Endless ordeal of Abdul Basheer | ‘No land’s man’ now languishes in Mangaluru rehab

Harsha Raj Gatty
January 24, 2019

No identity, scant memory, mumbling few Urdu, Hindi and Arabic words; while some suspect Abdul Basheer to be a Pakistani, others give him a benefit of doubt that he maybe a Saudi National. But time and again having failed to produce any reliable documentation of identity among other things has got this 45-year on wrong side of the law.

"No one knows how he landed there (Kerala), but what he told us was that he was visiting Ajmer and his passport taken away, which left him stranded in India. But so far neither the Kerala authorities have been able to trace his passport or the origin of his nationality," Joseph Crasta, founder of Snehalaya Psycho Social Rehabilitation Centre said.

Wandering in streets of Kannur has already done enough for Abdul Basheer, after he was picked up by the Kannur police acting 'suspicious'. Further, when Basheer duly told the authorities of his recollection of his mother hailing from Burma and his father was Sayyed Hussain Makkanakkas, a Pakistani national, things didn’t seem to work in his favour. The Kasargod police formally charged him under Foreigners Act and arrested him on September 2012.

Subsequently, Basheer was produced before Kasargod CJM court, and he was duly awarded two years imprisonment at Kannur Jail. According to Kerala police, the jail authorities duly noticed that Basheer was not mentally stable therefore they admitted him for examination in mental-health care unit in Calicut. Although Abdul was slated to be released in November in 2015, he had to undergo another month of prison term since he was unable to pay the fine. Finally he was due to be released on December 2015.

But that was not the end to Basheer’s ordeal. He has neither been identified as an Indian nor has other nationality nor he been granted any refugee status. The authorities did not have a protocol, when the court ordered them to deport Basheer to his respective nation and he continued to be pushed around from one authority to another.

Although Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) Ernakulam contacted Saudi Embassy officials to enquire the residence status of Basheer, the foreign authorities told them that they don’t have his records.

Initially, Basheer was transferred to ‘open jail’ in Cheemeni, later under the request from Kerala government, the Kasaragod District officials requested Snehalaya Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Centre at Mangaluru to admit him.

 “Based on a number provided by him, we called a woman in Saudi, who claimed to be his sister and quite often asked about his whereabouts, but later the calls went unanswered and there are no efforts by anyone to provide him any relief,” says Joseph Crasta, founder, Snehalaya Charitable Trust.

According to Crasta, Basheer is schizophrenic but is not a violent case. “His statements about his family, background is inconsistent, although he can speak fluent Hindi and Arabic. Right now, he is the only 'foreigner' among the 167 inmates whom we have lodged in the facility. Earlier we had two Nepali's at our unit, we were able to trace their family, we now hope to reunite Basheer to his family as well,” Crasta adds.

Comments

Naaz
 - 
Thursday, 31 Jan 2019

if anyone can pass that Saudi Number, we can track that lady and inform about it. Nizam Uppala 00966551335641 Basheer Uppala 00966554226682

kumar
 - 
Thursday, 24 Jan 2019

I request the authorities to be kind on this innocent person and consider citizenship to hi m so that he can live peacefully.  I express my grattitudes to the charitable organisation for helping him.   there are many muslim organisations and rich people in Mangalore.  I think its their duty too to help him.  

Nishant Kudla
 - 
Thursday, 24 Jan 2019

He is eligible for Indian citizenship as he has spent several years in the country.

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News Network
March 15,2024

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Bengaluru, Mar 15: Work from home to using toilets in malls, residents of India's 'Silicon Valley' Bengaluru are exploring all options to combat the unprecedented water crisis. People across various neighbourhoods have been forced to order food from restaurants and take bath on alternate days due to the water scarcity.

Even those in high-rise apartments equipped with water harvesting systems now find themselves reliant on water tankers for basic needs, leading to stringent usage restrictions.

Eateries are mulling over use of disposable cups, glasses and plates to avoid excess use of water.

Educational institutions are also feeling the pinch. Recently, a coaching centre in the city asked its students to attend classes online due to an 'emergency' for a week. Similarly, a school on Bannerghatta Road was also closed, asking students to attend classes online just like they did during the Covid pandemic.

Residents have come with up new methods to try and conserve water. With temperature rising, it is difficult to avoid a daily shower but they are left with no option but to take bath on alternative days, said Sujatha, a resident of KR Puram.

"What to do? Clean vessels, cook food, wash clothes....so, we have started using paper plates, that way we have cut down on our water usage. And we order food twice a week. We are using the washing machine only once in a week now," she said.

Some others have resorted to visiting a mall to take a shower or use the toilet facilities.

Lakshmi V, an IT professional living in Singasandra, has been requesting her firm to allow WFH option so that she and her family can temporarily shift to her native place in Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu until the situation becomes better.

"If the situation persists, we are thinking of seeking a work from home option. We are planning to move to our native place in Tamil Nadu temporarily till rain arrives here," she said.

Bengaluru primarily gets its water supply from two sources - Cauvery river and groundwater. For most non-drinking uses, recycled water processed by sewage treatment plants is used. With no rain for a while now, the primary sources have been stretched to their limits. Bengaluru needs 2,600-2,800 million litres of water daily, and the current supply is half of what's required. The result is a daily struggle for the city's residents.

The brunt is also being borne by people living in the outskirts of Bengaluru, especially in 110 villages that were merged with the city in 2007.

The crisis has also turned into a political battle between the state's ruling Congress government and the opposition BJP with Lok Sabha just weeks away. While the BJP has held several protests blaming the government, the Congress has accused the BJP-ruled federal government of not providing financial assistance to drought-hit Karnataka.

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News Network
March 28,2024

Mangaluru, Mar 28: Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan MP has warned the individuals and political parties against the poll code violations during private events. 
 
“Private events such as marriages, birthdays, housewarming ceremonies, and other non-political programmes do not require any permission. However, one should ensure that there is no violation of the model code of conduct (MCC) at these functions. Permission is needed if the events are attended by politicians or candidates,” the DC said. 

He said that these gatherings will be under the surveillance of MCC teams, as there are chances of luring voters by campaigning and supplying food, said the DC. The district has 38,386 new voters, of which, 19,619 are men.

He said that the notification of election in Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency will be issued soon, and the filing of nominations will be held between 11 am and 3 pm till April 4. 

Only five persons, including the candidate, will be allowed to enter the returning officer’s chamber to submit the nominations. A facilitation centre will be opened at the DC’s office. 

The expenditure of the candidate will be counted from the day the candidate files the nomination.

The DC said that the district is not an expenditure-sensitive constituency. Assistant expenditure observers and expenditure observers will monitor the expenditure of the candidates. An expenditure book will be provided to the candidate to record expenditure incurred, he explained.

Further, he said that no election materials can be printed without the name and address of the publishers, and the number of copies printed. Separate permission should be availed for procession prior to the submission of nomination papers from the ARO office, through the single-window system.

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News Network
March 22,2024

Tejaswi.jpg

Bengaluru, Mar 22: An FIR has been registered against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over a provocative hate post on social media, Election Commission officials said on Friday.

The move comes after a complaint filed by officials of the poll body and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the Bengaluru South MP, who is also the President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had in a post apparently targeted a minority and spread enmity between two communities.

He also made a similar post on March 19 on X and YouTube which went viral. He has 1.3 million followers on X, thereby influencing the voters and disturbing the communal harmony between the communities, it further alleged.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Halasuru Gate police station on March 20 under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act, the officials said.

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