An online petition started last month by the mother of a physically challenged minor girl from Navi Mumbai has led to a complaint against trustees of a popular Hindu temple in Goa on Monday, for allegedly refusing entry to her into the temple premises because she was in a wheelchair.
The complaint against the Mangueshi temple committee members was filed by Goa-based NGO Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG), which has alleged that the right of worship of the minor girl, Sanika Keskar, a resident of Navi Mumbai were violated because the temple authorities denied her entry into its premises.
"This is outright discrimination and abuse of physically challenged person, which is a criminal offence under Section 92(a) of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016. We also wish to bring to notice that denial of right to worship is a serious offence as right to worship is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India," a complaint filed by Avelino D'Sa, founder of DRAG.
"Hence we request you to register a criminal offence against the Mangueshi Temple Committee member Mr. (Anil) Kenkre under the relevant sections of the Rights of Persons with Disability Act 2016 and the Indian Penal Code immediately," the complaint submitted to the South Goa District Superintendent of Police has said.
In her online petition on Change.org, Sanika's mother Shubhada had claimed that the temple authorities had meted out injustice to her differently-abled daughter.
"Being parents, for the very first time we found ourselves helpless and abandoned because of the behavior of temple’s management people. They outrightly denied her to enter inside the temple with wheelchair," she said in her online petition.
"I urge that Government of Goa should take an action against such traumatized happenings by constructing special ramps, by arranging palanquin or any other arrangement suitable as per the geographical and climatic condition of village Mangueshi," the petitioner had also pleaded.
When contacted Anil Kenkre, a trustee at the Mangueshi temple, an 18th century religious place of worship, which is reverred by a significant chunk of Goa's population, has said that it was wrong to say that the temple denied the minor differently-abled entry into the temple premises, nor denied Sanika her right to worship.
“I exactly don’t remember what they asked me and details of our conversation, but I am very clear that we never deny right to any person to enter the temple and pray," Kenkre said.
"I had told them that there is no facility to ferry the wheel-chair into the temple. It would be incorrect to say that we denied them entry,” he said.