Monday, September 13, 2010

Doctor couple’s tiff takes ugly turn

Doctor couple’s tiff takes ugly turn

13 Sep 2010

While wife alleges that her husband led a police-lawyer team to barge into her home under the pretext of executing a court order, husband says that he is being implicated

Marriages are made in heaven, it is said, but for 27-year-old medical practitioner Pragati Chhajed, it was a hell of an experience after her  marriage  with a fellow practitioner, Sachin Chhajed, turned sour.
Now as a domestic violence case is on between her and her estranged doctor husband, Pragati alleges that her husband and in-laws, tried to intimidate her by arriving at her residence in Sadashiv Peth late in the night on last Monday.
According to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the male police constable should avoid visitng any residence especially where women are living alone. If necessary, a lady police constable should accompany any police team.
Pragati, who is from Amravati is pursuing her MD in BAMS, had married Dr Sachin in June 2006.
In less than three years the relation soured and Pragati filed a case against Dr Sachin and his parents under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, in February 2010, charging her husband and in-laws with regular mental and physical torture. 
After she was provided interim relief by the Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Court (JMFC), Sachin went into appeal in the Sessions Court but could succeed only in securing a part-modification of the earlier court’s order.
Sachin then filed a fresh application before the JMFC, which allowed him and his family to reside together in the flat which was in possession of Pragati. The magistrate had also directed earlier this month that the two warring parties must obey the order passed by the Sessions Court.
WHAT HAPPENED ON MONDAY
Dr Pragati recalled the incident on Monday,  "On Monday at around 8.30 in the night, my husband and father-in-law, accompanied by two lady lawyers and two male constables, entered my Sadashiv Peth residence.
On being asked the reason for arriving at such late hours and that too without a lady constable, the police informed that they were there to execute a court order directing them to take survey and possession of the flat. They treated me shabbily and alleged that I was a trespasser on my co-owned property.”
“When I inquired with the police whether they studied the court order properly before coming to my place, they were unable to give a justifiable explanation.
The two lawyers and Sachin forced their entry into the house. Sachin later threatened saying that he will see how I reside in the flat.
I was subjected to abusive taunts and humiliated in front of the police and a neighbour. Somehow I managed to reach Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I), D Phadtare, on his mobile and narrated the incident and after his intervention the police left.
I immediately rushed to police station fearing a backlash from Sachin and his father and registered a case against them and the two lady lawyers," she added.
Pragati further informed, "My lawyer Asim Sarode helped me in gettting a monthly maintenance from my husband. More importantly Sarode, secured a order from the court directing my husband to return all my medical text books and my research material, which has not been complied with so far."
HUBBYS DEFENCE
Dr Sachin has denied all the allegation that were made by Dr Pragati. He said, “My parents and I were thrown out of the house at 11pm and we were not even aware about any such incident.
When I went to appeal in the Sessions Court, it  had directed me to reside in the  same flat along with my parents. This order had to be  followed from March 2010, but for the last six months I didn’t get any  response from her. Moreover,  I am residing at a rental flat with my parents. 
So I filed an application and sought the order in which the court had directed both the parties to obey the law. But on Monday we went there to asked if she had received  any court order. We are innocent and it is Pragati who is fabricating and falsely implicating us.”
WHAT POLICE SAYS
DCP Dnyashwar Phadtare admitted that police went to Dr Pragati’s residence, but to implement the court order. "On enquiring with my staff about this incident, I was informed that they went to the Pragati’s house as she remained unavailable during day time and were only trying to serve the court’s order on the same day," DCP Phadtare said.

 

http://www.punemirror.in/article/2/20100913201009130223022054fa7422/Doctor-couple%E2%80%99s-tiff-takes-ugly-turn.html

More women reporting sexual harassment, say city police

More women reporting sexual harassment, say city police

Sep 13, 2010

AHMEDABAD: If applications received by city women's police station are an indication, the number of cases pertaining to sexual harassment in households or at workplaces is on the rise.
The harassment is not always in form of offensive physical contacts or sexual advancements. It can be sexually explicit talks in front of a woman, or talks and lewd gestures not considered acceptable in normal circumstances. According to women's police station officials, they had received 2,397 applications in 2009, most of them regarding dowry demands or assaults by family members. However, there were also complaints of, a small number though, sexual harassment.
The number has gone up in 2010. In 2009, a total of 64 FIRs were lodged in various cases, while at the end of August this year, the number is 48. The number of application the women police station has so far received this year stands at 2,000. The state women's crime cell conducts a meeting every three months to review the situation. For last six to seven months, the scenario has not been very encouraging.
Chetna Chaudhary, inspector of women police station, told TOI that sexual harassment was a menace spreading its tentacles. "One need not look at the figures as they do not represent the real picture. We receive four to five complaints every month about one type of harassment or other. Most of the applications, however, are not turned into FIRs," she said, adding, "The number of complaints earlier were one or two every month."
Chaudhary said many women did not want to get into trouble. "Many families dread getting involved in police cases. They look upon it as a hassle and try to settle the issue without lodging a formal complaint. In many cases, a visit to the police station brings the accused back to their senses and they vow not to harass the woman in future. If we see that the offender is not habitual and can mend his ways, we don't press charges," said Chaudhary. Talking about the cases received, the women police officials said that the complaints covered all places — corporate, households, schools
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/More-women-reporting-sexual-harassment-say-city-police/articleshow/6543978.cms#ixzz0zOx5CU14

Forum for harassed mothers-in-law: 200 counselled in a week

Forum for harassed mothers-in-law: 200 counselled in a week

Mon Sep 13 2010

Rohit (name changed on request), a resident of Shimla, is a broken man today. The last six months have brewed so much of trouble in his married life that this 31-year-old is still trying to come to terms with the "deception" of his wife. In February this year, when he was away to Panchkula along with his family, including his wife, his house in Shimla caught fire. Police investigations revealed that Rohit's wife was the mastermind behind the inferno and she had taken help of the domestic helps to execute her plan. "Since one of the maids got burnt in the incident, she spilled the beans. My wife had paid them Rs 5,000 and also provided them with petrol to burn the house down," said the `victim' who has been married for four years. The family claims the woman also took away all the money and jewellery that was lying in the house before burning it down. While Rohit has filed a divorce petition in a local court in Shimla, the wife has also given a counter complaint of domestic violence with the police and is now "out on bail".
Rohit and his mother had come all the way from Shimla, after seeking "counselling" over the phone at the local chapter of All India Mothers-in-law Protection Forum, to attend a meeting in Sector 10 on Sunday. "We had read about it in the newspapers and called up. These eights months have been traumatic for us but we want to fight it out now as we have been wronged," said Rohit's mother.
This is not an isolated case coming to the forum. The local chapter, which is only a week old, boasts of about 60 members and also claim to have counselled over 200 harassed mothers-in-law till now. The members had gathered near Stop and Stare, Sector 10, for a weekly meeting.
"A lot of people who sought counselling on the phone came to meet us today. This will be a weekly feature. We want mothers-in-law who are viewed rather infamously as the villain of peace to come up with their tale of woes at the hands of their daughters-in-law," said Manjeet Puri, coordinator of the chapter.
Most of the people who have come to the forum lament the "misuse" of Section 498 A of the IPC, which deals with cruelty against women by husband and his family. These harassed mothers-in-law say most of the conflict pertains to division of wealth and property made by their daughters-in-law; failing to coerce to them leads to slapping of "false" cases of dowry harassment and even domestic violence. "I have a house in Gurgaon where my daughter-in-law is living with my grandson. She wanted that I should transfer the property in her name and when I refused to do so, she filed a case of dowry harassment against us. It has been almost two years that she is staying separately," said one Harminder Kaur.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/forum-for-harassed-mothersinlaw-200-counselled-in-a-week/680901/2

Cop in dowry case faces court’s wrath

Cop in dowry case faces court’s wrath

Sessions court rules police inspector had falsely implicated a Vile Parle family though he knew they were ‘innocent’; family wants to put past behind them

Sunday, January 04, 2009 at 03:52:58 AM

Madhukar, Nanda and their son Ashish had been arrested after their daughter-in-law Meena committed suicide in 2007

In an alleged dowry death case, a police official has come under the court’s scanner for falsely implicating a family by submitting false evidence. If found guilty, police inspector Pandurang Tangadpalle of Vile Parle police station could face upto three months imprisonment.
“The investigating officer has acted with mala fide intention to book the accused and he fabricated false evidence with the intention that the accused be convicted and sentenced,” a sessions judge observed. He added that the policeman had done so “though he was aware the accused are innocent”.
The court issued a notice under charges of perjury (section 344 of CrPC for misguiding a court by giving false evidence) to Tangadpalle, and acquitted five members of a Vile Parle family of dowry harassment.


“From the conduct of PI Tangadpalle, it is apparent that he was acting as a puppet in the hands of Manohar Verma (the complainant). This is a fit case where the court should take cognisance of the offence of fabricating false evidence,” observed Sessions judge R D Jadhav, while issuing the notice to the officer.

The court observed that Tangadpalle had delayed filing an FIR and had fabricated the worth of valuables the deceased had received during marriage.

Case background
A case of dowry harassment was registered against Ashish Desai, his father Madhukar, mother Nanda and brothers Hemant and Umesh, after Ashish’s wife Meena committed suicide on March 3, 2007.

Based on a complaint by the deceased’s brother Manohar, the police arrested the Desai family. Manohar alleged Meena was harassed mentally and physically for dowry by the Desai family.

But the Desai family argued it had been a love marriage and as Meena’s father was against it, the couple wed in December 2000 only after her father’s demise. The couple had a son who was born three years after the marriage. Defence lawyers argued there had been no demand for dowry.

“The accused did not harass, nor make any demands for money. They never abused, nor beat Meena.” they said. The court while acquitting the family, observed that there was no evidence that the accused had subjected the deceased to cruelty or made any dowry demands.

Therefore there was no evidence they had caused her death or abetted the suicide. When contacted, Tangadpalle remained unavailable for comment.

We want son to move on 
“There would be quarrels between my son and Meena as they disagreed on certain issues but her death was not caused by dowry harassment. Whatever we have faced — mental, physical and social trauma — is our past.

The most difficult part was the trauma my son and grandson faced. We are consulting a psychologist to help my son finally move on in life. He is still under trauma and suffers from guilt pangs. He just wants to live for his son now,” Madhukar Desai said

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=2&contentid=20090104200901040352587163655859

Accused, in Dowry harassment case, shoots down the Policeman in Kerala

Policeman shot dead by fugitive in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 12, DHNS:

In a rare incident in the state, a police sub-inspector was shot dead by an accused in a dowry harassment case when the police reached his house to arrest him.

The shocking incident happened at Padayanthal within the Kalikkavu police station limits in Nilambur in Malappuram district on Sunday afternoon.


According to sources, a four-member police team led by Sub-Inspector Vijaykrishnan, 53, had gone to the house of Mujeeb Rehman to execute an arrest warrant issued by a local court as the latter had been evading a summons for some time.


The case related to a complaint filed by his fourth wife Umaiba against dowry harassment. Rehman refused to open the door when the policemen reached his house.  It was when Krishnan threatened to break open the door that Rehman escaped through the backdoor into the forest along with his wife, son and infant daughter.


According to reports, an unsuspecting Krishnan chased Mujeeb who took out a gun and began to shoot. Two bullets hit Krishnan’s body, one in the neck and other in his chest. Krishnan was rushed to Nilambur Takuk hospital where he was declared dead.
Police have launched a manhunt for the accused who incidentally knows the forest very well. The incident has shocked police and the public alike as it is believed to be the first of its kind in the state.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/96012/policeman-shot-dead-fugitive-kerala.html