Fiona give police the slip
Preetu Nair , TNN
Panaji: Anjuna police looking out for Fiona MacKeown, mother of murdered British teenager Scarlett Keeling , were caught napping, as Fiona entered the country a fortnight ago, recorded her statement, with the CBI in Mumbai and left. Fiona told TOI from her home in Devon, UK, " “I came to Mumbai to talk to the CBI as they were refused permission by the High Court in Goa to come to the UK to speak to me”.
The CBI was entrusted with the task of probing the rape and murder of 15-year-old Scarlett at Anjuna beach in February 2008, after investigations by the Goa police came under a cloud. Last month, the High court of Bombay at Goa dismissed CBI’s plea to give letter Rogatory to interrogate Fiona and another witness, Briton. The court, however, gave CBI three months extension to investigate the case.
Fiona feared arrest by Goa Police
Preetu Nair, TNN
Panaji:Fiona Mackeown mother of British teenager Scarlett Keeing who was murdered in Anjuna in 2008, came to Mumbai on July 18 from Britain and returned on July 21, after recording her statement with the CBI
“I was worried that the Goa police may try to arrest me or cause me other problems like stopping me from leaving which was why no one was informed about the trip”, she told TOI from her home in Devon, UK.
Fiona , who has accused the Goa police of a cover up last year, faces charges of negligence of her minor daughter under the Goa Children's Act 2003. Anjuna police that is investigating the case has sought permission from the government to go to UK to question Fiona.
Though Fiona wanted to visit Goa, fears that the local police may arrest her kept her away . “I would have loved to come to Goa. I still love Goa and think very warmly of the wonderful people I met there but there is a very dark element to Goa and this alone would have left me feeling very unsafe there”, she said
Fiona said that it is not just the police that she is worried about, but also those involved in Scarlett's murder. "My daughter’s murderers are powerful men, who have stated publicly that I have been harassing them and that their business has been affected by all of this. They definitely had a vested interest in me not speaking to the CBI. After all, they were powerful enough to instigate the cover up”, she alleged.
Happy with the progress of the CBI investigations, Fiona said, “They answered all of my questions and I left feeling very positive about the investigation and about the Indian judicial system”.
She. however, refused to divulge details about her meeting with the CBI stating that the CBI has not yet finished the investigations. “I was asked not to talk about the details of our meeting so as not to jeopardize the case. But I can tell you that I was able to provide them with information that they did not have”, said Fiona, adding “At the moment I am beginning to see a light at the end of a very long tunnel and just look forward to the investigation being over so that I can finally bring Scarlett home and burying her.”
August 3, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, August 03, 2009
Child maid's mother too received money
Child maid's mother too received money
PANAJI: The mother of the 10-year-old girl, recovering at Goa medical college and hospital from torture wounds allegedly inflicted her employers,has admitted to the police that she accepted money from the accused to send her minor child to work as a domestic maid at their home.
Police sources revealed that in her statement, the mother said she had taken Rs 1,500 from Porvorim based civil engineer Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar to allow her daughter to work in his house. However, the minor in her statement to the police had revealed that while her mother was paid Rs 2,000, her grandmother received Rs 800 and another person from Panaji, where she worked for few days, was the recipient of Rs 4,000 all paid by Shubham.
Though police made efforts to interrogate the mother again, they say they found her in an inebriated state most times. "We will thoroughly interrogate the mother again," said police sources.
In her statement, the mother told the police that she lived in Gadak, Karnataka and had on one occasion interacted with her daughter in the Pednekar household during the course of her daughter's employment.
Speaking to people she has befriended in the hospital the girl alleged that her mother, an alcoholic, used to regularly beat her up. "She said that tired of her mother's beatings, her elder sister had run away from home," sources said.
"We have told her that her mother is in Goa, but she has not even once asked to meet her mother, cutting her completely out of her life. She repeatedly tells us that her mother and grandparents are the cause of her misery as they took money and put her as domestic work," added Audrey Pinto, director of SCAN, an NGO, who has been with the girl since the day she was rescued.
Though it's been almost five days since the mother has returned to Goa, she has not made any effort to meet her daughter.
Hospital sources said that when the minor's grandfather met her in the hospital after consenting to a medical examination by a panel of doctors, the girl accused him of ruining her life.
"When the grandfather suggested that once she is cured, they would send her back to Gadak, she got upset and accused them of being responsible for her condition. She said that she doesn't want to go with them," said sources.
Meanwhile, the ossification test to determine the minor's age will be conducted at GMC on Monday. Police had requested an ossification test on Saturday, as the minor doesn't possess a birth certificate or any other certificate to affirm her date of birth.
3 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
PANAJI: The mother of the 10-year-old girl, recovering at Goa medical college and hospital from torture wounds allegedly inflicted her employers,has admitted to the police that she accepted money from the accused to send her minor child to work as a domestic maid at their home.
Police sources revealed that in her statement, the mother said she had taken Rs 1,500 from Porvorim based civil engineer Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar to allow her daughter to work in his house. However, the minor in her statement to the police had revealed that while her mother was paid Rs 2,000, her grandmother received Rs 800 and another person from Panaji, where she worked for few days, was the recipient of Rs 4,000 all paid by Shubham.
Though police made efforts to interrogate the mother again, they say they found her in an inebriated state most times. "We will thoroughly interrogate the mother again," said police sources.
In her statement, the mother told the police that she lived in Gadak, Karnataka and had on one occasion interacted with her daughter in the Pednekar household during the course of her daughter's employment.
Speaking to people she has befriended in the hospital the girl alleged that her mother, an alcoholic, used to regularly beat her up. "She said that tired of her mother's beatings, her elder sister had run away from home," sources said.
"We have told her that her mother is in Goa, but she has not even once asked to meet her mother, cutting her completely out of her life. She repeatedly tells us that her mother and grandparents are the cause of her misery as they took money and put her as domestic work," added Audrey Pinto, director of SCAN, an NGO, who has been with the girl since the day she was rescued.
Though it's been almost five days since the mother has returned to Goa, she has not made any effort to meet her daughter.
Hospital sources said that when the minor's grandfather met her in the hospital after consenting to a medical examination by a panel of doctors, the girl accused him of ruining her life.
"When the grandfather suggested that once she is cured, they would send her back to Gadak, she got upset and accused them of being responsible for her condition. She said that she doesn't want to go with them," said sources.
Meanwhile, the ossification test to determine the minor's age will be conducted at GMC on Monday. Police had requested an ossification test on Saturday, as the minor doesn't possess a birth certificate or any other certificate to affirm her date of birth.
3 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Sunday, August 02, 2009
NGO objects to strangers visiting tortured girl in GMC
NGO objects to strangers visiting tortured girl in GMC
TNN
PANAJI: Stating that the 10-year-old tortured girl, who was working as a maid at Porvorim, is not a show piece', an NGO in Goa has strongly
objected to unknown people visiting the child and asking her to lift her skirt to see the wounds on her body. The NGO has also said that visitors were asking the minor, who is admitted to Goa medical college and hospital with burn injuries, about her past.
Stating that this is proving to be embarrassing for the minor, Audrey Pinto, director of NGO SCAN, who is the complainant in the child abuse case, in a letter to SP (North) said people asked the child to show them her wounds and the child is embarrassed every time she is asked to lift up her dress. The letter was sent on Friday.
"Please look into the matter as this is invading the child's privacy and confidentiality leading to violation of the principal of Goa Children's Act 2000", the letter, which has been written in the best interest of the child' notes.
Citing an incident that happened on Friday, Pinto wrote, "This afternoon 5 persons came to meet the child. They said they had taken permission from the Porvorim police. On inquiring with the constable on duty she said that they were given permission to see the child but could not ask any questions. She said the officer told her it would be ok as she was a victim and not the accused. These persons asked the child to show them the wounds".
When contacted, SP (north) Bosco George said, "We have taken serious note of the matter and given strict instructions to the staff deployed at GMC that no visitor should be allowed to meet the child until there is written clearance from the investigating officer."
The NGO, which in its police complaint last week had said that the three accused -- Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, Minaxi and his sister-in-law Tina -- had allegedly with a common intention assaulted the minor girl with cable wire and also burned her with a hot steel frying pan on her thighs and back resulting in injuries, had requested the police to stop persons from visiting the victim. Policemen were also placed in GMC with her 24 X7.
However, on interacting with the child, the NGO found that several people had visited her and she was made to show the wound on her thighs to them.
The NGO has also objected to people bringing food for the minor in the hospital stating that "it might be dangerous for her if no proper monitoring is done".
2 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: Stating that the 10-year-old tortured girl, who was working as a maid at Porvorim, is not a show piece', an NGO in Goa has strongly
objected to unknown people visiting the child and asking her to lift her skirt to see the wounds on her body. The NGO has also said that visitors were asking the minor, who is admitted to Goa medical college and hospital with burn injuries, about her past.
Stating that this is proving to be embarrassing for the minor, Audrey Pinto, director of NGO SCAN, who is the complainant in the child abuse case, in a letter to SP (North) said people asked the child to show them her wounds and the child is embarrassed every time she is asked to lift up her dress. The letter was sent on Friday.
"Please look into the matter as this is invading the child's privacy and confidentiality leading to violation of the principal of Goa Children's Act 2000", the letter, which has been written in the best interest of the child' notes.
Citing an incident that happened on Friday, Pinto wrote, "This afternoon 5 persons came to meet the child. They said they had taken permission from the Porvorim police. On inquiring with the constable on duty she said that they were given permission to see the child but could not ask any questions. She said the officer told her it would be ok as she was a victim and not the accused. These persons asked the child to show them the wounds".
When contacted, SP (north) Bosco George said, "We have taken serious note of the matter and given strict instructions to the staff deployed at GMC that no visitor should be allowed to meet the child until there is written clearance from the investigating officer."
The NGO, which in its police complaint last week had said that the three accused -- Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, Minaxi and his sister-in-law Tina -- had allegedly with a common intention assaulted the minor girl with cable wire and also burned her with a hot steel frying pan on her thighs and back resulting in injuries, had requested the police to stop persons from visiting the victim. Policemen were also placed in GMC with her 24 X7.
However, on interacting with the child, the NGO found that several people had visited her and she was made to show the wound on her thighs to them.
The NGO has also objected to people bringing food for the minor in the hospital stating that "it might be dangerous for her if no proper monitoring is done".
2 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Denied bail, child maid's tormentors go into hiding
Denied bail, child maid's tormentors go into hiding
TNN
PANAJI: Cancelling the conditional bail granted earlier, president of the children’s court B P Deshpande, on Saturday directed Audumber Pendnekar to immediately surrender before the Porvorim police in connection with the alleged torture of a 10-year-old domestic help employed at his residence.
The court also rejected the separate anticipatory bail applications filed by Pednekar’s wife Minaxi and their relative Rekha Waghela. The trio, however, are absconding, despite Pednekar being required to be present at the police station every morning, said police sources. Cancelling Pednekar’s bail, the court observed that when the conditional bail was granted on July 27, the nature of the child’s injuries were not described in the hurt certificate.
Referring to the record submitted subsequently by the prosecution, the judge noted: "In all, there are 23 burn injuries which are found on various parts of the body and mainly near the stomach and on the thighs and also there is disfigurement of the face."
The court observed that the prosecution, on the basis of the opinion of the medical board, victim’s and other witnesses’ statements, had brought on record that a very serious offence had been committed on the 10-year-old child.
It further took into consideration the prosecution’s claim that the victim was unable to walk and sit properly due to the burn injuries and that three weeks were required for (her) recovery.
2 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: Cancelling the conditional bail granted earlier, president of the children’s court B P Deshpande, on Saturday directed Audumber Pendnekar to immediately surrender before the Porvorim police in connection with the alleged torture of a 10-year-old domestic help employed at his residence.
The court also rejected the separate anticipatory bail applications filed by Pednekar’s wife Minaxi and their relative Rekha Waghela. The trio, however, are absconding, despite Pednekar being required to be present at the police station every morning, said police sources. Cancelling Pednekar’s bail, the court observed that when the conditional bail was granted on July 27, the nature of the child’s injuries were not described in the hurt certificate.
Referring to the record submitted subsequently by the prosecution, the judge noted: "In all, there are 23 burn injuries which are found on various parts of the body and mainly near the stomach and on the thighs and also there is disfigurement of the face."
The court observed that the prosecution, on the basis of the opinion of the medical board, victim’s and other witnesses’ statements, had brought on record that a very serious offence had been committed on the 10-year-old child.
It further took into consideration the prosecution’s claim that the victim was unable to walk and sit properly due to the burn injuries and that three weeks were required for (her) recovery.
2 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Tamba effect: Govt promises funds to fight swine flu
Tamba effect: Govt promises funds to fight swine flu
TNN
PANAJI: Even as one more case of swine flu was confirmed on Saturday, bringing Goa’s tally of affected persons to seven, the government in an
apparent damage-control move decided to release the funds for the control of the disease.
A day after the state nodal officer for swine flu, Dr Rajendra Tamba, said he had no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease, chief secretary Sanjiv Srivastava said, "By Monday we will sort out the problem and the projected funds for swine flu control in Goa will be provided. We will see that such public health issues are not hampered in future."
Earlier in the day, chief minister Digambar Kamat said that "adequate funds were being released for the swine flu programme".
On Friday, Dr Tamba had issued a statement through the director of information appealing to the people not to contact him for information on swine flu since he had no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease. Government sources, however, said that the problem arose not due to lack of funds but due to "lack of coordination" between health department officials.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man who arrived in Goa on July 28 from the US via Hong Kong and was quarantined at GMC has tested positive for swine flu.
2 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: Even as one more case of swine flu was confirmed on Saturday, bringing Goa’s tally of affected persons to seven, the government in an
apparent damage-control move decided to release the funds for the control of the disease.
A day after the state nodal officer for swine flu, Dr Rajendra Tamba, said he had no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease, chief secretary Sanjiv Srivastava said, "By Monday we will sort out the problem and the projected funds for swine flu control in Goa will be provided. We will see that such public health issues are not hampered in future."
Earlier in the day, chief minister Digambar Kamat said that "adequate funds were being released for the swine flu programme".
On Friday, Dr Tamba had issued a statement through the director of information appealing to the people not to contact him for information on swine flu since he had no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease. Government sources, however, said that the problem arose not due to lack of funds but due to "lack of coordination" between health department officials.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man who arrived in Goa on July 28 from the US via Hong Kong and was quarantined at GMC has tested positive for swine flu.
2 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Do her pictures tell a story?
Do her pictures tell a story?
Preetu Nair, TNN
Photo courtesy: Rajtilak Naik
Panaji: We have seen only those scars on her skin,but there might be others deep down, inflicted by pain much more acute.
As she recovers from the torture allegedly inflicted by her employers , the child maid has for the first time in her life laid her hands on books and crayons. Cocooned inside a GMC ward , away from the cruel world she has so far experienced, the ten year old is learning the English alphabet, tutored by the policemen guarding her.
And she is drawing pictures. Neat, bright and colourful pictures. But amidst all the vibrancy might be lurking her worst demon-loneliness.
Most of her pictures are of her are of her house in Gadak, Hubli , surrounded by green fields and a girl standing alone. The minor says she is the girl in her sketches . In some sketches, along with her own name she has written the word 'Audrey' . Audrey Pinto is director of SCAN , an NGO, and has been with the girl since the day she was rescued.
Drawings can be used as a way of understanding more about what a child has gone through, how they view their past, present and future, says psychologists.
"Children express their needs and environment through the pictures they draw. From the pictures she had drawn it appears that she feels lonely. Perhaps after what she has gone through he family probably has no role to play in her environment as she cannot identify with them," said clinical psychologist Dr Mita Majumdar. However, she added that these are presumptions and one can arrive at a final decision only after interacting with the child and seeing her pictures.
Incidentally, the minor doesn't talk much about her family. "She doesn't talk about her mother or siblings. She told us very clearly that she doesn't want to go with her grandparents and mother. She told us that she wants to study," said Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) member Ezilda Sapeco.
August 1, The Times of India, Goa edition
"I couldn't believe it was the same girl' says man who found the minor
"I couldn't believe it was the same girl' says man who found the minor
Preetu Nair , TNN
PANAJI: When he offered some eatables to a little girl standing outside his shop last Saturday, Umesh Dhavaskar, 49, did not realize he had known
her before or that he was going to be instrumental in saving the girl from an unimaginable horror.
"I just couldn't believe this was the same girl I had known for the last three years. The girl I had known was pretty and chirpy, the one I was seeing now, after a gap of almost six months was sad, thin and without the charm she had," says Dhavaskar, who runs a modest restaurant in Mapusa near the bus stand.
"Last Saturday at about 9 am I saw a small girl standing outside my shop. I thought she was waiting for someone. An hour later, I noticed her again. When I approached her and asked her if she was waiting for someone, she got emotional and said, I am hungry'," recalls Dhavaskar, who then offered her some snacks.
While the girl was eating, an elderly motorcycle pilot Datta Salgaonkar walked into the restaurant and recognised her. "When he told me that this was the same girl who would walk into my restaurant often with her mother, smiling, cheerful and full of life, I was shocked. She looked so different. The girl I knew had thick hair, beautiful features and was healthy. But the girl who sat in front of me was lean, with very short hair and appeared disillusioned with life," said Dhavaskar.
Dhavaskar had no knowledge of the girl's injuries at that time. It was only after the girl spilled her tale of woes to Salgaonkar and his wife that this came to be known. "I was shocked when I heard her story and saw her wounds. I have three young daughters. I just couldn't believe that a human being can treat a child like this," he said.
He added, "I called the police and said, Here is a girl in dismay standing in my shop. If you can help, do help her'." The Mapusa police came within 15 minutes to help the minor, he added.
People in the vicinity knew the child and her mother, who worked as a daily wage worker at construction sites. They allege that the mother was an alcoholic and would often beat the minor. Incidentally, the minor's mother, who couldn't be traced, returned to Goa on Thursday and the police recorded her statement on Thursday.
"The mother said she had come from Gadak to meet her daughter as she was in the hospital. She also said that she was aware that her daughter was working as a domestic help at the Pednekar residence at Porvorim," says Dhavaskar.
1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair , TNN
PANAJI: When he offered some eatables to a little girl standing outside his shop last Saturday, Umesh Dhavaskar, 49, did not realize he had known
her before or that he was going to be instrumental in saving the girl from an unimaginable horror.
"I just couldn't believe this was the same girl I had known for the last three years. The girl I had known was pretty and chirpy, the one I was seeing now, after a gap of almost six months was sad, thin and without the charm she had," says Dhavaskar, who runs a modest restaurant in Mapusa near the bus stand.
"Last Saturday at about 9 am I saw a small girl standing outside my shop. I thought she was waiting for someone. An hour later, I noticed her again. When I approached her and asked her if she was waiting for someone, she got emotional and said, I am hungry'," recalls Dhavaskar, who then offered her some snacks.
While the girl was eating, an elderly motorcycle pilot Datta Salgaonkar walked into the restaurant and recognised her. "When he told me that this was the same girl who would walk into my restaurant often with her mother, smiling, cheerful and full of life, I was shocked. She looked so different. The girl I knew had thick hair, beautiful features and was healthy. But the girl who sat in front of me was lean, with very short hair and appeared disillusioned with life," said Dhavaskar.
Dhavaskar had no knowledge of the girl's injuries at that time. It was only after the girl spilled her tale of woes to Salgaonkar and his wife that this came to be known. "I was shocked when I heard her story and saw her wounds. I have three young daughters. I just couldn't believe that a human being can treat a child like this," he said.
He added, "I called the police and said, Here is a girl in dismay standing in my shop. If you can help, do help her'." The Mapusa police came within 15 minutes to help the minor, he added.
People in the vicinity knew the child and her mother, who worked as a daily wage worker at construction sites. They allege that the mother was an alcoholic and would often beat the minor. Incidentally, the minor's mother, who couldn't be traced, returned to Goa on Thursday and the police recorded her statement on Thursday.
"The mother said she had come from Gadak to meet her daughter as she was in the hospital. She also said that she was aware that her daughter was working as a domestic help at the Pednekar residence at Porvorim," says Dhavaskar.
1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa: No funds from state govt for swine flu
No funds from state govt for swine flu
TNN 1 August 2009
PANAJI: Even as the number of A(H1N1) cases in India touched 475, with about six cases in Goa, the state nodal officer for swine flu Dr Rajendra Tamba has issued a press statement through the director of information appealing to the people not to contact him for information on swine flu, since he has no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease.
The release states, "The expenses so far were made from funds under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) received from the government of India, which are now exhausted. Incidentally, 19 contract staff working under IDSP will be going without their salary this month as their funds were utilised for swine flu activities. No money has been received from the state government despite repeated requests. The amount asked for was Rs 10 lakh."
TOI had a fortnight back reported that Dr Tamba had written to chief minister Digambar Kamat asking to be relieved from the post. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for the quarantined patients. It is reliably learnt that in the letter he had asked for a dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, as a new driver was being exposed to swine flu each time.
The government of India guidelines regarding swine flu state there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers taking care of the patients. This is required as medical staff dealing with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu are at a greater risk of catching the infection. In Goa, these have been violated as doctors and nurses who take care of swine flu patients also deal with the other patients in the hospital, besides handling emergencies.
Also there are no separate ambulances for swine flu patients. "There is no money to hire vehicles to send people to collect samples and send them to Delhi for examination," said sources.
So far, a total of 14,439 passengers, 118 of them being international passengers, have been screened at the airport. Another 21 persons who arrived by ship at Mormugao port were also screened.
1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN 1 August 2009
PANAJI: Even as the number of A(H1N1) cases in India touched 475, with about six cases in Goa, the state nodal officer for swine flu Dr Rajendra Tamba has issued a press statement through the director of information appealing to the people not to contact him for information on swine flu, since he has no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease.
The release states, "The expenses so far were made from funds under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) received from the government of India, which are now exhausted. Incidentally, 19 contract staff working under IDSP will be going without their salary this month as their funds were utilised for swine flu activities. No money has been received from the state government despite repeated requests. The amount asked for was Rs 10 lakh."
TOI had a fortnight back reported that Dr Tamba had written to chief minister Digambar Kamat asking to be relieved from the post. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for the quarantined patients. It is reliably learnt that in the letter he had asked for a dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, as a new driver was being exposed to swine flu each time.
The government of India guidelines regarding swine flu state there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers taking care of the patients. This is required as medical staff dealing with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu are at a greater risk of catching the infection. In Goa, these have been violated as doctors and nurses who take care of swine flu patients also deal with the other patients in the hospital, besides handling emergencies.
Also there are no separate ambulances for swine flu patients. "There is no money to hire vehicles to send people to collect samples and send them to Delhi for examination," said sources.
So far, a total of 14,439 passengers, 118 of them being international passengers, have been screened at the airport. Another 21 persons who arrived by ship at Mormugao port were also screened.
1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, July 31, 2009
Broker made Rs 4,000, says abused child maid
Broker made Rs 4,000, says abused child maid
TNN
PANAJI: The grandmother of the minor girl employed as a maid at the Pednekar residence—where the 10-year-old was allegedly abused and burnt—was paid Rs 800 to send her to work. The middleman, a resident of Panaji, received Rs 4,000. This was revealed by the girl to the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR).
In her statement to the police and the GSCPCR, the minor, who is now recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital, said that a few months after her father died in 2008, she started living with her grandparents. One day a neighbour approached her grandmother with an offer for the girl to work as a maid. She first worked at a house in Panaji and later at the Pednekar household in Porvorim.
“My grandmother told me that I could go to work at this place. Then I was sent to work at a place in Panaji. It was from this place that Shubam (Pednekar) came and picked me up and took me to his residence,” the minor said. She also said that Pednekar had paid her earlier employer in Panaji Rs 4,000, and another Rs 800 to her grandmother.
GSCPCR chairperson Sameera Kazi said, “When we visited the girl in the hospital on Wednesday, we found that her grandfather had finally come to meet her. We asked her if she would like to be with her grandparents or with her mother. She said she didn’t want to be with any of them.” GSCPCR will now write to the police asking them not to leave the girl to her grandparents’ care. The girl’s mother, who used to live at Mapusa, has remained untraced.
30 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: The grandmother of the minor girl employed as a maid at the Pednekar residence—where the 10-year-old was allegedly abused and burnt—was paid Rs 800 to send her to work. The middleman, a resident of Panaji, received Rs 4,000. This was revealed by the girl to the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR).
In her statement to the police and the GSCPCR, the minor, who is now recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital, said that a few months after her father died in 2008, she started living with her grandparents. One day a neighbour approached her grandmother with an offer for the girl to work as a maid. She first worked at a house in Panaji and later at the Pednekar household in Porvorim.
“My grandmother told me that I could go to work at this place. Then I was sent to work at a place in Panaji. It was from this place that Shubam (Pednekar) came and picked me up and took me to his residence,” the minor said. She also said that Pednekar had paid her earlier employer in Panaji Rs 4,000, and another Rs 800 to her grandmother.
GSCPCR chairperson Sameera Kazi said, “When we visited the girl in the hospital on Wednesday, we found that her grandfather had finally come to meet her. We asked her if she would like to be with her grandparents or with her mother. She said she didn’t want to be with any of them.” GSCPCR will now write to the police asking them not to leave the girl to her grandparents’ care. The girl’s mother, who used to live at Mapusa, has remained untraced.
30 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
They didn’t really need a reason to torture her
They didn’t really need a reason to torture her
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The first time she was “burnt” was for not doing the dishes. But the sad part is that there was no work to be done, all the dishes had
already been cleaned.
This is what a ten-year-old maid tortured by her employer has told the police. In her statement, the girl has also said that she was often beaten up or kicked in the stomach.
The girl, who incidentally belongs to a scheduled tribe, was also taunted about this. And now her alleged tormentors—Porvorim resident Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, a civil engineer, his wife Minaxi and sister-in-law Tina—face charges under the Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act apart from charges under the IPC and the Goa Children’s Act.
While Audumber was arrested and later freed on bail, Minaxi and Tina are absconding.
Sources said the minor, who lost her father last year, was originally from Gadag, Hubli, but was living with her grandmother in Goa. About seven months back, a neighbour approached her grandmother and brought her to the Pednekar residence to work as a domestic help.
“She told us that initially the family was fine and she was asked to do all the work. The torture started a month later, when Tina allegedly started hitting her with a wire for not cleaning utensils or not mopping the floor or for failing to wash clothes on time.”
The girl would then be forced to sleep in the balcony. Her employers would lock the door from inside and open it only in the morning, sources said.
According to the victim, she was first “burnt” for not washing utensils even when there was no utensil in the sink to wash. “The girl said that Tina took a hot spoon from a stove and put it to her face,” sources said.
The girl was once allegedly kicked on the stomach by Audumber for failing to remove a stain on his trousers. “When she fell on a stone slab in the bathroom (used for washing clothes), she was further beaten with a pipe from the washing machine,” say police sources.
The final straw, the police said, was when the girl drank the couple’s seven-month-old twins’ medicine. “I was feeling very sick (with fever) and still had to do the work. As they were not giving me any medicine I took the children’s medicine,” the girl told the police.
When Minaxi learnt of this, she told the minor that she would have to burn her. The girl said that Minaxi then closed the door and windows to ensure that no one heard the girl’s screams and placed a heated flat steel spoon on her leg, back and hand, leaving burns and blisters, police said.
Even as the girl—without medical attention—writhed in pain for days, the family forced her to work. On Saturday, when Minaxi was feeding the babies and Tina had gone to the bathroom, the girl ran away.
“Since the girl is from a scheduled tribe, we have added Section 3 (1) (11) of Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act, besides sections of the IPC and Children’s Act against the three accused. Investigations have been transferred to DySP Gundu Naik,” said police spokesperson SP A V Deshpande.
Meanwhile, the girl, who had suffered burn injuries on her back and thighs, is recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital.
GMC doctors on Monday said she had suffered “simple injuries”, but didn’t specify the amount of injuries on her body.
Unhappy with this, the police have written to the GMC dean requesting a complete medical examination. “The dean has constituted a medical board that will examine the girl on Wednesday for all possible injuries, both old and new,” added Deshpande.
Pednekar’s advocate Damodar Dhond said, “The girl’s medical certificate has opined that she has simple injuries. This is not a serious offence. I am not aware that a new section has been added. We have filed for anticipatory bail for the two women and will wait for the reply from the police,” he said.
“We will oppose the anticipatory bail application of the two co-accused. We are also going to file a revision application against the bail granted to Pednekar,” said Deshpande.
29 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The first time she was “burnt” was for not doing the dishes. But the sad part is that there was no work to be done, all the dishes had
already been cleaned.
This is what a ten-year-old maid tortured by her employer has told the police. In her statement, the girl has also said that she was often beaten up or kicked in the stomach.
The girl, who incidentally belongs to a scheduled tribe, was also taunted about this. And now her alleged tormentors—Porvorim resident Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, a civil engineer, his wife Minaxi and sister-in-law Tina—face charges under the Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act apart from charges under the IPC and the Goa Children’s Act.
While Audumber was arrested and later freed on bail, Minaxi and Tina are absconding.
Sources said the minor, who lost her father last year, was originally from Gadag, Hubli, but was living with her grandmother in Goa. About seven months back, a neighbour approached her grandmother and brought her to the Pednekar residence to work as a domestic help.
“She told us that initially the family was fine and she was asked to do all the work. The torture started a month later, when Tina allegedly started hitting her with a wire for not cleaning utensils or not mopping the floor or for failing to wash clothes on time.”
The girl would then be forced to sleep in the balcony. Her employers would lock the door from inside and open it only in the morning, sources said.
According to the victim, she was first “burnt” for not washing utensils even when there was no utensil in the sink to wash. “The girl said that Tina took a hot spoon from a stove and put it to her face,” sources said.
The girl was once allegedly kicked on the stomach by Audumber for failing to remove a stain on his trousers. “When she fell on a stone slab in the bathroom (used for washing clothes), she was further beaten with a pipe from the washing machine,” say police sources.
The final straw, the police said, was when the girl drank the couple’s seven-month-old twins’ medicine. “I was feeling very sick (with fever) and still had to do the work. As they were not giving me any medicine I took the children’s medicine,” the girl told the police.
When Minaxi learnt of this, she told the minor that she would have to burn her. The girl said that Minaxi then closed the door and windows to ensure that no one heard the girl’s screams and placed a heated flat steel spoon on her leg, back and hand, leaving burns and blisters, police said.
Even as the girl—without medical attention—writhed in pain for days, the family forced her to work. On Saturday, when Minaxi was feeding the babies and Tina had gone to the bathroom, the girl ran away.
“Since the girl is from a scheduled tribe, we have added Section 3 (1) (11) of Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act, besides sections of the IPC and Children’s Act against the three accused. Investigations have been transferred to DySP Gundu Naik,” said police spokesperson SP A V Deshpande.
Meanwhile, the girl, who had suffered burn injuries on her back and thighs, is recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital.
GMC doctors on Monday said she had suffered “simple injuries”, but didn’t specify the amount of injuries on her body.
Unhappy with this, the police have written to the GMC dean requesting a complete medical examination. “The dean has constituted a medical board that will examine the girl on Wednesday for all possible injuries, both old and new,” added Deshpande.
Pednekar’s advocate Damodar Dhond said, “The girl’s medical certificate has opined that she has simple injuries. This is not a serious offence. I am not aware that a new section has been added. We have filed for anticipatory bail for the two women and will wait for the reply from the police,” he said.
“We will oppose the anticipatory bail application of the two co-accused. We are also going to file a revision application against the bail granted to Pednekar,” said Deshpande.
29 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Soiled sheets, torn gown greet minor
Soiled sheets, torn gown greet minor
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The ugly side of Goa Medical College and Hospital was once again exposed when the ten-year-old victim of child abuse was admitted on
Saturday. She was given soiled sheets and a torn gown to wear, until members of the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights intervened on Monday.
GSCPCR chairperson Sameera Kazi said, “When we visited the girl in hospital on Monday, we saw that she had been given a soiled bedsheet and a dirty and torn gown to wear. We directed the nurse to take care of the minor and change the soiled clothes, which they did after some initial reluctance.”
According to sources, the girl spent the forst night in the soiled clothes in which she was brought to hospital by the police. It was only on Sunday that she was given a dirty and torn gown at GMC.
Incidentally, health minister Vishwajit Rane has often stressed that adequate arrangements should be made to ensure that patients are not given soiled sheets or torn gowns.
Reacting to the treatment meted out to the child, Rane said, “I am shocked. I am told by the joint director accounts that 6,000 plus bed sheets have been sent to GMC on Monday. I will look into the matter.”
When contacted, GMC medical superintendent Dr Rajan Kunkolienkar said, “I have personally ensured that she is given the best care possible. To provide better care and ensure that visitors don’t disturb her, we are shifting her to a private room.”
Sources said that when at first Kazi confronted the room nurse about the soiled sheets, the duty nurse insisted that the sheets were changed regularly. But the child revealed that it had not been changed since the time she had been brought to the hospital.
Kazi told TOI, “We were told that the staff was applying medicine on her. But when I opened the silver tube, we found that the seal had not been broken.” Interestingly, the doctor treating the minor has asked NGO Scan to purchase the silver
X tube and an injection as the same was not available in the hospital.
The GSCPCR recorded the girl’s statement on Tuesday evening and will conduct a separate inquiry in the incident of child abuse.
29 July, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The ugly side of Goa Medical College and Hospital was once again exposed when the ten-year-old victim of child abuse was admitted on
Saturday. She was given soiled sheets and a torn gown to wear, until members of the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights intervened on Monday.
GSCPCR chairperson Sameera Kazi said, “When we visited the girl in hospital on Monday, we saw that she had been given a soiled bedsheet and a dirty and torn gown to wear. We directed the nurse to take care of the minor and change the soiled clothes, which they did after some initial reluctance.”
According to sources, the girl spent the forst night in the soiled clothes in which she was brought to hospital by the police. It was only on Sunday that she was given a dirty and torn gown at GMC.
Incidentally, health minister Vishwajit Rane has often stressed that adequate arrangements should be made to ensure that patients are not given soiled sheets or torn gowns.
Reacting to the treatment meted out to the child, Rane said, “I am shocked. I am told by the joint director accounts that 6,000 plus bed sheets have been sent to GMC on Monday. I will look into the matter.”
When contacted, GMC medical superintendent Dr Rajan Kunkolienkar said, “I have personally ensured that she is given the best care possible. To provide better care and ensure that visitors don’t disturb her, we are shifting her to a private room.”
Sources said that when at first Kazi confronted the room nurse about the soiled sheets, the duty nurse insisted that the sheets were changed regularly. But the child revealed that it had not been changed since the time she had been brought to the hospital.
Kazi told TOI, “We were told that the staff was applying medicine on her. But when I opened the silver tube, we found that the seal had not been broken.” Interestingly, the doctor treating the minor has asked NGO Scan to purchase the silver
X tube and an injection as the same was not available in the hospital.
The GSCPCR recorded the girl’s statement on Tuesday evening and will conduct a separate inquiry in the incident of child abuse.
29 July, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, July 27, 2009
Engineer arrested for torturing minor girl
Engineer arrested for torturing minor girl
TNN
Photo credits:Anil Lad
PANAJI: In a gruesome case of child abuse, a ten year old girl employed as a maid in a house at Porvorim was admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital with burn injuries on her thighs and back.
Porvorim police have arrested her employer Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, a civil engineer by profession, and registered a case under section 324 read with 34 of IPC and section 7(c) and 8 (2) of the Goa Children's Act against him.
Audumber's wife, Minaxi and his sister-in-law Tina have been named as co-accused in the case, but are yet to be arrested. Porvorim police said that the minor girl, employed as a maid at Pednekar's house, was punished for allegedly "stealing" the medicine of their seven month old twins and drinking it as the girl was feeling unwell.
The matter came to light on Saturday when the minor, tired of the alleged repeated beatings and unable to bear the torture, escaped from Pednekar's house in Soccoro and reached Mapusa. At Mapusa she asked a shopkeeper for some money to eat something. Seeing her condition the shop owner informed the Mapusa police who arrived immediately.
At the police station the cops found that the girl could barely sit as she had burn injuries on her back and thighs. They immediately contacted an NGO who took the child to Porvorim police station and lodged a complaint against the three.
In her complaint director of NGO, SCAN Audrey Pinto said that since the past two or three months the three accused have been allegedly assaulting the minor girl with cable wires and also burned her placing a hot, flat steel frying pan on the girl's thighs and back resulting in the burn injuries.
Police said they are yet to record the girl's statement as she is recuperating in hospital. Sources also said the girl revealed to the NGO that she is from Karnataka and that seven months back her mother had kept her in the house as a maid. However, her mother who earlier lived in Mapusa could not be traced.
27 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Ghajini-inspired spurned lover planned kidnap
Ghajini-inspired spurned lover planned kidnap
Preetu Nair, TNN 26 July 2009,
PANAJI: Srinivas Venkatesh, a hardware engineer who likened himself to the heartbroken, revenge-seeking hero of Ghajini, meticulously planned the abduction of Sayed Aiyaz Azgar from Chicalim, police sources told TOI on Saturday.
The 27-year-old native of Andhra Pradesh, arrested on Saturday morning, considered Aiyaz to be one of the "friends" responsible for his 'girlfriend' breaking up with him. His motive in kidnapping, police sources said, was not just the ransom of Rs 30 lakh, but to eventually kill Aiyaz in "revenge".
Venkatesh, who came to Goa in 1997, last worked as a systems administrator for a private firm. Residing in Vasco, he met Aiyaz and three of his friends and befriended the lot. Through them, he met a local girl in 2008 with whom he fell in love. The girl was looking for a call centre job and Venkatesh promised to help her get one. Claiming to have good contacts in the BPO industry, he started getting close to her.
"They went on dates, talked on the phone and were in regular touch over a social networking site," said police sources. However, things turned sour when Venkatesh started getting possessive and obsessive about her. He abused her when she refused to marry him or to have a physical relationship with him, said sources.
July 26, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN 26 July 2009,
PANAJI: Srinivas Venkatesh, a hardware engineer who likened himself to the heartbroken, revenge-seeking hero of Ghajini, meticulously planned the abduction of Sayed Aiyaz Azgar from Chicalim, police sources told TOI on Saturday.
The 27-year-old native of Andhra Pradesh, arrested on Saturday morning, considered Aiyaz to be one of the "friends" responsible for his 'girlfriend' breaking up with him. His motive in kidnapping, police sources said, was not just the ransom of Rs 30 lakh, but to eventually kill Aiyaz in "revenge".
Venkatesh, who came to Goa in 1997, last worked as a systems administrator for a private firm. Residing in Vasco, he met Aiyaz and three of his friends and befriended the lot. Through them, he met a local girl in 2008 with whom he fell in love. The girl was looking for a call centre job and Venkatesh promised to help her get one. Claiming to have good contacts in the BPO industry, he started getting close to her.
"They went on dates, talked on the phone and were in regular touch over a social networking site," said police sources. However, things turned sour when Venkatesh started getting possessive and obsessive about her. He abused her when she refused to marry him or to have a physical relationship with him, said sources.
July 26, The Times of India, Goa edition
Health department yet to fully wake up to swine flu scourge
Health department yet to fully wake up to swine flu scourge
TNN
PANAJI: A nine-year-old girl from Sharjah, UAE, who had arrived in Goa on Saturday to attend her cousin's birthday celebrations, was admitted to the isolation ward of Goa Medical College and hospital at Bambolim as she was suspected to have contracted the swine flu virus.
But, shockingly, she was shifted from the Dabolim airport to GMC in an ambulance that is used to ferry critically ill patients and accident victims.
This incident has highlighted the fact that despite six confirmed cases of swine flu in Goa, there is not a single ambulance allotted for the use of swine flu patients. What's even worse, is that there is no sanitization of the vehicle done after it is used for moving swine flu patients, said health officials.
The health officials pointed out that this is in contravention of the central government's swine flu clinical management protocol and infection control guidelines, which clearly state that the once a patient is admitted to a hospital, the interior and exterior of the ambulance and reusable patient care equipment needs to be sanitized using sodium hypochlorite/quaternary ammonium compounds.
Incidentally, last week, the health department's nodal officer for swine flu, Dr Rajendra Tamba, had written to the chief minister asking to be relieved of his duties. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for quarantined patients.
It is also reliably learnt that in the letter Dr Tamba also mentioned that despite asking for one dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, everytime a new driver was being exposed to the deadly disease. But, even a week later, nothing has changed.
Although World Health Organisation (WHO) states that there should be a separate doctor and nurse for a quarantine ward, in Chicalim the duty nurse and doctor
continue to take care of swine flu patients and also those suffering from other ailments. Sources said that even one and a half months after the first swine flu case was detected, there are still no pillows for patients at Chicalim Cottage Hospital.
When contacted, Dr Tamba said, "The health secretary has been really supportive and he has promised to improve the situation at the earliest." Health secretary Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, who is also the chief secretary, told TOI that the "government is looking into the issue and it will be sorted out soon".
Health authorities also reveal that there has been not a single continuing medical education (CME) programme on swine flu organized for government doctors and support staff.
"Due to this, doctors don't know when a patient has to be treated as a suspected case or where to send them and precautions that need to be taken to ensure that a patient doesn't spread the virus," said a senior government doctor.
Take the case of a middle aged British tourist who went to a health centre in North Goa with severe cough on Saturday morning. The doctor on duty asked her to go to GMC's pathology department to check for swine flu.
From the pathology department, she was sent to medicine department and then to the hospital's casualty ward, where they did not know whether or not to send her to the swine flu isolation ward.
However, the British tourist was later quietly discharged after the GMC doctors found that the woman, who had arrived in the state a month ago, had been suffering from cough and cold since the last few months.
26 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: A nine-year-old girl from Sharjah, UAE, who had arrived in Goa on Saturday to attend her cousin's birthday celebrations, was admitted to the isolation ward of Goa Medical College and hospital at Bambolim as she was suspected to have contracted the swine flu virus.
But, shockingly, she was shifted from the Dabolim airport to GMC in an ambulance that is used to ferry critically ill patients and accident victims.
This incident has highlighted the fact that despite six confirmed cases of swine flu in Goa, there is not a single ambulance allotted for the use of swine flu patients. What's even worse, is that there is no sanitization of the vehicle done after it is used for moving swine flu patients, said health officials.
The health officials pointed out that this is in contravention of the central government's swine flu clinical management protocol and infection control guidelines, which clearly state that the once a patient is admitted to a hospital, the interior and exterior of the ambulance and reusable patient care equipment needs to be sanitized using sodium hypochlorite/quaternary ammonium compounds.
Incidentally, last week, the health department's nodal officer for swine flu, Dr Rajendra Tamba, had written to the chief minister asking to be relieved of his duties. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for quarantined patients.
It is also reliably learnt that in the letter Dr Tamba also mentioned that despite asking for one dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, everytime a new driver was being exposed to the deadly disease. But, even a week later, nothing has changed.
Although World Health Organisation (WHO) states that there should be a separate doctor and nurse for a quarantine ward, in Chicalim the duty nurse and doctor
continue to take care of swine flu patients and also those suffering from other ailments. Sources said that even one and a half months after the first swine flu case was detected, there are still no pillows for patients at Chicalim Cottage Hospital.
When contacted, Dr Tamba said, "The health secretary has been really supportive and he has promised to improve the situation at the earliest." Health secretary Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, who is also the chief secretary, told TOI that the "government is looking into the issue and it will be sorted out soon".
Health authorities also reveal that there has been not a single continuing medical education (CME) programme on swine flu organized for government doctors and support staff.
"Due to this, doctors don't know when a patient has to be treated as a suspected case or where to send them and precautions that need to be taken to ensure that a patient doesn't spread the virus," said a senior government doctor.
Take the case of a middle aged British tourist who went to a health centre in North Goa with severe cough on Saturday morning. The doctor on duty asked her to go to GMC's pathology department to check for swine flu.
From the pathology department, she was sent to medicine department and then to the hospital's casualty ward, where they did not know whether or not to send her to the swine flu isolation ward.
However, the British tourist was later quietly discharged after the GMC doctors found that the woman, who had arrived in the state a month ago, had been suffering from cough and cold since the last few months.
26 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Rabies killed 11 in 2008, says Vishwajit
Rabies killed 11 in 2008, says Vishwajit
TNN
PANAJI: Last year, 11 persons in Goa died due to rabies — the highest in the state in the last five years. Replying to an unstarred question by Mapusa MLA Francis D'Souza, health minister Vishwajit Rane said rabies has claimed two lives in the first five months of this year, adding that 108 cases of rabies had been reported till May 2009.
Rabies, a zoonotic disease (transmitted to humans from animals) is caused by a virus. It infects domestic as well as wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with saliva (via bites or scratches) of an infected dog, cat etc. In 2008, 192 cases of rabies were recorded. In 2007, the figure stood at 223, with 2 deaths registered
24 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: Last year, 11 persons in Goa died due to rabies — the highest in the state in the last five years. Replying to an unstarred question by Mapusa MLA Francis D'Souza, health minister Vishwajit Rane said rabies has claimed two lives in the first five months of this year, adding that 108 cases of rabies had been reported till May 2009.
Rabies, a zoonotic disease (transmitted to humans from animals) is caused by a virus. It infects domestic as well as wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with saliva (via bites or scratches) of an infected dog, cat etc. In 2008, 192 cases of rabies were recorded. In 2007, the figure stood at 223, with 2 deaths registered
24 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, July 20, 2009
Cops unable to trace missing Russian
Cops unable to trace missuing Russian
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: More than six months after Russian national, Victor Pomerantsev, who was staying in Goa without valid documents, was discharged from the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB), the Goa police is still clueless about his whereabouts.
Even as the Russian consulate in Mumbai waits to repatriate the Russian national, the Goa police have sent wireless to all police stations and have asked cops to check Victor's whereabouts. The matter came to light in April 2009, when the Russian consulate official went to the Goa police's foreigner's registration office (FRO) to seek permission for Victor to leave the country'.
Victor was admitted to IPHB on June 11, 2008 and his illness was diagnosed as substance induced psychotic disorder. At IPHB, Victor kept repeating that he doesn't want to leave the country, "because he loves India". His visa expired in September 2007.
IPHB medical superintendent B S Cuncoliencar said, "He was admitted to the hospital for observation and treatment. Days before his discharge we informed Calangute police that the patient was fit to be discharged. But there was no response and as the doctor treating him gave a certificate stating that he is fit for discharge, we discharged him".
Incidentally, the Goa police was aware that the IPHB had decided to discharge Victor, as indicated by a letter written by SP (FRO) to the Russian authorities in November 2008, with a request to urgently repatriate Victor. The SP (FRO) wrote, "The office is now in receipt of letter from PI Calangute, wherein it is informed that the foreign national is now fit for discharge and doesn't require further hospitalization and requested to take his custody back".
The letter added, "To urgently take up repatriation of the Russian national or the representative of the Russian embassy in Goa may be urgently contacted and directed to take custody of the foreign national and necessary arrangements be made to repatriate the foreign national to his own country". But neither the police nor the Russian authorities took custody of Victor.
Said an official from FRO, "The process of Victor's repatriation is on. After he was discharged from IPHB, his present whereabouts are not known. The minute he is traced we will proceed with repatriation. We have flashed wireless messages to all police stations and asked them to provide information on his whereabouts".
Police sources said that he was admitted to the IPHB following a complaint from the Calangute police that an "unknown male, appearing to be a foreigner giving all vague answers, of unsound mind was wandering in the market and creating a nuisance in public places." He was first picked up by the Mapusa police for being a "public nuisance" and admitted to the IPHB in March, 2008, for almost 25 days. Later in April he was picked up by the Calangute police and sent to the IPHB. He was again picked up by the Calangute police in June.
20 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: More than six months after Russian national, Victor Pomerantsev, who was staying in Goa without valid documents, was discharged from the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB), the Goa police is still clueless about his whereabouts.
Even as the Russian consulate in Mumbai waits to repatriate the Russian national, the Goa police have sent wireless to all police stations and have asked cops to check Victor's whereabouts. The matter came to light in April 2009, when the Russian consulate official went to the Goa police's foreigner's registration office (FRO) to seek permission for Victor to leave the country'.
Victor was admitted to IPHB on June 11, 2008 and his illness was diagnosed as substance induced psychotic disorder. At IPHB, Victor kept repeating that he doesn't want to leave the country, "because he loves India". His visa expired in September 2007.
IPHB medical superintendent B S Cuncoliencar said, "He was admitted to the hospital for observation and treatment. Days before his discharge we informed Calangute police that the patient was fit to be discharged. But there was no response and as the doctor treating him gave a certificate stating that he is fit for discharge, we discharged him".
Incidentally, the Goa police was aware that the IPHB had decided to discharge Victor, as indicated by a letter written by SP (FRO) to the Russian authorities in November 2008, with a request to urgently repatriate Victor. The SP (FRO) wrote, "The office is now in receipt of letter from PI Calangute, wherein it is informed that the foreign national is now fit for discharge and doesn't require further hospitalization and requested to take his custody back".
The letter added, "To urgently take up repatriation of the Russian national or the representative of the Russian embassy in Goa may be urgently contacted and directed to take custody of the foreign national and necessary arrangements be made to repatriate the foreign national to his own country". But neither the police nor the Russian authorities took custody of Victor.
Said an official from FRO, "The process of Victor's repatriation is on. After he was discharged from IPHB, his present whereabouts are not known. The minute he is traced we will proceed with repatriation. We have flashed wireless messages to all police stations and asked them to provide information on his whereabouts".
Police sources said that he was admitted to the IPHB following a complaint from the Calangute police that an "unknown male, appearing to be a foreigner giving all vague answers, of unsound mind was wandering in the market and creating a nuisance in public places." He was first picked up by the Mapusa police for being a "public nuisance" and admitted to the IPHB in March, 2008, for almost 25 days. Later in April he was picked up by the Calangute police and sent to the IPHB. He was again picked up by the Calangute police in June.
20 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Saturday, July 18, 2009
DNA test lands 'rape victim' in a spot
DNA test lands 'rape victim' in a spot
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: One year after a 26-year-old girl from Vasco alleged she was raped by a neighbour and that she had subsequently given birth to his child,
DNA tests
have revealed the accused did not father the child. The police now want to initiate action against the complainant for lodging a false complaint.
A letter dated June 30, 2009 sent to the girl by Vasco police states, “I am to inform you that your complaint has transpired to be false. It is being considered whether action should be taken against you for lodging of false complaint.”
Sources reveal the police have also written to the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Vasco, to close the case and have sought permission to prosecute the girl for filing a false complaint. Sources said, “It was decided to close the case and prosecute the girl for filing a false complaint as the report of the DNA test to determine whether the accused was the biological father of the baby born to the girl came negative.”
The girl has also received a letter from the Vasco JMFC informing her that a final report has been filed by the police and to appear before the court for grant of desummary (to close the case due to lack of evidence) or to file objections.
The girl’s advocate, Amey Prabhudessai, confirmed receipt of the letters. Police records reveal that in her complaint the girl said that the accused, Andrew D’Cunha, had called her to his house in his mother’s absence and had allegedly repeatedly raped her on April 7, 2007. A police complaint was lodged 11 months later on March 19, 2008 and a case of rape registered.
The girl had said that she hadn’t filed a complaint till then as the boy had allegedly threatened her. It was only on learning that she was pregnant in December 2007 and after a child was born that she approached the police with the complaint.
Initially, the police weren’t able to trace the accused, but in August 2008 he surrendered. Later, the girl, the child and the boy were subjected to DNA tests at GMC which revealed that D’Cunha was not the child’s biological father.
18 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: One year after a 26-year-old girl from Vasco alleged she was raped by a neighbour and that she had subsequently given birth to his child,
DNA tests
have revealed the accused did not father the child. The police now want to initiate action against the complainant for lodging a false complaint.
A letter dated June 30, 2009 sent to the girl by Vasco police states, “I am to inform you that your complaint has transpired to be false. It is being considered whether action should be taken against you for lodging of false complaint.”
Sources reveal the police have also written to the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Vasco, to close the case and have sought permission to prosecute the girl for filing a false complaint. Sources said, “It was decided to close the case and prosecute the girl for filing a false complaint as the report of the DNA test to determine whether the accused was the biological father of the baby born to the girl came negative.”
The girl has also received a letter from the Vasco JMFC informing her that a final report has been filed by the police and to appear before the court for grant of desummary (to close the case due to lack of evidence) or to file objections.
The girl’s advocate, Amey Prabhudessai, confirmed receipt of the letters. Police records reveal that in her complaint the girl said that the accused, Andrew D’Cunha, had called her to his house in his mother’s absence and had allegedly repeatedly raped her on April 7, 2007. A police complaint was lodged 11 months later on March 19, 2008 and a case of rape registered.
The girl had said that she hadn’t filed a complaint till then as the boy had allegedly threatened her. It was only on learning that she was pregnant in December 2007 and after a child was born that she approached the police with the complaint.
Initially, the police weren’t able to trace the accused, but in August 2008 he surrendered. Later, the girl, the child and the boy were subjected to DNA tests at GMC which revealed that D’Cunha was not the child’s biological father.
18 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Cops refuse to hand over bodies of Russian duo
Cops refuse to hand over bodies of Russian duo
TNN
PANAJI: The Goa police have refused to hand over the bodies of two Russian teenagers, who were found murdered at Vagator in November 2007, to the
consulate general of the Russian Federation in Mumbai.
Anton Prosnyakov, who had gone missing in November 2007, had arrived in New Delhi from Russia on August 25, 2007 on a tourist visa along with his girlfriend Marina Pulina, 22.
They travelled to Srinagar, Leh, Mumbai and finally landed in Goa in October. They initially stayed at Vagator and then moved to Chapora. With no news from their son for a long time, Anton's parents lodged a complaint with the foreign affairs ministry of the Russian Federation saying that their son had gone missing since November 2007.
Though the DNA and super imposition' tests have confirmed that the decomposed body of the man, found in the bushes at Vagator, was that of Anton's, the parents will have write a letter to the Russian counsulate requesting that the body be handed over to them. The letter will also have to be forwarded to the Goa police.
"We cannot hand over the bodies to the consulate without the parents' consent. What if the consulate disposes the bodies and the parents approach us thereafter? Let the parents write to us through the consulate and let the consulate attach the request letter of the parents to theirs. Only then will we hand over the bodies," SP (foreigners registration office) Tony Fernandes said.
After the police informed the Russian consulate that the body was identified, the consulate told the Goa police that the family wished to take possession of whatever was left of the bodies in order to perform the final rites in Russia.
18 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: The Goa police have refused to hand over the bodies of two Russian teenagers, who were found murdered at Vagator in November 2007, to the
consulate general of the Russian Federation in Mumbai.
Anton Prosnyakov, who had gone missing in November 2007, had arrived in New Delhi from Russia on August 25, 2007 on a tourist visa along with his girlfriend Marina Pulina, 22.
They travelled to Srinagar, Leh, Mumbai and finally landed in Goa in October. They initially stayed at Vagator and then moved to Chapora. With no news from their son for a long time, Anton's parents lodged a complaint with the foreign affairs ministry of the Russian Federation saying that their son had gone missing since November 2007.
Though the DNA and super imposition' tests have confirmed that the decomposed body of the man, found in the bushes at Vagator, was that of Anton's, the parents will have write a letter to the Russian counsulate requesting that the body be handed over to them. The letter will also have to be forwarded to the Goa police.
"We cannot hand over the bodies to the consulate without the parents' consent. What if the consulate disposes the bodies and the parents approach us thereafter? Let the parents write to us through the consulate and let the consulate attach the request letter of the parents to theirs. Only then will we hand over the bodies," SP (foreigners registration office) Tony Fernandes said.
After the police informed the Russian consulate that the body was identified, the consulate told the Goa police that the family wished to take possession of whatever was left of the bodies in order to perform the final rites in Russia.
18 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
INSAS rifles to give police more fire power
INSAS rifles to give police more fire power
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The Goa government finally seems to have woken up to the need of modernizing its police force. About 100 INSAS rifles have been procured
as part of the plan to phase out the 3000-odd vintage .303 rifles the force had been using so far.
However, some hiccups in the transition process still remain. Although Goa has the guns, it does not have the ammunition. The guns arrived last month, but lay unused till last week until the state government received "on loan" a consignment of ammunition from the Delhi police. Following this, the guns have been distributed to various police stations and units so that their personnel could be trained in handling the weapon.
Officials in charge of the modernization process played down the lack of ammunition and said that things would be sorted out soon. "Requisitions for the ammunition have already been placed and it's a matter of time before the bullets arrive," they said.
Panaji, Calangute, Anjuna, Pernem and Porvorim police stations in North Goa and Vasco, Colva, Margao, Verna, Cuncolim and Canacona in South Goa have received the rifles, procured at a cost of about Rs 10 lakh. "We have received the INSAS assault rifles, some of which we have distributed. Now we are in the process of training our policemen in handling the gun," said Goa police's official spokesperson SP (intelligence) A V Deshpande.
The state's security is being beefed up after a confidential police department note said that the police needed to be on guard "in view of the prevailing situation in the country, intelligence inputs regarding terror threats to states on the western coast of India" and possible trouble during "the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations".
In view of the threat perception, SDPOs and police inspectors of both districts have been directed to conduct regular checks at strategic points, especially at night, to prevent the movement of suspicious persons and arms and ammunition.
They have also been asked to step up patrolling at vital installations, railway stations, bus stands and other important places. The police have also increased their coordination with fishermen, hoteliers, cyber cafe and PCO owners and taxi operators, sensitizing them about the security measures.
Beat officers have been asked to check hotels, guest houses, cyber cafes and PCOs in their area at regular intervals, said police sources. Besides tenant verification, the police have been instructed to take action against those landlords who have failed to furnish tenant details.
15 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The Goa government finally seems to have woken up to the need of modernizing its police force. About 100 INSAS rifles have been procured
as part of the plan to phase out the 3000-odd vintage .303 rifles the force had been using so far.
However, some hiccups in the transition process still remain. Although Goa has the guns, it does not have the ammunition. The guns arrived last month, but lay unused till last week until the state government received "on loan" a consignment of ammunition from the Delhi police. Following this, the guns have been distributed to various police stations and units so that their personnel could be trained in handling the weapon.
Officials in charge of the modernization process played down the lack of ammunition and said that things would be sorted out soon. "Requisitions for the ammunition have already been placed and it's a matter of time before the bullets arrive," they said.
Panaji, Calangute, Anjuna, Pernem and Porvorim police stations in North Goa and Vasco, Colva, Margao, Verna, Cuncolim and Canacona in South Goa have received the rifles, procured at a cost of about Rs 10 lakh. "We have received the INSAS assault rifles, some of which we have distributed. Now we are in the process of training our policemen in handling the gun," said Goa police's official spokesperson SP (intelligence) A V Deshpande.
The state's security is being beefed up after a confidential police department note said that the police needed to be on guard "in view of the prevailing situation in the country, intelligence inputs regarding terror threats to states on the western coast of India" and possible trouble during "the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations".
In view of the threat perception, SDPOs and police inspectors of both districts have been directed to conduct regular checks at strategic points, especially at night, to prevent the movement of suspicious persons and arms and ammunition.
They have also been asked to step up patrolling at vital installations, railway stations, bus stands and other important places. The police have also increased their coordination with fishermen, hoteliers, cyber cafe and PCO owners and taxi operators, sensitizing them about the security measures.
Beat officers have been asked to check hotels, guest houses, cyber cafes and PCOs in their area at regular intervals, said police sources. Besides tenant verification, the police have been instructed to take action against those landlords who have failed to furnish tenant details.
15 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Five swine flu suspects sent home with medicine
Five swine flu suspects sent home with medicine
Preetu Nair
Panaji:Five persons suspected to be suffering with swine flu were sent home by doctors on Friday with Tamiflu tablets as there was no place for them at the isolation ward of Chicalim's cottage hospital.
Four of those sent back are relatives of the 31 year old seafarer who remains quarantined in the isolation ward of Chicalim cottage hospital, while the other is a 30 year old man from Ponda who arrived from Germany. The seafarer's wife has been quarantined in the female isolation ward of Chicalim.
When contacted, state epidemiologist Dr Rajendra Tamba said, “On Friday we got 6 suspected cases of swine flu. We have sent their throat swab samples for blood test and taken necessary precautions.” The blood samples of the suspected patients have been sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi.
Sources in the health department said that with number of swine flu cases on a high, the directorate of health services plans to soon vacate the 70-bedded cottage hospital and make it into a quarantine facility.
The patients were sent back, despite the ministry of health and family welfare in a letter to the state government dated April 28 , 2009 stating :'Any suspected cluster of influenza like illness needs to be investigated by the state rapid response teams and managed in an isolation facilities with strict infection control practises."
Sources revealed there are two isolation wards, with three beds each at the Chicalim hospital. While in the female ward, the 31 year old seafarer's wife has been quarantined, sources said that there were not enough beds to keep the five male patients suspected to have swine flu. Besides, doctors at the Chicalim were hesitant to quarantine a suspected patient along with a confirmed patient.
Sources said that with the number of swine flu cases on a high, the health department plans to vacate the cottage hospital and turn it into a quarantine facility.
Indian government guidelines state that there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers for swine flu patients. In Goa, there are currently only a doctor and a nurse at the Chicalim hospital taking care of the all patients, including those with swine flu.
Health officials are looking out for people who have come in contact with the seafarer."He us a highly infectious patient. Five of his relatives who came in contact with him are suspected of swine flu. When he went to Goa Medical College's casualty, he was there for almost an hour, coughing. Instead of taking his swab samples in Goa Medical College , the patient was sent to Chicalim by bus," said sources.
July 11,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition, FP
Preetu Nair
Panaji:Five persons suspected to be suffering with swine flu were sent home by doctors on Friday with Tamiflu tablets as there was no place for them at the isolation ward of Chicalim's cottage hospital.
Four of those sent back are relatives of the 31 year old seafarer who remains quarantined in the isolation ward of Chicalim cottage hospital, while the other is a 30 year old man from Ponda who arrived from Germany. The seafarer's wife has been quarantined in the female isolation ward of Chicalim.
When contacted, state epidemiologist Dr Rajendra Tamba said, “On Friday we got 6 suspected cases of swine flu. We have sent their throat swab samples for blood test and taken necessary precautions.” The blood samples of the suspected patients have been sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi.
Sources in the health department said that with number of swine flu cases on a high, the directorate of health services plans to soon vacate the 70-bedded cottage hospital and make it into a quarantine facility.
The patients were sent back, despite the ministry of health and family welfare in a letter to the state government dated April 28 , 2009 stating :'Any suspected cluster of influenza like illness needs to be investigated by the state rapid response teams and managed in an isolation facilities with strict infection control practises."
Sources revealed there are two isolation wards, with three beds each at the Chicalim hospital. While in the female ward, the 31 year old seafarer's wife has been quarantined, sources said that there were not enough beds to keep the five male patients suspected to have swine flu. Besides, doctors at the Chicalim were hesitant to quarantine a suspected patient along with a confirmed patient.
Sources said that with the number of swine flu cases on a high, the health department plans to vacate the cottage hospital and turn it into a quarantine facility.
Indian government guidelines state that there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers for swine flu patients. In Goa, there are currently only a doctor and a nurse at the Chicalim hospital taking care of the all patients, including those with swine flu.
Health officials are looking out for people who have come in contact with the seafarer."He us a highly infectious patient. Five of his relatives who came in contact with him are suspected of swine flu. When he went to Goa Medical College's casualty, he was there for almost an hour, coughing. Instead of taking his swab samples in Goa Medical College , the patient was sent to Chicalim by bus," said sources.
July 11,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition, FP
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