Aahana Misra

This is about a little 5 yr old girl Aahana Misra who is suffering from severe dystonic
cerebral palsy and recently lost her mother (brutally murdered) . As now Aahana has
been hospitalized and in the ICU unit, she only has a grandmother (aged 70 and a heart
patient) who cares for her, other than that nobody, her father is not supportive and does
not care for her. Aahana is suffering, She is in a no win situation and needs help. I have
been in contact with Aahana’s grandmother (Poornima Goswami) and will keep updating
this article with information thru various sources for all concerned. Please help her out if
you can and hope we can make a difference in her life

Aahana at home with her grandmother

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Aahana with her Grandmother

Mother of Reliance employee murdered in October is… Helpless in Mumbai

By: Vinod Kumar Menon Date: 2008-12-17 Mumbai:

Grandma Poornima Goswami, who takes care of Anindita’s disabled child, has decided

to leave ‘expensive’ Mumbai

Two months after Reliance ADAG employee Anindita Misra (34) was murdered, allegedly
by love-struck colleague Jacob Pinto (32), her mother Poornima Goswami (70) has
decided to leave Mumbai with her spastic grandchild Aahana (5). “The city is too
expensive for me to live in. I might go to Ranchi to live with my son,” Poornima told MiD
DAY. Poornima spends around Rs 5,000 a month on Aahana’s medicines. But when
she has to be admitted to the hospital, which has become a regular occurrence,
expenses shoot to over Rs 25,000 a month. Even though there’s around Rs 6.5 lakh
in a bank account to meet Aahana’s expenses, Poornima said she needs help,

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preferably of a family member, to take care of the child. This is the money that has
been donated by well-wishers after they learnt that Anindita had left behind a child with
cerebral palsy. “Aahana gets quite disturbed on some days when she remembers her
mother and I find it difficult to handle her alone during these spells. She keep staring at
the main door every time the bell rings, hoping that her mother would come and give her
a hug,” said Poornima, who stays in a Rs 6,000 a month rented flat in Ghansoli, Navi
Mumbai. “Aahana used to love listening to music and express her happiness by
laughing and clapping. But since the incident, she has stopped smiling,” said Poornima.
On Oct 16 Anindita was killed on October 16, around 8 pm when she was returning
home from her office in Koparkhairane. She was repeatedly stabbed to death. Jacob
was arrested on October 24 and he has confessed to killing her. Help for Aahana
After MiD DAY had reported on Aahana and Poornima, People magazine reported that
the wife of a prominent industrialist had volunteered to bear the medical expenses of
Aahana for life, which included the cost of a 24×7 nurse. Playback singer Sonu Nigam
had also shown interest in taking care of Aahana’s expenses. They had even visited
Anindita’s home and discussed the details with Poornima, who confirmed the visit to MiD
DAY. However, when asked about Poornima’s decision to leave Mumbai due to financial
constraints, Sonu said, “It’s too personal to discuss. I can only say that I am in touch with
her.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3e6MD7tI5dM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N3HtbHmfAE&feature=related

Update 12/23/2008

I spoke with the grandmother and the girls Aunt today , Learned that Aahana has been
admitted to the hospital and was in the ICU for a couple days , She is recovering now .
The family asked me to and all other concerned Pray for the little girl and wish for a
speedy recovery .

Update December 24th,2008

Source Times of India (www.TimesOfIndia.com)

5-yr-old cries for murdered mom ( 24 Dec 2008, 0408 hrs IST, TNN )

NAVI MUMBAI: Life has been hard on little Aahana, although her family and well-wishers
are doing their best to help. Nine weeks since the murder of her mother Anindita Mishra,
a Reliance ADAG employee, Aahana is in hospital, battling medical complications,
including lung congestion and high fever. The five-year-old, who has cerebral palsy,
cannot have the love and assurance of her mother by her bedside at a time when she
needs it most. Aahana’s parents were separated soon after her birth, and her father,
Manish Mishra, lives in Delhi. “Aahana has been depressed, and has been missing her
mother since October 16 when Anindita did not return home. Doctors are doing their best
for the child,” said Aahana’s Grandmother Poornima Goswami. Aahana was admitted to

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the ICU of MGM Hospital, Vashi, with serious medical complications. Goswami, who
expressed gratitude towards the hospital authorities for providing free treatment, said
Aahana was suffering from lung congestion, high fever, painful joints, breathlessness
and depression. Singer Sonu Niigaam and numerologist Sanjay B Jumaani are among
those who visited Aahana at the hospital. “A lot of people, including celebrities, have
come forward to help, and we are very grateful. I only hope Aahana can get over her
mother’s loss,” said a worried Goswami, while waiting outside the ICU. Last week,
Goswami had decided to move with Aahana to Ranchi, where living and medical care
would be more affordable. But for now, they are staying put in Navi Mumbai. “What
Aahana needs right now is a round-the-clock specialist nurse who can do physiotherapy.
Actor Mithun Chakraborty is providing financial assistance, and plans to talk to the senior
management at Reliance about Aahana,” said Jumaani. Jacob Pinto, who killed Anindita
Mishra, is in judicial custody while Navi Mumbai police prepare the charge sheet.

Update 12/25/2008

I spoke to Aahana’s Grandmother again , Aahana is still in the hospital .Anybody who
wishes to contact the family can reach her grandmother at the following mobile numbers.
91-9322932231.
91-9934582445.

Update 12/26/2008

Aahana is still in ICU at the MGM hospital in Navi Mumbai, Her recovery is slow and
doctors are doing their best to help her out, she also had developed a kidney infection
due to which her fever reached 104 F. I will keep posting more updates to this blog . If
anyone needs more information or are wondering how to support this family, I can be
reached via Email Navin.Musalgavkar@gmail.com .

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Aahana in Hospital

Update 12/29/2008

Excerpt from Expressindia.Com

Mumbai Year 2008 will evoke bittersweet memories for the family of Reliance employee
Anandita Goswami Mishra who was murdered on October 16.After Anandita was
stabbed to death, the family received another blow when her daughter Aahana, a patient
of severe dystonic cerebral palsy, was admitted to MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai.

However, the family finally found a reason of hope when unconditional support, both
medical and monetary, began to pour in from across the city for Aahana.

“A few days back I was thinking about leaving the city since it was becoming
unaffordable. But I now know that Mumbai has a big, kind heart. Last week after
Aahana’s condition worsened, I rushed her to MGM and on hearing our plight, the
doctors there decided to sponsor her treatment. Doctors, including Dr Anahita Hedge, a
pediatric neurologist, Dr Snehal Deshpande who runs a physiotherapy centre and Dr
Shilpa Aroskar, have been treating Aahana without charging a penny,” said Poonam
Goswami, Anandita’s mother.

Anandita, a 34 year-old HR executive from Dhirubai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC),

Koparkhairane, was stabbed to death when she was walking home after work on
October 16. The main suspect has been arrested by the police.

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Goswami said that in the past week, she has shelled out over Rs 15,000 only for
procuring medicines, while the other facilities have been given free of cost to Aahana.

Several Samaritans from the city have also been providing emotional support to the
family by visiting them often. “A lady called Naemat Jabbar helped a lot in admitting
Aahana to the hospital and coordinated with the doctor. Her request to waive the medical
fees also proved fruitful,” said Goswami.

While several employees of Dhirubai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC), where Anandita
used to work, had collected over Rs 1.5 lakh and handed it over to the family. The
company is yet to release Anandita’s Provident Fund and Gratuity amount.

“Anandita had put her daughter’s name as the nominee but as Aahana’s a minor, the
company refuses to release the funds to her. Despite repeated requests that we need
the money for her treatment, there are technical problems with it. We need a letter from
Anandita’s estranged husband saying he is nominating us to receive the money.
However, he hasn’t been in touch with us all this while, despite knowing about Anandita’s
death and Aahana’s condition,” said Goswami.

Update 01/01/2009

Source Expressindia.com
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-hospital-full-of-guardian-angels/405213/

Mumbai: when she is not meeting doctors or waiting on her five-year-old granddaughter
Aahana, 70-year-old Poonam Goswami, mother of the murdered Reliance employee
Anandita Mishra, sits in the lobby of Vashi’s MGM Hospital worrying about Aahana’s
future—Aahana suffers from severe dystonic cerebral palsy with an acute hearing loss.
The frown on her face vanishes the minute her granddaughter’s guardian angels walk in.

Goswami would have probably been on her way to Ranchi now, unaware that her
spastic granddaughter was inching closer to death. It was Dr Snehal Deshpande who
noticed that Aahana was seriously ill and rushed her to MGM. The hospital authorities
have waived charges for admission, treatment and medication.

Aahana’s mother Anandita Mishra, a 34 year-old HR executive from Dhirubai Ambani

Knowledge City in Navi Mumbai’s Koparkhairane area, was stabbed to death while she
was walking home after work on October 17. The main suspect has been arrested for
the murder.

“The support this city has given me is overwhelming. I have been flooded with calls
asking me for my bank account numbers,” says Goswami. People like Naemat Jabbar
and Vikas Nandlal now help her out with errands. A mother of two, Jabbar read about
Anandita’s death and felt compelled to help. Nandlal, who works as an executive in a
communications division of a company, visits Goswami during his breaks and lends her
a helping hand despite his busy schedule.

Dr Deshpande, who runs the SNEH Centre for Pediatric Centre and Rehabilitation, had
met the Director of MGM, Dr Nitin Kadam to tell him about Aahana and he immediately

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agreed to treat her free of cost. “She is a special case and falls in the definition of the
category of ‘indigent’ patients, that is, children who are suffering from severe disorders
but can’t pay for the treatment,” said Dr Kadam. Private practitioners have also been
visiting Aahana.

Update 1/5/2009

I spoke with Aahana’s Grandmother today , Aahana is still in the Hospital (Still in ICU at
MGM hospital, navi Mumbai) .Her Recovery is slow and she is very weak ,She has lost a
lot of weight , Doctors are changing her diet so that she gets more nutrients , protein and
calcium in her body . Her grandmother asked all concerned to pray for her
granddaughter’s recovery. Her grandmother is doing whatever she can to be there for
Aahana despite her age & She was very thankful for the support her family has received
over the past couple weeks , I will keep posting updates .

Update 1/22/2009

I called up Aahana’s grandmother today , Aahana is still in the hospital ( ICU at MGM
hospital , Navi Mumbai, Mumbai) , She now has been put up on blood transfusion as her
hemoglobin count came up low , So far 2 packs of blood has already been transferred and
she is under observation . During my call , I asked Aahana’s grandmother about her
financial situation , she said that she has some now but will be running out shortly . She
asked for all concerned to pray for the recovery of her granddaughter.

Update 1/28/2009

Family struggles as Aahana still in ICU

Source : Times Of India (www.TimesOfIndia.Com)

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Mumbai/Family_struggles_as_Aahana_still_in_
ICU/articleshow/4044196.cms

NAVI MUMBAI: Five-year-old Aahana -- the child with cerebral palsy whose mother,
Anindita Mishra, was murdered last October -- continues to battle for her life in the
intensive care unit of MGM Hospital in Vashi. Financially, however, things look like
improving for her and her grandparents who are struggling to ensure that her hospital
bills are paid.

Anindita was murdered, allegedly by her Reliance ADAG colleague, Jacob Pinto, last
October after she refused to respond to his overtures.

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Aahana, who has suffered from Dystonic cerebral palsy since birth, was admitted to
hospital with pneumonia last month. That has been treated but she now suffers from a
host of other complications, including urinary infection and internal bleeding in the
abdomen, and has been in the ICU for the last five weeks. "She is being fed a liquid diet
and is in a coma-like state,'' her doctor at MGM Hospital, Shilpa Aroskar, said.

But, financially, the scene looks a lot better than it has done all these days. TOI got in
touch with senior Reliance ADAG officials and what they said should be of some
assurance to Aahana's hapless grandmother, Poornima Goswami. More than Rs 2.9 lakh
(gratuity, ex gratia and other dues) would be paid within a day or two, ADAG officials
said, adding that the accident insurance amount of Rs 9 lakh would be with the family
before the week was over.

The news has cheered up 69-year-old Poornima, who faces the twin hurdles of looking
after Aahana and raising funds for her treatment. "The MGM Hospital bill has already
crossed Rs 2.6 lakh as Aahana has been in the ICU for the last five weeks. She is
desperately missing her mother,'' Poornima said.

"My daughter's friends and colleagues at Reliance collected Rs 2.5 lakh on their own and
gave it to us. We have received Rs 3 lakh more from other citizens and celebrities who
came forward to help us. But all this amount (Rs 5.5 lakh) has been put in a fixed deposit
for future use for Aahana -- she does not have anything else -- and cannot be used to pay
hospital bills,'' Poornima reasoned. "I just want to once meet Tina Ambani, who heads the
company's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) wing. I am sure she will understand
how badly we need money now,'' she added.

Word that money would start flowing in was some relief for Poornima. The family has
been forced to give up Anindita's rented apartment in Ghansoli as it cannot afford to pay
the monthly rent.

Poornima's husband, 73-year-old Situ Krishna Goswami, a retired steel plant official from
West Bengal, is practically living out of the MGM Hospital lobby; a Vashi resident
Naemat Jabbar, has been kind enough to let Poornima stay with her at her residence and
help her after reading about the family's plight in newspapers.

Some celebrities have come forward and offered some money to the aggrieved family but
that has already been used up to buy medicines and essentials. Film star Mithun
Chakraborty, too, has promised to help Goswami but the requisite cash has not yet come
so far.

HER CONDITION
Aahana has been in the ICU of MGM Hospital for the last 35 days. She was admitted
with pneumonia. Though the pneumonia was treated, there were other complications
like urinary infection, internal bleeding in the abdomen. Her doctor, Shilpa Aroskar,
said, “Occasionally, she responds to touch or sound.’’

(Those who want to help Poornima Goswami can contact her on 9322932231.)

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