Torment: Sexual Harassment at workplace, victim immolate herself outside the Delhi Chief Minister's Office (Episode 317-318 on 29th-30th Nov 2013)

PART 1







PART 2







The Inside Story

NEW DELHI: Pavitra Bhardwaj (40), who tried to commit suicide by setting herself on fire in front of Delhi Secretariat, succumbed to her injuries on Monday morning.



Pavitra, who was dismissed from the position of laboratory attendant at BR Ambedkar College in 2012, had alleged repeated sexual harassment by college principal, GK Arora.



Prior to her dismissal Bhardwaj had repeatedly filed sexual harassment complaints against the college principal in 2009.

However, the apex committee of the university ruled in favour of Arora.



Her death prompted protests by teachers and students of the college who demanded that the college principal should step down until a probe is on in this case.



The demonstrators also accused Delhi Police of shoddy investigation in the case, claiming that no action has been taken against the principal and another employee of the college whom she had named in her suicide note.



The woman was sacked from the college two years ago. Police had filed a case of suicide in this case. "We are waiting the postmortem report in the case. Meanwhile, we are questioning the principal and other people in the case," said deputy commissioner of police (Central) Alok Kumar.



The relatives of the woman said that Bhardwaj had filed complaints against the college principal first with an anti-sexual harassment committee and then with the apex committee of the university, both of which had given clean chit to Arora. They demanded immediate arrest of the principal.



"Nobody from the government or the education department visited her. The principal is being shielded. He should be arrested and only then a fair inquiry is possible in the case," alleged Bhardwaj's brother Sanjeev.



BJP leader Vijay Jolly and former Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra, who had met the victim on Sunday, had also questioned why the Delhi chief minister and the education minister had not cared to visit the victim.



Meanwhile, Chairperson of National Commission for Woman Mamta Sharma said if sexual harassment is taking place in schools and colleges, then it is very unfortunate.



"The case has not yet been reported to us. I will get it probed once it comes to us," she said.



Thanks To:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-07/delhi/42793380_1_college-principal-sexual-harassment-apex-committee

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Probe into harassment starts after suicide



New Delhi, Oct. 9: Pavitra Bharadwaj’s fight for justice has just begun. After her suicide.



For four years, the 40-year-old lab assistant in a Delhi University college had knocked on every door with her complaint of sexual harassment against her college principal. Last year, she lost her job after two internal complaints committees gave the accused a clean chit.



Last week, she set herself on fire.



Today, the National Commission for Women (NCW), which Bharadwaj had approached four years ago, took the first step towards probing her allegations against G.K. Arora, the principal of BR Ambedkar College, and another employee.



It met Delhi University vice-chancellor Dinesh Singh, Delhi State Commission for Women chairperson Barkha Singh, Delhi police commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi and additional commissioner (North-East) V.V. Chaudhary to investigate the allegations and prepare a report.



In the past four years, Bharadwaj had approached all these officials at some point or the other.



“She had come to us in 2009, but at that point her case was purely service related. We asked her to approach the internal committee of the university to address her grievances,” said NCW member Nirmala Sawant Prabhavalkar, who is part of the committee probing the circumstances that led to the suicide.



“We have found out that she approached the Delhi Commission for Women and Delhi police. Today, we spoke to all those involved and we will submit our report soon. I believe there must have been something going on for her to take such an extreme step.”



Arora, who had earlier denied the allegation, was not available for comment.



The case dates back to 2009 when Bharadwaj, a laboratory assistant in the geography department of BR Ambedkar College, accused Arora and another employee of sexual harassment.



A college complaints committee and a higher panel later exonerated both. In 2012, Arora sacked her.



Aditya N. Mishra, former president of the Delhi University Teacher’s Association, said Bharadwaj, an alumnus of Ambedkar College, joined the institution in 2005.



“Problems started when the principal joined in 2007. She repeatedly complained to the authorities and even approached me to take up the matter. Since 2009, matters became worse and she approached everyone from the NCW, DCW, the chief minister and her last complaint was to the vice-chancellor of Delhi University. In her letter, which she wrote days before she set herself on fire, she has detailed how Arora asked her for sexual favours,” said Mishra, who today recorded his statement with the NCW.



Sources familiar with the case said Bharadwaj had written some 20 letters complaining about the harassment, including one that she addressed to Delhi’s lieutenant-governor.



Last week, she set herself on fire in front of the secretariat. Admitted to hospital with 90 per cent burns, she died on October 6 — months after a law to protect working women came into force.



But by the time Parliament passed the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill this April, Bharadwaj had lost her job.



Police sources said they found a note in which Bharadwaj blamed Arora and the other employee for being forced to take the extreme step.



Bharadwaj left behind an eight-year-old son. Her husband is a head constable with Delhi police.



Her death prompted protests by teachers and students who said Arora shouldn’t hold charge as principal till the probe was on. “The situation in Delhi University is like a bomb waiting to explode. Failure to fix responsibility and take urgent systemic corrective measures can lead to an irretrievable breakdown of all that has been good about our university,” said teachers’ union president Nandita Narain.



Sources, however, said that in his statement to the NCW today, vice-chancellor Singh had made it clear that Arora would not be suspended pending the investigation.



Thanks To:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131010/jsp/nation/story_17444919.jsp#.UpjZF9JmCVZ

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Former DU lab assistant, who alleged sexual harassment by Ambedkar College principal, succumbs to burn injuries



Pavitra Bhardwaj, a former Ambedkar College lab attendant who tried to immolate herself outside the Delhi CM's Office, has succumbed to her burn injuries on Monday.



She was allegedly being sexually harassed by a college principal.



The woman sustained 95 per cent burn injuries and was battling for life at LNJP Hospital.



"Pavitra Bhardwaj died at the LNJP (Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan) Hospital this (Monday) morning," a police officer said.



She had filed complaints of sexual harassment with the office of the Lieutenant Governor, Chief Minister's Office, Delhi Police and Delhi University. However, no action was taken.



The woman's husband is a head constable in Delhi Police.



In her plea, she said the college principal was sexually harassing her for four years and had even threatened to kill her son.



Police sources say that in her testimony before the sub-divisional magistrate, she alleged that the principal was asking for sexual favours and after she filed a complaint, she was fired for misconduct.



However, Ambedkar College principal in a statement denied the charges and said he was being framed.



Bhardwaj was sacked from the college in 2009, police said.



- with IANS inputs



Thanks To:

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/former-du-lab-assistant-succumbs-to-burn-injuries-ambedkar-college-principal/1/313435.html

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Pinjara: Teenage girl escapes from brothel with help of a social worker (Episode 313, 314 on 15, 16 Nov 2013)

Part 1







Part 2







The Inside Story

PUNE: A woman was booked here on Monday for allegedly selling her 12-year-old daughter to her alleged rapist for Rs 1 lakh. The man raped the girl again before selling her to a brothel at Khed near Pune.

The case came to light after the girl escaped from the brothel and took help from an NGO to register a complaint against her mother and others.



Police said the girl's ordeal started on May 27 and ended on September 29, when she escaped from the brothel.



Inspector Satish Nikam said the rape survivor, a Class VII student at a school in Solapur, was visiting her mother at Parli in Beed district during her summer vacations in May when she was allegedly raped.



Nikam said, "The man later sold the girl to a tamasha kendra in Khed for Rs 1 lakh where she was forced to dance in front of customers. The man who visited the kendra raped her again. The girl was harassed and tortured after she resisted and refused to entertain customers."



Police said the girl later contacted her teacher in Solapur on phone and sought her help. "Her teacher advised her to run away and seek police help. She also directed her to an NGO in Pune," Nikam said.



"On Sunday, the girl escaped from the kendra and took a bus to Pune railway station and contacted Aparna Dubey, president of Astitva Mahila Pratisthan, on telephone. Dubey rushed there, collected her details and took her to a nearby police station and registered a complaint," he said.



A medical examination was then conducted on the girl. "We have now transferred the case to Chakan police station in Pune rural as the kendra is located in their limits," he added.



Dubey said, "We instantly rushed to the railway station and found the girl waiting. The girl was trembling with fear and broke down. We took her in confidence, following which she gave details of what she had gone through."



She said the girl blamed her mother for the physical and mental trauma she underwent for several months. "The girl has told us there are many like her who entertain customers at the kendra."



"We will now take up the matter with the Pune rural police to arrest the suspects and bust the illegal activities at the brothel. We will keep the girl either at the remand home or with us after completing legal formalities," she added.



Police have booked her mother, the rapist, kendra owner and others under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.



Thanks To:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Woman-sells-12-yr-old-daughter-for-Rs-1-lakh-to-man-who-raped-her/articleshow/23328109.cms

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Crime Patrol: SP worker shot on way to Lucknow (Episode 315, 316 on 22, 23 Nov 2013)

PART 1







PART 2







The Inside Story

SP worker shot on way to Lucknow

A woman Samajwadi Party worker was shot dead while travelling in a bus in Sikandara area of Ramabai Nagar district early today.



Ramabai Nagar Superintendent of Police Subhash Chandra Dubey told The Indian Express that the victim, Shammi Kohli (48), was an accused in a murder case and the enmity over the same appeared to be the motive behind her killing.

Dubey said Kohli, a native of Kamla Nagar locality in Agra, had taken the bus on Monday night from Agra for Lucknow. The bus took a halt at a dhaba in Sikandara area at 2 am. Kohli was sleeping when two youths went inside the bus and shot her dead. The assailants escaped after threatening the other passengers. Kohli sustained three bullet wounds on her stomach and one on her head, the SP added.



Dubey said Kohli's son Sumit was married to one Preeti, who later got married to a person called Nitin Gupta of Agra in 2009. According to victim's son, Preeti, her husband Nitin Gupta and his friend Mohit Bhardwaj had planned the murder.



Following Preeti's marriage to Gupta, a case was registered into the matter. But Preeti stayed with Gupta.



In 2010 Gupta's brother Gaurav was murdered in Agra and Gupta had named Kohli and her two sons as accused. The duo had been jailed and were released on bail later.



Police said that all the three named in the complaint — Preeti, Gupta and Mohit are absconding.



The secretary in the district unit, Om Prakash Tomar said that Kohli had visited senior party leader Shivpal Yadav at Etawah about four days ago.



She was a member of the party, but had stopped attending party meeting for the last few years, he added.



Thanks To:

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sp-worker-shot-on-way-to-lucknow/923491/

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कानपुर : पड़ोसी जिले रमाबाईनगर में मंगलवार सुबह बस से लखनऊ जा रही एक महिला नेता की अज्ञात हमलावरों ने गोली मारकर हत्या कर दी। बताया जाता है कि आगरा निवासी यह महिला नेता समाजवादी पार्टी से संबद्ध थी।



रमाबाईनगर के पुलिस अधीक्षक सुभाष दुबे ने बताया कि आगरा से लखनऊ जा रही एक निजी बस तड़के करीब साढ़े तीन बजे जिले के सिकंदरा इलाके में एक ढाबे के पास रूकी। सभी यात्री बस में सो रहे थे। इसी बीच मोटरसाइकिल सवार दो युवक आए और उन्होंने बस में सो रही एक महिला को दो गोलियां मारी जिससे उसकी घटनास्थल पर ही मौत हो गई।



मृतक का नाम शम्मी कोहली है, उसकी उम्र करीब 48 वर्ष है और वह आगरा से लखनऊ जा रही थी। सूत्रों ने बताया कि शम्मी 15 मार्च को लखनऊ में होने वाले शपथ ग्रहण समारोह में शामिल होने के लिए जा रही थी। पुलिस अधीक्षक सुभाष दुबे ने कहा कि यह तो नहीं मालूम कि वह किस पार्टी की नेता थी लेकिन पता चला है कि वह नेता थी। प्रारंभिक जांच से तो यही पता चला है कि हत्यारों को शायद कोहली के इस बस से लखनऊ जाने की खबर थी इसीलिए बस रूकते ही वह अंदर आए और कोहली को गोली मार दी। उन्होंने कहा कि हत्यारे दो थे और बाइक पर सवार थे। पुलिस मामले की जांच तथा हत्यारोपियों की तलाश कर रही है। (एजेंसी)



Thanks To:

http://zeenews.india.com/hindi/news/

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Crime Patrol: Mumbai cop reunites with long lost parents after 24 years, thanks to a tattoo (Episode 311, 312 on 8th, 9th Nov 2013)

Part 1









Part 2







The Inside Story

Indian policeman's tattoo helps reunite Mumbai family

Mr Dhangade's mother (left) screamed for joy when she realised who he was

A policeman in the Indian city of Mumbai who became lost in a crowded railway station as a child has been reunited with his family after 24 years, thanks to a distinctive tattoo.



Ganesh Raghunath Dhangade was six when he was separated from his parents as he boarded a train.

After being raised in orphanages, Mr Dhangade joined the police force and began to search for his family.

A vital clue was the name of his mother Manda, tattooed on his right arm.



His search finally led him to the house of an old lady, who mentioned the tattoo and broke down in tears when he showed it to her.



"She explained about the tattoo on her son's arm. That was when I showed it to her," Mr Dhangade told the BBC's Kinjal Pandya in Mumbai.



"She was totally surprised - she couldn't believe it. She almost started screaming for joy. All the villagers and neighbours were screaming too."



Mr Dhangade has two younger brothers and two younger sisters. His father died after he became lost and his mother has been working as a domestic help.



"Now that I am earning, my mum can stop working and I can take care of the whole family," he said.



His mother said: "I am so happy. I lost my son and he has come back as a police constable."



Thanks To:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-24574259

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Mumbai cop reunites with long lost parents after 24 years, thanks to a tattoo

Meet Ganesh Raghunath Dhangade, who got separated from his parents as a child on a train in 1989, and found them 24 years later, after becoming an officer in the Mumbai police; he was identified by the tattoo on his arm



It’s a story straight out of a Manmohan Desai film in the 70s and 80s, a story of separation and reunion. Only this time, it’s for real. The protagonist is Ganesh Raghunath Dhangade, a constable in the Mumbai police force.



Mere paas maa haiI: Ganesh, seen here with his mother and siblings, shows the tattoo of his mother’s name ‘Manda’ that helped him track his family down. Pic/Sameer Markande



It all happened in 1989 when Dhangade boarded a train with his friends and got lost because it was too crowded. He was only six years old, and was unable to go back. He was on the streets of the city, alone and nobody to care for him.



“I cleaned platforms and ate at dargahs and Ganesh mandals. I met a fisherman who took me home. I used to play with his son, Sainath. They used to make me beg on local trains and give me food in exchange for the money,” he recalls.



One day, he was hit by a train at CST. He was admitted to a hospital, where he lay in coma for several months. Since no one could trace his family, he was handed over to an orphanage in Worli.



Dhangade went to Anand Ashram in Worli, where workers took care of him, fed him and educated him. He studied there till Std VII and later shifted to an orphanage in Thane, where he studied till Std X.



He then joined Sanket Vidyalaya and Junior College in Thane, and studied till Std XII. He was physically fit and an athlete – he had participated in several state-level and national-level games. His education was funded by Krida Prabodhini, a state-run programme to encourage talented sportsmen.



He then took the police exams, cleared the written, physical and medical tests, and joined the Quick Response Team (QRT) of the Mumbai Police as a constable in 2011.



Where’s your family?

On July 23, 2011, when seniors were taking introductions from the fresh recruits, Dhangade could only tell them his name. Police Inspector Shrikhant Sonde asked him his family background. “When everybody was introducing himself to me, one constable only told me his name - Ganesh Raghunath Dhangade. He could not give me any other introduction about his family. When I inquired further, he told me had been separated from his parents at the age of six,” said Sonde.



Dhangade only knew his mother’s name -- Manda R Dhangade -- which had been tattooed on his arm. When he saw parents of other recruits attending in-house functions, it made him miss his parents. He approached his seniors to help him trace his family and they assured him that they would do all they could to help him. They asked him to check on missing records in police stations



The search begins

Dhangade asked his friends to help out. “I, along with one of my fellow recruit and friend Sumit Gandhavale, started checking the missing bureau records online and in police stations turn by turn,” he says while talking to MiD DAY.



The duo also started a campaign on Facebook and Orkut and contacted everyone with the same surname as Dhangade, but couldn’t get any leads.



“One day, I went to the Worli orphange where I had stayed. I met the old mess worker Shamsuddhin Abdul Shaikh, and asked him about my past,” said Dhangade.



Dhangade found out that he had enrolled in the Anand Orphange saying that he hailed from the Mamu Bhanja Dargah area. The duo roamed around Mumbai looking for a dargah with the same name. After two months, they finally got their first clue – the dargah was at Lokmanya Nagar, Thane (W).



Reunion

On October 4, they reached the Mamu Bhanja dargah in Thane, and asked locals about his mother, Manda, whose name had been tattooed on his hand. They came to know that an old lady by the same name lived on a hill nearby.



Dhangade, along with his colleagues, immediately reached the place, where they found an old lady performing shraddh (after-death rituals).



“We asked her if she had lost her child 20 years ago, and she replied in the positive. We asked if the child had any identification marks on his body, and she told us about the tattoo on the arms. That’s when I showed it to her,” narrates a tearful Dhangade.



“It was a beautiful moment. Both were in tears. For several minutes, they said nothing. They just cried, but the tears said it all,” says Gandhavale, the colleague who helped him all this while.



It’s all coming back

“My mother told me that I had gone to the Thane Municipal school at Wagle Estate, where I met my friend Ganesh Kharavi. He was going to his uncle’s place and asked me to tag along. So we boarded a train, but somehow I got lost in the crowd,” explains the elated constable.



He is extremely grateful to his seniors and collegues. “This reunion would not have been possible without the guidance of my seniors, especially Mr Sonde, who told me how to go about the search.



He is happy that he can care for his old mother, who earns by doing house chores, and his two younger brothers, and a sister.



# Scene 1: Boy gets lost, lives on the city’s streets

It’s a scene set in 1989. Six-year-old Ganesh boards a train along with his friends. It is too crowded, and he gets lost.The boy too is unable to go back as he is too young. He roams around on the streets of Mumbai, eating at temples, Ganesh mandals and dargahs. He begs, cleans and sweeps – whatever it takes to fill his stomach. A fisherman takes him home and makes him beg in the local trains in exchange for food.



# Scene 2: Train accident, coma, and over to an orphanage

One day, at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Dhangade gets hit by a train. He ends up at a hospital and is in a coma for several months. Hospital authorities aren’t able to find his family or relatives, and no one comes to meet him. He is handed overto the Anand Ashram, an orphanage in Worli, where he starts his education. He studies at the Worli orphanage till Std VII and is then shifted to an orphanage in Thane, where he studies till Std X.



# Scene 3: Boy joins police force

The boy joins Sanket Vidyalaya and Junior College in Thane. He then takes the police department test and passes. He clears the medical and physical test and joins the force in 2011. When seniors ask him about his family, he has no answers, except for his mother’s name, Manda R Dhangade, which is tattooed on his right arm. He starts searching for them.



Arms and the men: Ganesh with his family. Every child in the family has a tattoo on their arm, and it's this very tattoo that helped in reuniting mother and son. Pic/Sameer Markande



# Scene 4: The search begins

Ganesh and a friend start searching for people with the same surname on social networking sites. He goes back to the Worli orphanage and meets the mess worker, who tells him the registered address in the orphanage books, which is in Thane.



# Scene 5: Reunion at Thane

The constable and his friend look around for families with the surname Dhangade. He asks locals about Manda, his mother. He finds out that an old lady with the same name lives nearby. Ganesh goes to the old lady and shows her his tattoo. A teary reunion ensues.



‘We will finally celebrate Diwali’

Manda Dhangade’s happiness knew no bounds when she got her son back after 24 years. “I had lost all hope. We never celebrated a single festival since the day he went missing, but this Diwali, we will have a grand celebration,” said Manda.



Manda, who works as maid, had tattoos made on each of her children at the age of one. After Ganesh went missing, she went to several police stations in Thane and Bhiwandi. She even went to Children homes but she failed to find her son.



She added, “Every time I visited the police station, I hoped to find some clues, but I never got any leads. There is not a single place in Thane and Bhiwandi that I had not searched.”



After 10 years of searching for her son, she lost all hope. Manda didn’t recognise her son when he entered. “When he showed me his tattoo, I was shocked. All I did was hug and kiss him,” She now spends every single moment of the day with her son. Her first priority is celebrate a grand Diwali, and then to get her son married to a ‘nice girl’.



“One should never let their child out of one’s sight. Don’t be careless while handling children otherwise you’ll have to suffer like me. I was lucky and I’m proud that he is in police force,” she signs off joyously.



We had not celebrated a single festival since he went missing. But this year we will celebrate Diwali in a grand way

— Ganesh’s mother,



Thanks To:

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2013/oct/171013-mumbai-cops-tattoo-reunites-him-with-long-lost-parents-after-24-years-ganesh-dhangade.htm

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Crime Patrol: Godman wanted for double murder brought to city (Episode 309, 310 on 1st, 2nd Nov 2013)

Part 1









Part 2









The Inside Story

NAGPUR: Ganeshpeth police have procured custody remand of 59-year-old Gaddamedi Kanakaraju Shankar alias Ramdas Maharaj until July 23 after producing him before a lower court on Saturday. Shankar, also known as Datta Guru Maharaj, was wanted by the city police for murdering his wife and eldest daughter at a city hotel in October in 1993.

After remaining elusive for almost two decades, Shankar was nabbed by Pune crime branch in May from Madhya Pradesh. Shankar was also wanted by Pune police after he killed another subsequent wife of his and her daughter at Hinjewadi. Police said that Shankar had married thrice and had four daughters from his first wife. He killed first wife Padma and eldest daughter Shirisha in an inebriated condition as he was unable to support the family.



A self-styled astrologer, Shankar spent several years of his life at different temples across India before settling in Pune where he married Subhadra Chavan who had three daughters from an earlier marriage but was left by her husband. During a domestic feud, Shankar killed Subadhra and her eldest daughter Vasanti and fled to Indore. Shankar was in jail after being nabbed by Pune police. He was brought to city after cops secured his custody through production warrant.



Thanks To:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-21/nagpur/40707822_1_shankar-pune-police-first-wife

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