The death of an inmate, Mohammed Bashir Abdul Hasan Ansari, 52, in the male section of Chembur Beggars' Home has raised questions about the way the facility is being run. This is the fifth such incident in three months.
Like the four before, this, too, would have been written off as "natural death" but for a Tata Institute of Social Sciences project, Koshish.
When dna spoke to officer-on-duty Gautam Arwel, he first denied the incident. Later when said we were family coming from Aminabad in Lucknow, where Abdul hailed from, he said: "He (Abdul) died in his sleep."
Mohammed Tarique, assistant professor and programme director, Koshish, told dna, "These places are nothing short of concentration camps."
Are the police aware about it?
Assistant commissioner S Bagul denied any death. Zone VI DCP Sangram Singh Nishandar, under whom the home falls, said: "If there were five murders in such a short span, it's impossible the police wouldn't know." Neither superintendent Vilas Parde nor principal secretary, department of women and child development, Ujjwal Uke, responded to calls.
What's TISS saying?
On Monday, we learnt Abdul, who had been arrested on August 26 by the Mahim police under the Prevention of Begging Act, 1959, died on the morning of August 30, Tarique told dna. "We gathered from other inmates that he was beaten up by another inmate, Anil Tandel, 43 - a mukadam (unofficial caretaker) of the barrack on Friday. Abdul sustained an injury in the head. Koshish has been working at the home since 2006.
What did the beggars' home do?
Though the Koshish team brought the incident to the attention of officer on duty Gautam Arwel, along with inmates who witnessed the fight, Tandel, who allegedly hit Abdul, was allowed to leave the institution the same day. This move lent weight to suspicions there was foul play. Why was he allowed to go, asks Tarique, who, on behalf of TISS, has written to Ujjwal Uke, demanding an investigation.
Where is Abdul's body now?
"His body was sent to Rajawadi hospital for post-mortem on Saturday itself. Surprisingly, the report does not even mention any injury mark."
Who said there have been five deaths?
On condition of anonymity, inmates confirmed to dna there had been four more deaths in the last three months. "One of them, who died last month, had deep gashes on both sides of his abdomen, with vital organs missing. Garwel saheb and the mukadam had the floor washed and the body was sent for post-mortem."
How many inmates are there?
Right now, there are 120. The home stands on 28 acres of land with half-a-century-old barracks established under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act. It has a budget of nearly Rs 55 lakh.
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