Chandigarh, May 19
Unruffled by the incident of a mentally challenged Aashrey inmate having allegedly been raped by a sweeper of her previous abode Nari Niketan, the UT denies any lapses on its part, maintaining that such incidents are “part of society”.

When confronted about the administration overlooking and being in a constant denial mode even after the repeated media reports about security lapses at homes like Nari Niketan(Sector 26), Aashreya(Sector 47) and Snehalya (Maloya), Ram Niwas, Home Secretary, asserted that all was fine.

“Who says security is not tight? I visited the place this evening and everything was fine. The administration has never overlooked anything. Now, after the revelation of this incident we have got the guilty arrested and even terminated,” he said.

While he almost swore by the security arrangements, he had to mark an inquiry when The Tribune reported the case of a 13-year-old mentally challenged girl having gone missing from Aashreya on April 1. Though the girl is untraceable till now, the administration recently issued instructions to beef up security by setting up barbed wires, grills etc. A visit to these institutes brings one face to face with the high risk these inmates are subjected to.

These special homes were recently inaugurated with great pomp, but the administration has ruthlessly ignored certain basic directives. Low boundary walls, minimum surveillance, lone surroundings and in cases like Snehalya adjoining girls and boys hostels are just certain things that have so far failed to catch the attention of those at the helm of affairs.

Worse still is the persistent attitude of hushing up the matters. When The Tribune highlighted the escape of an inmate from Snehalya on March 20 (Snehalya fails to provide that human touch) and pointed out various anomalies like plastic fence, no gate and no guards, the administration not only insisted that all was fine but also victimised the NGO suspecting it for informing the media.

Meanwhile, the girl’s claims of having been raped allegedly by this sweeper inside the toilet with one of the female employees’ aid have raised several questions. Despite the directives regarding the entry of males in such homes, how come his 
activities went unnoticed? As per the rules, such mentally challenged girls ought to get regular counselling, if it was being done wasn’t any behavioral change noticed? Were they not able to detect her missing periods during their medical checkups? When she was shifted from Nari Niketan, wasn’t her pregnancy detected in the mandatory transit medical checkup? 

Chandigarh, May 19
The Chandigarh Police has taken samples of Bhupinder Singh, accused of raping a 16-year-old mentally retarded inmate of Nari Niketan, and the foetus for matching to confirm whether he had impregnated the victim.

The police officials said though the victim nodded in affirmative when the accused was produced before her in the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital yesterday night, yet they do not want to take any chance. The police said as the victim was not mentally fit, the scientific evidence would help in taking the case to its logical end.

Sources in the police said the investigators today took the victim to Nari Niketan in Sector 26 to reconstruct the events. A police officer said the girl was incoherent in speech and was also confused in narrating the sequence of events. She required assistance from a psychologist or some social worker to be able to explain the incident. According to sources, the police is also probing the probability of the victim being misled or used to word somebody else’s tune.

A senior police officer said they were even contemplating getting a statement of the victim recorded before the magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. As the victim was not mentally fit, the psychiatrist or some other person, in whose company she feels comfortable to narrate the incident, would be required, he added.

The police is also examining the role of two women, Kamlesh and Kamla, employed in Nari Niketan, who were named in the first information report. The case was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by a social worker - Pragati Pandey - of Mohali, who works as medical and social worker at Aashreya Home for Mentally Retarded Children in Sector 47.

She told the police that the victim came from Nari Niketan to Aashreya on March 13 this year. She was complaining of uneasiness for the past over 10-15 days, she added.

The victim was medically examined on May 16 in which she was tested positive for pregnancy. On being asked, the victim told them that Bhupinder had allegedly raped her six-seven times. The matter was then reported to the convener of Aashreya - Mani Ratnam - and the victim was taken to the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital on Monday. The medical examination again confirmed that she was eight-ten week pregnant and the matter was reported to the police.

A police officer said the timing of the pregnancy and the shifting of the victim from Nari Niketan to Aashreya were also creating doubts over where the victim was raped. The police said the DNA matching would give a direction to the probe and they would initiate action against the persons suspected and named in the FIR accordingly.

Meanwhile, Bhupinder, a resident of Maloya, pleaded not guilty and maintained that the DNA samples would bring out the truth. Bhupinder is married and is a father of two. He has been working in Nari Niketan for the past four years. He was produced before a local court today which remanded him to judicial custody. 

Chandigarh, May 19
Sitting on a bench in the compound of Nari Niketan, 16-year-old rape victim Rekha (name changed) is yet to come to terms with her traumatic experience.

The last few days have been quite hectic for her - she was medically examined first to check her pregnancy and then again to verify the age of the foetus - and since yesterday, she has been questioned by many to get her account of the story.

Shy and reserved, but yet playful, Rekha, who is mentally retarded with an IQ level of 61 per cent, is smart enough to not to talk to strangers and visibly gets uncomfortable with a new face around. However, after much persuasion and assurance from a nurse that “talking to didi” (this reporter) is safe, she starts narrating her horrific experience in her stuttering and not-so-clear voice. “I was taken to the bathroom, where Bhupinder bhaiya (the accused) asked me to take off my clothes. When I refused, he slapped me and forcibly undressed me and made me lie down on the floor,” she told this correspondent, who had managed to sneak into the “so-called” high-security Nari Niketan, where Rekha was brought for questioning by the GMCH 32 staff.

When asked who took her to the bathroom, Rekha said that the “moti” (fat) Kamla, a sweepress, had taken her there. She said this had happened at least four to five times and then she was shifted out of Nari Niketan.

As she narrates the incident, the sight of fat lady walking in the compound angers her and she retorts, “Yehi woh aunty hai jo mujhe le jati thi. Yeh pagal hai.” She said Kamla used to call her out of the dormitory usually late in the evening after other inmates had slept off and take her to the toilet where Bhupinder was waiting.

While none of the officials at Nari Niketan was willing to talk about the incident, some inmates claimed that there was a lot of “mismanagement” there. They also claimed that some women were even physically abused by the staff.

Chandigarh, May 19
The police is still clueless about the whereabouts of Sunita, a 13-year-old mentally retarded inmate of Aashreya, an institute for mentally retarded, in Sector 47 who ran away fro the home.

Following the escape of the inmate, an inquiry was marked following which grills were installed as Sunita jumped across the low-lying wall on March 18. The authorities concerned have just registered a DDR at the Sector 31 police station.

When questioned finance secretary Ram Niwas said, “I had marked an inquiry following which the decision was taken to improve the security at home. To beef up the security, the grills were installed as the walls were too short and appropriate measures were taken.” The girl was shifted from Nari Niketan to the institute on March 13 this year. The escape of Sunita from the home is an indicator of the poor security arrangements and living conditions at the home.

It seems that the administration is also taking the issue lightly as the mentally retarded inmate has been missing since March 18 and she is still not traceable.

Chandigarh, May 19
Sleuths of the CBI caught red-handed Satish Kumar, a warder of Model Jail in Burail, while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a relative to of a jail inmate. The accused had reportedly promised to provide better facilities to inmate Jaswinder Singh Rocky, who is lodged in the jail in connection with the Dimpy murder case, against the money.

According to CBI (anti-corruption cell) DIG Mahesh Aggarwal, the accused was arrested after laying a trap in which he was caught red-handed while taking the bribe.

Satish was arrested from his residence in Dadu Majra Colony in the wee hours today. It was alleged that besides promising facilities to Rocky in the jail, he also threatened the family of the inmate that in case they failed to meet his demand, he would harass the inmate in the jail.

Rocky’s cousin Gurvinder Singh of Fazilka lodged a complaint with the CBI following which the trap was laid. CBI sources said the accused told to deliver the amount at his residence. A CBI team also searched Satish’s residence after arresting him. A case under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused.

Satish was produced before a local court, which remanded him to one-day police custody. While pleading for a custodial interrogation of the accused, the CBI said they wanted to recover a mobile phone from the accused on which he made demands for the bribe. 

Chandigarh, May 19
Not caring for the prescribed norms, several shops in the Industrial Area-II here, dealing in the manufacture of almirahs and steel furniture etc have been executing the spray painting job on their products on open government land.

This poses a danger to the health of workers in adjoining units who have to bear the brunt of harmful chemicals from the paint squirt.

When a Tribune team visited the Industrial Area II, it was found that the paint job on steel almirahs was in full swing in the open by Krishna Steel Furniture.

PJS Dhadhwal, Additional Director, Environment, when apprised of the situation, said, “It is absolutely illegal to have the spray paint job in the open. I can understand the pitiable conditions under which the adjoining traders have to live. I will personally look into the matter on a priority basis,” he assured.

Proprietors of Shiva Appliances Private Ltd, adjoining this plot, rued that they had been suffering from this menace for the past five years.

“We have requested Krishna Steel to do the paint job either within their plot limits or at the back of the market, but it does not pay any heed to it. Now, the whole day the paint job is done here in the open, which is public land and we have to tolerate the smell of harmful chemicals throughout,” said Inderjeet Singh, director of Shiva Appliances.

Similar violation was noted at Ganesh Steel Industries at plot no 550, where spray painting was under way in the open.

Ravinder Kalsi, a trader, complained that the matter had been brought to the notice of the authorities concerned many a time but in vain. “ I have been writing complaints to the environment, health as well as the industries department on many occasions but till date nobody cared to check this nuisance,” he said. 

Chandigarh, May 19
With the Chandigarh Administration undertaking the process of cleaning the new lake at Sector 42, the water body has temporarily been closed for the general public.

According to a press note, it will involve the removal of lake impurities by completely drying it up and refilling it with fresh water. The process will take around 15-20 days.

The man-made lake, like any other artificially created water body, requires cleaning up periodically, as silt starts to deposit with time along with aquatic algae of other unwanted growth, underlining the need for regular cleanliness.

Chandigarh, May 19
Occupants of Tata Safari and Tata Indigo car had a miraculous escape this afternoon when both vehicles collided in Sector 46, here. According to eyewitnesses, Indigo car was coming from Sector 32 and entering Sector 46 when Tata Safari coming from the other direction rammed into the co-passenger side of Indigo car.

The impact was such that Indigo car turned turtle before landing on the road divider.

The occupant of the car, identified as Arjun, escaped with minor injuries, while the driver of Safari car sped away.

He was later intercepted and both parties reached a compromise, said the police.

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