The Press Conference at Hindi Bhawan Auditorium, Delhi today i.e. 25th August 2008 on the eve of Women Equality Day on 26^th August, was a success.

It was attended by Times of India, Nababharat Times, DNA, Rashtriya Sahara, Desbandhu etc etc amongst others beside the electronic Media AajTak.  

In spite of it being a working day, we got a strength of around 40 which is considered very good for a Press Conference held during normal office hours.

The Press Conference started with the welcome address by Uma Challa, President of All India Forgotten Women, over the phone from Hyderabad. Sandeep, President of GHRS anchored the event, where as Neeraj took the main lead in arranging all the other logistics.

As Dr Anupama got stuck in an emergency case and was a little late, Ms Preeti representing All India Forgotten Women, handled the event superbly.

Special visiting cards were printed for Uma as President of AIFW, Ms. Saroj Rani as MASI Secretary, Preeti Chauhan for AIFW, Arvind of PIFF besides Dr Anupama as President of MASI, for introduction to the Media.

Ms. Preeti explained the RTI reply we received on CrPC 125. Sureshram of SIF Chennai showed the latest Chennai HC order on the misuse of 498a. Adv Karan Bir Singh, himself a victim, spoke on Perjury. Dr Anupama spoke on MASI’s experience with WCD on the review meetings on Women Protection Laws. Ms Saroj Rani spoke on the misuse aspect. Sandeep, summarized the event.

Neeraj, Wasif, Komal, Prof Sahab, Sattu, Jeetu, Pradeep Niwani, Jogeshswarji (I am sure I am missing plenty of others) were all greeting the media and assisting the event. Ricks (Bangalore) father, Gyanesh Purohit’s (Hyderabad) father, Jerry Woods both aged parents and plenty other senior citizens attended the event.

B K Mishra translated the Press Release into Hindi.

An added attraction was the presence of the SIF Chennai members like Kalai and Manoj who had come to Delhi all the way from Tamil Nadu along with Sureshram to attend the meetings with Dr. Kiran Chaddha, Jt Secretary, WCD on the review of misuse of Women Protection Laws.

And the link to the photos :

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29896622@N06/?saved=1

New Delhi: A monthly newsletter — Indian Family Times — that has taken up a fight against the anti-dowry law on the internet, has invited contributors to post pictures and profiles of women who have “misused” the law to lodge false dowry cases against men. 

   The online newsletter, started this month, has also hailed Delhi Police commissioner Y S Dadwal as a “true patriot” while calling women and child development minister Renuka Choudhary a “pinhead”. 

   Terming IPC 498A or the anti-dowry law as “legal terrorism” — that was introduced with good intentions but has been plagued by bad execution — the newsletter claims that it will highlight the harrowing tales of victims who have fallen prey to the misuse. 

   This comes close on the heels of a consultation by the WCD ministry on the issue following criticism against the Dowry Prohibition Act and the Domestic Violence Act. 

   ”The law is being used by unethical and immoral women and their families to harass the husband’s family, humiliate them to accept their improper and illegal demands, and extort money,” the newsletter said. The e-zine has a “hall of shame” that includes a woman’s name, address, educational qualifications and her family details warning prospective “grooms” to keep away. Its “success story” has details of a man who has been successful in escaping the “trap”. 

   The publication lauds Dadwal for issuing standing instructions that no arrests except for the husband’s be made in 498A cases without the permission of the DCP. Referring to WCD minister Renuka Choudhary, the newsletter says that “for her actions against the Indian family and her crazy comments, Ms Choudhary is a pinhead”. 

   Reacting sharply to the remarks, Choudhary said, “This is classic male behaviour. I really pity these men… this is no way to change the system.” Referring to the newsletter’s move to include women’s profiles and pictures, Choudhary added, “It is a democracy and they are free to do what they want but it is an unfortunate thing that they want to put up women’s pictures like this. Do we have to upload pictures of dead wives and sisters to make our point?”

Protect Indian Family Foundation(PIFF) , NGO, Mumbai is conducting an awareness program- ‘Effects of 498a, Dowry Act & Domestic Violence Act on Indian Families’.

We will gather in front of Family court and distribute pamphlets, this pamphlet will outline the irreversible ill effects of the family breaker laws like IPC 498a, DV Act(PWDVA), Dowry Prohibition Act, etc.. All the members are requested to wear the PIF T-shirt which will be available near the venue, or at our Mulund office in advance.

Venue

This program is planned to be conducted at the family court, Near Bandra Kurla Complex(BKC) , Bandra, Mumbai, from 10 A.M to 2 P.M, on 7th June, 2008.

This event is being planned by Protect Indian Family (www.protectindianf amily.org) , Mumbai, NGO-Member of Save Indian Family (www.saveindianfami ly.org).

Supported by :

www.saveindianfamil y.org

www.MyNation.net

www.protectindianfa mily.org

www.savefamily. org

www.asha-kiran. org

www.sahanaindia.org

www. ghrs.in

www. 498a.org

www. forgottenwomen. org
Warm Regards

P.R.Gokul
Director, Protect Indian Family( www.protectindianfa mily.org)
Editor, SIF Times (www.siftimes. com)
No.3 Tulsi Bhavan, S.N.Road, Mulund(W), Mumbai- 4000481

Tel: 9869323538(Mr. M.R.Gupta) , 9821414336(Mr. P.R.Gokul)
Do you Dare ? to Speak TRUTH

Respected  Sir,

I  am  Gurdevi  w/o  Late Ex- ser.man Sh. Jai Singh,
r/o #119, ekta vihar Baltana Dist Mohali,
Punjab,
Belong  to  lower  tribe,  pray you to  help  and  support  in my grief, as  administration  and  judges are  clearly supporting  to  the  killer  of  my husband  and  they  did  nothing  for my grievance, for  what  they  have  been  holding  their  respectable and  responsible  position, but  playing  a part of  tout,  in the  judicial  system of  this  country,  every  officials  and  judges  have  got  corrupted,  and  having  no soul, 
However i  have  been  solely  struggeling  against  a  gang  of  doctors,  in  Chandigarh, wickedly  extirpated my  family,  and  brutally  murdered  my  husband, through inflicted  sharp cuts  with  the  blades,  and  even  inflicted  sharp  cuts  100-150  times  uopon  his  body  and  killed  him  TARPA-TARPA  KAI,  only  to  recover  their revenge  with  my  family,  although  presently  every  officials  are  dirextly  supporting  to  them. But  still  i  didn’t  discourage,  and  expect    rigid  support  from  your  org.  in  public  interest,  now  this  is most  humbly  request  to  you  please  support  me  in  this  matter,  so  that  we should  exposed  the  realities  of  this  gang  operated  thru  some  white  coller  doctors,  in Chandigarh, who  had  murdered my husband, as  we  had  exposed their  illegal  acts  publicaly,  with  the  support  of  media, in  Nov-2006,  in  front  of  public,  in  their  interest. please  help  and  support  me  so
waiting  for  your  response……….
                                                                               
Thanking  you

Patna: A sleaze controversy has erupted in Bihar with the former police bodyguard of a woman Congress MLA charging her with sexual exploitation.

Bal Yogeshwar Sharma alias Lali (Constable no.187) has accused Congress MLA from Korha in Katihar district and state Mahila Congress chief Sunita Devi of having exploited him sexually when he was posted as her bodyguard after the 2005 assembly election. But the MLA has denied the charge dubbing it as “blackmail.”

Lali, a resident of Paraura village in Bhojpur district, a father of two, said today that the exploitation began in 2006 when one day Sunita, quite unexpectedly, embraced him as he was sleeping in her flat. He claimed he had protested but had to yield for fear of losing the job.

The constable, who was later posted as bodyguard of Katihar MLA Tarkishore Prasad and is now at the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB) office in Patna, alleged the MLA demanded that he have sex with her even when he was not assigned to her security.

Source :>>

Another angle Discussing differences without malice may help resolve them

In a televised Pune rally, Financial Analyst Dhaval Kadakia claimed his wife hit him if he refused to do household chores. Salim Bootwala, an entrepreneur said, “I divorced my wife in 1997. In 2006 she filed a case of dowry against me. The judge did not hear my case nor lookat the documents. On the basis of her complaint, I was sent to jail for four days.” P.R. Gokul wrote, “I am the victim, we are being harassed, you need to know the oppressors to believe me.”

In an ego-shattering exercise, “harassed husbands” are out “demanding justice”. Their main enemy is not the wife, not her greedy parents or conniving relatives. It is the legally recognised, constitutionally valid “monster” called Section 498A, IPC. Why? “Section 498A is the most vicious weapon in the hands of those who decide to be vindictive,” said Kalpana Murari, a divorce lawyer. “Under the Dowry Prohibition Act, the wife, relative of the victim or a welfare organisation could lodge a complaint against the husband and his family. This could put the family behind bars for 15 days.” The burden of proving his innocence is on the accused.

How these men fight is a lesson in “approach strategy”. They write blogs. They start websites and message boards. They have a forum. They hold meetings, training sessions and rallies. They go to the media. They listen, educate and inform. They send out fliers. They’ve set up helplines, use the RTI to gather information on convictions. They provide legal assistance. And they quote the Sushil Kumar Sharma vs Union of India case.

Supreme Court judges deciding this case felt 498A was being misused, “giving license to the unscrupulous to unleash harassment and wreak personal vendetta.” They said, “The provision was intended to be used as a shield and not as an assassin’s weapon.” In such cases, acquittal did not “wipe out the ignominy suffered during or prior to the trial.” The court asked legislatures to find ways to deal with the misuse, and the investigating agencies to function as “a watchdog and not as a bloodhound.”

“No investigation or warrant is needed before arrest and start of proceedings since the crime u/s 498A is cognisable and there is no punishment if the complaint is proved false - two major reasons why 498A is used as a pressure-tactic,” said P.R. Gokul who heads a Yahoo group of “victims-of-law” that calls itself SIFF (Save Indian Family Foundation). “Now SIFF is a registered entity, with a membership of over 50,000 people and over 20 NGOs,” he said.

Raksha, a Hyderabad-based outfit counsels men who consider suicide as an alternative for a bad relationship. “A lot of married men are desperate for help,” said Raksha president C.V.L. Narasimha Rao in an interview. Amitabh Das Gupta, President, Pune Chapter of Protect Indian Family Foundation wants “the existing laws amended to give enough powers to men.”

Not likely to happen soon. “Change this law? No way!” said lawyer Sudha Ramalingam firmly. “Section 498A came after a great battle to protect women battered within the walls of her husband’s home. Subjecting a wife to cruelty was not seen as injustice. Now bringing the culprits to book is unjust or a means of breaking the family!” She dismisses the argument of an innocent husband and his relatives being harassed by the abuse of this law as exaggeration. “Only after a preliminary inquiry is a prima-facie case made, FIR registered and the law set in motion. There are provisions for seeking anticipatory bail and proving their innocence to get acquitted.”

S. 498A is a handy tool for shady practices, men argue. Among them are [1] Pre-marital affairs. Marry the guy of parents’ choice, dissolve the marriage, collect funds and marry the old flame. [2] Extra marital relationship. [3] Extortion, serially, one marriage after another. [4] To alienate husband from his responsibilities toward his old and dependent parents [5] To obtain a favourable divorce settlement [6] To wrest child custody from the husband.

Sudha concedes that the law perhaps has teething problems. S.498A and the “Prevention of Women from Domestic Violence Act is needed today more than ever as women are getting educated and earning well but are helpless in their homes. If men treat their wives with dignity and equality there is nothing for them to fear.” Ah, then “Why is it that only men with high socio-economic profiles become victims of 498A?” asked Suresh, an entrepreneur. “Easy targets, better yield.” The World Health Organisation has explicitly cited the misuse of anti-dowry law by daughters-in-law as one of the primary reasons for elder abuse in India. Clinical psychologist Devdas suggests pre-nuptial agreements. “At some point, men will decide that a live-in relationship is better than a bash-in one,” he warned.

It’s stupid to talk of retribution. No one wants families to suffer. Discussing differences without malice may help resolve them. But you can’t help shaking your head while letting out a deep sigh. When will women learn to network so efficiently and mount a systematic campaign on and off the web?

Fact File

The number of cases under section IPC 498A registered in 2005: 58,319, cases dismissed at charge-sheet level: 10,491 (18 per cent), cases charge-sheeted on face value of complaint: 47,828 (82 per cent), cases where the accused were acquitted: 24,127 (41 per cent), convicted: 5,739 (9.8 per cent). For these 58,319 registered cases, 1,34,757 people underwent arrest under 498A and Dowry Prohibition Act.

Helpline for Harassed Husbands : 9868142607, 9868142608, 9810170681

Source:>>

New Delhi, Apr 28 : Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhury told the Rajya Sabha today that the Government is planning to give more powers to the National Commission for Women Act.

She said amendment of NCW Act is under consideration. The Government will soon hold a roundtable conference of women’s organisations and the associations of men who claim to be “victims” of anti-dowry laws.

Chowdhury said, “1.64 lakh cases of crimes against women were reported in the country in 2006 as against 1.55 lakh cases in the previous year. In 2006, 28,998 cases saw conviction of the accused and the cumulative number of cases pending trial (after including those of previous year) was 5.09 lakh.” [ Why she is not saying 5.09 lakh husband families falsly accused and still under trial; Why Husband families are not counted, and conviction rate is 28,998 in 2006, thats 1/4, it means there are 3 time more false accusations. ]

“While bringing change in the Act we will see that men should not just remain the problem but become a part of the solution,” she added. (ANI)

Source:>>

Section 498a of the Indian Penal Code was enacted to make it easier for the wife to seek redress for potential harassment by her husband’s family. The section being non-bailable, non-compoundable and cognizable (arrests without investigation or warrants) on a report from the wife or any close relative, the law makes it mandatory for the police to file charges against the husband, his parents and other relatives or friends named on the complaint by the wife or her close relatives and put them in jail without the existence of a penalty for filing a false case.
But in the course of the years, the hard-won dowry laws have also functioned as tools for embittered wives seeking revenge on their husbands and their husbands’ families. Even many women’s rights groups in India are concerned that vendettas by some estranged wives could bring these laws into disrepute.

Save Indian Family Foundation (SIFF) is a strong team of dedicated families comprising of victims of misuse of the Dowry law IPC-498a including NRIs and senior citizens who campaign against gender-biased laws and create awareness about gross injustice and abuse that happen under the Indian Legal system. Most of the members of the organisation are victimized men, who claim to have been falsely implicated and harassed by their wives.

The Pune Chapter of the foundation was initiated in March 2007 by Amitabh Dasgupta, a 31-year-old KPO consultant who also happened to fall prey to the 498a law. Dasgupta along with his parents was thrown out of their apartment in Balewadi after an allegedly false claim by his former wife. They now reside in a rented flat in Kothrud. “After dealing with acute emotional turmoil and shock, I decided to initiate the Save Indian Family Foundation in Pune and help campaign against the abuse of the law,” he says.

“Basically what the organisation is campaigning for is to seek amendments in the IPC-498a that, though providing justice to victimized women, becomes an easy means of extortion for unscrupulous wives,” says Dasgupta, “Policemen are many times duped into believing that these women are innocent, and falsely incriminated father-in-law, mother-in-law and other members of the husband’s family are jailed even without investigation.”

The organisation, apart from the misuse of IPC-498a, also fights for abuse of old and sick people, the in-laws’ arrest based solely on probable cause and the testimony of the daughter-in-law. The Pune Chapter of the foundation now has around 150 members. What the organization is seeking is the establishment of a forum for men analogous to the National Commission of Women. Their protest on March 29 outside the Shivajinagar court saw around 75 families of victimized men demanding amendments in the 498a and seeking the formation of a welfare-ministry of sorts for men and the initiation of the National Commission of Men. They also demanded that dowry acts and Domestic Violence Act be made gender neutral.

The foundation offers free advice and counselling to falsely accused men along with suggesting good lawyers at their weekly meetings every Sunday at Sambhaji Park. Advocate Seema Dhavale has done some pro bono work to help redress victimized men. Being on the panel of SIFF as an adviser, she also gives professional advice to victims and campaigns along with SIFF members. Having been in the family court since 17 years, she says that around four to five victims of 498a come to her every week for consultation. “These laws are made to benefit the weaker sections in the society. If women start using it as a weapon to extort money, it ruins the objective,” she says. She sees adding a 498b for the husbands’ protection as a probable solution.

Dasgupta also ideates that cases under 498a should first result in the termination of the marriage followed by an investigation. “This will discourage fraudulent cases coming up,” he says.

Source :>>

New Delhi, April 23 : A widow and her paramour were arrested Tuesday for killing her brother-in-law who had objected to her relationship and then setting his body on fire in west Delhi, police said.

Some residents of DG-Block in Vikaspuri area saw a man, later identified as 35-year-old Prem Raj, engulfed in flames near the common staircase of an apartment early Monday.

Police said the deceased’s sister-in-law Ramrati and her alleged paramour Gajender Singh were arrested from Timarpur area in north Delhi for stabbing Prem Raj, a cleaner in a car showroom, to death and setting his body on fire to conceal his identity.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (west Delhi) Sharad Agarwal said: “It was clear that the crime was committed by someone, who is either a resident of the locality or has access to a house in the locality. It was also found that a flat, near which the body was recovered, was lying vacant for the past five-six years.”

“The flat was opened and we found blood on the floor. It was learnt that Ramrati and Gajender Singh had access to the flat and they were arrested,” he said.

During questioning they revealed that Prem Raj was threatening to expose their “illicit relation”.

“Gajender said they first gave him a sedative laced drink and stabbed him to death after he fell unconscious. They then poured kerosene over his body and set him ablaze to conceal his identity,” said Agarwal.

http://www.mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=75440

PATIALA: On a secret information, the CIA police arrested two policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector, from Rajindera Hospital and seized fake currency worth Rs 85,000 from them around 9 pm on Saturday night.

Police had received a tip-off that some persons, with the help of policemen, were trying to smuggle and supply fake currency to some persons in Patiala city. A police party led by Aman Pal Singh, incharge CIA, raided the mortuary department of Rajindera Hospital around 9 pm and arrested Jasvir Singh, ASI posted at Bahadurgar near here, and Inderjit Singh, constable. On searching, police seized Rs 85,000 fake currency from their possession.

When contacted, Aman Pal Singh said, “The two were waiting for someone to deliver the fake currency. As yet we don’t have any more information.” Police have registered a case and the two were sent to police remand for a day by a local court.
Spurce:>>