The Weekly Observer, Vol 13, Issue 24

Thursday, January 30, 2014

VOL. 13 ISSUE 24

Cops probe death of 12-year-old

Kavi was rushed to Family Hospital on Monday but died yesterday after a cardiac arrest. Police officers with Indira’s mother at the house where Kavi worked as a maid KARISHMA RAVINDRAN Police are investigating the death of a 12-year-old girl who collapsed at the home of a woman who had allegedly employed her illegally.

Kavi, from Gulbarga, had spent 11 months in the woman’s home as payment in kind after the homeowner paid her sister’s medical expenses, according to the NGO involved.

The schoolgirl died of cardiac arrest at a city hospital yesterday.

According to Childline, a helpline for children in distress, Kavi (name changed) used to work as domestic help for the past 11 months. On January 27, the NGO received a tip off about the girl.

Gunasheela, from Childline, said that the girl belongs to Gulbarga district and she used to work as a domestic help at an employer’s house at Halasuru.

The employer, Indira, works as a receptionist at Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology.

“They knew it was illegal yet they employed the girl. I filed

a complaint with Halasuru Police Station on January 28 and the First Information Report has been registered. The hospital registration book showed the girl’s age as 12 years,” she added.

According to Childline, there were blood clots on her ears and neck when they visited her at the hospital. She was first admitted at Chinmaya Mission Hospital and was then shifted to Family Hospital at Mathikere where she was declared dead by doctors on January 29.

Deepak, Indira’s husband, the second accused in the FIR, said: “She never used her at her place as a domestic help. It is a false allegation on us. She only used to visit our house at times but never stayed here permanently.

We want to get out of this mess.

We are very stressed out right now.”

Nandappa, Kavi’s brother, said that she suffered from epilepsy before working as domestic help at Indira’s place.

“We treat Indira as our own family member. In the past they have helped us financially

Alcohol worth Rs20 lakh spirited away, three arrested PAGE 2

as well. We trust Indira, hence I left my sister at her place and she has been living at her place since past three years” he added.

According to the victim’s brother and the doctor from Family Hospital, the girl was

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They knew it was illegal yet they employed the girl.

- Gunasheela, Childline

16-year-old but the medical reports from Chinmaya Hospital claimed that the

girl was 12-year-old.

Dr. Paramesh, surgeon at Family Hospital said, “Kavi passed away at 12:45 am on January 29 due to cardiac arrest and she was also suffering from a bleeding disorder. Due to this, she developed clots in her brain and was comatose. We will be receiving her post mortem in a few days.”

Gunasheela said that they entered Indira’s house at Jogupalya near Halasuru with police officers . Indira accepted that the girl used to work as domestic help at her place and told the NGO that they treated Kavi as their own child.

Indira told the NGO and cops that the girl suffered from epilepsy and was admitted to the hospital after she collapsed on January 24 while drying clothes on the terrace.

Edward Thomas, member of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) said, “We have been getting com-

plaints from people. It is the duty of the parents to take care of the child. We had asked the police to investigate the case.

We will form a committee and then investigate the case.” He said that it was difficult to understand why they left the child at the employers place.

M.H Naagthe, police inspector, Halasuru Police Station said, “We will investigate the case.

The girl’s parents seem to have willingly left the child at the employers place. The girl’s mother works as a coolie and she does not have a father.

The girl’s family told us that Indira bore the expenses during Kavi’s sister’s tumor surgery and hence they left Kavi at the employer’s place so that she takes care of her.”

The police added, “We have registered a case under the sections, Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 and Child Labor Act, 1986” Indira declined to comment when contacted by the Weekl.y Observer.

Indira, who is at the centre of a police probe employed Kavi at her Bangalore home.

She declined to comment on the girl’s sudden death.

Young girls from Rajasthan risk their safety during wedding displays.

PAGE 4

The Weekly

Observer

Thursday, January 30, 2014

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Farmers rally for overdue land payments from railway board

Shankar, farmer chitharth & suresh

Farmers took to the streets of Bangalore to protest against the government for not giving them proper compensation for their lands.

Lands located in places like Tumkur, Sheray and Madhukara were taken from farmers for laying down railway tracks.

The farmers claim that in accordance with the deal they had with the government they were suppose to receive compensation of Rs 20 lakh to 1crore 40 lakh.

They added that as of now

they have received 50 per cent they are offering us only a sum halli said: “Railways acquired of what had been promised in of rupees 5 to 6 lakhs per acre about 380 acres in the districts lieu of their land. which we refused.” of Tumkur and Raichur for layThe farmers staged a rally Ravish, a farmer from Oora- ing railway track and building from the Majestic Railway Sta- karaye said: “Over 20 acres have a junction. This started in the tion to Freedom Park. been acquired from our village. year 2007 when they served us Byya Reddy G.C, Vice Presi- The compensation they are giv- a notice to acquire land from dent, Karnataka Prantha Raitha ing us is much lower than the us.

“They agreed to give market Sangha (KPRS), said: “Our market price, so we refused to price for our lands, but now lands were taken for laying accept.” down tracks but the governHarish, a farmer from Anna- they are refusing.” ment failed to provide agreed compensation.

“We took out this rally to demand the compensation we were supposed to get.”

Shankar, a farmer from Tumkur, said: “Mr.Raja, who was the former collector of our district, told the railways to give us Rs 1.2 crore per acre as compensation for our lands.

But for some reason it was refused. Now Farmers stage a rally at Freedom Park today

Police probe fierce gang Alcohol worth 20 lakh stolen attack on mechanic

Puneet, the victim who was attacked by four men Mayuri J. Ravi Four men allegedly tried to murder a man near Lourdes School on January 21.

Puneet, 25, in his First Information Report stated, “At 1 in the afternoon when I was going for some work, my bike stopped near Lourdes School and was not starting after repeated attempts.

I took my vehicle to the nearby shop to get it repaired when four men named Kitta, Sanjay, Naga and Ajith alias Arjun, whom I know, came to me and held me. One of them shouted

‘he is the one’ and all of them began to attack me.”

The report stated that he was beaten up and they stabbed him with a knife on the right side of his head, right side of his stomach and left leg and ran away. His friends Janardhan and Karthik also ran away from the spot but after sometime they came back and took him to Victoria Hospital.

He requested the police to take immediate action against the four men. Manjunath, Inspector, Halasuru Gate Police Station, said, “Investigation is still going on. We have traced one of the accused, we are trying to nab him.”

Siddappa, Puneet’s father said: “I do not why they attacked my son and he is not telling me anything.”

Puneet was shifted to Bowring Hospital on January 28.

The case has been registered at Halasuru Gate Police Station and is under investigation. The four accused have been booked under Section 307, 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

The accused: Harisha, Roopesha, Srinivasa Apurva Venkat Alcohol worth Rs 20 lakhs was stolen from United Spirits Limited in Kumbalgodu.

Last week, Kumbalgodu police station seized a few bottles of alcohol and arrested three people who were involved in the case.

Deepak R., Sub Inspector, Kumbalgodu police station, said: “Five months back, there was a case reported to us. Alcohol that was sent for transportation from the factory was stolen in a lorry. We were doing investigation for the past five months and finally caught the accused last week.”

He added, “Three people were caught last week and are presently in Central Jail. They had 18 similar cases registered against them. It seems like a big network, they take alcohol in trucks for transportation somewhere on the outskirts of the

city, stop the vehicle and take away the alcohol, they consume some and sell the rest.”

The three accused Roopesha, Srinivasa and Harisha are booked under the sections 405 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code. The laws pertain to criminal breach of trust. If they are found guilty under these sections, the accused will be punished with imprisonment of minimum three years with or without a fine.

Deepak said, “While we recovered the lorry in which the alcohol was stolen we could not recover much of the alcohol bottles. We just recovered a few Old Tavern Whiskey bottles from Hassan.”

When United Spirits was asked about the incident they said that they would not wish to reveal anything on the issue.

The issue is under the excise department.

The Weekly

Observer

Thursday, 30 January, 2014

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‘Understaffed’ fire dept reveals 66cr property lost ISHAN BHATTACHARYA In the past two years property worth more than Rs 66 crore was lost due to fire break outs in Bangalore.

More than 20 people were killed and 112 others were critically injured by fire in the two years, according to the city’s Chief Fire Officer.

In 2013 and 2012 property amounting to Rs 10, 7852,350 crore and Rs 55, 40,52,232 crore was lost due to fire, CFOO , West Zone, said.

In the past four years the CFOO received 6993 fire calls and 1118 rescue calls out of which 1545 fire calls and 284 rescue calls came in the year 2013.

One worker died at a construction site in Kamanhalli on January 7 this year after the roof of the building collapsed, the CFOO West said.

In another incident that took place in March 25, 2013, five workers of

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a company named SR Citing Systems, located on Magadi Road, died because of a fire which was triggered by a short circuit.

Guru Prasanna, a fire official in CFOO West, said: “Fire calls are the calls we receive when people inform us about a fire break out. “Rescue calls most of the time are very urgent as these calls mean that people are trapped under building debris.

“Recently in Bangalore there have been many cases of buildings collapses.”

He said: “The maximum number of fire calls in the past four years came in 2012. We attended 2000 fire calls and 246 rescue calls in 2012.”

Guru said: “The main cause of fire in Bangalore is short-circuits.

Cylinder blasts are another common cause of fire in the city.

“We have also got cases

Warehouse at Peenya gutted by fire in September 2013. where fire has been willingly ignited.”

Abhishek Dutta, store manager of Van Heusen, Meenakshi Mall, said: “Open wire boxes and sprouting wires are a very common scene in Bangalore.

“There are lots of kids in my neighborhood in Arekare. Their parents often feel scared when

they play on the streets as the place is filled with open wire boxes.”

K . L . Mar k an d e y u lu Chief Fire Officer, West Bangalore said that Bangalore fire department is ‘highly understaffed’ and that they are facing problems because of that.

He blamed the growing population of the city for

the fire accidents.

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We attended 2000 fire calls and 246 rescue calls in 2012.

- Guru Prasanna, fire official

Bangalore Fire Department is ‘highly understaffed’ and is facing problems because of that.

- K.L.Markandeyulu, Chief Fire Officer, West Bangalore

Woman allegedly murdered for gold SNEHA MEJARI

House of Kodamma, victim.

A 63-year-old woman was found dead in her home on Tuesday night.

Kodamma, a resident of Mahadevapura, was found dead and her jewellery missing. The police were informed about the incident at 11 pm by her son Srinivas.

Police suspect that the woman was murdered for her

jewellery.

J. Gautham, Police Inspector, Mahadevapura Police Station said, “Kodamma’s son lived on the first floor while she lived on the ground floor. He said that he had seen his mother last on Monday night at around 8:30 pm. When he did not hear from his mother the entire day on Tuesday, he went to her floor at 7:30 pm and opened the door with a duplicate key. On entering the house, he found his mother lying dead.”

He added, “Her jewellery was missing and there were stran-

gulation marks on her neck.”

The inspector added, “Her two gold chains, four golden bangles and a pair of golden earrings were missing. The total theft of gold amounted to 90 grams.”

A general store owner near the house said, “Kodamma did not talk much to people but she used to go for morning and evening walks daily.”

There are two police officials posted at the house. Ravindra, a constable said, “Since the lady was recently murdered we are guarding it.”

The Weekly

Observer

Thursday, 30 January, 2014

Schoolgirl showgirls risk safety at wedding shows of age cannot work in ‘hazardous’ conditions.

The Act also states that if children below 14 years of age are employed, they “shall not be permitted or required to work between 7pm and 8am Since most of these acts are performed during wedding receptions, they start only after 8 p.m. and continue until

ANAND JAIN Decorated head-to-toe with grand make-up and heavy clothing, class 5 girls are brought to the city from Rajasthan to perform risky shows at wedding receptions.

The show involves having the 12year-old girls spin huge cycle tires on one leg, dance on blunt swords and balance chunks of mud pots, among other things. They are called here by a folk art group called Marwar Swar Sangam.

Deepika, a 12-year-old girl who was part of the crew said: “Whenever there is a program, I miss school. I do about 15 programs in a month.”

That means, Deepika misses at least half of her school hours due to these programs, including travel hours.

The owner of Marwar Swar

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I miss school whenever there is a program. I do about 15 programs a month.

Suresh Pareek, with his employee.

Sangam, Suresh Pareek said: “We charge Rs.61, 000 for a live pro- 11pm.

A show which was held in Basgram, which includes orchestra, sound system, three singers and veshwarnagar on January 20, started at 8.30pm. and went on till four dancers.”

When asked about the age of 11pm.

Dr. Sachin Sinha, from Narain these dancers, three of whom are girls, Suresh said: “They are about Sewa Sansthan, an NGO that 16 to 18, sorry, 18 to 20 years works for the development of children, said: “A lot of things are old.”

A cameraman in their team said: involved here. All of this comes “There is nothing wrong about under event management. As of these girls being so young. They now, we have no parameters to are getting a chance, and that’s a measure these acts. We cannot take action just because one or big thing.”

These shows violate the Indian two people are saying it is wrong.

Child Labor (Prohibition and He added: “This entire issue falls Regulation) Act, 1986, which under entertainment. Whether states that children below 14 years on TV, on stage, or anywhere else, it is only seen as entertainment.”

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Events THEATRE

Love, Sex and Section 377 is a satire on the Supreme Court’s judgement that criminalized sexual intercourse of same sex couples.

Date: 2 February Time: 6 p.m.

Venue: Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar

ART

State clampdown on school buses ANAGHA SAWANT Over 25 school buses were penalized by the Regional Transport Office for improper maintenance, over a period of five months, after a crackdown on the safety of these vehicles.

The total amount of money collected as fine by the RTO from these buses during the fivemonth period, from August 2013 to December 2013, amounted to Rs

48, 653.

The 27 school buses were penalized for not maintaining the vehicles according to the standards set by the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988.

Speaking to The Weekly Observer, about a recently seized school bus which was being used despite a shattered emergency exit window in Rajajinagar, CT Murthy, Regional Transport Officer, said: “We have issued a notice to the school regarding this and have cancelled its fitness certificate. The school bus has to be produced before us within 20 days to get a fresh fitness cer-

tificate for the vehicle.”

He added: “The incident took place 11 days ago. It takes two or three days to repair the shattered window. But the school bus is not in a working condition yet.

It is getting repaired in a garage. After it is repaired and the maintenance of the bus is examined, we will issue a fitness certificate.”

In the past six months, the maintenance of around 351 buses from schools and colleges have been examined.

Out of these 351 buses, 53 buses in the month of August, 46 buses in September and 252 buses in December were checked.

Commenting on this, Murthy said: “We examine the school buses in our area after every one or two months and book them under the Motor

Vehicle Act, 1988, if not maintained properly.

The educational institution buses include private buses used for school purposes, which are also checked at regular intervals by the same parameters.”

Safety comes first, says CT Murthy. He said, “It is not just the responsibility of the authority.

Public should be aware of road safety.”

The RTO officer added: “We have two responsibilities, one to educate people about road safety, and second to inspect the maintenance of the vehicles. In order to solve the problem, we had conducted an interactive workshop for school bus drivers and assistants during the checking period. We told them how to maintain the vehicle and what to do during an emergency.”

Observer Team: Editor–Mayuri J. Ravi Chief Sub Editor-Ishan Bhattacharya Sub Editors– Anagha Sawant, Anand Jain, Neha Singh News Editors - Nikita Narvekar, Annanya Sarkar Picture Editor & Design Desk – Karishma Ravindran Reporters– Sneha Mejari, Chitharth Mathivanan, Bhaskar Dutta Proof Reader– Anannya Sarkar Email- editor@iijnm.org An IIJNM Publication (For Private Circulation)

Bengaluru Tree Festival exhibits a variety of trees to signify their existence.

Date: Sat, 8 Feb Time: 7.30 a.m. onwards Venue: Government Museum and Venkatappa Art gallery

MUSIC

Violin and Piano show by Martina Lohmann from Brazil Date: Feb, 7 Time: 6:45 p.m.

Venue: Alliance de Francaise