nri issues

NRI woman searching for father in Hyderabad finds decomposed body in flat

About an NRI woman coming to Hyderabad in search of her father who had been missing for over a month.

A couple of months ago, we blogged about “Techie reaches mother’s flat on return from US, finds her skeleton”“Techie reaches mother’s flat on return from US, finds her skeleton”

There is another similar yet bizarre story about an NRI woman coming to Hyderabad in search of her father who had been missing for over a month. The woman, and her mother were shocked to find his decomposed body at their flat in LB Nagar.

Image result for nri parent drawing — Image: lassiwithlavina.com

The NRI and her mother came to Hyderabad because P Lakshminarayana Murthy, a retired government employee, had not been responding to their calls for several days. Murthy was a native of Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh. He had two daughters, both of whom were living in the USA. His wife, Lakshmi, had recently gone to America to visit their daughters.

Murthy gone to Hyderabad in August to attend a relative’s wedding and stayed at his daughter’s flat. During the first few days in Hyderabad, he had been in touch with his wife, after which he had stopped responding to her calls. Worried, the daughters and his wife had alerted relatives in Hyderabad, but none of them had been able to give them any information.

Nearly 40 days later, Lakshmi and her younger daughter Soujanya flew to Hyderabad in search of Murthy. Despite knocking repeatedly on the door, they received no response. They broke open the door with the help of a local carpenter and entered the flat. They were shocked that none of the residents in the apartment building had noticed a foul smell.

This is yet another morbid story that will send shivers down Non Resident Indians with elderly parents living alone in India.

Story first reported in Deccan Chronicle and thenewsminute.com

Also check out the blog post: The Dilemma of Looking After Aging Desi Parents

Techie reaches mother’s flat on return from US, finds her skeleton

Here is a morbid story that is bound to send shivers down most of us, especially Non Resident Indians with elderly parents living alone in India.

Man reaches mother’s flat on return from US, finds her skeleton

When Rituraj Sahani arrived from the US and reached his mother’s Oshiwara flat Sunday morning, no one answered the door. He managed to enter the house with the help of a keymaker. On reaching the bedroom, he found his 63-year-old mother’s skeletal remains. Given the complete decomposition of the body, police believe she passed away at least a few weeks ago. They have registered a case of accidental death and are waiting for the post-mortem report. They believe she died of natural causes as no injury marks were found on her body and the door was locked from the inside.

Subhash Khanvilkar, senior inspector, Oshiwara police station, said, “Asha K Sahani had been staying alone at her 10th floor residence in Wells Cot society in Andheri’s Lokhandwala area since her husband died in 2013. Their son Rituraj, an engineer, had moved to the US in 1997.” “The last conversation between the mother and son took place in April 2016. At that point, Sahani had told him that she felt lonely. She had also asked him to get her into an old-age home,” the officer said.

Khanwilkar said that since the 10th floor has only two flats and both belong to the Sahanis, neighbours did not sense any foul smell. “In the bedroom, Rituraj found the body of his mother, which had decomposed to such an extent that only her skeleton remained. We suspect she must have passed away at least a few weeks ago.”

Police are now recording statements of Rituraj and residents of the building to find out when was the last time anyone spoke to her. “The post-mortem report, too, will give us some clarity on the time of death,” said an officer.

re-published from Indian Express

Expert committee on Non-Resident Indian (NRI) marriages and disputes

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) under the leadership of Sushma Swaraj has set up an expert committee on Non-Resident Indian (NRI) marriages and disputes arising therein.

The Committee includes Chairperson, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Swati Jaihind along with representatives from the MEA, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Women and Child Development (WCD) and other experts.

The Committee has been mandated to identify legal and regulatory challenges faced by Indian nationals on this pertinent issue and suggest amendments in existing legislations as well as new laws and policies to better resolve the disputes concerning NRI marriages.

The Committee is slated to submit its report by August.

DCW on its part has given certain recommendations and suggestions to the Committee to combat the issues relating to NRI marriages. Further, in order to propose effective and actionable recommendations to the Committee, the Delhi Commission for Women has requested the Committee to seek certain information from MEA and MHA.

The Commission has also decided to seek suggestions from public and experts in the matter, so as to expand its knowledge base as well as learn from field experiences. The Delhi Commission for Women is contacting certain NGOs to seek their opinion in the matter.

The DCW chief has also written to NRI Commission of Punjab, Kerala and Goa to seek data about number of cases arising in their states as well as their views on the matter. Similarly, she has written to chairpersons of women commissions across the country seeking their views on the matter.

The Commission has released a special email ID nri.dcw@gmail.com for people (especially NRIs, experts, NGOs) to share their suggestions on the issue.

The last date for submission is 23 July 2017 till 11 a.m.

Recent questions by Indian lawmakers on the topic include:

QUESTION NO.†*450 MARITAL DISPUTES OF NRIs (link) – The Ministry has received 2485 complaints about NRI marital disputes during the last three years and until 30 March 2017.
QUESTION NO.1609 INDIAN WOMEN DEFRAUDED BY NRI SPOUSES (link) – The Ministry has been receiving petitions from Indian women stating that their overseas Indian spouse has hidden the fact that he is already married or has a partner. Their petitions pertain to abandonment of the Indian woman by overseas Indian spouse either in India or in the foreign country after marriage. When the overseas Indian husband is summoned to attend court proceedings in India, Indian Missions/Posts have no means for enforcing the order abroad, except when the foreign country accepts the request for mutual legal assistance.

58-Year-Old Indian Man Detained At Atlanta Airport By US Immigration, Dies In Custody

A 58-year-old Indian man died on Tuesday in the custody of US immigration officials at a hospital in Atlanta. Atul Kumar Babubhai Patel was detained last week for allegedly not possessing necessary immigration documents while entering the country. Mr Patel arrived at the Atlanta airport on May 10 on a flight from Ecuador.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Mr Patel to custody at the Atlanta City Detention Center for two days. Officials said the preliminary cause of his death is congestive heart failure.

The Immigration department, in a statement, said the US Customs and Border Protection denied Mr Patel entry into the country as he did not possess the necessary immigration documents. He was then transferred to the custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

At the Atlanta City Detention Center, Mr Patel received an initial medical screening and was found to have high blood pressure and diabetes.

On Saturday, a nurse checking Mr Patel’s blood sugar noticed he had a breathing problem following which he was shifted to a hospital where he passed away.

The immigration department said it is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody and is “undertaking a comprehensive agency-wide review of the incident, as it does in all such cases”.

The agency has informed the Indian consular representatives who informed Mr Patel’s family about his death.

The agency said that deaths in its custody are “exceedingly rare” and occur at a fraction of the rate of the US detained population as a whole. (With inputs from PTI)

From the editor – Most of the news accounts highlight the death of Mr. Patel. However, there is no word on the reason for his travel from Ecuador to Atlanta.

Other media accounts of this incident

Illegal immigrant dies from medical condition after being held by immigration agency – Washington Times
Indian detained at Atlanta airport dies in custody – Outlook
58-Year-Old Indian Man Detained At Atlanta Airport By US Immigration, Dies In Custody – NDTV
58-Year-Old Indian Atul Kumar Babubhai Patel Detained By Immigration Authorities At US Airport Dies In Custody – India Times
58-year-old Indian-American detained at Atlanta airport dies in custody – Deccan Chronicle

Court orders nationwide staffing company CEO to pay $135K in back wages, damages to former live-in domestic worker

US Labor Department investigation found severe underpayment, callous mistreatment?

SAN DIEGO ? The CEO of a leading U.S. staffing company will pay a former live-in domestic service worker $135,000 in back wages and damages under the terms of a consent judgment entered into the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The judgment, entered on April 11, 2017, resolves a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Labor on Aug. 22, 2016. An investigation by thedepartment?s Wage and Hour Division found that Himanshu Bhatia willfully and repeatedly violated the Fair Labor Standards Act?sminimum wage and record keeping provisions from July 2012 to December 2014, as well as the act?s anti-retaliation provision.

The complaint alleged that Bhatia paid her domestic service worker a fixed monthly salary of $400 plus food and housing at Bhatia?s home in San Juan Capistrano and other residences in Miami, Las Vegas and Long Beach. Investigators found that the employee suffered callous abuse and retaliation, including being forced to sleep on a piece of carpet in the garage when ill, while Bhatia?s dogs slept on a mattress nearby. The complaint also alleged that Bhatia confiscated her employee?s passport.

Himanshu Bhatia

Bhatia terminated the worker in December 2014 after she found her employee researching ?labor laws? online, and after the worker refused to sign a document stating she was being paid an adequate salary and had no employment dispute with Bhatia.

?This consent judgment underlines the department?s commitment to protecting workers from exploitation,? said Janet Herold, solicitor for the department?s Western Region. ?The department will take strong and immediate action to ensure that workers are protected against retaliation.?

The consent judgment orders the defendant to pay $135,000 in damages, including back wages, liquidated damages and other damages.

For more information about federal wage laws administered by the division, call the agency?s toll-free helpline at 866-4US-WAGE (487-9243). Information also is available at http://www.dol.gov/whd.

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Release Number: 17-441-SAN

Also in the news:

IT Staffing Company CEO Himanshu Bhatia Settles Employee Mistreatment Case?– India West
CEO accused of mistreating domestic employee settles case for $135,000 – Orange county Register
Indian-American CEO Himanshu Bhatia charged with starving and abusing maid, forcing her to sleep with dogs – India Today