Fifth-time punishment claimed schoolboy’s life

Mohammed Ismail, the Class X student who died after he was made to do 600 sit-ups by his class teacher, had been subjected to a similar punishment four times earlier, his family members have alleged. The family has now demanded closure of the school even as they are yet to come to terms with the loss. "It was the fifth time that this kind of corporal punishment was given to Ismail by the class teacher. Initially, Ismail never reported the incidents to his parents due to fear. It was only while undergoing treatment at the hospital that he told his parents about the cruel punishment,'' his uncle, Mohammed Abdul Hussain, told Express. Siddique Hussain, Ismail's father, had brought his son to Hyderabad from Dubai a few years ago. "Hussain wanted to provide quality education to his son and wanted him to learn the family culture and customs," said the relative. "As fate had it, days after he reached Hyderabad, Ismail met with an accident in which his legs were damaged. During the course of surgery, doctors put a rod in one of the legs which enabled him to walk. With the class teacher making him do more than 600 sit-ups, his leg could not take the strain and he fell ill and could not walk. Initially, we did not know that Ismail had been punished in this manner and we thought it was only fever," Hussain said.  He alleged that Royal Embassy High School chairman Adil was bringing pressure on police officers and trying to save the teacher, Mubin, who imposed the corporal punishment on the student. "When kids make mistakes in classrooms, the teacher should inform their parents. Why should teachers take the harsh decision to award corporal punishment? Who is responsible for the death of Ismail?'' he asked. Ismail's cousin Md Mukkaram said, "By the time we reached the school, police forces had already been deployed there. We suspect the school chairman is trying to hide the teacher," he added.

By Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

‘Astrologer’s prediction disturbed principal’

Aurora PG and Degree College principal Ravi Paturi, who committed suicide on Friday by jumping into Hussain Sagar lake, had recently approached an astrologer seeking advice for his problems. The sooth-sayer predicted that Ravi would meet a hazardous road accident shortly.  That got Ravi worried and he started following all advices given to him to ‘avoid’ the accident.  It disturbed him so much, that the man who had motivated and counselled thousands of young minds against committing suicide, had jumped to his own death.  “Since college, Ravi had a strong personality and was very intelligent.  Those factors attracted me towards him. We had a love-cumarranged marriage and have three daughters,” an inconsolable Megha Malini, Ravi’s wife, said.  Megha tried her best to divert him from superstitions, but Ravi followed all principles of astrology and even read related books.  As Express reached his flat located at Vijaypuri Colony in Tarnaka, Ravi’s youngest daughter, 5-year-old Vidusha, was playing with her elder sister Sukrithi. Her uncle had told her that her “papa would come home shortly to play with them. ” Ravi’s eldest daughter Varthiya, an intermediate first year student, was consoling her mother who was weeping in front of Ravi’s photo.  He was supposed to leave for Kolkata and Singapore to attend a conference. Tearfully, Megha recalled the recent past when the couple had discussed Vidusha’s birthday celebrations that would be held next Monday. He even promised to come home on Sunday from Kolkata to celebrate his daughter’s birthday.  The incident took place on Friday, when Ravi had handed over his car keys to the apartment watchman and gone out.  He took the auto-rickshaw of Chandra Reddy, a driver known to the family and resides in the same Vijaypuri Colony, and rushed to Necklace Road.  After reaching the place, Ravi gave his gold ring, chain and debit cards to Reddy and asked him to hand them over to his wife. When he handed over Ravi’s belongings to Megha, she suspected something wrong and rushed to the spot.  She searched for him all over at the necklace road but in vain.  A day later, Megha received a call from police stating that a body was retrieved from the lake. When they went to the place for indentification, their worst fears came true.  “The suicide has shattered our lives.  We achieve nothing with suicides.  Even though Ravi was a great motivator to many young minds, he left my life dark by leaving me alone,” Megha lamented. Ravi, a native of Adoni in Kurnool district, pursued higher education in Osmania University till 1988 and received three gold medals.

By Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com

Love Drove Mumbai Gangster to Kidnap Girls

One Antony, who is leading a gang in Mumbai, is believed to be the mastermind behind the abduction of the four girls from a rehabilitation home here where they were lodged after their rescue from flesh trade. Antony, who happens to be the boyfriend of one of the four girls, led the operation and took them to Mumbai by air. A day after the daring kidnap at the rehab centre, being run by Ujjwala, an NGO, at Ramanthapur in Cyberabad police commissionerate limits, four police teams comprising senior police officials left for Mumbai and Kolkata in search of the kidnappers. A brothel organiser Sai, whom the police took into custody in connection with the kidnap, revealed that the Mumbai gangster was involved in the kidnapping. Sai, a resident of Krishnanagar in Yousufguda, had earlier been arrested by the Kukatpally police in a flesh racket case. Police raided his house and rescued the four girls who were kidnapped on Saturday. Uppal inspector Lakshmikanth Reddy told Express that Antony is a friend of Seema, one of the four girls. ``Antony used to visit the centre to meet Seema. The rehab centre officials confirmed that Antony had met Seema several times. He used to tell them that he is her brother-in-law,'' the inspector added. Meanwhile, police visited airline agents' offices in the city and spoke to passengers who flew to Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai  friom Hyderabad. ``Soon on receiving information about the kidnap,  we alerted our men on the  Maharashtra border but did not get any lead. We suspect that the kidnappers took the girls to Mumbai by flight,''  police said. It is also learnt that Antony requested the rehab centre to send his girl friend away with him and that he would submit papers and undertaking that he would take care of her. But, the staff asked him to take court permission by submitting documents establishing his relationship with Seema. A few days ago, Seema had made calls to Antony and requested him to take her away from the rehab centre. ``We have collected call data of Seema's mobile. We are sure of arresting the guilty," Lakshmikanth Reddy said. Of the four, Seema belongs to Hyderabad,  Salima to Mumbai and Zareena and Latha to Kolkata. Interestingly, the family of Seema was not interested to take her back home from the centre. With the girls having stayed at the centre for six months, police approached Seema's family members and requested them to take her back into their fold but the family turned down the request of the police. The girls, who are aged between 16 and 20, had been rescued from flesh trade by the Kukatpally and Miyapur police and were accommodated at the rehabilitation centre at Ramanthapur after producing them in a court six months ago.

By Mouli Mareedu

moulimareedu@gmail.com