23 years after girl got HIV+ve blood, blood bank officer gets 2 years in jail.

In these 23 years, the investigators have lost track of the victim; the convicted blood bank officer has retired; and her lab assistant, who too was charged, is no more.

Twenty-three years after a typhoid patient admitted to JJ Hospital was transfused with HIV infected blood, a metropolitan magistrate last month sentenced the blood bank's officer to two years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on her. 

In these 23 years, the state's home department has lost track of the victim; the convicted blood bank officer has long retired and is well into her 70s; and her lab assistant, who was also charged, has passed away. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials, who pursued the case doggedly through the long trial, say that this is a first conviction in a case of negligence by a blood bank. 

The convicted blood bank officer Dr Jyotsna Desai, who was attached to the Tata Blood Bank and Transfusion Centre at JJ Hospital, was charged under several sections of the Drugs and Cosmetic Act and Section 269 (Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) of the Indian Penal Code. 

The victim, a 13-year-old girl from Jalgaon, who was suffering from typhoid, anaemia and chronic inflammation, was admitted to JJ Hospital in August 1991. She was transfused with a unit of blood (serial no 5198) obtained from the Tata Blood Bank and Transfusion Centre which was then run by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. 

While going through the records, Dr Desai realised that blood unit no 5198, which was marked HIV+ve by the AIDS Surveillance Centre, was missing. An internal investigation revealed that the unit was wrongly labled HIV -ve by lab assistant Arjun Sawant and placed on a rack where blood units marked safe to be issued to patients were placed. 

The court ruled that though the error was made by the lab assistant, Dr Desai in her capacity as his supervisor should have detected the mistake and not allowed the infected blood unit to be issued to the Jalgaon girl. 

The FDA came to know about the case though a small report in a regional newspaper in September 1991. Taking cognizance of the report, the FDA began its investigation and called for the patient's blood sample from Jalgaon. 

Test reports stated that the sample tested positive for HIV in Elisa test. Test result for Western Blot Test, however, was indeterminate. 

FDA's joint commissioner Sanjay Kale, who was then a drug inspector, said that the victim's relatives did not remain in contact with the investigators. "We followed up the case thoroughly as it involved serious negligence," said Kale, adding that the licence of the blood bank was soon cancelled after which the state government decided to open its own blood bank in JJ Hospital. 

"It's a cautionary tale for blood banks. They must exercise extreme care in testing, labeling, and issuing blood units." 

FDA joint commissioner B R Masal, who was a complainant in the case, said the case helped tighten controls over testing and labeling of blood units in blood banks. "When this unfortunate incident happened, we were just learning about the deadly HIV infection," he said. 

Desai's lawyer Prakash Kilpady said his client will challenge the order in a higher court. "Desai was made a scapegoat when she was not the main in-charge. She had superiors too. Also, the labeling was done by Sawant who died a few years ago," said Kilpady. 

He also pointed out that there were no tests carried out to determine the age of the HIV infection in the patient, suggesting that the victim may have picked up the infection even before she was admitted to JJ Hospital.

One killed as train derails in Titwala, shuts down section

Five coaches derailed after the train left Titwala station. CR officials feel the coaches may have detached from the train before going off the tracks (above) One of the nine injured being taken to Fortis Hospital for treatment

Thousands of commuters were stranded between Titwala and Kasara; long-distance trains were re-routed as the five derailed bogeys blocked Up and Down lines.

A commuter was killed and at least 14 were injured, six seriously, when five bogeys of a CST-bound local train were derailed between Titwala and Ambivali stations near Balyani village, on Thursday, according to Central Railway officials. The derailed bogeys effectively shut down the Kasara line, forcing CR to cancel all rail traffic between Titwala and Kasara. At least 11 long-distance trains were rerouted and two were rescheduled. 

The CR officials said the coaches might have uncoupled from the train before going off the tracks. The mishap that occurred at 2.50 pm, barely five minutes after the train pulled out of Titwala station, has raised questions on commuter safety for CR. Meanwhile, Government Railway Police has quoted the number of injured to be at least 23. 

The deceased has been identified as Dhaval Mayur Lodaya (20), a resident of Pant Nagar in Ghatkopar (E). The seriously injured included train guard R N Dube, who suffered a dislocated shoulder. Passengers Kiran K Bhoir, Pradeep Janade and Shrutika Dagade were also seriously injured and are undergoing treatment at Fortis Hospital. Four commuters sustained minor injuries. 

Balyani villagers rushed to the rescue after hearing the cries of commuters, helping those inside the derailed bogeys to get out. CR officials said the reason behind the mishap was yet to be ascertained. "The impact was such that it even broke several concrete sleepers, and caused one of the coaches to tilt steeply. Something seriously went wrong and a lot of questioning and answering will follow," said a senior CR official. 

CR spokesperson A K Jain said, "Of the 14 injured, five were taken to Railway Hospital, Kalyan where one of them was discharged after first-aid. Four were taken to Fortis Hospital." He added that ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 was announced for the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 15,000 for those grievously injured and Rs 5,000 for the rest. 

Jain said suburban services were on between CST-Kalyan and Titwala-Kasara stations, as well as shuttles from CST to Ambivali and Titwala to Kasara. "The state government was requested to ply extra State Transport buses to help commuters travel between Kalyan and Titwala," he added. 

Railways officials said getting the line back to operational status would take time, given the extent of damage. "Already, around 11 long-distance trains have been diverted and two had to be rescheduled. Hopefully, the Down line (towards Kasara) will be cleared and operational by 10 pm on Thursday. The work on the Up line (towards CST) might go on till Friday," an official said. 

An RPF officer said one of their constables, Rahul Girase, was on the train and informed authorities before joining the rescue effort. Sources in the CR said an inquiry will be carried out into the mishap by the Commissioner of Railway Security (CRS) as a passenger had been killed. 

DECEASED WAS AWAITING HSC EXAMINATION RESULTS 

Dhaval Mayur Lodaya (20), a student of Somaiya College, had just appeared for the HSC exams. His relatives in Ghatkopar said Dhaval was returning from a visit to a Jain temple in Asangaon with three friends. 

Due to the massive jerk caused by the derailment, Dhaval was thrown out of the train. He lay injured for more than half an hour before succumbing to his injuries. Eyewitnesses said his life could have been saved if medical aid had arrived on time. 

His family friend Rohit Parekh told Mirror that the train first swayed left and then right. Though a crowd of over 150 had gathered, no one helped as all were busy taking photos and videos on their phones. "A local corporator also refused to help saying he did not have a vehicle," Parekh said.

City needs directly elected mayor, says Milind Deora

South Mumbai MP Milind Deora at the Mumbai Mirror office on Wednesday

Mumbai Mirror Bureau

Mumbai's infrastructure and governance problems can be fixed only if the city directly elects a mayor and vests him with all the necessary powers. This is thirty-sevenyear old, two-time MP from South Mumbai, Milind Deora's solution to sorting out the mess his home city is in. 

None of the 269 elected representatives from the city, including corporators, MLAs and MPs, had any exclusive power or any vision for Mumbai. But with devolution of power to a mayor, there will be more accountability and pressure on that office, and will soon have it seeking authority over the police, MHADA, and other agencies. 

Maharashtra was the second biggest state in the country and its capital needed a new model of governance. In a one-hour interaction with the Mumbai Mirror, Deora, who is now Minister of State for IT & Communications as well as Shipping, said Mumbai's governance is too fragmented. If he had to use his funds as an MP to build a Rs 10 lakh toilet in his constituency, it would need some 30 clearances from multiple agencies, making it an arduous exercise. 

It is a problem that most cities in India are facing and many of Deora's friends from Bangalore too had the same complaints about that city. Delhi is an exception because in the national capital region, three governments were competing, putting up infrastructure to attract industry. "I am an IT company, and UP offers me a better deal, I can move to NOIDA. Mumbai does not have that." 

The Modi and Kejriwal factors 

The young leader found Kejriwal "definitely a character" and conceded nobody was taking BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi lightly. But the hype about Modi could not be bought, and elections are more than just a personality contest. His calculations are that even if the BJP did get 40 per cent of the vote, with Modi, the "entirely right face" of the BJP , which is already a right of centre party, getting coalition partners will not be easy. Should the partners compromise on their ideology in allying with the BJP, then keeping the alliances going would be a problem. 

As for Kejriwal, only God knew whether the attention he was getting would lead to a proportionate election outcome. Deora could not help being excited when the apolitical movement started by Anna Hazare became a political movement and led to electoral participation, but felt let down when Kejriwal quit the Delhi government, not even providing a reason. According to him, Kejriwal plays the opposition all the time is neither solution-oriented nor realistic. 

And some of the biggest thugs in his own constituency were joining AAP, said Deora, referring to a not-so-above-board project of one of the AAP members, which he said he had opposed with the help of well-known activists in the city. 

Deora, who has been in the limelight in the recent past for his criticism of the Maharashtra chief minister, insisted he has a good personal equation with him. His own reading was that the CM, to be fair to him, was finding his feet in the state after having been for years at the centre. In the Campa Cola case, when Deora wrote to Sonia Gandhi asking her to get the chief minister to do something to help the residents, he admitted he did get a bit excited. 

As far as South Mumbai is concerned 80 per cent of his energies during the coming polls will be directed against his principal opponents, the MNS and the Shiv Sena, the difference in 2009 being that one did not know how strong the MNS was electorally. "I have a good sense now.... there is a little more predictability," said Deora. The rest of the candidates, including Meera Sanyal of AAP, he dismissed as being of secondary concern. 

He thought of himself as accessible to his constituency, having spoken on behalf of its interests. He had been vocal about the Campa Cola issue, the cluster development for Bhendi Bazar, the Eastern freeway, a housing regulator for Maharashtra and so on. His pet theme by his admission is mobile tower radiation and he had persuaded his ministry to make the radiation limits ten times more stringent in 2012. 

That Congress Vice president Rahul Gandhi criticised the government's Ordinance attempting to get around the Supreme Court's verdict on convicted lawmakers shortly after Deora himself had tweeted his criticism was a complete coincidence, he claimed. 

"I'd be very happy to say yes, Rahul and I speak and I am the weather vane who tests the waters for him. I'd love to get credit for that. But it is not true."

Railways unable to put own house in order

Between 3.30 pm and 4 pm on workings days, a special train for railway employees stops at Parel station, which hundreds of workshop staffers cross the tracks to board

Railway employees break all rules with impunity; can be seen walking on tracks and boarding trains from wrong sides.

Even as the Mumbai Railways revives its "most ambitious" Rs 150-crore trespass control project to reduce the number of track deaths on suburban railways, it is unable to rein in its own employees. Every day, hundreds of employees walk on the tracks with impunity, climb trains from the wrong side and break every law in the book. 

This Mumbai Mirror reporter visited the Parel station between 3.30 pm and 4 pm on a working day to find hundreds of railway workshop employees walking on the tracks to catch the "employee special train" that arrives on platform number three. Since platform number four at Parel is still equipped to handle only nine-car trains, the 12-car special train halts here twice, making employees jump on the train from all sides, risking their lives and limbs. 

"All gates and fences that are usually locked are opened up at this time to facilitate commuters, leading to complete chaos at the station, even as CSTbound fast trains speed past honking continuously," said an activist. 

"In fact, there are too many of them to be controlled. There is a small passageway at the north end of the workshop from where they come onto the tracks. A small locked-up gate near the booking office in the east side is also opened up, leading to scores jumping onto the path of running lines to reach platform three," he added. 

Police constables and home guards on duty said they were helpless, as advising employees was beyond their duty and control. 

Meanwhile, Central Railway's chief spokesperson Atul Rane assured Mumbai Mirror that railway employees will be sensitised about the issue. 

Last year, as many as 3,506 people had died in railways-related mishaps. The department then launched a trespass control plan as part of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project 2-A. The plan was funded by the World Bank, Indian Railways and the Maharashtra government and co-ordinated by the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation. 

It aimed at creating facilities such as foot-over bridges, escalators and green patches near stations. 

Initially, the project was formally launched by Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge during his Mumbai visit in October 2013. Soon after the launch, the project got scrapped as the World Bank raised some objections over the tender process. Last week, the

How Shakti Mills changed in 7 months

Seven months after two gang rapes cast a harsh light on Mumbai's safe-for-women image, the site of the assaults - Shakti Mills - remains a dark blot in an area with gleaming high rises: lights authorities had promised in the aftermath have not been installed yet. 

Private security guards use torches to patrol the desolate 10-acre property at night. There is no visible police presence in the Shakti Mills lane, off Dr E Moses Marg, either. 

But some things have changed. 

1. Thick vegetation that provided easy cover to drug addicts is gone, so are the louts, for now. 

2. Walls and small rooms inside the compound that gave it a mazelike characteristic have been torn down. 

3. The compound's multiple archways have been sealed and converted into a perimeter wall, and the section facing rail tracks - from where the gang-rape accused used to sneak in - has been fortified. 

4. Six watchmen, deployed after a high court directive to secure the premises, keep round-the-clock vigil in two shifts. 

5. More measures are on the cards: a barbed wire fence will come up in the section near tracks and two watchtowers are being planned. 

The most important change perhaps is how people who live or work in the locality have responded to the two horrific rapes. 

An informal neighbourhood watch keeps a track of people seen milling around near the compound. The group comprises not only locals and stall-owners, but also cabbies, who frequent the lane for food and some rest. 

"If we hear any ruckus at night, the locals accompany us inside the compound," said Nishar Ahmed, 42, one of three guards posted outside the mill on the night before Thursday's verdict. "Taxi drivers also alert us if they see a suspicious person in the vicinity." 

Another watchman, Shiv Kumar Gupta, said the police's response had also improved. "Whenever we call them to nab trespassers, they arrive at the scene immediately," he said. "A police van also makes rounds three to four times in a day." 

Naina Patankar, who runs a small eatery outside Shakti Mills, said six months ago the compound was a "jungle". "Once I entered the compound to gather some wood, but was accosted by a man, who I later learnt was one of the rapists. I never went inside again," she said. 

The man Patankar mentioned appeared to fit the description of 28-year-old Mohammed Salim Ansari, one of three men involved in both the gang rapes. 

Krishna Gawde, 26, who runs a tea stall outside the compound, said with the foliage removed, the locals could spot trespassers and alert the guards. 

"With the archways sealed and the rear perimeter wall repaired, one cannot easily enter Shakti Mills. It's different place than what it was seven months ago," said Rajan, who works in an electronics store nearby.

EC exempts board examiners from poll duty

The Election Commission has exempted more than a lakh state board examiners and moderators from election duty to clear their schedules and give them time to evaluate the answer sheets of HSC and SSC students. 

The junior college teachers had last month boycotted assessment of three HSC examinations in protest against the state government, demanding salary arrears among other things. 

Now it is expected that 1.1 lakh examiners and moderators will be able to make up for the lost time and complete the evaluation process before June 5, the deadline set by the Supreme Court to declare the results. 

"As many as 85 lakh HSC students and 1 crore SSC students took the examination. We had proposed that instead of junior college teachers, the state should look to the six lakh Std I to Std IX teachers in Maharashtra for election duty," said Anil Deshmukh, secretary of the Maharashtra State Federation of Junior College Teachers' Organisation. 

Mumbai divisional board chairman, Laxmikant Pande, meanwhile confirmed the report, saying the exemption will ensure timely completion of the assessment process. 

"They will be able to make up the time lost when they boycotted the assessment of the first three HSC papers, and deliver the results before the deadline," said Pande.Meanwhile, SSC students appeared for their social science paper and HSC students for the English literature exam. While no cases of cheating were reported for the HSC exam, two were reported for SSC exam in the Thane region.

DGCA show-cause to SpiceJet over Holi plane dance

Spicejet's inflight Holi celebrations on its Goa-Bangalore flight on March 17 invited a show-cause notice from the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday, seeking to know why the low-cost airline's flying licence should not be cancelled.

The DGCA's contention that the 2.5-minute dance performance by the cabin crew could have disturbed the aircraft's centre of gravity has drawn amused responses from the aviation industry.

"As far as disturbance to the centre of gravity is concerned, readings from the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) are enough to ascertain the truth," aviation expert Vipul Saxena said.

"The dance hardly lasted a few minutes and the aircraft was cruising at a comfortable altitude on autopilot. Trolleys traversing the aisle weigh more than a crew member. Does the trolley have any effect on the centre of gravity?" an airline official said.

SpiceJet said it will approach the aircraft's manufacturer, Boeing, for help in providing a scientific explanation to DGCA. Airline crew said while such celebrations may be new to India, airlines surprise passengers with similar performances in the US, Europe, and elsewhere in Asia. "Airlines such as Southwest (US), Virgin in Europe, and Air Asia do so, videos of which are easily available online," a pilot said.

The airline has already derostered both the commander and first officer of the flight. DGCA chief Prabhat Kumar said Spicejet had been given 15 days respond to the show-cause notice. A airline spokesperson told Mirror, "Extra cabin crew as well as crew managers were on the flights to ensure the front and rear galleys were manned for those 2.5 minutes, and to ensure all planned activities were well-supervised."

Sources in the DGCA informed that the regulator was divided over the show-cause notice to SpiceJet, as some senior officers are against such celebrations. Saxena added that the action contemplated by DGCA seemed a little too harsh. "However, this suituation needs to be taken as a lesson in formulating new guidelines, considering the need for inflight decorum and the comfort of passengers," he said.

He taught me the importance of replying

Back in the day, we wrote letters. In my boarding school in Shimla, we had a designated letter-writing class where we wrote to our parents. 

It was in one such class that I wrote a letter to Khushwant Singh. It was a blue inland letter which we ruled neatly before we scribbled in it with our blotchy ink pens. At that time, I nursed a secret ambition to be a writer and Singh, whose short story (The Mark of Vishnu) was on our syllabus, was the only author I knew. 

After two weeks, I received a sepia coloured postcard with handwriting as if there were ants crawling. After a bit of squinting, I saw Khushwant Singh's signature. 

I had written my letter on a whim and was astonished that a famous writer would have the time to reply to a schoolboy. I wrote some more letters and even sent him some pieces I wrote and every time Singh's sepia postcard would be waiting for me. 

This was baffling. Khushwant Singh was famously particular about his time. His door had this notorious notice for all gatecrashers - 'Please do not ring the bell unless you are expected'. He was a disciplinarian with a fixed schedule, which he never broke. He woke up at 4 am and slept at 9pm. Even if you were an honoured guest in his house, he would excuse himself retire to bed at 9pm. Singh was also a stickler for punctuality. There are stories of how people - some of them VVIP's - were refused entry into his house, when they showed up late. 

Many years later, I went to meet him for an interview and was running late. I knew I would be turned out, but took my chance and rang the bell. His servant opened the door and told me to wait. After a few minutes, Singh came to the door, shook my hand and led me in. I realised he had the servant make me wait so he could personally come and escort me in himself. 

During the interview, I told him he had replied to every letter I had written to him. He said he replied to every letter, including the abusive ones. He showed me these letters with some pride. 

When my interview was done, he turned to me and said, "Now tell me about yourself." I was taken aback. At that time, I was doing a series of interviews with writers and none of them had shown a least bit of interest in me. All artists including writers have very big egos. The egos are fragile and you have to be very careful because you never know when you may touch a raw nerve. I had interviewed dacoits, petty criminals and pimps, but I was never so afraid of interviewing anyone as I was interviewing writers. 

I told him about my ancestral home in Himachal. He said when he was younger he had trekked to my area from Shimla and would ogle at the pretty college girls on his walks to and from his cottage in Mashobra. He quizzed me about my life with genuine interest and finally when it was time to leave escorted me to the door. 

The second time, I met an ailing Singh in 2009. When I called him on the phone he simply said, "I am sorry. I am deaf. Can you please write me a letter?" And as expected, he wrote back. 

The last I wrote to him, Singh replied saying he had had a very bad fall in his bathroom. He said he was in pain and had been advised complete rest. Again I was surprised that considering his condition he had bothered to reply at all. 

Today apart from a barrage of queries from photography enthusiasts, I get a bulk of mail from three types of people. 

1. Those who think I am gay 

2. Those who think I am a pimp 

3. Those who think I am Virat Kohli's bosom buddy. 

I have been photographing the homosexual community in India and many gays trolling the internet for alliances assume I am gay. 

I did a magazine shoot with Virat Kohli and because I have his pictures on my website, girls think I am his best pal. 

I am currently working on a project on ageing sex workers and their photos on my website gets me calls at odds hours of the day from drunk men who say, "I saw your number on the internet. I want a girl." It can get really exasperating to reply to people who mistake you for someone else. But reply I do. 

One cannot write enough about how ill-mannered we Indians are. Not replying back is not only bad manners, but also arrogant. And every crazy email I want to trash, I think of Khushwant Singh sitting on his desk replying to every silly letter he received. 

Sanjay Austa is a Delhi-based photographer

Noted works 

TRAIN TO PAKISTAN (1956): Set in the backdrop of partition, Train to Pakistan is about Juggut Singh, a Sikh gangster, who is in love with a Muslim girl in the village of Mano Majra. 

I SHALL NOT HEAR THE NIGHTINGALE (1959): Another bestseller by Singh, the book is about Buta Singh, an official working with the British, and his son, who is driven to rebellion against the British. 

DELHI: The protagonist in this story, a journalist who has fallen on bad times, narrates the history of Delhi in this fast-paced novel. Starting from the city in its heyday, it ends with the anti-Sikh riots in 1984. 

THE COMPANY OF WOMEN (1999): As the title suggests, the story is set around a man and his inexhaustible appetite for sex. Singh declared, "As a man gets older, his sex instincts travel from his middle to his head." 

TRUTH, LOVE AND A LITTLE MALICE (2002): Singh wrote his autobiography when he was around 88 years old. The magnum opus deals in depth with his relations with political dignitaries.

1 killed, 12 injured after five coaches of Kasara-CST Mumbai local train derail near Titwala station

• Train Derailment Representational Image

One person has died and 12 people have been left injured after a Kasara-CST train (N-18) derailed a couple of minutes after it proceeded from Titwala station on its way to Ambivali. The train had moved out of Titwala station at 2:37pm, as per railway control recorded and the derailment must have happened at around 2:39.

Suburban services are being run between CST-Kalyan stations and Titwala-Kasara stations. 

Bus services have been arranged with the help of State Government to bridge the passengers between Titwala and Kalyan.

Stranded Passengers of 12142 Rajendranagar-LTT Express and 11056 Gorakhpur-LTT Godan Express are being given Light Refreshments by railway authorities. 

Free Communication facility is provided to persons admitted in Hospitals

Trains will be diverted to run via Kalyan-Pune-Daund-Manmad till the restoration of railway line 

 In the suburban train derailment near Titwala, one person died, 5 grievously injured including guard and 4 sustained simple injuries.

Out of total 9 injured, one person who sustained simple injury discharged from Kalyan. 4 injured persons are at Fortis Hospital and 4 persons are at Railway Hospital, Kalyan.

Ex-gratia of Rs.50,000 was announced to the deceased's kin while Rs.15,000 is announced for those who are grievously injured.

Rs.5,000 has been announced to persons who sustained simple injuries.

Name of dead person is Dhawal Mayur Lodha. 

Officials on the site said that five coaches had derailed and people must have received secondary injuries as the train was not very crowded, and people might have hit themselves against the metal parts inside the train due to the sudden jerk arising out of the derailment.

One passenger has been announced dead, while 12 have been reported injured.

Top officials including divisional railway manager Muklesh Nigam left for the site at around 2:50pm.

"I can comment only after I reach the spot," Nigam told DNA.

Below is the list of casualities: 

DEAD:

 Dhawal Mayur Loday (M-20)

GRIEVOUSLY INJURED:

R.N. Dubey, Guard (M-51), Fortis Hospital

Kiran K. Bhoir (M-45), Fortis Hospital

 Pradeep Janade, Fortis Hospital

Ms. Shrutika Dagade (F-20), Fortis Hospital

SIMPLE INJURY:

 Imam Abdul Khan (M-44), Fortis Hospital

Zafar Khan (M-43), Fortis Hospital

Pandurang G Lahane (M-59), Railway Hospital, Kalyan

 Smt. Nisha P. Chavan (F-45), Railway Hospital, Kalyan

Smt. Sindubai J Shinde (F-45) Railway Hospital, Kalyan

Hunt on for shop owner who assaulted 2 employees

The Vakola police are on the hunt for two men, who last week allegedly assaulted and confined two of their employees inside their electronics shop in Hotel Grand Hyatt in Santacruz for refusing to give a statement against a third employee accused of fraud. 

According to the police, the victims, Nitin Joshi and Shekhar Patil, who work at Mihaus Electronics inside the hotel, were on March 6 assaulted by the owner Navin Rao and the store's regional head Charu Makins after they refused to testify against the store manager Manoj Lokhande. According to Rao and Makins, Lokhande had committed fraud. 

Joshi and Patil said that there were issues between Rao and Lokhande. "Rao wanted us to tell the police that Lokhande stole Rs 25 lakh worth electronics. When we refused, they assaulted and confined us in a room without food or water. They released us at night and assured us that they would not harass us again. The next day, they asked us to testify once again and when we refused, we were assaulted and locked up and released at the end of the day. We then approached the Vakola police and filed a complaint," said Joshi, who has worked in the shop for the past four years. 

The Vakola police have registered a case under section 342 (wrongful confinement) and 324 (causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code against Rao and Makins, who are currently absconding.

Hospitality firm director held for Rs. 4.5cr tax default

The director of a hospitality services firm was on Wednesday arrested for non-remittance of collected service tax amounting to Rs 4.5 crore. 

"We have arrested Myron Remedios, Director of Rare Hospitality and Services Limited for default of around Rs 4.5 crore of tax," a source in the Service Tax department said. 

According to the department, the company provides housekeeping services to major hospitals, hotels and corporate clients here. 

"They have collected Service Tax from the service recipients from April 2010 onwards, but have not paid it to the department," said the source. 

Remedios was involved in the dayto-day operations of the company and was fully aware of the service tax liability of the company, said a department sleuth. 

He was remanded in judicial custody till March 24 .

Cop’s son made cheat sheets on FIR forms, changed version thrice

The 16-year-old was caught cheating at the exam centre at Y B Chavan School (left) on Tuesday. He had written the solutions on the blank sides of FIR complaint sheets (right)

The SSC student who wrote solutions to leaked 'C' batch Algebra paper on blank side of police complaint form and was caught cheating had failed Class IX twice.

The 16-year-old SSC student who was booked for carrying a leaked copy of the Algebra question paper, has changed his statement thrice since he was caught cheating at the exam centre at Y B Chavan School on Tuesday. What is even more shocking is that the student, son of a police constable with Borivali police station, had written the solutions on the blank sides of FIR complaint sheets - available at police stations -- which he carried to the exam centre. 

After being caught in the act, he told examination supervisor Sunanda Kumbhar that his father had obtained the leaked question paper for him. A couple of hours later, he told the police that he had bought the question paper for Rs 500 from a person near Borivali railway station. 

According to Kandivali police, by Tuesday night, the boy had changed his statement yet again, telling the police that two of his classmates at Mahesh Tutorials had given him the question paper. Though Bharti Sharma, centre head at the Kandivali branch of Mahesh Tutorials, denied that he was a student, he said that he would have to check with other centres. 

Of the four sets of question papers (A, B, C, D), the accused was allotted bunch 'D'. However, the leaked question paper he had in his possession belonged to bunch 'C'. "The supervisor, Kumbhar, has given the boy's first statement in writing to us, which is different from the version he told police around 3 pm," said Laxmikant Pande, chairman, Mumbai division of the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Examination (MSBSHSE). 

The board also found it fishy that the boy changed his statement after the police came into the scene. Pande said the school had not informed the police, yet the cops landed up on their own. The board also confirmed that the 68 centres where question papers are stored are under police guard. 

"He told the police that he had bought the question paper near Borivali railway station around 10:50 am, went home and wrote the solutions before leaving for the exam centre. He reached half an hour late to the exam centre," said Pande. 

Kandivali police filed the FIR at 1:30 am on Wednesday and booked him under the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and other Specified Examination Act. The accused was produced at the Juvenile Justice Board on Wednesday and has been kept at an observation home until further notice. 

"We had questioned the father on Tuesday night, but he denied any knowledge of the leaked paper's source. Our investigation is still on, and he is also under the scanner since the student was found with FIR form sheets," said Hareshwar Pimple, senior PI, Kandivali police station. 

The police also said the accused, formerly a student of Saint Dynamic School, had failed twice in Class IX. Curiously enough, he had filled up Form 17 and submitted his application for the SSC exams as a private candidate. 

The board has submitted a report of Tuesday's episode to board chairman, G K Mamane, stating that a re-examination is not needed. "As per the statements of the police and the supervisor, we feel that the paper leak hasn't gone beyond the accused student, so a re-examination is not necessary. We have asked the police for a report on the source and the extent of the leak," said Pande. 

In addition to the police's ongoing inquiry, the Mumbai divisional board office has appointed a four-member committee chaired by divisional board secretary P R Pawar and including the south zone education inspector, north zone deputy education inspector and senior superintendent of the board office. The committee has three specific focus areas to probe into -- the source, the extent of the paper leak, and recommendations to prevent it from happening again.

HC turns Mirror reports into PIL, slams state, BMC

The Mirror reports of March 11 and 12, which prompted the High Court action. The baby is being treated at Parel’s Wadia Hospital.

Shocking that the poor cannot avail of medical aid without media's help, says High Court.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday turned the Mumbai Mirror reports on the five-month-old Nalla Sopara baby, who'd been surviving in a thermocol icebox since October after being turned away by KEM and Nair hospitals, into a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL). 

Referring to Mumbai Mirror's March 11 front page report, 'In need of incubator, this 5-month-old is surviving in icebox', a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Manoj Sanklecha said the incident was "shocking" and noted that it was a private hospital that came forward to help the family. 

"It is unfortunate that people who cannot afford private hospitals don't get treatment at public hospitals without intervention of the media," the bench said, while seeking a reply from the authorities by March 27. 

Pulling up the state government and BMC for lack of incubators at public hospitals, the bench said, "In view of the above facts reported in the Mumbai Mirror reports, it is obvious that the public hospitals in the city are awfully short of neonatal ICU beds. The inaction on the part of the authorities requires to be seriously noted and the authorities need to be activated to take immediate steps for getting adequate number of neonatal ICU beds." 

The court further observed that necessary institutional arrangements were required to be made by BMC as well as the state "to see that people get necessary medical treatment at public hospitals in their own right." 

Those made respondents in the PIL are secretary of the Public Health & Welfare Department, BMC commissioner Sitaram Kunte, and the deans of KEM Hospital, Nair Hospital and Sion Hospital. 

The court, in fact, expanded the scope of the PIL to the entire state, and directed the Public Health & Welfare Department secretary to file an affidavit indicating whether adequate number of neonatal ICU beds were available in public hospitals in other parts of the state. 

Quoting from Mirror reports, the order observes that KEM Hospital has a waiting list of 750 applicants, while the corresponding number for Nair Hospital is 274. The court also took note of the fact that Mumbai's three major civic hospitals --KEM, Sion and Nair hospitals -- have a total of merely 100 neonatal ICU beds. 

The health/civic authorities in Mumbai have now been asked to show cause as to why appropriate directions should not be issued to them in light of the facts highlighted in Mumbai Mirror reports about non--availability of adequate number of neonatal ICU beds in public hospitals. The case will now be heard on March 27. 

Help keeps pouring in 

Meanwhile, the Wadia Hospital CEO, Dr Minnie Bodhanwala, said that an anonymous donor sent in a cheque of Rs 15,000 towards the baby's treatment, while another person approached the hospital saying he wanted to deposit Rs 2,000 in cash. The hospital has already announced it will not charge the baby's parents any money. 

"The baby is recovering well. His potassium levels have been restored and we are conducting a detailed sonography, besides hearing tests and ENT tests to determine his condition," Bodhanwala said, adding that the hospital has also been getting calls from outside the city. "One of the callers was from Delhi, promising to help the baby in any way possible," Bodhanwala said.

Lucky escape for 180 after Karachi ATC misleads city-bound Air India flight

In what could spark off yet another India-Pakistan row, the air traffic control (ATC) officials at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport set a Mumbai-bound Air India Dreamliner plane from London on a wrong frequency, nearly causing a mid-air collision. 

Shockingly, the Karachi ATC was responding to an SoS from its Mumbai counterparts as well as the Air India flight commander after the aircraft lost contact with the Mumbai ATC. 

The 15-minute chaos, during which the plane came in the direct path of a Cebu Airline flight that took off from Dubai, ended only after the Air India pilot managed to contact the Ahmedabad ATC, which guided it to safety. 

Top Air India sources, who have been debriefed about the incident, said that the Mumbai ATC officials called up the Karachi airport officials around 1.30 am Tuesday and provided details of the Air India flight AI 130, which had around 180 passengers on board with a crew of 11. 

"The flight had taken off from London's Heathrow Airport and its final destination was Ahmedabad. It was already in the Mumbai airspace when we lost contact. As Karachi is a nearby location, we sent an SoS to the Jinnah Airport ATC saying a few basic requirements needed to be conveyed to the pilots urgently," a Mumbai ATC official said. 

In the meantime, the flight commander, who was unable to contact the Mumbai ATC even after trying various frequencies, also contacted the Karachi ATC, which put the flight on a different frequency. 

"The Karachi ATC did not convey our message to the pilots. It directed the plane to a wrong frequency and gave us incorrect information that the commander will contact Mumbai soon," an aviation source said, adding that the pilot realised something was seriously wrong when he noticed heavy air traffic. 

The aviation sources said that while the Mumbai ATC officials were briefing their Pakistani counterparts regarding the problem, they could hear laughter in the background. "This is a very serious incident and the Mumbai ATC has taken up the matter with Karachi officially," the Airports Authority of India chairman, Alok Sinha, said. 

The Indian pilots who have had to deal with the Pakistan airport ATCs were not surprised. One of them said that the Karachi airport officials not cooperating with the Indian pilots was "nothing new", even as aviation expert Vipul Saxena said such "irresponsible behaviour was unheard of". He said, "This mischief could have led to one of the biggest disasters of our times. I hope the government will take up this issue with Islamabad."

Mirror Impact: Mumbai rushes to save icebox baby

Just hours after Mumbai Mirror reported the plight of a five-month-old Nalla Sopara baby surviving in a thermocol icebox since October, the Wadia Hospital admits him in NICU free of cost, even as citizens send in money and offer the family daily tiffin service. On tuesday itself, the family received Rs 15,000

Doctors, bankers, teachers, writers, activists, farmers, sportsmen, industrialists... the Mumbai Mirror office was flooded with calls all through Tuesday in response to the front page story highlighting the plight of a fivemonth-old Nalla Sopara baby (In need of incubator, this 5-month-old is surviving in icebox, MM, March 11). 

The baby, surviving inside a thermocol icebox at home since October after being turned away by KEM and Nair hospitals, must be saved at any cost, the readers said, while offering cash to ensure he got immediate medical attention. 

Among the first to get in touch with the baby's parents was Dr Minnie Bodhanwala, chief executive officer of the Wadia Hospital for children at Parel, who not only cleared the decks for the baby's admission to the hospital's neonatal ICU free of cost, but also free hospital stay till he weighs at least 2.5 kg. The baby, born a month prematurely on October 1, weighs barely 1.5 kg and suffers from thyroid-related problems. He is likely to remain in hospital for at least three weeks. 

Bodhanwala got in touch with this newspaper and managed to contact the baby's parents, Aruna and Ramesh Chauhan. "They couldn't believe their child was being offered free treatment. We arranged for an ambulance and the baby was admitted at 4.30 pm. He is under the care of Medical Director (paediatric) Dr Yashwant Ambekar and interventionist Dr Sudha Rao," Bodhanwala said, adding the line of treatment will be decided after tests. 

By 6.30 pm, Ramesh Chauhan, who works for an artificial flower store in Crawford Market for a monthly salary of Rs 9,000, received around Rs 15,000 from Mumbai-ites. "Three years ago when we arrived in Mumbai from Bhavnagar in Gujarat, we were warned that this is a tough and heartless city. I want to tell those people that Mumbai has adopted my ailing son. Nowhere in the world can one find so much affection," Chauhan said, unable to fight off tears. 

His wife Aruna, who had also burst into tears when Dr Bodhankar assured her free treatment for the child, said she and her husband will personally thank every person who offered help. 

This correspondent started getting calls as early as 7 am, with people enquiring about the couple's contact details. One of the callers, Sapna Menon from Lokhandwala, has offered free tiffin service to the family, while another -- the daughter-in-law of a top citybased industrialist -- offered to fund the treatment in a private hospital. 

"I was initially rattled," said Chauhan, "An HSBC Bank officer called up to offer financial help. Then there is this group of professionals which has offered us Rs 25,000. We received calls from Nashik as well. I appeal to Mirror to convey my gratitude to everyone who came forward to help." 

'WHY ARE THE POOR BEING DENIED PROPER MEDICAL CARE?' 

The pictures of a five-month-old baby inside a thermocol icebox should shame the civic authorities and politicians. Is it fair that this baby has been left to die only because his parents are poor? Unless we the people come together, the children of the poor will continue to suffer. 

Just look at the scenario: an incubator in a private hospital costs Rs 8,000 a day, and the civic hospitals have a waiting list for 200 and above. 

I don't think the government system will change. The rich will have to contribute. The only solution lies with the corporate houses, who will have to set up free/subsidised hospitals. - Indira Satyanarayan 

I hope India's elite takes note of the Mumbai Mirror report on a fivemonth-old baby surviving inside an icebox, because his parents are unable to afford his treatment. I appeal to the corporate houses to please help the poor in need of medical help. Please practise Art of Giving, and your businesses will flourish further. - TMC Vasudevan 

Who is to be blamed for the plight of the Nalla Sopara couple who are forced to keep their son inside an icebox because they can't afford the treatment? It's deplorable that BMC, which wastes hundreds of thousands of crores of taxpayers' money every year, doesn't even have enough incubators to take care of the waiting list in its hospitals. The ward boy who advised the couple to use a thermocol icebox as a stopgap arrangement should be lauded for the timely advice. The rich must come forward to help the family - KP Rajan 

Whatever happened to all those 'yojanas' and insurance schemes the government keeps talking about? What about that Rajiv Gandhi health insurance scheme? Why is the state health minister silent? Mirror did a great job in highlighting the boy's plight, but will authorities respond? I hope, at least citizens do. - Rajesh Barthwal

See pic above:

Top (L): The baby at his Nalla Sopara home on Monday, inside a Rs-150 thermocol box bought from a fish market as his parents couldn't afford neonatal ICU (R) The baby at the Wadia Hospital's neonatal ICU on Tuesday, where he is likely to remain for at least three weeks till he gains more weight

Baby's day in: The baby boy, who is yet to be given a name, was wheeled into Wadia Hospital in Parel around 4.30 pm Tuesday, where doctors found he was dehydrated and immediately put him inside an incubator. His mother, Aruna, said she and her husband Ramesh Chauhan would personally thank every person who has offered help

Six killed in fireworks factory blast in Alibaug

Six people, most of them workers, were killed and 20 others injured, one seriously, when crackers exploded in a fireworks factory in Maharashtra's Raigad district, police said. 

The explosion took place around 4.30 pm at the Bhaimala village factory, 10 km from Alibaug, they said. The bodies of six people were pulled out from the rubble of the crackers unit, which caught fire after the explosion. 

Six fire tenders were rushed to the factory after the blast, following which the blaze was brought under control. The deceased have not been identified yet. The injured have been admitted to a civic hospital.

A woman among those injured is said to be critical and has been shifted to Mumbai, the police said. 

The factory manager is being quizzed and further details were awaited at the time of going to press.

I could hear his screams in my sleep: Man admits to killing friend's lover

Saeed Majid walked into Shanti Nagar PS, confessed to helping friend kill gay partner in May '13.

It's not often that murderers walk in to a police station and confess their crime, but that's exactly what happened on Wednesday at the Shanti Nagar police station. Initially, when Bhiwandi resident Saeed Ahmad Abdul Majid (30) approached them saying he had helped murder a man a year ago, police were inclined to treat it as a joke, albeit in poor taste. 

However, when Majid insisted and offered to take them to where the body had been dumped, police started hearing him out with a little more seriousness. There were no doubts remaining after he led them to the skeletal remains of Faiyaz Ismail Qureshi, in a deserted part of Bhiwandi that local police, off the record, admit to skipping while on patrol. He was arrested on the spot, and Afsar Ali Shahzad Shah - whom he helped in killing Qureshi - was picked up from his residence, also in Bhiwandi. 

Majid told police that though he had not been worried while committing the crime, the weeks and months after the murder were unbearable. "I could never get it out of my mind. I could see the dead man wherever I went. I could hear his screams in my sleep. His murder scene would come to mind every time. It became too much for me to bear," he said in his statement. 

The memories that drove Majid to the police station had their roots in a hidden relationship between the deceased, Qureshi, and Shah. Both were Bhiwandi boys, aged 22 and 23 respectively, and had been in a gay relationship for two years. Majid said while Qureshi was serious about the relationship and wanted Shah to come out in the open about it, Shah wasn't. 

Trouble surfaced early last year when Shah told Qureshi that his parents wanted to get him married, and wanted to end their relationship. This led to frequent quarrels as Qureshi's insecurity deepened. Shah, who did not want his parents to know of his sexual orientation, finally decided to get rid of his lover, which is where Majid said he came into the picture. 

On May 13, 2013, Majid said in his statement, Shah took Qureshi to a secluded spot in Sai Nagar, Bhiwandi, where he was waiting as agreed. Shah and Majid overpowered Qureshi and strangled him with a nylon rope, later stabbing him with a screwdriver as well. After the murder, they left the body there and returned home. 

A day later, Qureshi's family registered a missing person complaint. The subsequent police search did not throw up any leads as to his whereabouts. 

PI (Crime) Manohar Pawar of Shanti Nagar PS said, "Both Shah and Qureshi were in a relationship and the former wanted to get rid of him out of fear of his family coming to know of it, and planned the murder with Majid. Both have been arrested."