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Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Aparna Yadav's hubby accuses ex-associate of Rs 4cr extortion
Lucknow: Prateek Yadav, husband of Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women vice-chairperson and BJP functionary Aparna Yadav , has accused his former business partner of extorting over Rs 4 crore and threatening to ruin his reputation. An FIR has been filed at Gautampalli police station against three persons for alleged financial fraud, breach of trust, blackmail, and criminal intimidation on late Sunday. Yadav alleged that his former business partner had befriended him around 2011-12. Over the years, he pressured Yadav to partner in a real estate venture under the pretext of acquiring land near Shaheed Path. Yadav agreed to form Monal Infratech Pvt Ltd on May 25, 2015. While Yadav invested capital and acted as the company's promoter, the associate was made a director and given charge of operational responsibilities, including land acquisition and sales. Yadav said his associate misused his position with the intent to exploit his social connections. Instead of fulfilling his duties, the partner sidelined the company's business and siphoned off the investment for personal gain. The business partner began borrowing money from Yadav, citing fabricated family emergencies and financial crises. Trusting him, Yadav provided financial aid, expecting repayment. However, no money was returned. Yadav said that his health began deteriorating during Covid-19. Between 2020 and 2022, he suffered prolonged illness, compounded by successive deaths of his mother (Sep 2022), father (Oct 2022), and maternal uncle (Nov 2022). During this period, the partner allegedly intensified the financial exploitation and manipulated him emotionally to extract more funds. When Yadav recovered and confronted his business associate, he threatened him with legal consequences. According to the FIR, the busniess partner sent intimidating emails and WhatsApp messages to Yadav. Yadav also alleged that his business associate's two family members are complicit in the conspiracy.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
SCW chairperson for death to Baba for conversions
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women (SCW) chairperson Babita Chauhan demanded the death penalty for Jamaluddin alias Chhangur Baba, recently arrested by the UP ATS for masterminding a religious conversion racket. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Accused of targeting non-Muslim girls and preparing a 'rate list' for their conversion, Chhangur Baba's arrest sparked widespread outrage. Calling it a 'well-planned conspiracy', Chauhan said, "Our daughters are not test subjects for such poisonous ideologies. Those who cheat and convert them are enemies of society and deserve death." She praised Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for enacting strict anti-conversion laws and urged society not to remain silent. "It's time for people to rise and protect their daughters from this menace," she said. Chauhan urged women to unite against such exploitation, calling the ATS crackdown a vital step in dismantling these dangerous networks. "There must be zero tolerance for such crimes," she added.
Indian Express
03-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Rescued from ‘unhygienic' old age home, senior citizens land at govt shelter housing 106 residents in 13 rooms
Two old-age homes. Two worlds. One housing eight to 10 senior citizens in a crammed room, and another home to members of the upper middle class, who can pay a 'donation' of Rs 2.5 lakh upfront to find a seat at the shelter. Both old age homes have recently come to the limelight due to a viral video – showing an elderly woman tied up inside a room – that led to a surprise inspection by officials of the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women and the state's Social Welfare department at Anand Niketan Vridha Ashram in Noida's Sector 55 last Thursday. The inspection led to three residents – allegedly found in 'unhygienic conditions' – of the privately-run home being shifted to a government-run shelter at Dankaur village. The same day, two of the rescued residents were taken away by their families from the Dankaur shelter, where 106 elderly men and women stay in 13 rooms. The two shelters, both set up with an aim to aid abandoned senior citizens, are worlds apart when it comes to the facilities they offer. An hour away from Noida's high-rises and past the Yamuna Expressway toll booth, the landscape shifts dramatically in Dankaur village. Here, the old age home operates out of a rented building that, locals said, once served as a school. A single glance is enough to sense the neglect. The walls are unplastered, the main entrance door and adjacent window panes are missing — the shattered glass is patched over with plywood. Inside, the common toilet reeks, with its metal doors half-broken and urine pooling on the floor. Brick urinals stand in the open. In the dining hall, soiled red plywood tables attract bees. Rainwater has seeped in through parts of the unfinished roof, with moss creeping into corners where dampness has taken root. About a year ago, a monitoring committee set up the Gautam Buddha Nagar district magistrate to look into the shelter had put forward a proposal for its renovation, stating that it is in 'dire need' of a revamp. Here, most residents have no ties left. Some were abandoned, some said they have no family, and some claimed they left their families by choice. A man from Meerut, around 70, said: 'I used to sell vegetables. My sons were alcoholics. We kept fighting. One day, I left. A neighbour and friend were already living here, so I came here. I did not inform anyone about my decision to leave. It has been two-and-a-half years, and my family still doesn't know where I am.' The facility at Noida's Sector 55, meanwhile, sits tucked inside a gated colony. The shelter blends in like any other private care facility – a modest white-coloured building, a dining area, a marble temple, a patch of green lawn with benches and a decorative waterfall, as well as an ambulance parked at the gate. Inside, residents are allocated single rooms, with beds, wardrobes, coolers, and attached washrooms. There is a washing area and a library as well. On paper, the shelter is a privately-run home for Delhi-NCR's retired professionals – teachers, lawyers, and doctors. Families, unable to offer them full-time care, pay a 'donation' of Rs 2.5 lakh upfront and Rs 6,000 monthly for lodging, food, laundry, and caregiving. Those whose relatives need support hire caretakers of their own. When The Indian Express visited the facility a day after the inspection, the amenities seemed adequate. However, following Thursday's inspection, Social Welfare Officer Nitya Dwivedi had said the conditions were far from acceptable. 'We found the elderly persons in distressing and unhygienic conditions. They were tied and locked up in basement-like rooms. There was hardly any support staff.' Sub-Inspector Maan Singh, who was part of the inspection team, had said, 'A woman was lying naked. A man had soiled himself. Another woman's hands and feet were tied.' While a notice was issued stating that Anand Niketan would be sealed and its remaining 39 residents 'rescued' within a week, the three residents mentioned by Maan Singh were shifted to the Dankaur shelter last Thursday itself. Two of them left the government-run facility on the same day. Speaking to The Indian Express, while a guardian said one of the rescued residents is back home and living with family, another guardian said the other had been moved to a mental health facility. 'I told them not to take her anywhere else. The old shelter won't take her back until the inquiry ends. We all work. We can't give 24/7 care. But that doesn't mean we don't care or that our relatives can be moved to a faraway place without our permission,' one of the guardians said. The third is still at the Dankaur Shelter. He is 80, a former lawyer. His clothes are stained. He no longer reacts when spoken to. 'His hearing is gone, keeps asking us to connect him to his brother, but cannot hear anything when we speak to him,' said Ajay Kumar, the caretaker of the government-run shelter. Amarvir Singh, the secretary of Anand Niketan, added: 'He had been living in our shelter for the last 20 years… He had no immediate family. Over time, he started losing his hearing, and his mind began to fade. It had become difficult to handle him, but still, this was his home. How could we have asked someone who has been staying with us so long to leave?'
Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Indian Express
‘Woman with limbs tied… man who soiled himself': 3 rescued from Noida old age home
A woman lying without clothes and another with her hands and legs tied, a man who had soiled himself — this was the sight that greeted teams of the Uttar Pradesh State Commission for Women and the state's Social Welfare department Thursday when they carried out a joint raid at NGO Anand Niketan Vridha Ashram, an old age home in Noida's Sector 55. The facility had come under scrutiny after a viral video showed an elderly woman tied up inside a room. The footage, sent to the Social Welfare department in Lucknow, led to a surprise inspection and the rescue of two elderly women and one man. Officials, accompanied by police personnel from the Sector 58 police station, found many residents living in distressing and unsanitary conditions on Thursday. 'In one room, there was a woman who was naked, a man who had soiled himself, and another woman whose hands and legs were tied,' said Sub-Inspector Maan Singh, who was part of the operation. Officials said that while the three rescued residents have been shifted to a government shelter at Dankaur in Greater Noida, the remaining 39 will be relocated in the coming week. A notice has been issued to seal the premises of the trust running the facility, they added. Meenakshi Bharala, a member of the women's commission, said the shelter has been running illegally since 1994. When The Indian Express visited the facility on Friday, the atmosphere seemed tense. The distraught secretary of the facility said she was ready to quit. Also present was Amarvir Singh, a member of the Trust that ran the facility. The family members of the three rescued inmates, meanwhile, alleged that their kin were relocated to a government shelter without prior intimation. 'They took my relative without informing me, even after I told them I was on the way. I have been told they did not want to leave, but were taken forcibly,' a woman claiming to be a family member told The Indian Express. The home charges families a one-time 'donation' of Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 6,000 per month for food, lodging, laundry, and care-giving facilities. The rooms The Indian Express visited appeared equipped with basic amenities — bed, cooler, wardrobe, a small mandir, and an attached washroom. The premises also had a waiting ambulance, stretchers, wheelchairs, a canteen, a bigger temple, a library, and a lawn. Social Welfare Officer Nitya Dwivedi, however, said the existing conditions were far from acceptable. 'We found the elderly persons in distressing and unhygienic conditions. They were tied and locked up in basement-like rooms. There was hardly any support staff. This is unacceptable,' she added. The other inmates also alleged that no caretaker is available at the premises after 7.30 pm. A 76-year-old woman, who has been staying at the home for the last four years, said, 'Everything is fine here… Some people are hard to handle due to their age. The only issue is that there is no caretaker here after 7.30 pm…' The caretakers defended themselves, claiming they were overwhelmed and lacked support. 'One elderly woman would tear her clothes, another would throw utensils at us… One of us tied her up just to be able to eat lunch in peace. Another had soiled his clothes, but we had not been informed,' claimed a staff member. Despite the findings, no FIR has been registered so far. The Station House Officer of Sector 58 police station said the police are awaiting a formal investigation report from the Social Welfare department. 'Only then can we take any legal action, such as sealing the premises or imposing fines.' Another resident at the home said he favours this facility as it is not costly. 'I was earlier at a mental health facility that charged Rs 15,000 a month and locked us in. Here, I can move freely and live for only Rs 6,000.' The Trust that runs the home, meanwhile, is expected to address the media at noon on Saturday. 'We are convening a meeting with all board members, we will submit all clearances and documents. Many families have also expressed interest in speaking to the press,' said Amarvir Singh.
