Fake agency cheats 5,000 senior citizens

[email protected] (Akshatha M for Deccan Herald)
February 20, 2011

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Mangalore, February 20: When the State government has made apposite arrangements for the distribution of senior citizen identity cards to elderly citizens of the State, some of the unauthorised organisations and individuals are deceiving the public by distributing invalid cards.

The State government had shifted the responsibility of distributing senior citizen cards from the Federation of Senior Citizen's Forum Bangalore to five organisations in the district namely, Senior Citizens Association in Mangalore taluk, Sthree Shaktigala Okkuta in Bantwal taluk, Pensioners Association in Belthangady taluk, Parivarthana Seva Trust in Puttur and Vision Charitable Trust in Sullia taluk. These organisations distribute the card to the needy with a minimum charge of Rs 25 and almost 14,000 senior citizens have received cards from the Mangalore's Senior Citizen Association alone.

But an agency called Senior Citizens and Backward Classes Organisation which claims itself as a part of Bangalore's Federation of Senior Citizen's Forum, is cheating the public by distributing invalid cards. Theorganisation led by the proprietor Prakash Poojari is unnecessarily grabbing money from the uninformed people, by charging Rs 65 for card registration and additional Rs 70 for postal charges.

Citizens complain

A letter written by senior citizen Jerome Pinto from Aikala addressing the Senior Citizens' Association President, complains that the senior citizen's card he received from the agency is invalid. “I'm not receiving any of the benefits that I was supposed to get from the card. The Senior Citizens and Backward Classes Organisation members have misguided me. They had assured me of providing pension too, which I have not received so far,” the letter says.

Parivarthana Seva Trust (Puttur) Managing Director Akshav Alva said his organisation thas received more than 20 complaints from the rural public about the fraud committed by Prakash Poojari. “Poojari's work area was limited to Mangalore city few months back but now he has moved out of the city and has mostly cheated the public in Puttur, Belthangady and Vitttal,” said Alva. If the card issued by the authorised associations contain the signature and seal of the Women and Child Welfare Department, the bogus card does not contain the authorised signature.


'Card is valid'

When contacted Bharati who herself introduced as Poojari's Secretary said the cards issued by their agency is valid. “If you need the card, pay Rs 65 initially and then send a DD of Rs 70. We have already distributed 5,000 cards in DK district and it is valid,” she stated.

Meanwhile, the District Disabled and Senior Citizens Welafre Officer Puttaswami Gowda said, none of the organisation or agencies which distribute senior citizens cards except the five authorised associations in the district are legal. All those who have been cheated and the five organisations can complain about the fraud to the respective Tahsildars, following which the action will be taken, he assured.

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News Network
March 7,2020

Mysuru, Mar 7: Former minister and senior Congress leader and sitting MLA Tanveer Sait has shot off a letter to state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai expressing his dissatisfaction over the slow progress in the investigations regarding the attack on him.

In the letter, which he released to the press on Saturday, he claimed that although the police have already arrested the culprit, but it is yet to find the real masterminds, leaders or organisation behind the attack.

Mr Sait urged the Home Minister to request the police to speed up their investigation and solve the case at the earliest and give him justice.

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coastaldigest.com news network
January 3,2020

Mangaluru, Jan 3: General Secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiyyatul Ulama, AP Aboobacker Musliyar Kanthapuram, visited the family members of Abdul Jaleel and Nousheen, expressed his condolences.

Jaleel, resident of Bundar Kandak and Nousheen, resident of Kudroli were killed in police firing that took place during the anti-CAA protest in the city on December 19.

Former President of the District Wakf Advisory Committee of Dakshina Kannada SM Rasheed Haji, Corporator Lateef Kandak, Congress leader N S Kareem and Ashraf Kinara, Samsuddin Kudroli were also present. 

DYFI delegation

Meanwhile, a central delegation of the Democratic Youth Federation of India also met the families of the both the victims and expressed solidarity with the kin of the deceased.

The delegation comprised of DYFI national president advocate Mohammad Riyaz, other leaders such as A A Raheem, S Satish, S K Sajeesh, legislator V K Sanoj and DYFI State present Muneer Katipalla.

 

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coastaldigest.com web desk
July 4,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 4: In a heart-wrenching incident, a 65-year-old coronavirus patient at Hanumath Nagar in South Bengaluru died outside his house waiting for an ambulance on Friday evening. The body was kept on the road for more three hours.

The deceased tested positive for coronavirus on Friday and immediately called an ambulance to reach a hospital. However, according to his family members, as he waited for the ambulance for nearly three hours, he collapsed on the road in front of his house complaining of breathlessness and died.

As the body lay unattended on the road, it began to rain heavily. Soon, videos of the body lying on the road in the heavy rain went viral on social media. 

A senior doctor in charge of the division, however, claimed that the ambulance had arrived in less than half an hour but the patient had died before they reached the spot. 

"The patient had given samples on Thursday at KIMS and tested positive on Friday. BBMP officials informed them that they would reach his house. But the man, fearing that he may be stigmatised in the locality, began walking to the corner of the road and collapsed on the street and died," the officer said. 

Another health official from Basavanagudi limits said: "As the ambulance staff do not transport the dead, they informed the hearse van, which was set to arrive in 30 minutes. But due to the sudden rain and heavy traffic ahead of the curfew hours, they were stranded for almost three hours later." The officials also said the deceased had been suffering from cardiac ailments for almost 10 years. 

Regretting the incident, BBMP officials said they were helpless as was an acute shortage of hearse vans. "We were told that there were 20 deaths today and there are only eight hearse vans available. They had to shift this patient after attending to another mortality and were stuck in traffic. By then, due to the fear of infection, nobody attended to the deceased," the officer explained. 

BBMP commissioner B H Anil Kumar said that such incidents should not recur and ordered an investigation and sought a report. "We will ensure that such incidents do not recur," Kumar said.  

Following outrage on social media, a hearse van was summoned and the body was shifted to the Victoria Hospital mortuary as per the protocol. Police have opened a case of unnatural death.

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