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."

Hit and run suspected in leopard’s death at SGNP

An adult female leopard's carcass was found inside Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) on Wednesday morning. Preliminary investigations suggest it died after being hit by a vehicle. 

According to officials from SGNP, a strong stench led staffers to the carcass - close to rest house 6 - on Wednesday morning. They got in touch with their seniors, who went to the spot and quickly realised the carcass was no more than two days old. 

"It was a female, around seven to eight years old, and was found in the forest area close to a rest house. While the post mortem report is awaited, initial observations by vets suggest that she was hit by a vehicle, causing injuries to her head and neck, but no other part of her body. Also, she had no microchip, which means that this cat had never been caught and released," said Vikas Gupta, chief conservator of forests and field director, SGNP. He added that the body had begun to decay and was infested with maggots. 

Another official from SGNP said the area where the body was found was an isolated patch where few vehicles ventures. This suggested that the leopard may have been hit elsewhere and succumbed to its injuries while trying to return to the forest. 

Wildlife enthusiasts have long been complaining about speeding vehicles of tourists, policemen and forest officials themselves inside the park. 

"We have been telling the department that speeding vehicles inside SGNP and around Film City and Aarey Colony are the biggest threat to animals. The 20kmph speed limit has never been adhered to or enforced," said a naturalist who visits SGNP regularly.

Cop held for molesting woman in volvo bus

The Vile Parle police on Thursday arrested Constable Sachin Waghchawre (26), attached to the local arms division, for molesting a woman in a Volvo bus. The bus was returning from Shirdi and going towards Andheri. 

The accused, is attached to the Worli division, was sitting behind the complainant and allegedly misbehaved with her. The woman then screamed and the driver stopped the bus. She told her husband sitting next to her and soon many passengers joined him in beating the constable. 

They then took him to the nearby Vakola police station. The woman told cops that he had tried touching her inappropriately earlier as well, while they were boarding the bus in Shirdi. 

The Vakola police lodged the complaint and transferred the case to Vile Parle police station, as the incident took place in that area. Waghchawre was arrested and booked for outraging the modesty of a woman, under section 354 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). 

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Namdev Chavan, said, "We have arrested him for molesting the woman in the bus. He was produced in the Holiday Court at Bandra in the afternoon and was remanded into judicial custody."

2 die as bike hits divider on JJ flyover

The young men were pitched under the wheels of a Honda CRV.

Two men, both in their twenties, died after their motorcycle lost control at a sharp turn on J J Flyover and crashed into a Honda CRV travelling in the opposite direction. 

Nitin Subash Paatre, 25, and Siddesh Ashok Kadam, 23, were on their way to visit Babulnath temple in Walkeshwar on the eve of Mahashivratri on Wednesday when the accident happened. Paatre, a resident of Kalwa, had picked up Kadam from his home in Dadar. 

At around 11 pm that day, the two men were speeding towards CST when Paatre, who was sitting in front riding the bike, lost control. The two-wheeler bumped into the road divider and the two men were pitched under the wheels of a Honda CRV which was coming down the other side of the road. The accident happened at a sharp turn at Mandvi Post Office. 

The two were taken to J J Hospital but were declared dead on arrival. The driver of the CRV Vijay Shinde, 29, told cops that the victims were driving rashly on the flyover. Paatre, who was driving the two-wheeler, has been booked by the Pydhonie police for negligence. 

Over just Wednesday and Thursday, the Pydhonie traffic division booked 154 and 171 motorcyclists, respectively, as two-wheelers are not allowed on the flyover. 

"Bikers are not allowed on the flyover because of the sharp turns on the road. We keep a regular surveillance to keep them away from the bridge to prevent such incidents. The post mortem of the bodies was conducted at J J hospital after which they were handed over to their respective families," said a policeman. 

Dr Nitin Bavrekar, Medical Supretendent of J J Hospital said: "The deceased were brought dead to the hospital with deep injuries in the head and other parts of their body." 

JJ biker deaths 

On February 15, Naresh Naik (21) and Ashok Valmiki (22) got on to the flyover from the CST end at 5.30 pm on a motorcycle. A flat tyre flung both off the vehicle, but they escaped without serious injuries. Police charged them with rash driving. 

On January 15, 2013, a 25-year-old freelance photographer Dhaval Ashar, a resident of Lamington road, died on the flyover, while riding a bike from Fort towards Byculla. 

On September 22, 2012, two college students were killed when their motorcycle crashed into a taxi on the flyover at 8.30pm. Dilpesh Rawal (20) and Bhavin Jain (19) were both students of KPB Hinduja College at Charni Road. 

Between 2005 and 2010, 31 people were killed and 66 injured on the JJ flyover, most of them motorcyclists.

A hero’s death

INS Sindhuratna after it was brought to the naval dockyard late on Thursday evening for inspection and repairs (inset) Lieutenant Commander Kapish Muwal and Lieutenant Manoranjan Kumar

Lieutenant Commander Kapish Muwal first noticed the fire. He called Lieutenant Kumar to help him contain it and asked everybody else on the sub to evacuate.

Lieutenant Commander Kapish Muwal and Lieutenant Manoranjan Kumar, the two officers who died in Wednesday's mishap on board Sindhuratna submarine, laid down their lives while trying to make sure everybody else on the sub made it to safety. 

According to initial investigations and survivor accounts, Lt Commander Muwal was the first to notice smoke in the sailors' chamber and his immediate reaction was to alert others on board and direct everybody else in the chamber to leave. 

He then radioed Lieutenant Manoranjan Kumar to help him contain the fire. Lieutenant Kumar rushed to Lieutenant Commander Muwal's help, even as he initiated evacuation process and instructed that the sub be raised to the surface. 

As the two officers tried to contain the fire using fire extinguishers and waited for an all-clear signal from their colleagues, sources said they choked on an unsanctioned quantity of Freon gas released from the fire extinguishers. 

The sub took around 20 minutes to rise to the surface and rest of the crew was air lifted to Naval Dockyard. Lt Commander Muwal and Lt Commander Kumar, however, did not emerge from the sailors' chamber and were declared missing. Their bodies were found on Thursday when the sub was toed to the dockyard for inspection and repairs. 

Sindhuratna is a Kilo-class Russian-made submarine and Freon is commonly used as fire suppressant in these subs. 

Naval sources revealed that Freon has different chambers through which it travels to different compartments. However, in INS Sindhuratna case the two officers restricted the gas circulation to the chamber from which they were operating. 

Naval spokesperson Commander Rahul Sinha said: "Whatever happened on board INS Sindhuratna is difficult to reconstruct at the moment, but it will come up before the inquiry team." 

The post-mortem of the two naval officers was conducted at JJ Hospital by medical officers of the Coroner's Court under commander Navneet Nath of INHS Asvini. The team that conducted the post-mortem said that the bodies are charred and have started decomposing already. 

A case in this regard has been registered with the Yellow Gate police. On Friday, a wreath laying ceremony will be held at INHS Asvini, said sources.