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