The seamier side

In recent months a spate of news items in the media about the shenanigans of some of its members has shown up the seamier side of an otherwise well respected community. In its edition of April 17, 2009, Mumbai Mirror has named one of the six students accused of the date rape of a 23-year-old American student of Indian origin at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences as one Darayaus (Dev) Colaba­wala. The victim, who has not been named, has identified this student of Hinduja College as "Devsi.” Colabawala who, along with four of his co-accused lives at the International Boys Hostel at Churchgate, is in judicial custody. The Times of India (TOI) in its issue of May 26, 2009, reported that Colabawala "denied raping the girl.” He admitted that he was "quite drunk and went to sleep on reaching the flat.” In his defence "he said that the FIR (first information report) does not attribute much of a role in the crime to him,” as per TOI.

Cherag Bambboat: "gays are afraid to approach the police”

Another incident involves 29-year-old Pedder Road resident Cherag Bambboat, make-up artiste, manager of a cosmetics store and an out-of-the-closet homosexual who says he was gypped of Rs 30,000 by one Faraaz H. Mistry, a Mohammad Ali Road resident. The men had met in July 2008, reported Sunday Mid Day on May 10, 2009, and Bamb­boat claimed that Mistry borrowed the money from him later that year. Things turned ugly when Bambboat asked Mistry to return the money.

In December 2008 Bambboat and his family "approached the Gamdevi police station and we were told to settle the matter amicably.” A meeting was set up at Worli Sea Face for the men and their fathers where Mistry claimed that he had not borrowed the money but had been paid by Bambboat for certain "services,” like having sex with him. "I was shocked,” says Bambboat. "I showed Faraaz’s father an SMS (short messaging service) message from his son’s number to mine saying he loves me. I asked, ‘If he loved me then why would I need to pay him for sex…?’” Finally the families came to an agreement that there would be no further contact between the two men.

However, Bambboat allegedly received a slew of distasteful SMS messages from Mistry’s number for several months following that meeting. "After I got one SMS threatening my mother’s (well-known ophthalmic surgeon Dr Villie Neriosang Bamboat) life, I decided to meet Faraaz in Dongri on the night of April 6, 2009 to ask him why he was sending the messages… We went to Wadi Bunder bridge to talk. Instead, I was assaulted” — a charge that Mistry denies. That same night Bambboat filed a police complaint at Dongri police station and an application with the Gamdevi police station. Bambboat is all praise for Dongri additional commissioner of police N. P. Nalawade and senior inspector Bharat Tambe. "I put my trust in the police and it paid off with great justice. Many gays, especially, are afraid to approach the police fearing harassment and intimidation, but I have learnt that the law spares no one.” Both the parties were called to the police station and the matter sorted out, according to Tambe.

In yet another case Yezdi Rabadi, 34, a senior official at a Bombay-based information technology security software company has accused Daisy Engineer, 35, a resident of Poona of sending threatening SMSes and e-mails and transmitting obscene pictures via e-mail, reported Daily News and Analysis (DNA) on May 12, 2009. Engineer, who has denied the charge, was arrested by the police on May 8 and released on bail on May 11.

Rabadi told DNA that he met Engineer while chatting on a social networking website and they became good friends. Engineer reportedly even attended Rabadi’s son’s birthday party. Police inspector S. N. Shinde informed DNA that the case was registered on the basis of evidence presented by Rabadi on April 24. "Rabadi has chat details, SMSes and e-mails sent through fake IDs, all seemingly created by her,” Shinde informed DNA. Rabadi has claimed that in mid-April he received e-mails at both his Yahoo and Gmail addresses with attachments that had obscene pictures morphed onto his sister-in-law’s face. He suspected Engineer’s involvement as she had threatened him with dire consequences earlier through SMSes and e-mail. DNA says that the police did not state any reason for the threat. The e-mail was traced to Engineer’s personal computer.

Engineer, who has denied sending the e-mail has countered by saying that Rabadi could be trying to frame her by filing such a case against her. Since she has wi-fi (wireless) internet connection at her residence, the police are investigating whether her computer was hacked into and used to send the e-mail to Rabadi, the police informed DNA. Under the law, "publishing of information which is obscene in electronic form” is punishable with imprisonment up to five years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees for the first conviction and the punishment is proportionately higher for subsequent offences.