Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for Sexual Abuse

US sex abuse survivor to sue Indian priest, diocese

by

Joseph Jeyapaul

Washington: A 26-year-old American woman will file a lawsuit against a Catholic Indian priest and his church in India for allegedly sexually abusing her during his posting in the US between 2004 and 2005.

The move comes in protest against the recent Vatican decision which announced Diocese of Ootacamund located in Mylapore is reinstating Joseph Jeyapaul to ministry.

Minnesota attorney Jeff Anderson will file suit on behalf of the victim in federal court that claims the Diocese of Ootacamund endangered children by reinstating Jeyapaul.

Jeyapaul who served as a priest in Crookston township of Minnesota in 2004 and 2005 was arrested in India in 2012 and extradited to the US on charges of sexually abusing two girls in a congregation.

He was later deported to India last year, after serving his sentence of one year and one day. In a statement, advocacy group SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) announced that one of the sexual abuse survivors would sue the priest and the diocese.

“It may be the most irresponsible Vatican move we’ve ever seen: Catholic officials in Rome have lifted the suspension of a recently convicted predator priest. We are stunned and saddened by such blatant recklessness and callousness,” Barbara Dorris of St Louis, Outreach Director of SNAP, said in a statement today.

A letter sent to Anderson and Roseau County Attorney Lisa Hanson and signed by over 500 Jeyapaul supporters in India will also be released as evidence of the public danger (nuisance) permitted by Indian Bishop and Vatican, it said.

“On January 16, 2016, with the permission of Pope Francis, Bishop Amalraj lifted the suspension of Father Joseph Jeyapaul,” the firm said, adding that in 2015, after his extradition from India, Jeyapaul plead guilty to criminal sexual conduct involving the sexual abuse of a minor girl while he worked in the Diocese of Crookston in 2005.

“Catholic officials refuse to keep this admitted sex offender away from kids, so our only hope of stopping him is to get him charged and convicted again,” Dorris said.

Over the weekend, Barbara and the victim were seen distributing leaflets outside the church in Crookston to find another sex abuse survivor.

“Our goal is to find just one more victim who might be able to file criminal charges and get this proven predator behind bars,” the victim told local ‘Grand Forks Herald’.

The lawsuit would charge Catholic officials with creating “public nuisances” by hiding and helping predator priests.

“It was the first victim’s courage that brought forward a second victim of Fr Jeyapaul. It was the second victim’s courage that prodded Fr Jeyapaul to plead guilty. And we hope the courage of a third victim will get Fr Jeyapaul extradited, convicted and jailed again, so that no more innocent lives are shattered,” SNAP said.

“Until he’s charged and convicted again, Jeyapaul should be put in a remote, secure, independently-run treatment center far from families who have learned to trust him,” it said.

(PTI)

Police serve notice to Andhra minister’s son for harassing woman

by

Ravela-Sushil

Hyderabad: Hyderabad police on Saturday served notice to son of a Andhra Pradesh minister for allegedly misbehaving with a woman.

Banajara Hills police inspector served the notice to Ravela Sushil, son of Andhra Pradesh`s minister for social welfare Ravela Kishore Babu, under section 41A of Code of Criminal Procedure.

Sushil has been asked to appear before the police officer as a woman has lodged a complaint that he misbehaved with her.

A case for outraging modesty of a woman was registered on Friday against Sushil`s driver M. Appa Rao.

The incident had occurred on Thursday evening in posh Banjara Hills neighbourhood when Sushil sitting in his car allegedly intercepted a woman, held hand and tried to drag her inside.

The woman said the driver passed lewd comments and both of them asked her to sit in the car.

After the woman called for help, locals manhandled them. Both were later brought to the police station.

On her complaint, police registered an FIR only against driver Appa Rao but let off Sushil.

Some television channels broke the story on Friday and reported that the minister`s son was not named in the FIR.

A counter case has been registered against the mob on a complaint by Appa Rao who alleged that his owner`s son was attacked by few people.

Meanwhile, women`s organisations have demanded immediate arrest of Sushil. Banajra Hills division corporator Vijayalaxmi met senior police officials and demanded that the minister`s son be booked and arrested.

Vijayalaxmi, a leader of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), said if no action was taken immediately against the minister`s son, women would launch massive agitation.

(IANS)

UN registered 99 sex abuse claims against staff in 2015

by

UN report says a majority of the cases involved personnel in 10 peacekeeping missions, including in CAR.

UN

by Al Jazeera

There have been 99 new allegations of sexual exploitation or sexual abuse against United Nations staff members across the UN system last year, a new report has said.

The UN report from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, released to Reuters on Thursday, came in response to a new “name and shame” policy for UN peacekeepers implemented after a series of allegations of rape and sexual abuse by international troops in Central African Republic.

In 2014, there were 80 allegations.

The majority of the allegations in 2015 involved personnel in 10 peacekeeping missions, the report said, listing 69 such cases.

The military and police personnel accused of sexual crimes while serving for the UN involved 21 countries.

Most of the allegations involved peacekeepers from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, seven in all, serving in Central African Republic or CAR. There were also allegations against several European countries and Canada.

There were allegations against troops and police from Burundi, Germany, Ghana, Senegal, Madagascar, Rwanda, Congo Republic, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Tanzania, Slovakia, Niger, Moldova, Togo, South Africa, Morocco, Benin, Nigeria and Gabon.

In addition to CAR, the allegations involved peacekeeping missions in places such as Haiti, Mali, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ivory Coast.

The report includes recommendations for member states to make it easier to identify suspected perpetrators and prosecute them.

It calls for the UN General Assembly and troop-contributing countries to allow prosecutions inside the countries where the alleged crimes took place and creation of a DNA registry of all peacekeepers.

One of the problems, human rights groups say, is that it is currently up to UN troop-contributing countries to prosecute their soldiers accused of abuse. When such prosecutions happen, the groups say, they often take place quietly and it is difficult to follow up on the results and punishments, if any.

In December an independent review panel accused the United Nations and its agencies of grossly mishandling numerous allegations of child sexual abuse by foreign troops in CAR in 2013 and 2014.

Bishops covered up sex abuse of Pennsylvania children

by

Cases of sexual abuse over four-decade period by Roman Catholic priests were covered up by US bishops, jury says.

The report contains explicit details of abuse cases, naming perpetrators, many of whom have since died [File: Max Rossi/Reuters]

The report contains explicit details of abuse cases, naming perpetrators, many of whom have since died [File: Max Rossi/Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

Hundreds of children in the US state of Pennsylvania have been sexually abused by about 50 Roman Catholic priests over four decades while bishops covered up their actions, a grand jury report said.

Released on Tuesday, the report found that former Altoona-Johnstown Diocese Bishop James Hogan, who died in 2005, and his successor, Joseph Adamec, who retired in 2011, worked to cover paedophile priests’ tracks.

Some local law enforcement agencies also avoided investigating abuse allegations, said state Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

“The heinous crimes these children endured are absolutely unconscionable,” Kane told reporters in unveiling the report, based on a two-year investigation.

“These predators desecrated a sacred trust and preyed upon their victims in the very places where they should have felt most safe.”

Revelations that some priests had habitually sexually abused children and that bishops had systematically covered up those crimes burst onto the world stage in 2002 when the Boston Globe reported widespread abuse in the Boston Archdiocese.

That report, which won a Pulitzer Prize and was the subject of last year’s Academy Award-winning film “Spotlight,” set off a global wave of investigations that found similar patterns at dioceses around the world. They led to hefty lawsuits and seriously undermined the church’s moral authority.

No charges filed

No criminal charges will be filed because the alleged incidents are too old to be prosecuted, Kane said.

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey, reporting from New York City, said: “Some of the victims… are just too traumatised to testify.”

Advocates for victims of sex assault have long urged lawmakers to give prosecutors more time to bring charges of sex assaults of minors, noting that particularly in the case of assaults by members of the clergy, victims can take years to come forward.

The report contains explicit details of scores of attacks, naming perpetrators, many of whom have since died.

Many of the surviving priests were still serving parishes at the time the investigation began, Kane said, but all have since been removed by the current bishop.

“This is a painful and difficult time,” current Altoona-Johnstown Bishop Mark Bartchak said in a statement. “I deeply regret any harm that has come to children.”

“We’re saddened but not the least bit surprised,” said David Clohessy, director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

“It proves what we’ve long maintained: that even now, under the guise of ‘reform,’ bishops continue to deceive parishioners and the public about their ongoing efforts to hide abuse.”

Cricketer Amit Mishra arrested in sexual assault case, gets bail

by

Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Bengaluru: Cricketer Amit Mishra has been arrested and later released on bail in Bengaluru today in a sexual assault case.

He was arrested after a three-hour long interrogation session by Bengaluru police.

The victim, who is from Bengaluru and claims to be a Bollywood producer, approached the Ashok Nagar police on September 25 and lodged a complaint against Mishra.

The complaint stated that she had by mistake entered Mishra’s room in a hotel on Residency Road.

The cricketer also came into the room, and on finding her there, he started verbally abusing her.

They were engaged in a heated argument and Mishra reportedly assaulted her.

A few employees of the hotel intervened and pacified Mishra.

Mishra was booked under Sections 354 (assault outraging the modesty of a woman) and 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt).

(Agencies)

Singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya accused of molesting woman

by

Abhijeet Bhattacharya

Mumbai: A 34-year-old woman from Versova has accused playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya of ‘touching her inappropriately’ and ‘abusing and threatening’ her during a concert of singer Kailash Kher during the Durga Puja celebrations.

Mumbai Police have registered a case of molestation against the singer.

The incident apparently took place at 10 pm on October 23 at a Durga Puja pandal in Lokhandwala which the singer co-founded in 1996. The woman was later escorted out of the pandal by lady security guards following which she went to the police station and lodged a complaint. A case of molestation has been registered at the Oshiwara Police Station. However, the cops say that they will record statements of witnesses before taking any action.

Abhijeet has denied the charges and says he only had an argument with the woman since she was blocking everyone’s view and he had asked for her to be seated.

Abhijeet Bhattacharya was the popular voice for Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar in the 1990s. He continued to sing for films like Dhadkan, Chalte Chalte and Om Shanti Om in the past few years, but his voice has been less heard in films now. His last non-film album was Tere Bina in 2003.

(Agencies)

Complainant to withdraw assault-case against Amit Mishra

by

Indian cricketer Amit Mishra snapped during the preparatory camp for the forthcoming series against South Africa at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru on September 23, 2015. Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Indian cricketer Amit Mishra snapped during the preparatory camp for the forthcoming series against South Africa at National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru on September 23, 2015. Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

In a relief to Indian cricketer Amit Mishra, the woman who had filed a police complaint against him for an alleged assault, has decided to withdraw the case.

“Two days after lodging the complaint, I approached the police station and told them that I have in principle decided to withdraw the case,” the complainant told.

“I am waiting for Mishra to appear in the police station. We both will amicably withdraw the case. We were friends. We fought, and continue to remain friends here after,” she said.

Mishra was in Bengaluru last month for India’s pre-tour training camp when he had met the woman.

The police had asked Mishra to appear before them in a week’s time. Mishra was booked under the Indian Penal Code sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 328 (causing hurt with intent to commit an offence).

She clarified that that she has not taken the step under pressure.

“There was no pressure from any quarters, including the BCCI. I am surprised how the media picked up the case, which I have decided to withdraw,” she said.

(PTI)

Cricketer Amit Mishra accused of sexually assaulting Bengaluru woman

by

Amit Mishra

New Delhi: Indian leg-spinner Amit Mishra has been accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in Bengaluru.

Bengaluru Police has summoned Mishra and has directed him to appear within seven days regarding the case. A complaint was registered in Ashok Nagar Police Station, Bengaluru.

“We have shot off a notice, summoning India cricketer Amit Mishra for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in the city last month,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central, Sandeep Patil said.

“The woman in her complaint had alleged that she was sexually assaulted after she had visited the cricketer’s room,” the DCP said.
The tweaker was in the city last month for training when he had met the woman, Patil said.

It is learnt that the incident took place in September in Bengaluru.

Mishra is a part of the Indian team which is playing the Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela series against South Africa on their home soil.

(Agencies)

BPO employees stripped, sexually assaulted in Bengaluru

by

sexual-assault

Bengaluru: The incident of two male employees of a BPO firm and their driver allegedly being stripped and sexually assaulted came to light on Wednesday, October 7.

According to the police, the incident took place in the wee hours of September 30, when the BPO employees were on their way to work in a Tempo Traveller that was involved in a minor accident with a car.

The argument between the driver of the Tempo Traveller and the car driver turned violent and led to alleged sexual assault of the BPO employees when they came to the aid of their driver.

On Wednesday, Mico Layout police arrested three persons, including the car driver and seized the vehicle. The accused, Kiran, Satish and Satish Kumar, are all residents of the city and are aged between 20 and 25 years. The victims are also residents of Bengaluru.

On September 30, around 3.30 am, the Tempo Traveller belonging to a BPO, picked up the two employees from BTM Layout. While they were heading towards the office, their van was involved in a minor accident with a car. This led to a fight among the two groups.

While the accused Kiran and Satish picked up a quarrel with the driver, the BPO employees tried to intervene and defuse the situation. The accused demanded money for the damage caused to their vehicle. When the Tempo Traveller driver refused to pay up, the accused started to assault him. When the BPO employees came to his rescue, they too were also assaulted by the duo who got into the van and forced the driver to drive to Ragigudda in JP Nagar.

After reaching an isolated spot, the accused assaulted them again and robbed them after threatening to kill them. The accused took away Rs 600, mobile phones and ATM cards from the BPO employees and the driver.

After allegedly stripping them and sexually assaulting them, the accused called their friend Satish Kumar, who drove away with them. The victims lodged a complaint with the Mico Layout police.

The sexual assault came to light only after the police questioned the accused, since the victims had initially not mentioned it in their complaint fearing social stigma. However, they later confirmed this to the police.

(Agencies)

Indian woman employee files 1 mn pound case against Wipro

by

The woman employee who has sued Wipro was transferred to London from Wipro’s Bengaluru headquarters in 2010. (PTI File Photo)

The woman employee who has sued Wipro was transferred to London from Wipro’s Bengaluru headquarters in 2010. (PTI File Photo)

London: An Indian woman employee at the London office of IT major Wipro has filed a 1 million pounds compensation case of sexual discrimination, unequal pay and unfair dismissal against the firm.

She alleged she was subjected to a “deeply predatory, misogynistic culture” and forced into an affair with a married boss at the Bangalore-headquartered firm’s UK division.

The 39-year-old told an employment tribunal in London this week how her boss called her “a seductive dancer from Indian mythology”.

“Women who are confident, capable and express their viewpoints are often called ’emotional’, ‘psychotic’ or ‘menopausal’. Women who supported women are called ‘lesbians’,” she said.

She claimed she was manipulated into an affair with a married senior vice-president. On one business trip to Stockholm in 2013, the 54-year-old allegedly told her the silk blouse she was wearing was “too tight” for her body type.

The India-born woman said she embarked on the affair despite finding his conversation “inane” and that he suffered on occasion from a “certain body odour”, the ‘Daily Telegraph’ reported.

The former sales and market development manager, who handled outsourcing business deals for Wipro, said she was treated like “dirty goods” after ending the affair and lodging complaints about her treatment.

She also claimed she was paid far less than male staff, earning up to 75,000 pounds per annum rather than the typical 150,000 pounds paid to male equivalents.

However, Wipro refused to comment on the lawsuit. “Wipro does not comment on its ongoing lawsuits and Wipro is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity and provides all our employees with a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment of any kind. Wipro is defending these allegations before the court,” a statement by Wipro Ltd said.

“Following an impartial inquiry, both were relieved from the services of the company after it was established beyond reasonable doubt that they had violated the stated policy,” the statement said.

“Wipro takes serious objection to the scurrilous allegations made against the company and will initiate legal action to defend itself against insidious and defamatory allegations,” it said.

“The company has built its business over the years by ensuring it adheres to the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and ethical corporate practices. Any transgression of these beliefs and policies are dealt with expeditiously and with the strictest action,” the statement said.

(Agencies)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives