YEH MERA INDIA

Crazy police urinate into youth’s mouth

Kolkata: A fresh controversy, which is likely to push the Mamata Banerjee administration into another uncomfortable corner, finds three policemen in Kolkata accused of urinating on a youth, who had asked them for help against some antisocial.

The parents of 20-year-old Md. Rafiq Anwar, a resident of Beniapukur, which is barely a couple of kilometers away from the city’s central business district, filed a complaint with the local police station alleging that their son was walking towards his home late evening through the Park Circus Maidan – the large sports ground and morning walkers’ haven provides much-needed greenery to the otherwise concertized area-when he was accosted by four men.

The men asked Rafiq for a matchbox to light their cigarette, but when he said he had none and walked on, they stopped him again, surrounded him and started forcibly digging his pockets.

As these men were taking away Rafiq’s mobile phone and whatever cash he had, he noticed a black police van making rounds of the park and raised an alarm. Managing to tear himself away from the four men, he started running towards the van, when the men screamed “Thief!” from behind him.

As he reached the police, they hit Rafiq instead of helping him and beat him up severely, claimed Rafiq’s father Gazi Anwar in his complaint.

The complaint further alleged that when, gasping for breath after being assaulted, he asked for water, the policemen urinated in Rafiq’s mouth. When some of Rafiq’s neighbours saw him being pushed into the police van and being driven away from the dimly-lit ground, they informed his parents.

While his parents accused the policemen of being drunk, cops from Beniapukur police station claimed that Rafiq was inebriated at the time of the incident.

Rafiq, who had fallen unconscious, was admitted to a nearby state-run hospital, where he has been keeping under medical observation by doctors.

Meanwhile, following the formal complaint by Rafiq’s parents, Kolkata police ordered an enquiry against the assistant sub-inspector and two constables for allegedly assaulting the youth. 

All three policemen have been ordered to stay away from routine work at their station of posting, and have been asked to present themselves before the duty office at Lalbazar, the city police’s headquarters.

Sources in the city police informed that while any assault mark is yet to be found on Rafiq, if the allegations against the policemen prove to be true, suitable action would be taken.

Senior officials, however, preferred to stay away from commenting on the matter till further instructions from the state government.

One-third MPs, MLAs face criminal charges: survey

New Delhi : Almost one-third of sitting Lok Sabha members and an equal number of MLAs in various states are facing criminal charges, a study by an NGO favouring electoral reforms has said. The nation-wide survey, done by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), was undertaken in view of the forthcoming polls in five states and the general elections later, a release by the NGO said. 

The survey was undertaken in relation to 62,847 candidates who had contested the polls since 2004 for the Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in various seats. “Out of these 62,847 candidates, 11,063 (18 per cent) candidates have declared criminal cases against them while 5,253 (eight per cent) candidates have serious criminal charges. Thirty per cent or 162 out of the total 543 MPs in the current Lok Sabha are facing criminal charges, while 76 face serious charges. “Moreover, 1,258 (31 per cent) MLAs are facing criminal charges across India. While 23 per cent of those with serious criminal records won, only 12 per cent of the candidates without criminal records won,” the ADR analysis said.

It said these trends indicate that those with criminal records were better oriented for a win at the hustings.

Waiting for Aadhar card, but found in garbagebin

Bhayandar: Less than 20 days after bundles of MSEDCL electricity bills were found lying with a scrap dealer in Nallasopara, around 60 aadhar cards were recovered from a garbage bin in Virar (East). The cards, wrapped in a black polythene bag, were spotted by a rag-picker in the Sai Dutt Nagar area of Virar (East). The rag-picker informed local resident Balmukund Mishra, who rushed to the spot and was shocked to find the cards dumped in the garbage bin. Incidentally, Mishra was on his way to the Virar post Office to inquire about his Aadhar card, when the rag-picker informed him about the abandoned cards. And to his utter disbelief, Mishra found six cards, belonging to him and his family members. Although Mishra is happy to get hold of the long-awaited government document, he is worried about consequences of such a careless attitude of concerned authorities. “Aadhar is a vital identification document for Indian Citizens, it could have been misused if fallen in wrong hands,” observed Mishra. 

Hospitals in day - Dormitories by night

Mumbai: It is no surprise that one of the rapists of the photojournalist was found sleeping in the corridor of Nair Hospital. All public hospitals turn into dormitories for the homeless at night. They just pay the security guards and sleep along with the relatives of patients in the premises of the hospitals.

“I just have a blanket and bedsheet. I am new to this city and drive a taxi in the daytime. I pay the ward boy Rs 250 everyday and sleep here,” said Kamleshwar Kumar who arrived in the city last month and sleeps in Nair Hospital. An auto driver introduced him to the place.

The ward boys give the best place under the fan to the one who pays the highest sum. “It depends on my days. The day I earn well I get a better place,” said Vaishnavi Bahirgonde, a beggar.

“Three or four security guards cannot take care of such large premises,” said Dr Avinash Supe, dean of Sion hospital.

However, this correspondent has been a witness to the carelessness and irresponsible attitude of even the four to five security guards. The security guards can never be found alert while on duty. The metal detector machines and the security check rooms remain locked and non-functional throughout the day.

Many of the doctors of KEM, Sion and Nair hospitals have complained that these security guards are drunk, mostly at nights. “We have complained to the authority. But so far no action has been taken,” said a doctor from Sion hospital requesting anonymity. According to the dean of Nair hospital Dr R Bharmal, the security in public hospitals cannot compete with the security in private hospitals because of the volume of work received by them. “The area of the private hospitals are limited and they have better manpower. Besides they don’t take in every other patient. We have to admit everyone because of which crowd is huge and questioning every other person is difficult,” said Dr R Bharmal.

When asked on why the relatives cannot be given entry passes and only one can be allowed in the premises at one time he said, “They also have to wheel the stretchers and wheel chairs. We don’t have manpower for wheeling in patients from one ward to another.”

After the gang rape incident BMC has issued circulars for curbing the inflow of illegal people in the hospital premises. “We have issued the circular according to which the security can question anybody present in the hospital premises. We cannot restrict entry of people in the hospital but we will ensure that nobody is present in the premises without any work,” said Dr S Nagda, Director of BMC.