline for elderly abuse sees spike in callsAadhira Anandh
Mubarak Pasha
Widow and the children
The Weekly Observer Thursday, September 4, 20142
Female students living in filth in BU hostel
Primary school is night-time drinking den
A city school has had no
proper toilet for six years
and is being used as a
drinking den at night.
Gambling racket after
school hours
The Yeshwanthpur
Nursery Corporation
school watchman, Kanvis-
appa, said, “The parents of
the students are aware
which is why out of 160
students who took admis-
sion in the beginning, only
70 remain.”
The intruders smuggle
alcohol and gamble in the
school compound after the
school gates close, gaining
entry from the public toilet
which is adjacent to the
school.
Putamma, the school
maid, said that she finds
empty bottles of alcohol
and food packets in the
compound every morning.
“These men defecate in
the compound and leave it
in a state of complete
mess,” she said.
“I have often found
condoms lying on the floor
of the compound,” said
Kanvisappa.
When the school
teacher, Yeshubai, com-
plained to the local MLA,
Muniratna, about the in-
truders entering from the
public toilet, he ordered the
demolishment of the toilet.
The construction is yet
to begin.
BBMP Education Offi-
cer, Sri Manjunath Swamy,
said that he was not aware
of any such incidents re-
lated to the Yeshwantpura
school.
“If this is actually hap-
pening, the police should
take quick action to curb
the problem,” he said.
No toilet since six
years and no tap water
since February
The school gets limited
amount of water every 15-
20 days from the Bangalore
Water Supply and Sewerage
Board (BWSSB) which is
stored in a compound.
Yeshubai said, “If the water
finishes before 15 days,
then we have to survive
without water.”
The MLA had employed
a contractor named Chan-
dru to build a bore well.
The work of laying down
pipelines was supposed to
begin in February but noth-
ing has been done so far.
“Whenever I try con-
tacting him, he says he is
busy and cuts the call,” said
Yeshubai.
Moreover, the school
toilet has been dysfunc-
tional for the past six years,
compelling the children and
the faculty to use the public
toilet.
Natasha Singh
Effects of vandalism seen in the school grounds
Bangalore University’s
ladies hostel is ill-
equipped to admit stu-
dents with shortage of
water, seepage and dogs
wandering.
“Living in this hostel is
impossible. We don’t even
have the basic facilities.
There is no flush in bath-
rooms and no dust-bins. I
got admitted here 20 days
back, but rooms are not yet
allotted to us,” said Man-
isha, a Bio-tech student.
“We are around 200 stu-
dents and there are 50
rooms including 10 dormi-
tories,” she added.
According to a M.A.
student, Vidya (name
changed), “There are no
table-chairs and cupboards
in dormitory. We have to
put newspapers on walls
because paints are peeling-
off. Geasers don’t work.
Rarely sweepers come to
clean washrooms.”
According to the man-
ager of the hostel Mr. Put-
taraju, renovation work is in
progress. In a month or
two, it will get complete.”
However, hostellers said
that there was no renova-
tion.
“I am planning to go
back to my hometown be-
cause of this hostel,” an-
other student said.
Although, the authori-
ties are aware of the situa-
tion, they do not respond.
“We have hired contrac-
tors to do the renovation
work and it is under
process,” said Dr. K. Ra-
makrishnaiah, in charge of-
ficer, Director of Students
Welfare.
According to the Regis-
trar of Bangalore Univer-
sity, Prof. K.K Seethamma,
“We are planning to reno-
vate the ladies hostel. But
right now, don’t write any-
thing bad about it otherwise
from next time I’ll not per-
mit you here to cover any-
thing.”
The broken school toilet
Divya Kishore
Filth scattered outside the hostel washroom
Transsexuals claim that
working is a better option
for them than getting ed-
ucated, whereas activists
believe that mainstream
employment opportuni-
ties can improve the sta-
tus of transsexuals.
Bangalore University in-
troduced transgender reser-
vation in 2010 but there
were no takers till this year.
Prof. K.K. Seethama,
Registrar of Bangalore Uni-
versity, said, “Develop-
ments in post graduate
courses were introduced
with publicity measures, we
did our job, and it is now on
the community to accept
the opportunity.”
Rosy, 30, a transgender
with Sarathya - Payana Proj-
ect Centre, a Community
Based Organization for
transsexuals, said, “There
are no such provisions at
school-level in Bangalore.”
However, there are ac-
tivists working for main-
stream employment to help
the transsexual build a posi-
tion in the society.
Veena, 37, previously a
transgender sex worker, de-
cided to be a social worker
in 2005, is now an activist
with Samara. She was also
the first transgender in Kar-
nataka to contest the mu-
nicipal election in 2010.
“Transsexuals do not
opt for education and pre-
fer working directly as sex
workers or beggars. To
build more opportunities
for abused sex workers and
HIV positive transsexuals,
10 members from Samara
have been recruited with an
advertisement company,”
she said.
Sahile Bakkar, MD,
Unique Solution Images, a
mainstream advertisement
company, has launched a
benchmark project, first
time in India under which
10 transsexuals were given
job opportunities to main-
tain advertisement benches
on the streets.
“With combined efforts
of employment industry
and social activists, trans-
gender community can quit
the conventional options
such as begging and sex
crimes to lead a normal
life,” he said.
“To build an equitable
society, we decided to ac-
commodate transsexuals
under a project called the
Courtesy Benches. I re-
ceived more dedication
from transsexuals when it
comes to punctuality and
honesty. They get Rs.5, 500
per month for working 2 to
3 hours in the morning,”
Bakkar added.
Ravi, a transgender with
USI told, “I consider
myself fortunate to get
such a job opportunity.
With the money I earn as
part time worker, I not only
meet my expenses, but also
feel satisfied.”
Employment helping uneducated transsexuals
Transsexuals working on an advertisement bench
Courtesy - USI
Femina Thaj and Karishma
The Weekly Observer Thursday, September 4, 2014 3
Kimaya Varude
Punita Maheshwari
A business management
student died and his
friend was left fighting
for her life after a high-
speed crash in Banga-
lore.
The two students, from
PES College, were travel-
ling on Airport Road in the
city when their bike hit a
traffic signal pole.
The rider, Hemant Ag-
grawal, 21, died on the spot
while his friend, Moumita
Mazumder, 21, suffered a
serious head injury and sev-
eral fractures and was
rushed to Sagar Apollo
Hospital, Thilak Nagar.
Dr. Pratap Pani,
Moumita’s neurologist, said,
“She was brought at 5am in
an unconscious state. She
has pelvic and spleen frac-
tures and is going to be op-
erated on this Friday.”
Kavita, mother of
Moumita, said, “We arrived
as soon as we could. The
bike is believed to have
been travelling at 130
km/h. Moumita has under-
gone two operations. She is
on a ventilator but doctors
have said she might gain
consciousness by Friday.
“We have already paid
4.5 lakhs for her head sur-
gery. PES has donated 2.5
lakhs for her treatment and
the college students raised
another Rs 50,000. We have
applied for a loan today as
the the total cost estimated
is 11 lakhs.”
A Bangalore Traffic po-
lice spokesman said the in-
cident had taken place on
Airport Road at 3 am and
that inquiries were on-
going.
Apoorva Choubey
Hemant Aggrawal
PES University, where accident victims studied
One dead, one critical after bike crash
The Weekly Observer Thursday, September 4, 20144
OBSERVER Team: Editor - Aparna Singh, Chief Sub Editor -Pulaha Roy, News Editor - Aadhira Anandh, News Desk - Natasha Singh, Sub Ed-
itors - Punita Maheshwari , Agnivesh Harshan & Divya Kishore, Design Head - Nikunj Ohri, Design Desk - Asmita Kundu, Devdatta Sukhadev,
Nikhil M Babu, Picture Editor- Kimaya Varude, Reporter - Darshan Rane & Saheli Sen Gupta, Proof Readers - Elizabeth Mani, Apoorva Choubey
Private schools compromise child safety
Private schools compro-
mise child safety by tu-
toring students in a
building under extensive
construction in Kumbal-
godu.
Delhi Public School
(DPS) and Vivekananda
Public School (VPS) have
violated child safety laws
imposed by the ministry of
education. Construction
happens when the children
are in their class rooms. The
school compound has con-
struction material unsafe
for primary school children.
When the question of
child safety was raised, DPS
principal, Ms Nagaraj stated
“The children are super-
vised at all times and their
parents know about it.”
Geetha R, principal of
VPS, responded similarly,
"We have taken the neces-
sary precautions; the chil-
dren are completely safe
and supervised.”
“They are not allowed
through the front entrance
where construction takes
place and have a safe en-
trance at the back. We are
equipped with a library, play
ground and other minimal
requisites." she added.
The children were seen
dispersing after class
through the area under con-
struction. There was no
playground or library. The
school lacks safety precau-
tions such as fire extin-
guishers which are
mandatory under the disas-
ter management act of
2005.
“Most of the construc-
tion is over; the school was
functioning within VKIT
for the past two years. We
started new streams of en-
gineering courses and
needed the space, so we
moved into the new school
building prematurely," said
Pradeep Kumar, Civil Engi-
neer in charge of the con-
struction of VPS..
"The construction will
be over in another month
but the lab, library and play-
ground are still being
planned and construction is
yet to commence. It will all
be completed in a month,"
he added.
Anil Kumar, BBMP ed-
ucational officer said, “Ac-
tion will be taken if the
parents give a formal com-
plaint to the Block Educa-
tion officer, if the
complaints are not re-
sponded to, Deputy Direc-
tor of public instructions is
to be approached.”
A 70-year-old woman is
fighting to get back her
land from tenants for 30
years in spite of Supreme
Court ruling in her favor.
Devasitham, the com-
plainant, said that her hus-
band leased out half of
their house to a family
friend Natesan in 1973, but
he tricked her into signing
a sales deed along with the
mortgage deed. In 1983 he
registered a case against her
claiming that it’s his prop-
erty.
“The tenants threatned
to kill Devasitham and her
son and also opposed re-
covery of the property
when court officials went to
vacate them in 2013. But we
later recovered it and sub-
mitted a charge sheet
against them three months
ago,” said Sharan Basappa
of High Grounds police
station.
“I was allotted 725 sq. ft.
of land in Vasanth Nagar
by Bangalore Development
Authority in 1972 as I was
poor and from a backward
class. Later I built the
house,” said Devasitham.
In 2000, the city civil
court gave a verdict in her
favor. The High Court and
Supreme Court also ruled
in Devasitham’s favor in
2006 and 2007.
Manjunath, the Ameena
of city civil court, said, "I
recovered the property and
gave keys to Devasitham as
per court order."
"After the property was
recovered, tenants broke
open the lock with the sup-
port of local politicians and
were staying there illegally,"
said Ramanandan her adv-
cate.
A neighbor who wished
to be anonymous said,
“Natesan is dead, but his
sons Murgesh and Vijaya
Kumar will beat us up if we
say anything against them.”
“I am a Tamilian and
moved into Bangalore after
marrying David. We are
tired of living separately in
our daughter’s and son’s
places. Now I want to live
peacefully with my husband
in our land until I die,” said
Devasitham. The court is
yet to take an action against
the tenants, who are now
living there illegally as the
case enters its 31st year.
Justice denied for three decades
School kids dispersing after class at VPS
Nikhil M Babu
Agnivesh Harshan
The house in dispute is now a shambles
Devasitham, complainant
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