This is not reassuring news what with current focus on competence / legal capacity / guardianship / advance directives<http://library.findlaw.com/2000/Jun/1/127657.html>. The facts are unimportant except to the parties concerned. The larger issues I feel require our attention.
>From a *media pov*: Very few facts, so many spins. Shouldn't focus be more on what mechanisms there are in place<http://socialjustice.nic.in/oldageact.php?format=print>for the very many senior citizens in the same situation. A system can fail only if it exists in the first place<http://www.indiatogether.org/2007/jul/law-seniors.htm> . >From an *NGO pov* - Maybe it's time India looked at a Good Samaritan provision in the law<http://living.oneindia.in/insync/good-samaritan-law-india-070707.html>. Arguably if people wanted to help an 89 year old person living alone with no family / support system in sight, what should they do if resources are limited and person unwilling to move to an assisted living facility? Wouldn't inaction be a worse 'crime<http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/bystander_effect.htm> '? >From a *mental health / disability* pov - Sick / incapacitated / impaired mental capacity. Are the specific needs of senior citizens<http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/GuardWealth/5-12-21-IncompetentBeforeDeath.htm>being addressed in current mental health / disability reform? Are senior citizens being included in the drafting process in the first place? P.S. Reading over what I've said, I can clearly see my bias towards the NGO's situation - so be it. Every story deserves at least 2 perspectives! - Vaishnavi P.P.S: For those new to the debate click for info here<http://newdisabilitylaw.blogspot.com/search/label/Background:%20Why%20New%20law>, here <http://www.accessindia.org.in/harish/blog.htm> and here<http://groups.google.co.in/group/MhaReformIndia/files?hl=en> for further information ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2009 NGO official arrested for cheating, forgery<http://peopleforsocialcause.blogspot.com/2009/12/ngo-official-arrested-for-cheating.html> The D B Marg police,Mumbai on Wednesday 16th Dec arrested a manager attached to Dignity Foundation,NGO working for senior citizens on charges of cheating and forgery. The police was tightlipped about the case. “We have arrested Hemang Desai, manager (security service) of the NGO on charges of cheating and forgery,’’ said inspector Anil Sardal of the D B Marg police station, without giving any more details. A senior police officer said the court has asked them to investigate the case. He, too, refused to elaborate on the case. Dr Sheelu Srinivasan, chairperson of Dignity Foundation, rubbished the police allegation and said that Desai was framed in a false case. She suspected that the manager is being harassed by the police for helping a senior citizen. “We have been helping an 87-year-old man, Hoshi Wadia, who had deposited Rs 90,000 with us. We have spent Rs 45,000 in his case and have a record of all the expenses with us,’’ she stated. According to her, Wadia had given Dignity Foundation a lot of powers to act on his behalf and they were taking up his case for justice. “We have also appointed a nurse to take care of Wadia,’’ she said. By Mateen Hafeez Courtesy: Times of India 17th dec 2009,Mumbai http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/15/2010060220100602091156382e84463cb/Dignity-chief-caught-for-illegal-transfer-from-89yrold’s-fund.html?pageno=1<http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/15/2010060220100602091156382e84463cb/Dignity-chief-caught-for-illegal-transfer-from-89yrold%E2%80%99s-fund.html?pageno=1> Dignity chief caught for illegal transfer from 89-yr-old’s fund Respected NGO for senior citizens in the dock for allegedly obtaining a bogus power of attorney to administer aging Parsi man’s property worth crores Manoj R Nair [image: Freakin' Awesome!] [image: Freakin' Awesome!] [image: Freakin' Awesome!] [image: Freakin' Awesome!] [image: Freakin' Awesome!] Posted On Wednesday, June 02, 2010 at 09:11:56 AM The head of Dignity Foundation, Sheilu Srinivasan, was released by the police on bail on Monday after allegations that her group fraudulently obtained power of attorney from an 89-year-old resident of Opera House to administer property worth crores of rupees. Srinivasan has been named in a complaint, filed at Girgaum metropolitan court in September last year, that says equity shares worth Rs 6.5 crore owned by H S Wadia were sold by a man named Mehernosh Palia, who had influenced him to become co-owner of the shares. D B Marg police station said that using the power of attorney, an amount of Rs 1,24,000 was transferred from Wadia’s bank account to Srinivasan’s Dignity Foundation. H S Wadia While investigations do not show whether the NGO was involved in the sale of the shares, police say that a manager of the Dignity Foundation, Hemang Desai, had created a bogus power of attorney allowing the organisation to make financial dealings on behalf of Wadia. Desai was arrested in December 2009, and subsequently released. On Monday, Srinivasan, 62, furnished a surety at the police station pursuant to a sessions court order in an anticipatory bail application in the matter. Wadia, a bachelor who lives alone, was a partner in a now defunct family-run engineering firm. Apart from the Opera House flat, he owns equity shares worth several crore rupees. His sister Khorshed Izakil, who is based in New Delhi, has told police that she was suspicious after she saw transactions in her brother’s bank pass-book while visiting him in Mumbai. When contacted, Dignity Foundation officials said that they had sent volunteers to look after Wadia after receiving a call on their helpline. Wadia, however, has denied calling them for help. A senior police officer from D B Marg Police Station said that Wadia was not a member of Dignity Foundation. “There is no question of him giving the organisation his power of attorney to act on his behalf in property transactions,” the officer said. “Dignity Foundation is supposed to charge only a nominal amount for providing services to senior citizens. They cannot create a power of attorney giving them the authority to manage the financial affairs of the people who they help. Srinivasan was arrested because she is the signing authority mentioned in the power of attorney.” Police have also said that when they went to speak to Wadia after the filing of the complaint, servants told them that Desai and Palia, who used to come over at the pretext of helping Wadia, had forbidden them from allowing him to meet outsiders. Sheilu Srinivasan Dignity Foundation, which has 80 centres across India<http://cms.mumbaimirror.com/ads.aspx?adid=4>, was set up by Srinivasan in 1995. In her bail application, she has said that there was no evidence connecting her to the main accused. While Srinivasan declined to comment, her lawyer Mohan Tekavde said: “Srinivasan had obtained anticipatory bail and as per orders of the Sessions Court, we furnished surety to the court on Monday.” Palia, who has also obtained anticipatory bail from the court, said: “Wadia cannot make such comments about me. I have been badly implicated by people who want to grab him property. The shares were jointly owned by me and Wadia since the beginning.” Wadia’s family said he was not in a condition to talk about the case. “My brother is physically and mentally not in a position to answer questions from the media,” his sister Khorshed, herself 83 years old, said. The octogenarian’s New Zealand-based nephew Farokh Wadia, who met him last in September 2009 when he visited India<http://cms.mumbaimirror.com/ads.aspx?adid=4>, said: “I don’t know whether my uncle is aware of what is happening around him. But he is disturbed. People who are not members of his family have cheated him.” Voice your thoughts in the blog to discuss the Rights of persons with disability bill at: http://www.accessindia.org.in/harish/blog.htm To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
