MONTH THAT WAS

Educated well off tortured helpless minor domestic

Bhayandar: Yet another shocking case of physical abuse of a minor domestic help has come to light in an upscale locality. This time such an incident which exposed the shameful face of humanity has been reported from the posh-Poonam Crown Complex in the Govind Nagar area of Mira Road. Thanks to the intervention of building residents, an 11-year-old girl was rescued from the clutches of her tormentors who are a couple identified as –Sarjil Ahmed Ansari (38) and Farhat (35). The monster couple have been charged with physically torturing the minor girl, whom they had brought from her native place in Budaun village, Uttar Pradesh, a year back under the pretext of educating her. However, the couple held the little girl captive and forced her to do all the household chores and brutally assaulted for trivial reasons.

Suffering silently the girl, who has visible bruises and wounds all over her body, had nowhere to go and seek help. However, the girl mustered courage and managed to reveal about her ordeal to a neighbour, who immediately alerted other society members and rescued the girl from the flat and rushed her to the police station. However it allegedly took more than 15 hours for the police to register an FIR against the accused.

“We smelt something fishy was going on in the flat, but to be honest we never imagined this kind of torture on the girl.” said a building resident.“The girl had apparently been brought from her village for Rs 15,000 by the couple. It is suspected that two other siblings of the girl have also been brought to Mumbai,” said Lira Nanavati- who heads noted NGP- Helping Hands Foundation.

While Sarjil has been arrested, his wife Farhat is still absconding. Apart from the various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the couple has been booked under the relevant Sections of the Child Labour Protection and Regulation Act.

Chocolates over by 2020!

London: Chocolates could run out by 2020 as the cocoa supplies are diminishing across the world. Industry expert Angus Kennedy said that the chocolate bars may get replaced by slabs of palm oil and vegetable fats packed with raisins and nougat by 2020 as there is a worldwide shortage of cocoa, the Mirror reported.

As the cocoa crops are being replaced by more profitable rubber plantations, the future of chocolate bars looks bleak.

Simple living high thinking

Pope Francis has written to the cardinals he is preparing to appoint next month, warning them to steer clear of “worldliness” and “celebrations” and telling them they should retain “a simple and humble heart”.

Francis has repeatedly warned clerics against being ambitious and has curtailed the use of honorific “monsignor” titles as part of his plans to revamp the Vatican’s scandal-tainted bureaucracy and finances.

“The post of cardinal is not a promotion or an honour or a decoration. It is simply a service that demands a wider view and a bigger heart,” the pope said in his letter, made public by the Vatican on Monday.

He said the 19 new cardinals, who were named on Sunday and will officially be appointed at a consistory on February 22, should make sure they follow the example of Jesus Christ — “the path of humility”.

“You should take up the post with elation and joy but make sure this sentiment is far from any expression of worldliness, any celebrations that are foreign to the evangelical spirit of austerity, sobriety and poverty.”

To err is human – So what, she is a nun !

A nun has given birth to a boy in the Italian city of Rieti, report Agencies from Rome.

The nun, originally from El Salvador, claimed she did not know that she was pregnant. She was rushed to a hospital after experiencing severe abdominal pain.

An ultrasound scan revealed she was expecting a full-term baby, who was delivered by doctors during a natural birth.

“The baby is one of God’s creatures and we have the utmost respect for human life. Pope Francis himself has recalled, that human errors aside, the dignity of the individual must be respected,” said Fabrizio Borello, a priest. The nun will take care of her baby. The other nuns at the convent were “shocked” at the birth, the priest added.

Women power that failed

Bhayandar: The three biological sisters, who landed in the custody of Mira Road police after they were caught red-handed while trying to steal money from a bank customer in Mira Road, have been remanded to police custody. 

The sisters had tried to rip open the plastic bag containing Rs 50,000 cash carried by a bank customer. According to the police, the matter was reported from the Shanti Park branch of Bank of India at about 12 pm.

A resident of RNA Courtyard, Swati Singh, was waiting in queue to deposit the cash in her account when a young woman, who was later identified as Jogeshwaridevi Guda Chamar (18), tried to rip open Singh’s bag with a blade. A stunned Singh, who noticed the act, immediately raised an alarm, prompting the on-duty security personnel to rush to the spot and nab the woman.

Soon it emerged that the Jogeshwaidevi was not alone, her two elder siblings, identified as Mona Guda Chamar (21) and Gauri Shrikant Chamar (30) were assisting her in the crime. The bank authorities immediately alerted the local police who reached the spot and arrested the women. The trio who are said to be natives of Madhya Pradesh and staying at the Mira Road railway platform, were remanded to police custody by the District Sessions Court, Thane. Primary investigations revealed that the sisters were  part of a gang involved in similar crimes in the region. It is interesting to note that Seeta Chaurasiya was robbed of Rs 50,000 from the Bhayandar branch of a nationalised bank on December 6, in exactly a similar manner.

The PSI , Sneha Mehtar is carrying out further investigations into the case.

Eureka forbes fined for deficiency

Mumba : The Mumbai Central Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has held Eureka Forbes guilty of deficiency in service and penalised it for rendering faulty service to a consumer. Besides the main compensatory amount, the forum has asked Eureka Forbes to cough up Rs10,000 for the complainant’s legal expenses and his mental agony.

In May 2012, the complainant, Digambar Dhande, had approached the firm for installing a water purifier at his Dadar residence. One of the firm’s employees had accordingly visited Dhande’s house and advised him to get the AG Booster (water filter-cum-purifier). Eureka Forbes then asked him to make an advance payment to book the filter.

On July 17, 2012, the AG Booster was installed at Dhande’s residence. His contention was that the machine worked properly for the first three months after installation. However, it broke down in October 2012. He then lodged a complaint about it with the firm, which then sent a technician to Dhande’s residence to fix the problem. The technician was unable to trace the problem and advised Dhande to register a complaint with the firm’s Bangalore toll-free number. Meanwhile, the firm deputed more technicians to fix the problem, “but nobody was able to solve the issue,” stated the complaint.

He finally visited the firm to seek a solution, but did not get any response. Eureka Forbes reneged on its offer to replace the faulty purifier with a new one.Aggrieved, the complainant then finally approached the redressal forum, filing a complaint against the firm.

After going through the evidence produced by Dhande, the forum held the firm responsible for deficient and faulty services and directed them to pay a fine of Rs 8,590, along with 9 per cent interest, from June 2013 to Dhande. It also directed the firm to pay Rs 5,000 to compensate for the complainant’s mental agony and an additional Rs 5,000 toward the complainant’s legal expenses.