Disability News Bulletin: Accessibility, Inclusion, Rights and Achievements

News 1: Man Flees with Rs 10,000 Belonging to a Person with Disability   We begin in Pune. An unidentified man allegedly stole Rs 10,000 in cash from a 50-year-old man with a disability after offering to deposit the money for him at a bank in Aundh on 15 September, The Times of India reports. According to Senior Inspector Vikramsinh Kadam of Khadki police, the complainant, a resident of Khadki who uses a wheelchair, visited the Aundh branch of a bank to deposit the cash. After entering the bank, he tried to make the deposit but was unable to do so. The accused, who was present nearby, offered to help. He took the cash and the deposit slip from the complainant and stood in the queue, and later fled with the money. The incident underlines why accessible banking matters. The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks to make their branches, ATMs and services accessible to persons with disabilities, so that they can carry out transactions independently and safely. Source: The Times of India, Pune   News 2: Persons with Disabilities Crawl into Sangareddy Collectorate for Want of Assistance   In Telangana, persons with disabilities visiting the Sangareddy District Collectorate continue to struggle to reach the grievances hall, as no attendant is available to guide them. Telangana Today reports that although a wheelchair is available at the Collectorate for persons with disabilities and the elderly, some persons with disabilities were seen crawling into the conference hall on Monday to submit petitions during the grievance redressal programme. Gonemgari Raju, a person with disability from Dakur in Andole mandal, who had come to lodge a complaint with District Collector Prateek Jain, was seen crawling into the Collectorate and out of the office premises. The petitioners have urged the Collector to provide two wheelchairs and appoint two attendants on Mondays, when dozens of people visit the Collectorate. Elderly and sick visitors also struggle every week, and officials have allegedly failed to address their difficulties. Under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, public buildings and services are required to be accessible to persons with disabilities. Source: Telangana Today, 21 September 2026   News 3: Howrah College Seminar on 'Normal' Turns Focus on Disability, Ableism and Exclusion   In West Bengal, the English department of Prabhu Jagatbandhu College at Andul-Mouri, Howrah, organised an international seminar on 16 September around a central question: who gets to be 'normal'? According to The Telegraph, the seminar explored what it means to call a body, a behaviour or a life 'normal', and who decides what falls outside that category. The college honoured visually challenged Jadavpur University English professor Ishan Chakraborty with a traditional tribal dokra memento, and students invited him to experience the intricate artefact through touch, a gesture that captured the spirit of the seminar. Professor Chakraborty delivered a lecture titled 'Where there is a wheel, there isn't always a way: Unpacking the representation of disability in popular culture'. The seminar turned the focus on disability, ableism and exclusion. Ableism refers to discrimination and prejudice that treat non-disabled people as the standard, placing persons with disabilities at a disadvantage. Source: The Telegraph   News 4: Wheelchair Users Say Lived Experiences Must Shape Policy   In Bengaluru, wheelchair users have said that their lived experiences must shape policy, The Times of India reports. This reflects the long-standing principle of the disability rights movement: 'Nothing about us without us'. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which India ratified in 2007, requires governments to closely consult persons with disabilities, through their representative organisations, when framing laws and policies that affect them. Source: The Times of India, Bengaluru   News 5: Peru's Pilar Jauregui Wins Double Gold at Japan Para Badminton International 2026   In sports, Peru finished strongly at the Japan Para Badminton International 2026, with Pilar Jauregui winning two gold medals, the Badminton World Federation reports. The WH2 wheelchair player partnered Malaysia's Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli to the WH1–WH2 mixed doubles title, winning all their group matches. She then won the WH2 women's singles final, defeating Turkiye's Emine Seckin 13–21, 21–8, 21–15. Her compatriot Rubi Fernandez won the women's singles gold in the Short Stature SH6 class, beating Turkiye's Elif Dokuzluoglu 21–12, 21–8. Peru's Nilton Quispe and Jesus Salva won silver in the SH6 men's doubles. Among other highlights, Hong Kong, China's Chu Man Kai completed a triple in the SH6 class, winning the singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Indonesia's Leani Ratri Oktila claimed her third triple of the season in the SL4 class. Hosts Japan won five gold medals, while France won two, through Maud Lefort and Lucas Mazur. Source: Badminton World Federation, 14 September 2026