VADODARA, Aug 21 (UNI) In a bizarre incident, an 86-year-old lady inmate was killed and another seriously injured when a young mentally deranged girl went berserk in a ward of the physically handicapped at the Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity here.
While one octogenarian Narayaniben was beaten to death by her own walking stick in her sleep by the accused yesterday, the other inmate Zaraben, a 70-year-old blind, was admitted to the SSG civil hospital sustaining serious head injuries in the murderous attack.
Her condition is now stated to be stable.
According to sister Vera Anthony of the Mother's destitute home located in the Makarpura area, accused Rijuben (20) was provided shelter in the ashram only on July 8 after she was found by them at the Vadodara railway station in a pitiable condition.
Young Rijuben, who is said to be mentally ill, sneaked into the ward meant for the disabled and suddenly started beating up Narayaniben mercilessly with her walking stick lying beside her bed.
After Narayaniben succumbed to her injuries on the spot, Rijuben turned towards blind Zaraben while other inmates in the ward ran helter skelter for cover.
The missionary staff had a tough time in overpowering Riju.
Police, who registered a case of murder against the girl, removed her to the SSG hospital.
Later, Riju was brought back to the ashram to be put in a special cell there.
According to sources, the ashram provides shelter to over 300 destitutes, including physically and mentally challenged people.
This was the first ever incident of violence of its kind to be reported in the Mother's ashram since its inception three decades ago, the sources claimed.
Artists, academics, filmmakers seek withdrawal of ban on dance bars MUMBAI, Aug 21 (UNI) Nearly 50,000 bar dancers in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra have found support from a group of distinguished personalities from film, education, media and arts who have urged the state government to lift the ban on dance bars.
After an interface with a large number of bar dancers here last night, the 10-member panel observed that there was no "nexus" between dance bars and any "undesirable trends" in society and it was the right of these dancers to work and earn a livelihood.
The panel was consisted of poet Arundhati Subramaniam, artist and media personality Dolly Thakore, novelist Kiran Nagarkar, professor Lakshmi Lingam, professor Nandini Sardesai, journalist Naresh Fernandes, film-maker Prahlad Kakkar, professor Shereen Ratnagar, film-maker Sudhir Mishra and trade unionist Sanjay Singhvi.
A statement by the jury said as any other citizen of India, a bar dancer had a right to pursue a profession of her choice and she was not a sex worker.
"This ban has become a class issue, discriminating selectively between dace bars on the one hand and clubs, gymkhanas and star hotels on the other," it said.
"The ban will enhance poverty and misery and accentuate health hazards and there is a need to stop moral policing and the victimisation of the bar girls.
"Morality is culturally constructed and hence a society of public morality is highly hypocritical as it only talks of sexual morality," the panelists observed.
The ban on performance of bar dancers in about 1,300 dance bars across the state became effective from August 15.
