the weekly observer issue 5
DESCRIPTION
Saudi jobs scam leaves 19 strandedTRANSCRIPT
Nineteen Indian mi-
grants scammed by a
labour r e c r u i t m e n t
agency are stranded in
Saudi Arabia.
Anwar General Services
Corporation, a labour re-
cruitment agency based in
Mumbai, approached men
nationwide with promises
of jobs in Saudi Arabia for
which they collected an ini-
tial payment of about one
lakh each.
Mohammed Shihabhe
Naizam, from Nelaman-
gala, Bangalore along with
three other men collected
money mostly from vil-
lagers in Andhra Pradesh
and Mangalore.
A case was filed against
them in the Hyderabad Po-
lice station earlier this year.
The sub agents were all ar-
rested but Shihabhe’s cur-
rent whereabouts are
unknown.
Boga Naveen, a tailor
from Morthad village,
Andhra Pradesh said, “I
paid them Rs65,000 for the
job they promised. They
guaranteed a reasonable
salary plus incentives but
the company failed to pro-
vide a residence or work
permit which forced us to-
wards illegal labour.
“I was eventually caught
and jailed for two months
in Daman 91 prison.
“We were assured work
in Saudi based Afnan Al-
Mashriq Contracting and
Catering Service establish-
ment managed by Moham-
mad Shihab Naizam, the
mastermind behind the
racket. I went there a year
ago and returned six
months ago.
“I worked as an electri-
cian for two months and I
was not paid. After that I
was arrested by the Saudi
police and imprisoned,” he
added.
“We had to face a lot of
trouble during that period.
We were given only one
meal a day and had to share
one plate with ten people,”
he said. He claims that it
was a horrifying experience
and doesn’t want to com-
ment further about his time
in jail.
“I am now employed as
a coolie. and broke and bor-
rowed money from a loan
shark for my visa. My fam-
ily sold the land we had and
bailed me out but the rest
of the migrants were less
fortunate. They went there
as a last resort to escape
poverty but now they are
working in Saudi prisons at
meagre wages for the bail
amount,” he said.
Khadar Alake, owner of
AFIFA travel agency based
in Mangalore, said “We
cleared Shihab’s papers
when he first went to Saudi.
He approached us later
with a proposition of 30
vacancies in his company
that needs to be occupied.
“We were asked to recruit
the men but we just cleared
the paperwork for their
passports and visas for a
sum of 30,000 per head.”
“His fraud was later re-
vealed as we came to know
that the men sent abroad
were cheated of their
money and were forced to
work without work permits.
“We incurred a loss of
two and a half lakhs and se-
vere defamation by associ-
ating with him.
“They say he is in Saudi
but we have no clue how he
left the country while facing
criminal charges,” he added.
Shaik Chand Pasha, so-
cial worker and president
of an NGO, Gulf Return-
ing Members Welfare Soci-
ety (GRMWS) took up the
cause. He contacted the
embassy in Riyadh and the
protector general of emi-
grants.
It is stated in the letter
from Mr. Pasha to the In-
dian embassy in Riyadh that
he has gained over 20 lakhs
through employment fraud.
He said “These emi-
grants go to the Middle
East mostly for manual
labour, they are illiterate
and do not know how to
approach the embassy
when caught in such scams.
“They face a language and
often their Arab employers
severely abuse them. There
have been many such in-
stances over the years and
this is not an isolated inci-
dent.”
N.C Chauhan, of the
labour and welfare depart-
ment of the Indian em-
bassy, said: “We have
responded with a letter to
the recruitment agency
based in Mumbai with in-
structions to contact their
Arab employer and resolve
the grievances of the In-
dian emigrants. Failure to
will result in the immediate
intervention of the ministry
of overseas affairs.”
Despite repeated at-
tempts, Mohammad Shihab
Naizam refused to respond.
ObserverVolume 14 | Issue 5 Thursday, September 11, 2014
The Weekly
Saudi jobs scam leaves 19 stranded
Agnivesh Harshan
BRIEFS
HIV positive
children face
abuse incidentsChildren affected
with HIV are sub-
jected to different
types of abuse..
Page 2
Rehab plans for
evictees on holdThe eviction of
slum dwellers is
facing fresh con-
troversy with cam-
paigners claiming
a lot of families
are yet to receive a
rehabilitation
package.
Page 3
Cops send
scooter theft
victim traffic
fine
A student who
received a traffic
fine three months
after she reported
her scooter stolen
was shown an
image of the thief
riding her bike.
Page 4
Boga Naveen was duped
City businessman missing as police launch probe into ghost jobs.
Shihabhe Naizam,
accused of stealing 20
lakh in work scam
HIV positive children face abuse incidents
Children affected with
HIV are subjected to dif-
ferent types of abuses by
their family after their
parents pass away.
“Preethy (name
changed) was not taken care
of by her paternal aunt.
When we saw her, she was
11 years -old and weighed
11 kg with a bleak CD4
count of 9. She also had de-
veloped acute TB,” said
Manoj Joseph, Programme
manager of Sneha Care
Home.
“We rescued her during
a community based pro-
gram which we do in col-
laboration with the
Karnataka government.
During this programe we
found that she was missing
her medication and went
looking for her,” he added.
The doctor advised to
put her under palliative
treatment.
However, the child al-
ways murmured that she
wanted to live more. Within
few days her condition im-
proved and she recovered
in another two months.
Now she is doing well at
Sneha Care Home.
Manoj said, “HIV af-
fected children are consid-
ered a burden by their fam-
ily after their parents pass
away.”
He explained another in-
cident where Lekha (name
changed) in Gulbarga dis-
trict was ‘sold off ’ to mar-
riage at the age of 13 to a
person older than her fa-
ther. After a few months, an
NGO involved in anti-traf-
ficking rescued her from
Pune. During the coun-
selling she said that she was
sold off to a brothel by her
husband and was forced to
attend 15-20 clients daily.
“Manohar (name
changed) hails from
Anathapura district ran
away from home and
reached Bangalore where
he was involved in some
crimes and caught by the
police. Then, from the De-
partment of Women and
Child Development he was
brought to our NGO but
he misbehaved badly. When
his behavior reached be-
yond control he was sent
back to WCD.” he added
Manoj also said,“We can
prevent HIV from affecting
the children through their
mothers at the time of
pregnancy. We are working
towards achieving the com-
plete prevention of HIV
amongst children in an-
other 15 years.”
Father Vince Mathew,
Director of Snehadaan
Care and Support Centre
for HIV/AIDS, said “In
rural areas, the girls with
HIV positive are treated as
a burden and are married
off at a young age without
knowing the background
of the person. But, this per-
son will in turn sell the child
to the flesh trade and as
time passes they become
very meek and are thrown
out of the business.”
“The reason a child is
considered a burden is be-
cause of the lack of proper
facility and resources in the
rural areas. If the govern-
ment can provide them
with better facilities then
this situation can be curbed
to a large extent.” he added.
Despite a fanfare of pub-
licity only 200 of 65,000
auto drivers have under-
gone training via an ini-
tiative launched by
Bangalore Police and an
NGO.
The Bangalore Traffic
Police say that combined ef-
forts of traffic police and
NGOs have led to a de-
crease in the cases against
auto drivers by 75%, this
year.
According to the statis-
tics provided by traffic po-
lice, cases registered against
auto drivers have reduced
from 24, 669 in 2013 to
6,261 till September this
year.
Traffic Police Manage-
ment Centre collaborated
with an NGO, Peace Auto,
which works to create
awareness.
However, the number
of trained personnel has
reached only to 200 trained
auto drivers but surprisingly
the cases registered have
gone down by 75%.
Anil Shetty, founder,
Peace Auto said, “There are
65,000 registered autos in
the city, it is not possible to
train all of them but we try
to reach maximum number
through our regular aware-
ness and reward functions.”
The Rajadhani Auto
Driver Union leader Hasan
Sharif, said, “I have not
heard of the NGO named
Peace Auto but relations
with traffic police have
been moderate for a while.”
B.C. Kanaka Kumar, As-
sistant Commissioner, Traf-
fic Police said, “The
personnel deployed near
signals assist the auto driv-
ers, but an awareness pro-
gram by Peace Auto have
yielded good results.”
Arundhati, who com-
mutes for 10-12 kms daily
said, “It is easier to deal
with auto drivers these days.
In case of complaints, we
can call the traffic police
helpline with the details
mentioned on driver’s dis-
play cards. I have not no-
ticed any changes with their
behavior though.”
Punita Maheshwari
Aadhira Anandh
An auto driver who works with Peace Auto
Foundation
HIV positive chidren at Sneha Care Home
The Weekly Observer Thursday, September 11, 20142
Auto drivers lack training despite NGO efforts
A recent survey by Victo-
ria Hospital revealed that
20 bodies were found on
the footpath around KR
Market in the past 10
days.
“There is at least one or
two bodies found on foot-
paths every day,” said Na-
garaj, who works at the
mortuary of Victoria Hos-
pital.
Abishek Goyal, Deputy
Commissioner of Police
(Crime Department) said,
“We don’t have any infor-
mation about deaths on the
footpath, as we have never
investigated the issue be-
fore.” Asma, who has been
living under a flyover at KR
Market for 20 years, said,
“We face many health prob-
lems in the rainy season and
it is difficult to get treated
from a government hospital
as we don’t have an ID
proof. The authorities re-
fused to give me an identity
proof as I don’t have a per-
manent shelter.
“Many people have died
on the footpath due to in-
fection and hunger. Offi-
cials from Victoria hospital
would come and take away
their bodies,” she added
Amir Unnisa, a beggar
who has had a leg infection
for over a month, said, “I
get food from the people
who come to the mosque.
But at times a large crowd
of beggars surrounds them
and because of my infected
right leg I can’t run to get
the food.”
“I don’t go to the hospi-
tal as I have no money and
I am scared that they will
sell my body parts,” she
added.
Sevanthi, another beggar
under the flyover, said: “I
am scared of drunkards
and thieves. We have to stay
awake all night or else they
will steal our clothes and
food. No one wants to stay
on streets, but we are help-
less and we have no other
option.”
“We get beaten up by
the police as we are not al-
lowed to stay here,” said
Mangal, who is a daily wage
earner at fruit market. He
works for eight hours and
earns Rs. 40 a day. He has
been living under the fly-
over for 10 years.
Ashwath Narayan, Ward
Councilor of KR market,
said, “I went to the market
many times but I couldn’t
find any homeless around.
If they come to the ward
and explain their problems,
I will definitely pay heed to
them.”
The eviction of slum
dwellers of the Jai Bhu-
vaneshwar Nagar is fac-
ing fresh controversy
with campaigners claim-
ing a lot of families are
yet to receive a rehabilita-
tion package.
According to the Alter-
nate Law Forum, only 512
families out of 870 families
have been rehabilitated so
far, despite claims by the
Karnataka Slum Clearance
Board that all had been re-
housed.
ALF had already sub-
mitted an affidavit regard-
ing the rehabilitation
package due to the 378
families.
The decision is still
pending before the slum
board.
But Mr. Sashidhar, Ex-
ecutive Officer of Slum
Clearance Board, dismissed
it. “We are aware of this sit-
uation raised by Alternative
Law Forum. But, they need
to give us some concrete
proof to back their claim.”
“During the eviction we
found that slum dwellers
were demolishing their own
houses before moving to
Kudlu and blamed the gov-
ernment for it,” he added.
Mr. Murgaya, Chief En-
gineer of the Slum Clear-
ance Board said, “The
government had offered re-
habilitation package to only
those families who were liv-
ing there for the last ten
years.”
Managing Director of
National Institute of Men-
tal Health and Neuro Sci-
ences (NIMHANS) lodged
a case claiming the property
belonged to NIMHANS.
The residents of Jai
Bhuvaneshwari Nagar were
staying there for the last 60
years. But, it was only 10
years back when they got
to know it wasn’t a regis-
tered slum.
The Samata Sainaka
Dala is claiming that the
district collectorate had
asked the slum dwellers,
who didn’t receive any reha-
bilitation package, to get a
written statement from the
Slum Clearance Board ask-
ing for one acre of land.
But, the slum board is re-
fusing to comply.
In the meantime some
of these residents have
moved out with others to
Kudlu, where they were re-
habilitated. But even there,
they are living on the
streets.
Manoj (name changed),
a member of one of the
families who didn’t receive
any rehabilitation package
said, “We are living on the
streets. We cannot afford
the rented house as they ask
for an advance of 1 lakh.
We also have to spend Rs.
3,000 for transport every
month.”
Kavitha (name changed)
a resident of Kudlu where
they have been rehabilitated
said, “The government
promised us a sum of Rs.
2,000 for the transportation
but, we had to pay it from
our pocket.” she added.
Mrs. Santha Mary, a
member of Samata Sainaka
Dala, said, “The discrep-
ancy lies because the survey
done by the government
was four years old when the
slum had 512 houses.”
Pulaha Roy
Elizabeth Mani
Amir Unnisa has lived under the flyover for 10 years
Jai Bhuvaneshwari Nagar after the eviction
Rehab plans for evictees on hold
Two bodies a day found on Bangalore's footpaths
The Weekly Observer Thursday, September 11, 2014 3
Santha Mary, activist
The city last year
recorded the highest
number of power thefts
since 2011.
According to a recent in-
spection in Bangalore, a
total of 3,474 power thefts
were detected which levied
25.31 crore penalty in 2013-
14. In total there was a 34%
increase this year in Banga-
lore.
In 2012-13, Karnataka
Power Transmission Cor-
poration Limited detected
2,335 cases and in 2011-12
they detected 1,306 cases all
over Bangalore.
The vigilance wing re-
covered 12.23 crore from
theft cases alone for differ-
ent cases of Bangalore.
There are almost 15 types
of power theft cases, as told
by the KPCTL official.
According to Vish-
wanathan. R .Salankey, Ex-
ecutive Engineer, Vigilance
wing, KPTCL, there are 15
types of power theft cases
including using remote con-
trol device, by bypassing
meter using spare, by tam-
pering seals & meter and
many more.
“These days people are
discovering new processes
for power theft and that is
why the number is increas-
ing,” he added.
During the inspection by
KPTCL in 2013-14, it was
found that Gulbarga tops in
the power theft cases.
According to a
BESCOM official, “Re-
cently five crore penalty was
imposed on Karnataka
Slum Clearance Board for
power theft for last one and
half years. This year till now
it is the biggest amount of
penalty imposed. ”
Despite having repetitive
attempt some officials of
Karnataka Slum Clearance
Board, they refused to
speak about this issue.
The call was cut as the
question was asked about
the blame they recieved for
stealing power.
According to the
sources, after the inspec-
tion, officials and police
takes bribe to close the case.
That is why we can not get
the proper amount of
penalty from the discrepan-
cies detected.
The power thieves have
to be punished under sec-
tion 136 and 138, said a
KPTCL official. According
to section 136 and section
138 of Electricity Act, the
theft of electricity and in-
terference with meters are
punishable crime, respec-
tively.
To make people cautious
KPCTL give advertisement
through social media, elec-
tronic media. and print
media. They also use hoard-
ings.
The Weekly Observer Thursday, September 11, 20144
A student who received
a traffic fine three
months after she re-
ported her scooter
stolen was shown an
image of the thief riding
her bike.
In October 2013, 21
year-old Keerthilakshmi,
lost her two-wheeler in
Gandhi Sahitya Nagar,
Malleswaram. After the
theft she immediately went
to the Malleswaram Police
Station to file a complaint
of theft on the same day.
She went to the police
station in December 2013
to see if there were any up-
dates on the case. The po-
lice informed her that the
case has been closed be-
cause there was not enough
data to work on.
On March 2014, she got
an automated update by the
Bangalore Traffic Police
website saying she has to
pay fine for the traffic rules
violated in on 30th January
2014.
She went to the police
station with the photos gen-
erated from the CCTV
camera. The police said that
the two departments work
individually. They referred
her to BTP to enquire. The
BTP told her it was not
their duty to give informa-
tion to the police to retrieve
the stolen vehicle.
M.N. Nagaraj, Police In-
spector of Malleswaram
Police Station said, “The
two departments do share
data but it gets very difficult
to keep a check on what is
being uploaded on the site.”
BTP said, “We share
data regarding these issues
but it is difficult to coordi-
nate sometimes. We share
data with the police only
when they ask for it.”
The data available with
Bangalore Traffic Police is
not being used by the police
department to solve crimes
because of lack of coordi-
nation.
She filed an FIR against
the person (circled) in the
picture with her vehicle in
March 2014.
The data generated from
the CCTV cameras at the
traffic signals is being used
by the BTP to send the sys-
tem updates to the regis-
tered owners but the police
do not use this data.
The police department
said that in 2012, 49 cases
of stolen vehicle was
recorded out of which eight
were false and only seven
were recovered.
In 2013, 41 cases were
reported and six of them
were false and out of 35,
five were recovered. In
2014, 22 cases are reported
till date, of which 18 vehi-
cles have already been re-
covered.
Cops send scooter theft victim traffic fine
Power poles are rou-
tinely targeted in thefts
Aparna Singh
Asmita Kundu
OBSERVER Team: Editor - Punita Maheshwari, Chief Sub-Editor - Aadhira Anandh, News Editor - Darshan Rane, News Desk - Nikunj Ohri,
Sub Editors - Kimaya Varude, Pulaha Roy, Natasha Singh, Designer - Devdatta Sukhdev, Layout Desk - Aparna Singh, Nikhil M.Babu,
Photo Editor - Asmita Kundu, Proof Reader - Elizabeth Mani, Reporters - Divya Kishore, Apoorva Choubey
Spike in electricity theft cases
The thief with the stolen vehicle caught on CCTV