Page 100 - Law Crime
Kathua judgment likely on June 10
The judgment in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to be delivered on June 10, nearly a year after the trial began in a court in Pathankot, special public prosecutor J K Chopra said Monday. The day-to-day in-camera trial began in the first week of June last year at the district and sessions court in Pathankot after the Supreme Court directed that the case be shifted out of Jammu and Kashmir. The apex court move came after lawyers in Kathua prevented Crime Branch officials from filing a charge sheet in the case, which shocked the nation with the details of the brutality. According to the charge sheet, the eight-year-old girl, who was kidnapped on January 10 last year, was allegedly raped in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district after having been kept sedated for four days before she was bludgeoned to death. The abduction, rape and killing of the child was part of a carefully planned strategy to remove the minority nomadic .
Dalit man forcibly drowned: forensic experts to court
A Dalit Christian, who died last year in a suspected case of honour killing, was forcibly drowned in a stream in Kollam district, forensic experts informed a court here Monday. This was not a case of accidental death or a suicide, but a case of homicidal drowning, forensic experts of the Kottayam Government Medical College hospital who performed the postmortem of P Kevin Joseph told the District Additional Sessions Court here. Forensic experts Dr V M Rajeev, Santhosh Joy and Medical Board Director Dr Sasikala gave the statement during the trial of the case in the court. According to them, there was only waist deep water in the stream at the time of his death. He faced difficulties in breathing and there was water in exceptional level in his lungs. All these prove that he was forcibly drowned, they told the Court. Kevin (23) was allegedly kidnapped and killed by a gang led by his wife's brother Sanu Chacko on May 27 last year. There are 14 accused in the case. While Sanu ..
Law Minister will not only be a 'post office': Ravi Shankar Prasad
Union Ravi Shankar Prasad, who took charge of the Law Ministry on Monday, said he and his ministry will not be merely a "post office" but a stakeholder in the judicial system, including in the appointment of judges.
Rape case: Goa court refuses to stay framing of charges against Cong MLA
A local court Monday refused to stay the framing of charges against Congress MLA Atanasio Monserratte, accused of raping a minor girl in 2016. District and Sessions Judge Sherin Paul dismissed the application filed by Monserratte seeking to drop charges against him. The Women's Police Station had, last year, filed a 250-page charge sheet in North Goa District Court against Monserratte under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The MLA was also booked under Information Technology Act for use of cell phone in the alleged crime. Monserratte had moved the application last month seeking dropping of charges. After the court order Monday, Monserratte claimed he was innocent and said he would move the High Court seeking an expeditious trial. "I will move the High Court seeking to expedite trial in the case. I don't mind if the trial is held on a day-to-day basis," he said. Monserrate won ...
After giving birth to 3rd baby girl, Maha woman kills infant
A woman was arrested for allegedly hitting her 10-day-old daughter with a blunt object and throttling her to death in Maharashtra's Nashik district, police said Monday. The incident took place in Vrundavan Nagar area in Nashik's Adgaon locality on May 31, an official said, adding that preliminary probe had revealed the accused was distressed that she had given birth to a daughter for the third time. "Accused Anuja Kale (26) bludgeoned her child Piyu with a blunt object and then choked her to death. Piyu was born ten days ago. The accused already has two daughters and was distressed after giving birth yet again to a girl child," an Adgaon police station official said. He said the accused allegedly committed the crime on May 31 when her husband, Balasaheb Kale, was out of station. "She had telephoned her husband after the incident and informed him that the infant was lying motionless. The child was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival," he ...
Assange hearing in Sweden to decide extradition request
A Swedish court heard arguments Monday before deciding if prosecutors can proceed to request Julian Assange's extradition from Britain, after a 2010 rape probe was re-opened in May. Both sides presented their arguments to the Uppsala district court which adjourned to deliberate. It was expected to announce a decision at 4:00 pm (local time). Swedish deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson said the WikiLeaks founder had not cooperated with the Swedish investigation previously, fleeing from an extradition order, and therefore needed to be detained and questioned in Sweden. She asked the court to order Assange's detention in his absence, a standard part of Swedish legal procedure if a suspect is outside the country or cannot be located, and which would be the first step to having him extradited. "The purpose of this detention is to be able to complete the investigation and bring Julian Assange to justice," Persson said. Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per E Samuelson, ...
AIIA chief Rashidi seeks strict punishment to madrassa teacher for abusing minors
The madrassa teacher who abused minors in Kerala should be handed out the strictest punishment, said All India Imam Association (AIIA) president Mohammad Sajid Rashidi here on Monday.Referring to the incident of sexual abuse of minors by Yusuf, 63-year-old madrassa teacher in Kottayam in Kerala, Rashidi said: "He is a culprit and should be given the strictest of punishment for his crime.""Islam reserves the strictest of punishments for the people who commit such crimes. If three or four culprits are given punishment according to Islam, nobody will even think of doing such things," added Rashidi.Yusuf was arrested on Saturday for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old boy and was remanded to the judicial custody on the following day.He was teaching at a madrassa at Thalayolaparambu in Kottayam district when he assaulted the kid. When the matter came to the notice of the management, he was removed from the madrassa.A police complaint was filed on May 31. The accused has been booked under
Two arrested for robbing a man of Rs 1.4 crore in outer Delhi
Two members of a gang were arrested for allegedly robbing a man of Rs 1.4 crore at gunpoint in outer Delhi's Rani Bagh, police said Monday. The accused have been identified as Babloo, a resident of Sultanpuri and his associate Vikas (39), a resident of Anand Parbat, they said. The duo had robbed the man in March. According to the police, the accused were arrested near the Ashoka Metro on Sunday. Around Rs 5.50 lakh were recovered from them. Documents of property worth more than Rs 26 lakh bought from looted money has been recovered from them. Two other members of their gang -- Alam Ali and Mustkeem were arrested in April by the Crime Branch which had also recovered around Rs 40.40 lakhs of the looted money from them, police said. "The incident took place in March. In his complaint, the victim, a resident of Saraswati Vihar had said when he was returning with his father in his car from Naya Bazaar, four people on two motorcycles stopped their vehicle near Pitampura and robbed them of ..
SC stays Madras HC order to demolish 5 floors of a Chennai hospital
The Supreme Court Monday stayed the Madras High Court judgement ordering demolition of top five floors of an eight-storey block of a private hospital in Chennai for construction allegedly in violation of the approved building plan. A vacation bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and M R Shah, however, directed Billroth Hospitals Ltd not to use these top five floors for any activity. The bench, which issued the notice and sought response from the Tamil Nadu government on the plea filed by the hospital challenging the high court verdict, granted 10 days to the hospital to vacate the five floors. The high court had ordered the demolition to commence from June 16. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the hospital, told the apex court that it had applied under the 2017 building regularisation scheme of Tamil Nadu. He said the matter related to the 2017 scheme is pending but while hearing a separate contempt case, the high court had quashed the scheme. At the outset, the bench ...
NGT directs a panel to take groundwater samples, study recharge methodology
The National Green Tribunal has directed a committee to take groundwater samples and study the methodology of recharging it after a plea alleged that rainwater harvesting structures built by the municipal corporations and other civic bodies were contaminating water. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel asked the committee comprising representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) to submit the report within a month. The nodal agency will be the DPCC for coordination and compliance, the NGT said and directed the petitioner to furnish a complete set of papers to the CPCB, DPCC and the CGWB and file an affidavit of service within a week. The tribunal was hearing the plea, filed by a city resident Mahesh Chandra Saxena, alleging that groundwater recharge by Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Development Authority, Public Works Department, New Delhi Municipal Council, South Delhi .
Ex-MP Ateeq Ahmad shifted to Sabarmati jail in Guj from UP
Former Uttar Pradesh MP and strongman Ateeq Ahmad was Monday transferred to high-security Sabarmati central jail here in Gujarat from the Naini jail in Uttar Pradesh on directions of the Supreme Court, an official said. Ahmad was brought to Ahmedabad from Varanasi in a flight in the morning, they said. "Ateeq Ahmad was brought to the Sabarmati central jail today morning as directed by the supreme court," said a jail official. Ahmad's son Umar, who was also on the flight, told PTI: "My father was brought here through a flight from Varanasi. He was taken to Sabarmati jail from the airport". In April, the Supreme Court had ordered shifting of Ahmad to the Sabarmati jail from the Naini central jail where he was lodged for kidnapping and assaulting a businessman in the Deoria prison. The SC order came after businessman Mohit Jaiswal had filed an FIR in December last year alleging that he was kidnapped from Lucknow and taken to the prison where he was assaulted by the jailed .
Malegaon blast: Pragya's plea for exemption from appearance
Newly-elected Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur on Monday failed to get exemption from appearance in a special court this week in the 2008 Malegaon blast case in which she is an accused. Special NIA Judge V S Padalkar rejected Thakur's application for exemption in which she stated that she has to complete formalities relating to Parliament, saying her presence is necessary at this stage in the case. The court directed Thakur to appear before it this week. "Grounds shown in the exemption application like to complete process of elections, enrolment and other factors cannot be accepted at all as time and again, the accused person (Thakur) has undertaken to remain present before this court but fails to do so," the court said. It further said initially exemption from appearance was granted. "However, now material witnesses are being called by the prosecution to adduce their evidence to prove their case against the accused persons. Hence, the presence of accused persons is certainly ...
PNB case: Court issues notice to CBI on plea by Mehul Choksi
A special court on Monday issued notice to the CBI on an application by fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi who termed the investigation into the PNB scam case as 'incomplete" and sought further probe.The plea filed by Mehul Choski's counsel Vijay Agarwal came up for hearing before Special CBI Judge UM Mudholkar, who posted the matter for hearing to June 17."There has been an incomplete investigation of various vital aspects by the investigating officer. The IO has submitted an incomplete charge sheet before the court without making proper and complete investigation," the application said.It contended that the incomplete investigation led to the "failure" of Choksi's business. "The failure of the applicant's business was termed as 'fraud' by the CBI. The flaws were on the part of the bank and the auditors and not the accused," the plea submitted.The petitioner claimed that "false" FIRs were filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him on February 2 and February ...
Gujarat BJP MLA thrashes woman; apologises after viral video
A BJP legislator in Gujarat was caught on camera kicking and thrashing a local NCP woman leader, who approached him for resuming water supply to her locality in Ahmedabad district. A purported video of the incident went viral on social media, prompting the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party to demand action against Naroda constituency MLA Balram Thawani, who has apologised. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also condemned the incident. The woman, Neetu Tejwani, told reporters the MLA slapped her so hard that she fell down, following which he started kicking and thrashing her. A few days ago, the woman said, she had approached the BJP MLA's brother, Kishore Thawani, who is a local corporator, with the request to not disconnect the water supply of her locality in Naroda town as the legal process to restore it was underway. She claimed the corporator, too, abused and hit her. Tejwani said when no action was taken even after four-five days, she went to the MLA's office in ..
CBI asked to complete shelter home probe in 3 months
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe into allegations of trafficking, unnatural sexual assault and video recording of victims at a shelter home in Muzaffarpur of Bihar.
Bombay HC upholds constitutional validity of legal provision providing death penalty to repeated rape offenders
The Bombay High Court on Monday upheld the constitutional validity of section 376E of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which provides death penalty or life imprisonment to a repeated rape offender.A division bench of the high court presided by Justices BP Dharmadhimari and Ravati Mohit Dere turned down the plea challenging the constitutional validity of this section of the IPC.The plea filed by three convicts in the Shakti Mill gangrape case challenged the legal provisions under which they were awarded death penalty in 2014.Section 376 (e) states, "Whoever has been previously convicted of an offence punishable under section 376, 376 (a) or 376 (d) and is subsequently convicted of an offence punishable under any of the said sections shall be punished with imprisonment for life which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person's natural life or with death.
Cong, BJP MLAs on hunger strike over mysterious death of tractor driver in Rajasthan
A hunger strike by a Congress and a BJP MLA protesting the death of a tractor driver under mysterious circumstances in Rajasthan's Tonk district entered third day Monday. The driver was reportedly transporting gravel and bajri illegally last Tuesday night when police chased him in Laxmipura. Tonk Superintendent of Police Chunaram Jat claimed that the driver jumped from the moving tractor and died when the police tried to stop it. However, the driver's family members accused the police of beating him which led to his death. The body is kept at the dharna site in a freezer and nearly 250-300 people are present at the spot. State Food and Civil Supply Minister Ramesh Meena will visit the family members of the driver and hold dialogue with the agitating leaders in Tonk on Monday evening. Congress MLA and ex-DGP Harish Meena and BJP legislator Gopi Chand Meena are demanding a government job to the next of the kin of the driver, Rs 25 lakh compensation, suspension of the accused policemen ..
Kerala: Suspected Nipah virus case reported in Ernakulam
A suspected case of Nipah virus was reported in Kerala's Ernakulam district on Monday."A suspected case has been reported. The sample has been sent to Pune Virology institute and we can only give further clarification once the test results have come," Ernakulam district collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla said at a press conference.Other hospitals have been given instructions on the procedure to be followed if other patients with similar symptoms approach them, said Safirulla."Hospitals have been asked to arrange a special ward for such cases and get special ambulances readied," he Safirulla.Further details about the case are awaited.
Woman raped in Pali district, four accused arrested
A 30-year-old married woman was allegedly raped by five men in Rajasthan's Pali district and the video of the crime uploaded on social media, police said Monday. Four of the five accused were arrested on Monday, a day after the woman lodged a complaint alleging that the five had raped her on May 26 when she was on way to a temple with a friend. The accused also made a video of the crime. A case was registered against the five accused on Sunday for gangrape, wrongful restraint, thrashing and molestation and other relevant sections of the IPC, Industrial Area police station in-charge Kishor Singh Bhati said. He said acting on the complaint four accused Jitendra Bhaat (20), Govind Bhaat (20), Dinesh Bhaat (24) and Mahendra Bhaat (22) were arrested Monday whereas the fifth accused Sanjay Bhaat is absconding. The accused will be presented before a court after interrogation. The woman has been sent for medical examination, Bhati said. The woman's husband works as a labourer.
Mehul Choksi 'fugitive and absconder', ED tells Bombay HC
Diamantaire Mehul Choksi, accused in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank scam, is a "fugitive and absconder", the Enforcement Directorate told the Bombay High Court on Monday. The agency, in its affidavit, sought dismissal of two petitions filed by Choksi one against a plea for him to be declared a fugitive economic offender and the second to permit him to cross-examine those persons on whose statements the ED is relying on to declare Choksi a fugitive economic offender. The ED, in its affidavit submitted on Monday to a division bench headed by Justice I A Mahanty, said Choksi is accused of siphoning and laundering money to the tune of Rs 6,097 crore in the PNB scam, and despite having issued summons directing him to appear before the agency, he has said he does not intend to cooperate with the probe. "He is a fugitive and absconder. He has deliberately and intentionally evaded from appearing before the investigating agency even after a special court has issued non-bailable warrants