THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI *WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2013 5TIMES CITY

Mumbai: An eight-year-old au-tistic boy, who was ousted fromJamnabai Narsee School in Ju-hu last year, is “fit to be allowedto attend regular school with ashadow teacher”, said a reportsubmitted by an expert panel tothe Maharashtra State Com-mission for Protection of ChildRights on Tuesday.

The report was based on theobservations of the commis-sion-appointed panel, compris-ing child developmental ex-perts and led by Dr SamirDalwai, who reviewed the childin a classroom setting. The re-port said the boy did “not showany signs or inclination of hurt-ing himself or others” duringthe observation period, as hadbeen alleged by the school.

In July 2012, the boy’s par-

ents received a letter from theschool requesting them totransfer the child to another in-situte as his behaviour was dis-turbing other students. Armedwith the provisions under theRight To Education (RTE) Act,the parents moved the Maha-rashtra State Commission forProtection of Child Rights inAugust 2012.

According to the RTE Act,every child has the right to edu-cation and schools have to takesteps to integrate special chil-dren with conditions such asautism, learning disability orcerebral palsy.

Earlier, the Bombay highcourt and the commission hadasked the school to allow thechild in the classroom for amonth along with a shadowteacher. This was the first courtcase in the country where a spe-

cial child was allowed to attenda regular school with a shadowteacher, said Dr Dalwai.

weeks as the academic sessionwas coming to an end. The re-port was submitted to the com-

programme in place for the stu-dent that will require regularcoordination between histeachers, resource team, shad-ow teacher and parents. “Withthe school actively providing acomprehensive programme inletter and spirit, the child’s par-ticipation and progress will im-prove,” said the report.

And, the school should alsoprovide whatever assistance isavailable, from the regular aswell as the resource staff. “Theparents also need to provide ad-ditional therapy and treatmentas advised by their physicianand therapy team,” it said.

The school representativerefused to comment on the ob-servations in the report. “I amtravelling. I do not know whathappened at the hearing. Alsothe school’s stand remains thesame. We do not wish to com-ment on this case,” said princi-pal Sudeshna Chatterjee.

The commission is headedby secretary A N Tripathi andacting chairperson Ujjwal Uke.

liberate on the report and de-cide if it is acceptable in thenext three days.

The report said that despitehis prolonged absence, thechild showed remarkable adap-tation and willingness to attendschool. “There was no violentor self-destructive behaviour,which is aided by the presenceof a shadow teacher,” said thereport. The school had claimedthat the child was a threat toother students as well as to him-self due to his developmentalproblems, but this “was not thecase’’, said the report.

In his report, Dr Dalwaisaid, “His classmates respon-ded with utmost love, concernand affection… They were seenwillingly and lovingly helpinghim with his tasks... They werehappy to include him.”

But the report added thatthe parents should accept thattheir child’s achievements maynot be on a par with other stu-dents. It also recommended theschool to have a comprehensive

mission on Tuesday and boththe parties—the school and theparents—have been asked to de-

The panel was to observethe boy for a month, but the ex-perts could do so only for two

Boy Wasn’t Violent & Didn’tDisrupt Class, Finds Report

Autistic child fit to attend school with shadow teacher: Panel

Yogita Rao TNN

DECODING THE

MENTAL CONDITION� Autism is a range of complex neurological disorders characterized by social impairment, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviour

� Children may have the most severe form called classical autism or milder forms known as Asperger syndrome

� Experts say 1 out of 88 children under eight years of age will have some form of autism

ABOUT THE DISORDER SIGNS TO WATCH OUT FOR

� Autistic children may not respond to people or may focus intently on one item to

the exclusion of others for a long time

� They will not respond to their names, will avoid eye contact and can’t understand social cues

� They may have repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling

� They may have self-abusive behaviour such as biting or banging the head

� Before giving instructions, make sure the child is paying attention. Use simple language, not complicated words

� Too much noise and bright colours can distract the child

� Visual timetables help children with autism to see what is going to happen and when; this reduces their anxiety

� Use social stories and comic strips to teach social skills

� Try to teach a new topic in as many situations as possible

� Give the child time to process information

� Avoid non-literal language such as metaphors, sarcasm and idioms

HOW TO HANDLE AUTISTIC CHILDREN IN CLASSROOMS

Mumbai: The National Stu-dents Union of India (NSUI)on Monday suspended itsMumbai president SurajSingh Thakur for “misbe-having” with seniors duringa training seminar held inKandivli in March.

Two other office-bear-ers—national delegate Hi-tendra Gandhi and state gen-eral secretary Vicky Vhat-kar—were also suspended.

On Tuesday, the youthbody was thrown into a tizzyfollowing reports on televi-sion channels and micro-blogging sites that the trio faced action followingtheir antics at an alleged“nude party”.

The NSUI denied that any

such party took place at theseminar and rubbished the“rumours” that Thakur andthe two others allegedly per-formed a “naked” dance in

television channels said thatThakur and the two othersparticipated in a raggingparty where “seniors and ju-niors were asked to buttondown”. Thakur was re-elect-ed to the post of president in2012. “The NSUI dismissesnews report of the allegednude party at this function.No such incident took placeduring the Mumbai functionand there is no basis to thesereports. The three have beenfound guilty of organization-al breach of conduct for mis-behaving with senior mem-bers of the party,” stated apress note.

Thakur had made head-lines after a series of pro-tests against a book by RajivGandhi’s alleged killer A GPerarivalan in May 2011.

uploaded on YouTube, whichwas taken off immediately.

Unconfirmed reports cla-imed Thakur was caught oncamera allegedly dancingnaked during the allegedparty. NSUI, however, said nosuch party took place and themedia reports were com-pletely false and baseless.

“We have suspendedthem following an internalprobe which found themguilty of misbehaviour withthe camp in-charge. The re-ports on the dance have origi-nated on Twitter and have nobasis. A seminar took placeon March 14 and 15, and therewas no other party in Aprilas is being claimed by mediareports,” said NSUI nationalsecretary Angellica Aribam.

Unconfirmed reports on

an inebriated condition dur-ing the alleged party.

According to media re-ports, the dance was caughton camera and later a video

NSUI city chief suspended for vulgar jig?Sharad Vyas TNN

National Students Union of India (NSUI) claimed it suspended its Mumbai chief Suraj Singh Thakur and two other office-bearers for “misbehaving” with seniors during a training seminar held in Kandivli in March

Reports on television channels and micro-blogging sites on Tuesday claimed the trio faced action following their antics at an alleged “nude party”

The NSUI denied that any such party took place at the seminar and rubbished the “rumours”

FACING THE MUSIC

Mumbai: Drifter or Indo-phile, eccentric or not, Polishcitizen Joanna Kucharskalost her bid to stay on in Indiawith her toddler. The illegalimmigrant who was beingheld at the Juhu police stationfor a month is all set to be de-ported. On Tuesday night, themother-daughter duo was atthe bureau of immigrationwhere formalities were beingcompleted.

Emotional scenes werewitnessed at Juhu police sta-tion in the afternoon as thewoman constables partedwith baby Meenakshee whenshe left with her mother to goto the immigration office.They had cared for the fair,blue-eyed baby with deep af-fection for weeks and found itdifficult to disengage.

The toddler cheerfullywaved goodbye to her caretak-ers in uniform, promptingburly inspectors to swallow alump in the throat.

On Monday, the Polishconsulate prepared passportsfor Joanna and her daughter,clarifying that the child was acitizen of Poland and not In-dia. It was this dilemma thatthe police had faced as they de-bated whether to separate themother from her child.

Consul general Janusz

Wach said, “Both Joanna andthe baby’s father are citizensof Poland and according toour law, every child anywherein the world is Polish if one ofhis/her parents is. So, thischild has no claim on Indiancitizenship despite havingbeen born in India. The childand mother will be deportedtogether, there is no questionof separating them.”

Wach added, “There was aslight problem because themother did not want to accepta Polish passport. However, inan emergency case like this

one, the passport officer canissue it even without an appli-cation and that is what we did.The father of the child provid-ed Meenakshee’s birth certifi-cate and signed an affidavitstating he had no objections tothe procedure.”

A few kilometers away,members of the ISKCON tem-ple in Juhu heaved a sigh ofrelief at their former in-mate’s departure. It was theywho had notified the policeabout Joanna being an illegal immigrant.

A spokesperson, who hadlobbied hard with the consul-ate as well as the foreigners’registration office for her ex-it, claimed she had levelledfalse accusations of theftagainst a senior functionary.

Cops bid emotional adieuto India-born Polish baby

Vijay V Singh &

Bella Jaisinghani TNN

Mumbai:The Bombay HC onTuesday was hearing a pet-ition urging it to set up a spe-cial investigation team (SIT)to probe into the “corruption”at Nehru Nagar police station,where 36 policemen were re-cently suspended after a stingoperation showed them alleg-edly accepting bribes to allowillegal constructions.

Activist Mohamad KasimAbdul Gafoor Khan had filed aPIL seeking regularization of

“additions” made to houses atfive refugee camps, claimingthat the case is similar to Ul-hasnagar where such addi-tions were regularized. Hethen filmed the officers alleg-edly demanding bribes.

“Since then he has been re-ceiving threats,” said AjitShah, Khan’s advocate. Shahurged the HC to order settingup an SIT to investigate thenexus between the civic body,contractors and police. TNN

Whistle-blower wants SIT probeinto ‘corruption’ at police station

Mumbai: The Mulund po-lice are on the lookout for abusinessman, his son andtheir three accomplices forthrashing college studentPranay Phatak (18) in Mu-lund Colony on Monday.

The police claimed thatAtul Chotani and his son Vi-kas also chased the victim’scar for half a kilometre andhit it from behind on LBSMarg, before speeding away.And, all this because they ob-jected to Pranay’s friendshipto Vikas’ s17-year-old sister.

Pranay, who is beingtreated at Jupiter Hospitalfor head injuries, is the son oflocal corporator and Thanecivic standing committeechairman Ravi Phatak.

Around 5pm, Vikas was

driving past Kalidas Hall inMulund (W), when he saw hissister, Pranay and their col-lege friends outside the hall.“Vikas got furious on seeingher talking with Pranay ashe had warned her againstmeeting him. Vikas told his

their building. As soon as Igot off the car, one of themhit me on the head with abamboo and the others start-ed beating me up.”

Pranay managed to getinto his car. “But the father-son duo chased his car intheir Swift for almost half akilometre from B R Road inMulund Colony to LBS Marg,hit his car from behind andsped away,” said inspector YL Jadhav.

Pranay drove to the po-lice station, filed a complaintand then got himself admit-ted to Jupiter Hospital.

Jadhav said the Chotanisand their three accompliceshave been booked under sec-tions 34 (common intention),307 (attempt to murder), 427(mischief causing damage)of the Indian Penal Code.

jirao Jadhav.In his police complaint,

Pranay said, “The girl is justa good friend, but her broth-er and father have misunder-stood our relationship. Ifound her father and a fewmen waiting for me near

sister to get in the car andasked Pranay to follow themto their house in Mulund Col-ony as he wanted to talk tohim. En route, Vikas calledup his father and told himabout Pranay,” said Mulundpolice senior inspector Jiva-

Mulund bizman, son thrash corporator’s son

V Narayan TNN

1Vikas Chotani sees his sisterand Pranay Phatak outside a

hall in Mulund. He asks Pranayto follow them home in his Audi

2When Pranay reaches MulundColony, the girl’s dad, brother

and three aides hit him on thehead with a stick and thrash him

3Pranay gets in his car. TheChotanis chase him in their

Swift, hit his car from behind onLBS Marg and speed away

The ongoing constructionof the Eastern Freeway

project got a push on Tuesdayafter the HC vacated the stayon acquisition of around 10residential and commercialstructures that were in itsway at Panjarpol, saidMMRDA officials.

While the first phase—from Orange gate to Panjar-pol near Chembur—will becommissioned by May-end,the next phase—from Panjar-pol to Ghatkopar-MankhurdLink Road—is expected tostart in August. TNN

Push for EasternFreeway project

18-Year-Old Victim’s Friendship With Accused’s Daughter Triggered The Assault

Mom, Girl SetTo Be Deported

To Poland

Joanna Kucharska (L) and herdaughter Meenakshee (circled)are all set to leave for Poland after being held at the Juhu police station for a month

Vijay V Singh

Mahesh Benkar

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