"I overheard a cop telling someone to dump me in Gundya gorge"
Victim of alleged police atrocity at Subrahmanya speaks out
Mangaluru: "You Muslims always need Hindu girls ? Didn't you intend to take her to Ponnani for conversion ? Beef eaters like you should not be believed... Police abused me this way and then pushed me into the station godown where they stripped me and thrashed me indiscriminately. They gagged me with socks and plastered my mouth, in the process three of their lathis broke, they also tortured by giving me electric shock."
This is how Farveez alias Pachhu Bellare who was reportedly subject to atrocities by Subrahmanya police station personnel on December 21, narrated his plight to this reporter at a private hospital in Mangaluru where he is admitted for treatment .
"No one should suffer the way I have suffered. Those who tortured me are unfit to serve the Department. Along with the cops two auto drivers too tortured me. All of them must get stern punishment," demanded Farveez.
Speaking to Vartha Bharathi, he said he produces regional language albums and was in Tamil film industry since two years. He also said that he knew the Mysuru based actress with whom he was seen in a lead role in the film "Veruvathuli" set to be released soon. Farveez claims that the actress had asked him to come to Subrahmanya where she had to offer a Harake on December 20. "There is no affair between us. As she was a guest, I had picked her up from the Subrahmanya Railway Station and took her to the temple. Though she intended to return the same day, as the pooja was not complete she decided to stay back. I asked an elderly couple at the temple premises to take care of her and returned home," says Farveez.
"The next morning she telephoned me at 6.30 am, her voice was feeble and she asked me to come near the temple. However, when I went there she was nowhere, but an auto stopped near me and took me to the station where I was tortured and attempts made to project me and the actress as lovers," he said.
He also alleged that he overheard a cop speaking over mobile phone and telling the person on the other end to dump him in a gorge in Gundya.
"The police asked me to keep my mouth shut regarding the torture lest I would be projected as a terrorist who had come to plant a bomb in Subrahmanya. After I was released, I returned home and remained silent. When the video went viral the SP has suspended three but all of the accused must be permanently suspended," he demanded.
"As I faced severe pain in my waist and leg I got myself admitted to the hospital," he said and demanded stern action against those who tortured him.
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Woman's death: Under fire Pune-based Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital announces 'no deposit' policy
Pune (PTI) The Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Maharashtra's Pune city, under fire for allegedly turning away a pregnant woman over non-payment of Rs 10 lakh as advance for treatment, on Saturday announced it would no longer be taking deposits from patients at the emergency department.
The woman, wife of the personal secretary of BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe, had to be shifted to another hospital where she died after delivering twins. The incident hit national headlines and evoked strong condemnation from leaders cutting across party lines as well as protests from citizens' groups.
In an open letter, the hospital's medical director Dr Dhananjay Kelkar said, "In the early years of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, we never took a deposit. But as the number of critical cases increased and the cost of complex treatments rose, the hospital began taking deposits in certain high-cost cases."
"However, in light of yesterday's events, we have re-evaluated this practice and passed a resolution that the hospital will no longer take any deposit from patients entering through the Emergency Department, including emergency deliveries and paediatric emergencies. This will be implemented with immediate effect," Dr Kelkar said in the letter.
ALSO READ: Woman died post delivery after Pune hospital refused admission over Rs 10 lakh deposit
He defended the hospital by reiterating that he had personally told the woman's kin to pay as per their ability and also offered all help, but they left with the patient without informing anyone.
While it is factually incorrect and unfair to hold the hospital directly responsible for the incident and the unfortunate death, the hospital is still investigating whether it showed adequate sensitivity towards the patient, Dr Kelkar added.
"I had myself told the woman's relatives to pay whatever amount they could as a deposit and assured them of complete support. However, they left the hospital with the patient without informing anyone," he stated.
Alluding to the protests at the hospital by various political parties on Friday, Dr Kelkar termed it as a "black day".
Without any regard for the hospital's legacy and services, a group participating in the morcha (protest) threw coins at the public relations officer, while some women activists allegedly barged into a hospital run by the parents of Dr. Sushrut Ghaisas and vandalized it.
Dr Ghaisas has been accused by the kin of the deceased woman seeking the deposit ahead of admission.
"Our heads hung in shame when some protestors blackened the names of Lata Mangeshkar and Deenanath Mangeshkar, all of this taking place in front of media cameras," Dr Kelkar said.
An internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital had claimed on Friday that the allegations of denial of admission for non-payment of Rs 10 lakh were "misleading" and made "out of frustration" by her family.
The woman's pregnancy was in the high-risk category, and her two underweight foetuses of seven months, coupled with a history of an old ailment, required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatment for at least two months, it said.
The treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds, they could admit the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery, it added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced the formation of an inquiry panel under the Pune-based Joint Commissioner of Charity to look into the incident.
