Do you call it a SUICIDE!

The FIR claimed that Dr Ashok Kumar had committed suicide.  The newspapers carried the same news the following day.  Hence the LIC refused to pay his claim amount.  But his father Srinivas Rao and his brothers were unable to accept that their dear Ashok had killed himself as there was no reason for him to do it.  He had no problems worrying him nor did he have any bad habits . . . . .  5 years later, the Consumer Court delivered the verdict, “LIC’s decision that Dr Ashok Kumar has committed suicide, is wrong.  The court ordered LIC to pay the claim entitled to his family”

Dr Ashok Kumar hailed from the Yadyadi- Matyadi of Kundapur Taluk.  He was the youngest of the four sons and three daughters of Sri  Srinivas Rao.  While his brothers and sisters were happily married and settled in their lives,  31 years old Ashok remained unmarried and this worried his father.

Gentle and soft natured Ashok was inclined to studies since childhood and had been popular with his teachers for his brightness in learning.  Ashok wished to remain in his village and serve the society.  As soon as he completed his MBBS degree, he applied for the government doctors’ job.  In August 1997, he got the job in Kollur Primary Health Center.

Having no family of his own, he found for himself a small room on the second floor of Rama Krishna Yogashram close to his work place.  The good natured Dr Ashok Kumar soon became a favourite among his colleagues and patients.

When the doctor did not come!

In the evening of the 13^th March  1999, Dr.  Ashok, who left for his room after visiting his neighbours, was not to be seen again.  Since the next day was a Sunday nobody noticed his absence.  When he did not return to work on Monday, his colleagues got worried.  Since Ashok usually went home to see his father every weekend, they thought he might have prolonged his stay.  But when he did not return  on 16^th March Tuesday also,  his friends sensed that something was wrong.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of Ramakrishna Yogashram, a foul smell emanated from Dr. Ashok’s room.  The room was locked from inside and the windows were closed.  The supervisor of the lodging tried looking inside the room by moving a window pane and saw Ashok’s body lying on the bed.    The family members were informed.  The police,  in the presence of the family broke open the door.  Dr Ashok Kumar’s blackened and bloated dead body lay on his bed, apparently 3 days old.   A police complaint was lodged in the Kollur Police Station that the doctor must have committed suicide for some reason by the looks of it.  The same was recorded in the FIR as well as published in the newspapers the following day.

Was it really a suicide?

Ashok’s father and brothers were in shock and could not believe that he could have committed suicide.  He had no problems to worry about nor did he have any bad habits  and hence no reason to compel him to end his life.

The facts became crystal clear when Srinivar Rao received the Police Panchanama of his son’s death.  It did not say the he had committed suicide.  The last  words of Panchanama stated  “ . . . . . and the diary and tablets were found on the table.  It had been mentioned in the diary that he had slipped and fallen while climbing the stairs and had suffered severe pain in the chest .  We, the witnesses of this Panchanama unanimously opine that the deceased had died of severe chest pain or due to the severity of the tablets consumed for reducing the pain.”   The report from the Pathology Department of Manipal Hospital said, “Since the tissues are autolysed no opinion is possible”

LIC policy cancelled

Srinivas Rao heaved a sigh of relief on knowing that it was not suicide.  Few days later, he discovered from the documents that Ashok had taken two insurance policies.  He enquired as to how the policy sum could be claimed.

Meanwhile they received a letter from LIC which said, “As the insured has not paid the premium installments of Policy number 620775807, the policy has lapsed. You may send the duly completed claim form to claim the amount under the policy of Rs. 1 lakh taken in 1999.  As the nominee under the policy was the elder brother of Ashok Kumar, Mr. Venkataramana, the claim form was filled up and sent to claim the amount.

On 7-10-1999, Mr. Venkataramana received a letter from LIC stating, “As your brother has committed suicide within one year of the policy, the said policy stands cancelled, and we are unable to settle the insurance  amount in your favour.” 

Mr. Venkataramana immediately wrote a protest letter to the Senior Divisional Manager of LIC, “I would like to know how you have concluded that my brother has committed suicide.  The medical reports state that it is not possible to ascertain the cause of death.  The witnesses to the Panchanama also opine that it is not a suicide”  and demanded to know grounds of LIC’s decision for rejection of the claim.

He marked a copy of the letter to Consumers Forum, Basrur, requesting them to support him in his fight against LIC’s injustice.

Is a news puclication proof enough?

LIC Divisional Manager replied in his letter dated 18-11-1999, “It was published in the newspaper that it might be a suicide.  Hence we decided that it must be a suicide and the insurance amount has been rejected. . . .  .However, please send the Police B Final report to once again verify the cause of death.”

It was surprising that LIC had taken news publication as the base of its decision.  The members of the Investigation Committee of the Forum carefully studied each document of the case.

What more proof is required?

In the third page of the Post- Mortem Report, the cause of death was specifically recorded.  Readers may please observe the following sentence carefully.

“. . . .  . A diary of the deceased, in which he had recorded his daily routine up to 13^th March, is found.  The writing is identified to be the hand writing of the deceased.  On March 13^th it has been recorded in green ink, ‘Today when I was climbing the stairs to my room after dinner, I slipped and got hit to the railing, which caused severe, unbearable pain in my chest.  I fear I may not survive.  If at all I do, I’ll see you soon, or else I bid you all adieu.’  The diary has been seized for further action.”

When all the documents are stating that the death had been caused due to injury to the chest by hitting to the railings, when the deceased himself has expressed the same in his diary, it was intriguing why LIC had taken an adverse decision.  The forum thought that the Senior DM of LIC may change his decision after verification of these reports.

Now, Dr Ashok Kumar’s family tried to obtain the final report from the District  Magistrate.  The police were requested to send the report directly to the LIC. 

On 23-12-1999 the Sub Inspector of Kollur Police  Station wrote a detailed letter to the Branch Manager of LIC and stated in clear terms  as below.

“Though it was stated in the FIR, that Dr. Ashok Kumar had committed suicide, this was recorded only based on the written complaint of some  unconcerned, unrelated, ill informed third parties who had not seen the corpse.  Moreover, nowhere during the investigation was the opinion formed that it was a suicide...”  The Final Report of the Magistrate was also attached with this letter to the LIC.

On 31-12-1999 Mr. Srinivas Rao personally submitted one more copy of the Final Report to the Branch Manager of Kundapur.  A certificate as to the confirmation that Dr. Ashok had not availed any Medical Leave from 18-08-1997 to 15-03-1999 was sent along  requesting him to settle the insurance amount of his son.  The Branch manager said the letter would be forwarded to their Divisional Office, Udupi  who would send their replies.

Analysis of the Final Report

The Investigation committee of Consumers Forum, Basrur studied the final report of the  District Magistrate of Kundapur.  The last paragraph of the report contained, “ A Post-Mortem examination has been conducted to identify the exact cause of the death of Dr Ashok Kumar. . . .  .  The Medical Officer Byndoor gave the final opinion regarding cause of Death….  After considering the medico legal autopsy and expert opinion of the forensic expert of Manipal Medical College and Regional Forensic Laboratory, it is not possible to ascertain the cause of death.”    When  the experts themselves  were unable to specify the cause of death, the deceased himself had recorded in his diary that he  hit to the iron rod and was injured,  what other proof did the LIC need?  Should the dead rise from his ashes to convince LIC?

All these details were submitted by the Forum to the  Sr. DM of LIC,  Udupi and the Zonal Manager, Hyderabad, demanding settlement of the insurance amount to Mr. Venkataramana.  Even after nine months of this letter LIC neither paid the amount nor informed why they are not paying.    At last, a suit was filed against LIC, in the District Consumer Court.

Suit in the Court

Court investigated the case for about 3 years.  LIC argued as below,

“Dr Ashok Kumar consumed the tablet Lynoxin, meant for heart disease.  There should have been 30 tablets in the bottle found in his room.  There were only 8 tablets in it. Hence we decided that he must have consumed the rest of the tablets.  As the news item in the local daily also stated that Dr Ashok had committed suicide, we did not settle the claim.”

The Court rejected the argument of LIC, “Just because there are only 8 tablets left  in the bottle,   it cannot be concluded that he had at once consumed all the 22  tablets.   It is also not proved that the death is caused by the over dosage of the lynoxin tablets.  There was a possibility  to find out when these tablets were purchased by Dr. Ashok Kumar. LIC has also failed  to do so.   The explanation that the claim was rejected based on the news item does not hold good.  When the PMR also concludes that “The cause of death can not be  ascertained” one can not conclude that it is a death by accident nor  a suicide.  Therefore,  LIC is hereby ordered to pay the claimant the sum insured  of Rs. 1 lac   plus  interest at the rate of 10 %  on the sum from the date of death  till the date of payment.   The LIC  should also  pay Rs. 500/- being the  cost of the legal suit.  

At last, after FIVE  YEARS  of the death of his son Sri Srinivas Rao could receive the sum of the LIC policy of his son. Was it right  to make  this grieving old  man  struggle for   5 long years for his entitlement? 

 Mr. Srinivas Rao  laments,  reading his son’s diary writing of 13 March,  again and again,  that he could not render any help  when he was  breathing his last.

-Nivedita
(translated from 'Bahujana Hitaaya, Bahujana Sukhaya' by Dr Ravindranath Shanbhag)

Jameela is Missing : Could you please help?

“I have left my previous job; I have left the house I was working in. I am calling from a different place now”, she said.

Mustafa thought she sounded troubled. “Why on earth would you leave your job?”, he asked surprised.

“I shall tell you everything the next time. . . “, the line went dead.

A worried husband having no means to contact his wife approached Human Rights Protection Foundation.

Jameela had gone to Kuwait in search of a job as a house maid. She had written letters of her well being to her husband Mustafa in Kallikote, and had also assured that she would send money as soon as her employer paid her.  She had even talked to him over phone a couple of times.  She was gone for only four months when she went mysteriously missing. 

Where was Jameela? What had happened to her? What had forced her to leave her job and move out? Did they find her? If so how?  She spoke only malayalam. How did she manage on a foreign land?

Jameela in jeopardy

“Is this the Human Rights office? Our farm worker Mustafa’s wife is missing. The whole family is in panic.  Would you please help? ”, asked the caller, who said he was from Madikeri.  It was Sunday, the October 5^th 2003.

“You better lodge a complaint with the police immediately”, Dr Ravindranath Shanbhag, the President of Human Rights Protection Foundation, urged him.

“Sir, she is missing in Kuwait, not here. So the police are helpless.  The family does not even have the knowledge about where Kuwait is.  Would you be able to help?”

So Dr Shanbhag asked him to send them to Udupi and also to tell them to carry any relevant documents.  The very next day Mustafa arrived to narrate his woeful tale.  The activists of the foundation immediately set to work using the documents he had brought with him.

                                                              *****

Mustafa, a young man from a village called Aranpara in Kerala got married to Ahmad Kutti’s daughter, Jameela.  Though uneducated, Mustafa was a very hard working man and knew farming very well.  In need for a better means of earning, the family moved to Madikeri.  Mustafa was appointed as a gardener in a coffee plantation in the  village Cherambana.  The family somehow managed their livelihood with their meager earnings, but eventually when they had 4 children, they found it hard to manage without enough money for their education. 

They began looking for some better means of earning, hoping to give their children a better future.  It was then that they got to know from some relatives in Kallikote, that there were job opportunities in the gulf countries for women as domestic workers.  They approached a travel agent in Kallikote regarding the same, and sure enough, in four months he informed them of a rich family in Kuwait who were in need of a domestic aid.  They were offering Rs 5000/-  per month besides a room for accommodation.  This brought hopes to Jameela, who immediately grabbed at the opportunity and said she was ready to go.

Mustafa’s mind was in the dilemma that if she went, the children would be deprived of their mother’s care, the major worry being the fact that she had never been away on her own and spoke only Malayalam, but Jameela had made her decision. She consoled her husband and children saying that she would work for a couple of years and earn at least sufficient for the children’s education.

 So saying, she got her passport ready  with the help of the agent.  She got her ticket to leave for Kuwait on 26-6-2003.  The agent’s commission amount shockingly turned out to be Rs 30000.  But with the faith that she will be earning enough on going to Kuwait, she paid him by mortgaging her jewelry and left for Kuwait.

During the next three months, Jameela wrote three letters to her husband, informing him that she was doing well and she would send the money as soon as her employer paid her.  She also spoke to him over phone a couple of times.

On 22^nd September, Monday, Mustafa got a phone call.  The caller spoke in Malayalam and gave the phone to Jameela.

“I have left the first job; I have left the house I was working in. I am calling from a different place now”, she said.

Mustafa thought she sounded troubled. “Why on earth would you leave your job?”, he asked surprised.

“I shall tell you everything the next time. . . “, the line went dead.

                    *****                                                  

Mustafa got terribly worried.  He did not have any means to contact her.  He approached the travel agent but he said that it was not his problem to worry about.  On repeated requests, he gave Mustafa the contact number of the travel agent from Kuwait who had offered him the job opportunity.  This travel agent from Kuwait was Karim Bhai who was an Indian , feom West Bengal.   When contacted he said, “Jameela has left her employer Mansoor Assadi.  She has taken away her passport with her.  There is nothing we can do.”

Mustafa felt he had reached a dead end. An advocate of Somawarpet told him of the Human Rights Protection Foundation.  A worried husband having no means to contact his wife approached the organization.  The activists of the organisation obtained copies of Jameela’s passport, visa and the agreement made with the employer.  They also contacted the exchange and requested them to record all the phone calls made to Mustafa’s number.

On Monday, the October 6^th, Mustafa received another call from Kuwait!

“I can’t stay here anymore.  Please take me away from here as soon as you can!” she cried.  The previous owner had paid her only 50 dinar in three months and had snatched away 30 dinars from her.  When asked where she was, she was not able to explain clearly about it, nor about who she was staying with.  But fortunately, the activists could obtain the mobile number she had called from.

On October 7^th, an article was published on ‘Kuwait samachar’ and other internet news papers seeking help from the Indians in Gulf.  Several Indians responded on reading these articles.  The details of Jameela’s passport and visa and the mobile number she had last contacted from were provided to them. 

When Human Rights Protection Foundation stepped in

The activists made many attempts to contact the Indian Embassy in Kuwait.  Several calls  were made, but there was no response.  Emails sent to them bounced back.  The same mails were forwarded to the Indian Embassies in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Muscat and other neighbouring countries requesting them to send the same to the Indian Embassy in Kuwait, but they failed to respond too.  

The activists then contacted the Indian Embassy of Kuwait with the help of the foreign embassy in Delhi but in vain.

There was also a possibility that Jameela might have been kidnapped.  What if she had been moved to some other place!  

The passport details of Jameela were given to the Embassies of other countries in Kuwait, asking them to contact the organization if they had any information.  But then none of them had provided any visa to Jameela’s passport.  So there was some hope that she might still be in Kuwait. 

The news of Jameela was published in Kuwait news, giving her details and the phone number she had last called from.  Following this a fax was received from a gentleman named Philip saying he had been successful in contacting the Indian Embassy as well as the number given in the news. No other details were explained.  Everyone hoped and prayed for the well being of Jameela.

30 days of Exile!

A timid and nervous Jameela left Kallikote to the alien land!  She spoke only Malayalam and broken Kannada.  She had no money.

What had the agent in Kallikote said? “Don’t worry yourself!  Karim bhai, an Indian, will be there to receive you at the airport.  You could borrow some money from him till you are settled there.”

But when she landed at Kuwait this Karim bhai was nowhere in sight. After 2 hours, someone who introduced himself as a driver of her sponsor Mohammed Assadi took her to the rich man’s home.  She had no way to confirm whether it was the same person who had called for her. She prayed to God to give her strength to face whatever came her way.

She was on duty from the next day after she had arrived. She had to wake up at 5 a.m. in the morning and wash 3 cars, then sweep and mop the floors.  She had to finish all this by 7 am and start cooking.  Later on in the day she had to wash and press the clothes.  Since she was the only person to do all the work, it kept her busy till 10 pm.  The ladies of the house went to bed by 10pm.  But the men returned home only after 11 pm, and Jameela had to serve them dinner and wash the dishes afterwards.  It would turn past 1.30 am when she could finally go to bed.  But a similar hectic day would start again at 5 am every day.

This continued for three months.  Jameela’s health was deteriorating due to over work and over strain. She suffered a terrible stomach ache on September 18^th morning and she found it impossible to get up from bed.  The family members ordered her to get to work immediately.  When she motioned that her stomach hurt, a huge bloke kicked at her stomach.  She screamed calling for Karim Bhai as tears of pain stung her eyes.  The enraged Arabian threw her passport out the window. 

Karim Bhai was summoned the next day.  As soon as he came he started beating her up.  He dragged her by her hair till his office.  He threatened her saying she would be taken to the police if she did not obey her masters. She could not make out a word as he rambled on in Hindi.  She was scared out of her wits.  

However she had managed to gather her passport which the man had thrown out.  On September 20^th, she borrowed 10 dinars from the Pakistani driver of the house, and took a taxi to the Indian Embassy which was 20 kms away.

Jameela described her woes to the officials but no one paid any heed. Finally someone named Mammooty spoke to her in Malayalam and suggested her to find some work soon or else the police would arrest her for not having a work permit. But Jameela knew nobody there!  She sat in front of the embassy.  She cried at her fate as she thought of her family.

 A kind, Tamilian lady who had come to renew her passport approached her and listened to her problem.  She consoled her and took her along to her home assuring her that she would get Jameela a job through her husband.  It is from their cell phone that Jameela had contacted her husband. Since they had let Jameela stay with them illegally, they were scared to give their address details to her.  At last in about 10 days, a Sri Lankan lady helped her get a job.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Protection Foundation, Udupi had spread the news of Jameela in Kuwait news.  A gentleman, Mr Philip Hemant was finally successful in contacting Jameela.  The next day, “Udayavani”  the local Kannada Daily published an article, “Gulf Kannadigare, Jameelalige sahaya maaduvira?” (Dear Kannadigas of Gulf, would you help Jameela?)  Within a day, 22 youths contacted the organization and lent a helping hand by helping Jameela in returning safely to India. (They wanted to remain anonymous and requested the organization not to reveal their names).

Now Jameela is back at HOME.  She is broken down mentally and physically.  There are burn injuries all over her body and she is undergoing treatment.  The scars reveal many untold stories. She has heartily thanked the activist of the Foundation and also the kind youths in Gulf who took pains for her release from exile.

Can these mishaps be prevented?

Reading Jameela’s story, one might wonder if such problems arise all the time to all the people.  The families with their children or relatives may naturally fear for the safety of their dear ones.  Consumers Forum, Basrur and Human Rights Protection Foundation of Udupi has dealt with 32 such cases.

In order to make a survey regarding this, the activists approached the travel agents of Udupi, Mangalore, Kallikote and other places.  They were asked on how such mishaps could be prevented and how an awareness be created in the people.

“The agents in gulf countries notify us of job offers asking for drivers, gardeners and domestic aides.  We publish the same in the local newspapers.  We send the applications and the medical reports of the applicants to the agents who notified us.  Our duty ends here”, declared the travel agents who were queried.  

“When people go there with our help, we get the details of where they are posted.  But we have no way of knowing how they are treated or what happens to them afterwards.  95 out of 100 people are usually well settled. I can show you the letters we have received.  But then there are also employers who ill-treat their servants.  The people are advised beforehand to write about the nature of their work and of the facilities they are provided with.  There is nothing we can do beyond this”, he added matter-of-factly.

Only a very small percentage of the people who migrate to gulf countries in search of job opportunities are unfortunate to land into ill-fate.  But don’t these people need protection? Don’t you think there is a need for deep thought and understanding to actually find a solution?  Do you have any ideas to tackle these issues?

-Nivedita

(Translated from "Janabhiprayada Mahapoora" by Dr Ravindranath Shanbhag)

Gone with the Wind

 

I feel like a dry leaf
That the wind has blown
I try to go ahead,
But the wind keeps me down;
Trampled by passers-by,
Leaving me in pain to moan.

Rustled and crumpled I lay,
Though I want to move on
And find a new way.
I toddle like a little child,
I rise but stumble and sway,
I drop and I slide, forlorn.

Someone would stop to look, I hope
To give me a lending hand.
I struggle and grope,
For something to hold, to stand,
To be strong and bold,
So I don't fall again.

All of a sudden I'm lifted,
The wind is back for me
To make way for fulfillment
To take me away, along. . .
To carry me high, to my niche
To keep me going on.

-Nivedita

Can I have Hot coffee, French Fries and some Rain, please!!

The rain is pounding on the zinc sheets of our shed outside, as I write.  There is a slight rumble of thunder. The frogs are croaking away in glee, the insects buzz in response, and there is an occasional scream of peacocks.  It is quite an orchestra!

“Why don’t you write about rain!”, my friend Asha suggested.  So on this auspicious occasion of the arrival of monsoons, I take the privilege of writing about rain.  Snuggling under a warm blanket with a steaming hot cup of coffee and munching on crunchy fries when it is pouring heavily outside, is bliss.

“If you love rain, it means you are in love”, a friend once said philosophically.  Many film and soap opera makers seem to agree with the idea.  Many of them”find” love in the rain.  Be it SRK and Kajol dancing to the music of love, in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which apparently Kajol hears after SRK plays piano in the air, or Kareena and Aamir’s pagal stupid minds dancing Zoobi Doobi Zoobi Doobi pappaara , or a mesmerized Shahid watching a dancing Kareena in the rain in Jab we met, Hrithik and Preity going idhar udhar in Koi mil gaya, and many more than I can mention.  Rain does seem to be the cause of love. 

It is the time you would want to avoid going out to work, college or school.  Well, since there is no choice of hibernating, you have to go.  The rain particularly loves to annoy you by pouring down right when you set of for work and long enough to leave you wet and cursing.  It is the time when you shake off dust from umbrellas and rain coats, or buy new ones, which is quite a business by the way.  There are long ones with big handles, shorter ones, three-fold ones; and again amongst them, black ones, plain coloured ones, ones with colourful prints, striped, checkered, dotted, rainbow coloured, you name them.  Worried mommies wrap their little ones from head to toe, bag and everything in raincoats, and they wobble to school like cute little baby penguins. 

Then there are also those uncomfortable mishaps that ruin your day! Vehicles splashing the puddles over you, hence your white clothes don’t see the light of day till the monsoons are over, however more Surf Excel you may offer.  There are also those horrible times when you are struggling to walk in the windy rain and your umbrella gets upturned, and you helplessly try in vain to turn it right and get fully wet.  Yeah that could be bad! 

Still rain makes people happy.  It is an inspiration to writers and poets.  Many songs and poems have been written on rain, not to forget the very first one we ever learnt on rain, of asking the rain to go away, as Little Johnny wanted to play.  The sight of rain, the light grey sky reflecting against different shades of green, the branches swaying slightly bent, and the leaves bouncing to the rhythm of the pouring rain paints a beautiful picture on your mind. 

Err..if you will excuse me, I need to stop before my coffee goes cold!  

-Nivedita