A Mumbai real estate agent, who had been in jail since December 2021 for selling property with fake documents, has been granted bail but unfortunately Suresh Pawar had died two days before the relief was granted.

The accused had been in jail since December 31, 2021 and had requested six-month temporary bail due to health concerns. Though the hearing on his bail application was completed on May 9 when he was alive, the bail order came two days after his death.

The court granted him temporary bail on humanitarian grounds, looking at his age, medical complications, and further need for medical care.

As per the bail application, he was severely diabetic and was experiencing several age-related ailments. In February, he suffered a toe injury and was taken to JJ Hospital, where he was discharged from. However, he had claimed he needed to have the toe amputated since it had turned gangrenous. His lawyer had moved the plea so that he could undergone treatment at a private hospital.

In March, the Bombay High Court gave directions to jail authorities to provide proper medical treatment, after which he withdrew his bail application from the High Court on April 19.

On the same day, Pawar’s health condition deteriorated, and he was again admitted to JJ Hospital, but due to inappropriate medical treatment, his injury became septic, and his leg below the knee necessarily required to be amputated.

Later, he developed a lung infection and sought temporary bail for a six-month period to avail himself of proper medical treatment.

The prosecution and opponent opposed his plea, arguing that he was being provided with enough medical care at JJ Hospital.

The death of Suresh Pawar will not provoke a thousand searing editorials but is scathing on the apathy and the callousness the State metes out to citizens, even if accused of crime.

A girl’s tweet is going viral on the internet where she described how a boy in her institute went the extra mile to help her after she unexpectedly got her period in class. He offered help by breaking all traditional taboos, went to the shop with the girl and got her the pad and an ice cream for her. She showed her love for the city and its people. Many people praised this simple act of generosity, a small kind act that can bring positive impact on people at large in our society.

The post got many positive reactions. People were impressed with the young boy’s gesture and also they were glad to witness such change in the surroundings. Good people are everywhere, they need to be recognized. Another person stated, the good thing about social media is that more people are getting aware about the problem faces by women. Such people has always kept the society’s soul alive, they make it a safe place for women.   

The act of goodwill by the boy indicates his bringing and parenting. It is a reminder that empathy has no boundaries. This generation needs more people like him who break the myth and orthodox roots embedded into them by society. To make society more healthy and inclusive for everyone, we need more courageous people to take steps forward to break the social stigma.

There have been several myths attached to the menstrual cycle in India. The concept of purity and impurity dates to Vedic times. Living in the 21^st century, it is important for us to understand that there is nothing pure or impure about periods. It is the male-dominated society and institution that determines whether something is pure or impure and moulds it into an unquestionable and unchallenged object of belief. The so-called dirty menstrual flow which supposedly makes women impure is scientifically linked with procreation. The blood and tissue that a woman’s body evicts are not utilized by the body. Menstrual flow is as impure or pure as blood flowing through a non-menstruating man’s arteries and veins.

Given the immense impacts in a girl’s life that occurs with puberty, it is critical to invest in women’s education as a means of influencing young girls, shifting discriminatory norms and debunking these myths. As women don’t live in isolation, it is also crucial to educate men and boys as their silence legalizes and reinforces period myths. In short, to address the issue more holistically, multidimensional approaches are required to connect physical infrastructure, sanitation projects, health education and reproductive health programmes.

In Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, Karimul Haque is working hard in his own unique way. He provides emergency medical care for people. Karimul Haque is a former tea garden worker. His mother and father were agricultural labourers. Karimul Haque did not complete his schooling and dropped out early to work.

His journey begins with a tragic experience in 1995 that forever changed his life when he could not find an ambulance to transport his ailing mother to the hospital. As a result, his mother died of cardiac arrest. He then made a decision to help others in the event of a medical emergency.

In 1998, when a coworker suddenly fainted, Haque carried him to his motorcycle and took him to a neighbouring hospital. This was when he got the idea of a motorcycle ambulance and decided to start his own motorcycle ambulance business. He borrowed money to purchase his own motorcycle, and since 1998, he has helped more than 7,000 people in need of medical assistance in more than 20 adjacent areas.

The first motor ambulance was merely a motorcycle carrying a sick patient. Now the motorcycle features a more modern sidecar equipped with an oxygen tank. The service transports three to four patients each day using two motorbikes and an equal number of four-wheeler vans. A cell phone number is also displayed on the bikes and ambulances. Haque has been driving his “motorcycle ambulance” for 16 years, ever since he took his first patient to the Jalpaiguri district hospital. 

A former journalist, Biswajit Jha, authored a biography of Haque named ‘Bike Ambulance Dada: The Inspiring Story of Karimul Haque.”

In 2017, the Government of India awarded Karimul Haq the Padma Shri. In 2018, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the eve of Republic Day, he learned to take selfies from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2021, he was invited to “Kaun Banega Crorepati 12”. Haque recently signed a contract with a Mumbai-based producer for a Hindi film about him.