Mumbai teenager leaves red-light zone for US degree

August 5, 2013

Mumbai_teenagerMumbai, Aug 5: A young Indian woman who grew up in Mumbai's red-light district facing poverty and sexual abuse has overcome the odds to win a scholarship to study in New York.

Shweta Katti, 18, left for America on Thursday to study at the liberal arts Bard College, where she hopes to read psychology. Afterwards she wants to return to India and help other young women in her community.

"It's my childhood dream. I didn't think it would finally happen," she told AFP before leaving Mumbai, where she grew up in a brothel.

Katti's determination won her a place this year in Newsweek's list of 25 " Young Women To Watch" aged under-25, alongside Pakistani schoolgirl and activist Malala Yousufzai who was shot in the head by the Taliban.

It is a long way from Katti's early childhood experiences of abuse and harassment in Mumbai's notorious Kamathipura neighbourhood.

"You would see everyday someone beating up a woman, the police coming unexpectedly at anytime, and women selling their bodies — they were not happy," Katti said.

"Men would ask to sleep with me, it was so embarrassing, but I had to face it. My father abused me, many people abused me, but my mum was with me always saying: 'You are the best, you can do anything'."

The teenager, who describes herself as "a tough-skinned girl", said she faced discrimination "from all sides" at school because of her poor background and low caste status.

She credits her mother, a factory worker, as her "inspiration" and says the local charity Kranti — meaning "revolution" in Hindi — also played a vital role in helping her achieve her dreams.

The group's aim is to empower girls from Mumbai's red-light areas "to become agents of social change", and a small group of them live at Kranti's north Mumbai apartment, where Katti moved two years ago.

Here she was able to work on her English language skills and experience therapy, which sparked her interest in psychology.

"I really think it can change somebody. I started thinking openly and respecting my background and myself," she said.

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January 3,2020

Unnao, Jan 3: The Uttar Pradesh Police has submitted a charge sheet in a court here in connection with the death of a 23-year-old Unnao rape victim, who was allegedly set ablaze by five men.

Additional Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Pandey, who is heading a Special Investigation Team in the case, said the charge sheet was submitted on Wednesday.

"There is ample proof against the five accused persons, and the charge sheet was prepared based on those evidences," he said on Thursday.

The 23-year-old Unnao rape victim, who was airlifted to Delhi and admitted to Safdarjung Hospital with 90 per cent burns after being set on fire, died following a cardiac arrest on December 6, 2019.

The woman was set afire by five men, including two of her alleged rapists, on December 5 morning when she was going to Rae Bareli to attend a court hearing in the rape case filed by her.

In her statement to Sub Divisional Magistrate Dayashankar Pathak, the woman had said she was attacked when she reached Gaura turn near her home on her way to the court.

She had specifically named Harishankar Trivedi, Ram Kishore Trivedi, Umesh Bajpai, Shivam Trivedi and Shubham Trivedi as the persons who set her on fire.

The woman had also alleged that Shivam and Shubham Trivedi had abducted and raped her in December 2018.

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July 16,2020

Surat, Jul 16: Woman police constable Sunita Yadav, who had a confrontation with a minister's son over lockdown violation which led to his arrest here in Gujarat, claimed she has resigned from service. However, a senior police official has denied it.

Prakash Kanani, the son of Gujarat Minister of State for Health Kumar Kanani, and his two friends were arrested on Sunday for allegedly violating the lockdown and night curfew orders in Surat, a COVID-19 hotspot, a senior police official earlier said.

Yadav, who is being hailed on social media for taking action against the minister's son, told news channels on Wednesday that she had put in her papers.

"I have resigned because I did not receive support from my superior officers. I was only doing my duty as a constable. It's the fault of our system that these people (like the minister's son) think they are VVIPs (very very important persons)," she said.

However, a senior police official here denied that she has resigned.

"She has not given her resignation. The inquiry is still on and technically she cannot resign at this juncture," Surat Police Commissioner R B Brahmbhatt said.

Yadav's action had led to the registration of an FIR and arrest of Prakash Kanani and two of his friends for alleged violation of lockdown and curfew norms in Surat city.

The arrests came after a video of a heated exchange between them and Yadav, who pulled up the trio for violation of curfew, surfaced on social media. The trio was later released on bail.

Since the incident, Yadav is being hailed on social media.

While some social media users called her "Lady Singham" (referring to the tough cop in the Hindi film "Singham"), some suggested she contest the 2022 state Assembly polls against Kumar Kanani, who represents Varachha constituency in Surat district.

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May 6,2020

Bengaluru, May 6: Central Crime Branch Police have nabbed 71 people involved in various crimes taking advantage of Lock-down which prevents movement of people in the street and seized stolen properties worth about Rs 1.70 crore, official said on Wednesday.

Police said that in all 56 cases were booked. In all 17,312 duplicate Sanitisers, 2000 lts of Chemicals, 18,750 fake Masks, 270 Thermometers and two cars were seized from the arrested culprits.

During the raid godowns where rice and dal meant for free distribution during lock-down were robbed and stored were also seized.

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