Indian Athlete turned sex worker freed, gets help
From being lauded on the podium to landing in jail as a call girl in Chhattisgarh, this is a tale of how India treats its non-cricketing sportspersons. Driven by poverty, a former national-level athlete took to prostitution and was arrested from Raipur’s posh Devendra Nagar locality. Nisha Shetti, 26, who represented Assam in athletics at the National Games in 1998, was forced into the flesh trade by unemployment and her husband’s death in 2007. She is believed to have told the police that she took to the trade to fend for herself and her five-year-old daughter. A court in Raipur later granted her bail on a surety of Rs 10,000, but since she did not have the money. All that local sports administrators are doing is expressing sympathy.
"The least we can do is to secure bail for her," said Mohammed Akram, secretary, Chhattisgarh Volleyball Association. But that hasn’t happened.
Six years ago, Nisha won a high-jump silver medal at a national-level athletics meet in Pune. That was the year she fell in love with and married Sunil Shetti, who represented Assam in football, against her family’s wishes. A senior policeman, who has seen Nisha’s interrogation report, told HT on condition of anonymity that soon after their daughter’s birth in 2004, Sunil began suffering from depression and developed a drinking habit after being repeatedly overlooked for government jobs. In February 2007, Sunil died of kidney failure.
Nisha, a homemaker then, was shattered. "We were wrong to nurture hopes of getting a government job on the sports quota," she told the court. Desperate for a job, she moved to Mumbai about a year ago in search of one, only to land in a prostitution racket. "All talk of reservations for women in Parliament and empowerment is useless if we can’t ensure jobs for talented women athletes," said Indian Olympic Association joint secretary Basheer Ahmed Khan.
A day after Hindustan Times highlighted the agony of a champion athlete caught in a prostitution ring in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, help offers poured in for Nisha Shetti.
A national-level volleyball player and high jump champ, Shetti, 26, was forced into the flesh trade by poverty, unemployment and her husband’s death. Arrested on Saturday, she was released on Tuesday after the Chhattisgarh Volleyball Association furnished the bail amount.
On Tuesday, HT reported how a Raipur court had granted Shetti bail on a surety of Rs 10,000, but since she did not have the money, she had to remain in jail.
After the report, HT readers from India and abroad wrote in with offers to help rehabilitate the former athlete.
Ankur Agrawal, a London-based business consultant, said sports bodies needed to set up a fund to help people like Shetti regain their champion mindsets.
A US-based software professional offered to pay the Rs 10,000 needed for bail.
Speaking to HT, Shetti said entering the flesh trade was the biggest mistake of her life. “All I want now is a good education for my daughter,” she said.
Why we don’t think responsible for it?
When I was reading this news I felt when no one is there to care, look after them and guide them this will happen. I don’t think anyone must have felt they are responsible for it. It is not necessary to do at least if we start thinking now I’m sure we will change change. It is our mentality, our culture, our responsibility which makes us different than we are now. What we are doing? Are we not taking it for our advantage like the Hindustan Times did? If the motivation for them to bring this news to draw an attention to the authority (an ethical journalism) they would not have published her photo or name in their news. We need to educate our people and we should feel responsible for everything around us and stop express our sympathy but to extend our helping hands together. We have to love our country, our people and our environment honestly and sincerely.
Jai Hind
The news was shocking and I appreciate the news media that brought this news out in the lime-light. Just imagine an aspiring athelete forced to sell herslf? How humiliating, demeaning, sad and nauseating, can it be? Shame on all of us. Shame on the Sports authorities. Shame….shame….shame.
Hmmm.. This should be interesting.
The woman in question turns to the oldest profession in the book and we have a media report and people crying for someone to take responsibility. Interesting. My question – would we be so much interested if the story said that the athlete took up pick-pocketing/running illegal lottery stalls/robbing shoes from outside the temples……
Sure it would make it into the papers and the media.. but I doubt there would be any comments from anyone insisting that the nation or the people of the world should be collectively ashamed of themselves.
I believe the point I am trying to make is rather obvious.
FORCED into flesh trade – I do agree that the circumstances required her to have a source of income – soon. But blaming everyone else for a decision SHE TOOK on her own – I really don’t think that’s fair. Want to help – HELP. Want to set up rehab centres or donate money or contribute to setting up small scale business or whatever – SURE – by all means. I would be more than happy to contribute not just money, but time and ideas as well.
BUT responsibility for one’s actions can’t be transferred so easily. Or at least – IT SHOULDN’T be passed on so easily.
A few words about the comments
Shame on us.. WTF for?
Everytime an authority or the govt. machinery or the people (we happen to share our nationality with – as a result of some cosmic coincidence) mess up – why should we be ashamed??
Arrey.. If that was the case we would all have very shameful lives to look forward to. Not all our politicians are characters worth looking up to. Most of the government SERVANTS seem to have forgotten what it means to SERVE (anything other than their own desires). Should we be ashamed of all of them.. for everything.. even if it’s not in our control.. WHAT FOR!! and more importantly, WHY!!
Here we are making noise for someone who refuses to take responsibility for even her own actions and there are people suggesting that we not only should be RESPONSIBLE for other’s actions, but also be ASHAMED if they mess up.
Dikhaawon pe mat jaao…. apni akal ladao.
If India wins a match – I am HAPPY, GLAD – but I don’t see the reason to be PROUD, given that my only contribution was buying a ticket to the match or switching on the tele around the time that match was being played.
The concept of PRIDE and SHAME really needs an overhaul. Common Sense needs to be injected – URGENTLY.
I would seriously urge people (who I know for a fact, are capable of logical thinking) to choose their words a bit more carefully. It might make good copy but when you sit down to think about it – doesn’t really make much sense.
A typo.
previous comment includes the line My question – would we be so much interested if the story said that the athlete took up pick-pocketing/running illegal lottery stalls/robbing shoes from outside the temples
Should be read as:
My question – would we be so much interested if the story said that the athlete took up pick-pocketing/running illegal lottery stalls/robbing tourists or stealing shoes from outside the temples
cheers
let this never happened to any of those …… who were a pride for lndia…
ok i will try in only human ground bcz she is a sports man.i m also a sprts man thats y i m telling this