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Suicidal NRI detained in UK mental hospital

godesi — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:40:44 +0000

An Indian-origin woman, who miraculously escaped after jumping in front of a train with her 5-year-old son last year, has been ordered to be detained indefinitely in a mental hospital in London [ Images ].

Radhika Sharma, 35, jumped before an oncoming train at the Stratford station in east London in June last year with her son, but escaped after both fell into a gap between the tracks.

The driver applied the emergency brakes and the train passed over the two at low speed before coming to a halt. Both mother and son escaped with minor injuries.

Sharma was convicted of attempted murder and child cruelty following a two-week trial at the Snaresbrook Crown Court in April. She has now been sentenced to be detained indefinitely in a mental hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Psychiatrists said Sharma was delusional and believed she was being followed by a man called Binka.

Sharma, who will receive treatment at a specialist centre, will only be released when the Home Secretary decides she no longer poses a risk to the public.

Psychiatrist Philip Baker, who is treating Sharma, told the media that her mental illness could have been triggered by a traumatic incident when she was a teenager in India [ Images ].

Sentencing Sharma, Judge David Radford told her, “It is my view that it was only by the grace of God that you and the boy were not killed or seriously injured by contact with the train. Very fortunately, the boy’s injuries were only slight though there is clear evidence that he suffered real psychological harm from what happened to him. Happily as time passes it is to be hoped that harm is dissipating.”

“The guidelines make clear that even if an offence like this is not premeditated and there was no injury caused, an offender can expect to be sent to prison for a significant number of years. Had it not been for the clear medical evidence that you had been suffering from mental illness and continue to suffer, such a sentence would have to have been passed,” the judge said.

Train driver Richard Roscoe said, “I saw an Indian woman standing fairly close to the yellow line on the platform. As I approached, she started walking straight ahead as if she was going to board the train. I didn’t see anyone else there. She walked straight up to the yellow line, looking straight ahead, then just stepped out.”

“She went down into the tracks, I did think I’d hit her, I didn’t feel any bump or hear any noise. I put the train straight into emergency mode so the brakes locked. First I knew about the boy was when the paramedics said he was still alive,” the driver said.

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Article source: http://www.rediff.com/news/report/suicidal-nri-detained-in-uk-mental-hospital/20120517.htm

Punjab NRI panel asks police to trace runaway husband

godesi — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:40:11 +0000

Chandigarh, May 16 (IANS) The Punjab Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Commission Wednesday issued a notice to the Jalandhar police commissioner and sought a report within three weeks about a runaway husband who allegedly duped a New Zealand-based NRI woman.

The NRI Commission issued the notice after taking suo moto notice of media reports about a complaint filed by Nileshni Reddy, an NRI woman, against her husband Ravi Sidhu alias Amarjit Singh Sidhu, resident of village Chotta Saipur in Jalandhar district, who has vanished without trace now.

The NRI woman had filed her complaint with the NRI police station in Jalandhar.

She complained that she had met Ravi Sidhu through a matrimonial website and they got married in August last year at a temple in the presence of Ravi’s father.

The woman said she had to go back to New Zealand after some time for her visa extension and returned to India January this year. She said that she, with her husband, was staying in a hotel in New Delhi since then and that he took her to his family house in the village only once.

She alleged that Ravi went missing April 26 this year from the New Delhi hotel. When she contacted his family, they told her that they had already snapped all ties with him.

The NRI Commission has directed the Inspector General of Police -NRI affairs to supervise the investigation in this matter.

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Article source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/punjab-nri-panel-asks-police-trace-runaway-husband-145847353.html

Doctors, hospital pay up in NRI death case

godesi — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:38:55 +0000

New Delhi/Kolkata, May 15 : Almost five months after the National Consumer Forum (NCDRC) awarded the highest compensation in Indian medico-legal history for the wrongful death of an NRI doctor’s wife way back in 1998, the accused hospital and doctors of Kolkata paid up on Tuesday.

Ohio-based HIV/AIDS researcher Kunal Saha’s wife Anuradha Saha, who was a child psychologist, died during a social visit to Kolkata about 12 years ago from a rare and deadly skin condition.

“Three top Kolkata doctors and AMRI hospital (which recently had a big fire killing over 90 patients) eventually paid their dues before NCDRC today but only after they were threatened to be imprisoned under Section 27 of CPA Act, 1985,” said Saha.

After the Supreme Court found the three doctors and AMRI hospital guilty for Anuradha’s death in 2009 and remitted the case back to NCDRC only for determination of the quantum of compensation, NCDRC awarded a total of Rs. 1.7 crore including Rs. 40.40 lakh each against Dr. Sukumar Mukherjee (medicine specialist) and AMRI Hospital while Rs. 26.93 lakh each was awarded against Dr. Baidyanath Halder (dermatologist) and Dr. Balaram Prasad (medicine specialist).

“After the three doctors and AMRI hospital refused to pay the compensation for several months, I moved NCDRC seeking their imprisonment. While Dr. Halder and AMRI hospital paid their entire compensation, Dr. Mukherjee paid only Rs. 33 lakh and asked the court to allow him some more time to pay the rest of the compensation awarded against him,” said Saha.

“Although Dr. Prasad did not pay any money today, NCDRC granted him 2 weeks time to pay the entire compensation failing which he may still be sent to jail,” he said.

Anuradha, then 36, had skin rashes while in Kolkata and was admitted in the AMRI hospital on May 11, 1998 under Dr Sukumar Mukherjee while she was also treated by Dr Baidyanath Halder, late Dr Abani Roychaudhury and Dr Balaram Prasad.

Of these doctors, Dr Abani Roychaudhury passed away some years ago.

Anuradha actually had Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), a rare dermatological disease
which is identified as a severe allergic reaction, and after she was treated wrongly in Kolkata was taken to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital by her husband Kunal Saha where she died the same month.

What followed is a protracted legal war waged by Kunal Saha against the doctors and the hospital.

While this was the highest-ever compensation case in Indian medico-legal history, Saha has already filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the NCDRC’s judgment because the compensation awarded by NCDRC he claimed is “only a tiny fraction of my total claim which now stands almost Rs. 200 crore (including interest).”

“The Apex Court has already admitted my appeal for enhancement of compensation and fixed it for final disposal on July 10, 2012,” he said.

Saha, who shuttled between USA and India to fight his case spending in crores, alleged that the medical community in West Bengal, especially the West Bengal Medical Council, brazenly tried to protect the guilty doctors.

In the course of his fight against the doctors and AMRI, Saha set up People for Better Treatment (PBT), India’s largest patients’ body against medical negligence and medical malaise.

Saha is also fighting the corruption in health sector and in the medical community across India. (IBNS)

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Article source: http://www.newkerala.com/news/newsplus/worldnews-21065.html

Kodiak Oil & Gas Corp. Provides Interim Corporate Update

godesi — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:38:08 +0000

– Two New Producers in Polar Block Further Confirm Prolific Core Area

DENVER , May 14, 2012 /CNW/ – Kodiak Oil Gas Corp. (KOG), an oil and gas exploration and production company with primary assets in the Williston Basin of North Dakota, today provided an interim corporate update on recent drilling and completion activities.

Interim Drilling and Completion Operations Update

In the Polar project area in southern Williams County, North Dakota, Kodiak recently completed two wells, each with a 94% working interest (WI) and a 74% net revenue interest (NRI). The wells were drilled and completed on a two-well pad. The following table sets forth information relating to these wells:

In the Koala Project area in McKenzie County, fracture stimulation procedures were recently completed on two additional wells in the Koala project area. These wells, the Koala 15-31-30-2H and the Koala 15-31-30-3H, were completed in the Middle Bakken Formation and will be flow tested and placed on production in the coming days. Kodiak owns a 98% WI and a 79% NRI in each of these two wells.

Kodiak’s dedicated completion crew is mobilizing to complete a two-well pad in Dunn County where Kodiak owns a 100% WI and 82% NRI. A second 24-hour completion crew will be mobilizing on a two-well pad in the Polar project area in late May 2012 where Kodiak owns a 69% WI and a 54% NRI.

Management Comment

Commenting on ongoing operations, Kodiak’s Chairman and CEO Lynn A. Peterson said: “We are pleased to have drilled and completed two strong producers in the Polar area. These are the first two wells we have drilled and completed in our recently acquired lands, and they are benefiting from our completion design. This area in southern Williams County appears to be characterized by the same high reservoir pressures, bottom-hole temperatures and depths that we are seeing in the Koala and Smokey areas just over the river to the south. We will continue to move forward with our completion schedule with 10 gross (9 net) wells still to be completed in the second quarter of 2012.”

About Kodiak Oil Gas Corp.

Denver-based Kodiak Oil Gas Corp. is an independent energy exploration and development company focused on exploring, developing and producing oil and natural gas primarily in the Williston Basin in the U.S. Rocky Mountains. For further information, please visit www.kodiakog.com. The Company’s common shares are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol: “KOG.”

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that may constitute “forward-looking” statements, usually containing the words “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “expect” or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” projects,” “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will,” “would,” “may,” “could” or “should” occur. Forward-looking statements in this document include statements regarding the Company’s expectations as to Kodiak’s exploration, development and drilling plans, including the timing of drilling commencement and drilling completion of our wells, production estimates, and expectations regarding our ability to execute our 2012 program. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in the prices of oil and gas, uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of oil and gas reserves and projecting future rates of production and timing of development activities, competition, operating risks, acquisition risks, liquidity and capital requirements, the effects of governmental regulation, adverse changes in the market for the Company’s oil and gas production, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in Kodiak’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 .

For further information, please contact:
Mr. Lynn A. Peterson , CEO and President, Kodiak Oil Gas Corp. +1-303-592-8075
Mr. David P. Charles , Sierra Partners LLC +1-303-757-2510 x11

SOURCE Kodiak Oil Gas Corp.

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Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/kodiak-oil-gas-corp-provides-160300079.html

UK crackdown on NRI 'criminal landlords'

godesi — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:38:05 +0000

LONDON: Britain has allocated 1.8 million pounds as part of steps to crackdown on landlords – many of them of Indian-origin – who construct illegal extensions to their houses and rent them out to illegal immigrants at extortionate rates in parts of London and elsewhere.

Considered hazardous with slum-like conditions, the extensions – called ‘beds in sheds’ – have often been in the news for the large number of illegal immigrants who live in them in cramped conditions, particularly in areas such as Ealing, Hounslow and Slough.

After forming a taskforce to deal with the situation earlier this month, Housing Minister Grant Shapps has allocated 1.8 million pounds to councils in which such ‘renting’ takes place.

The taskforce include officials of the UK Border Agency. Reports on the ‘beds in sheds’ have mostly identified the ‘tenants’ as Indian citizens who are in the country illegally, and turn to landlords of Indian origin with settled status to provide them shelter.

In the process, such ‘tenants’ face exploitation and are unable to approach authorities due to their own illegal immigration status.

Shapps promised “Criminal landlords trapping vulnerable people in ‘suburban shanty-towns’ will get the justice they deserve”, and said the fund will help “tackle the problem head-on and end this growing practice by ruthless landlords”.

Shapps appealed to councils who may have turned a blind eye in the past to ‘beds in sheds’, to use this funding and the range of powers at their disposal, to tackle the issue.

Explaining the situation, a release from Shapps office said: “‘Beds in sheds’ are often rented to migrants, including some with no right to be in the UK, at extortionate rates. Their foreign ‘tenants’ often find it difficult to return home quickly after destroying their passports to avoid removal”.

It added: “With few other options, they will put up with cramped conditions, dodgy wiring and poor sanitation as an alternative to life on the streets”.

Shapps said that the 1.8 million pounds fund would help the worst affected councils “flush out those who exploit migrants at their most vulnerable”.

The councils identified are: Brent, Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Newham, Peterborough, Redbridge, Slough, and Southwark.

Shapps said: “I’m determined to flush out criminal landlords who think they can make an easy buck from cramped, cockroach-ridden outhouses.

The scandal of ‘beds in sheds’ must come to an end”. He added: “In the 21st century it simply isn’t acceptable that people should be forced to live in such squalid and unsanitary conditions. That’s why I’ve allocated 1.8 million pounds to help councils in the worst affected areas crack down on this cruel exploitation”.

Shapps said that the taskforce, including the police, councils, the UK Border Agency and Revenue and Customs were pooling their resources to bring the so-called landlords of ‘beds in sheds’ to justice.

“I want anyone stuck in these suburban shanty towns to know that help is at hand and they will not be abandoned,” he added.

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Article source: http://economictimes.feedsportal.com/fy/8av2EvU0ZZrPs2Mt/story01.htm

Ask NRIs to increase remittances

godesi — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:36:15 +0000

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) Increasing internal demand and motivating expatriates to send home more remittances may solve the Indian economy’s problems due to a depreciating rupee, an industry lobby said Sunday.

“At present, NRI deposits are between $52 and $55 billion, which needs to be pushed up to an ambitious level of $75-80 billion,” said Assocham (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) President Rajkumar Dhoot.

“We will strongly recommend that high-level teams comprising of senior RBI officials, executive directors of banks and chairpersons and senior officials of the finance ministry do roadshows in areas such as the Middle East, South-East Asia and Europe where there is a concentration of Indian expatriates,” he said.

According to a survey conducted by economists and bankers, he said, remittances from NRIs had to be mobilised like never before.

While a handful of banks have increased interest rates on NRI deposits, these seem to be piecemeal efforts, which need to be intensified, the survey said.

The rupee has touched an all-time low of moving closer to Rs.54 per dollar and the pressure on the Indian currency increases each time there is a percentage point drop in the BSE Sensex.

Dhoot said the NRIs must be given assurances that given the global uncertainties investing back home makes better business sense.

“NRIs should invest in India not only because of the motherland connection but also because India has a market of 1.20 billion people which will continue to grow,” he said.

NRI deposits in the country can be raised by at least $10-15 billion in the short term by taking confidence-building measures and offering attractive interest rates, the survey said.

“The outflows by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are not the result of only the so-called policy paralysis, but mostly because of risk aversion by the global investors into the equity markets,” it added.

Dhoot also said once the internal demand was generated, the FIIs would return to the Indian markets which would soon have attractive valuations again.

On reviving internal demand, the survey said moderating interest rates would send a strong signal and boost consumer confidence. Also, the investment climate should be improved soon.

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Article source: http://in.news.yahoo.com/ask-nris-increase-remittances-assocham-101856229--finance.html

Ask NRIs to increase remittances: Assocham

godesi — Sun, 13 May 2012 10:35:28 +0000