Page 1945 - Law Crime
Radical imams widow jailed over Kenyan attack
A Kenyan court today sentenced the widow of a radical imam to 10 years in prison for her role in a failed attack on a police station in the port city Mombasa. Haniya Said was found guilty of conspiracy for supporting an attack in which three women fire-bombed the citys main police station on September 11, 2016, wielding knives and stabbing an officer. All three attackers were shot dead. "Guilty of the offence of conspiracy," said magistrate Diana Mochache. "I hereby sentence you to 10 years in prison." The attackers were said to be supporters of the Islamic State group. Said is the widow of Aboud Rogo Mohammed, an imam killed in Mombasa in August 2012 who was until his death the main preacher at the citys Musa mosque, seen as the heart of radical Islam in Kenya. The imam was accused of recruiting young Kenyans to fight in neighbouring Somalia with Shabaab, East Africas long-time branch of Al-Qaeda, Islamic States rivals.
Woman running for Congress charged with scamming
A Wisconsin woman running to replace Democratic US Rep. Ron Kind has been charged with scamming a jewelry store in New York City. Thirty-six-year-old Juliet Germanotta was charged with grand larceny Wednesday. Investigators say Germanotta bought a ring online from Manhattans Diamond District worth $4,800 then returned a fake ring for a full refund from the jeweler. Germanotta told the New York Post on Thursday she acknowledges sending back a fake ring, blaming the decision on personal issues clouding her judgment. She contends the charges are a misunderstanding. She is due back in court April 2. Germanotta, who lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin, says she is running in the Democratic primary against the incumbent Kind.
School van catches fire in MP; two children hurt
At least two children sustained burn injuries when a private school van caught fire due to leakage in the gas kit here on Friday, police said.
Ex-Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra gets bail
Former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra on Friday got four weeks' provisional bail on health grounds, officials said.
SC seeks AG's assistance on whether lawyers in legislatures can practice
The Supreme Court on Friday sought the assistance of Attorney General K.K. Venugopal in the hearing of a plea seeking to debar the lawyers from practicing during the time they are members of parliament or state assemblies.
Minor girl found dead in Rajasthan
A six-year-old minor girl was allegedly raped and strangled to death in an agriculture field near here, police said today. The girl, from the Bhil community, was missing since Wednesday. She was abducted from outside her home in Chota Raipur village, station house officer Harshraj Singh said. The family members of the girl had lodged a complaint with the police, following which a case of abduction was registered against unidentified accused, he said. The body of the girl was yesterday handed over to the family after post mortem, he said, adding that a case of rape and murder under sections 376 and 302 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was lodged against the accused who was untraced, Singh said. Police teams have been sent to nab the accused, he said.
Karti Chidambaram's CA arrested, remanded to 5-day ED custody
The Enforcement Directorate today arrested S Bhaskararaman, the Chartered Accountant of Karti Chidambaram, in connection with INX Media money laundering case and produced him before a Delhi court, which remanded him for five-day custodial interrogation. Bhaskararaman was produced before the court after he was arrested by the agency, from a five-star hotel in the heart of the national capital, early this morning. The ED had sought 14-day custody of the CA. ED, through its special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana, alleged that Bhaskararaman had failed to appear before it even after issuing of several summons and was not cooperating with the probe. Karti's name had cropped up in the case which relates to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media when his father and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was the Union Finance Minister during the previous UPA regime. "During the course of investigation, it was revealed that ...
Two sentenced to life for murdering unidentified beggar
Vasai sessions court in the district today sentenced two men to life imprisonment for murdering a beggar. Additional sessions judge N R Pradhan also imposed a fine of Rs 11,000 each on Gauram Pardesi (32) and Rahul alias Lalya Yogesh Jadhav (19). Pravin alias Pavva Banchandra Wagh (34), a third accused in the case, died during the trial. Additional Public Prosecutor Jaiprkash Patil said the accused beat an unidentified beggar to death after stripping him on January 1, 2014, and later dumped his body in a well. The decomposed body was recovered three days later. The accused killed the beggar simply because he brushed against one of them accidentally while moving in the area, the prosecution said. Though the body was recovered, police could not find out the victim's name.
SC seeks Attorney General's help on ban on MP's law practice
The Supreme Court on Friday sought the assistance of the Attorney General KK Venugopal in connection of banning Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Members of Parliament (MP) from practising law.The Bhartiya Janata Party spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay had earlier sent a notice to the Bar Council of India requesting to bar the MP's and MLA's from practising law.He had stated in his notice that the MLA and MP who double up as practising lawyers receive a regular salary from the government and also charge a fee from their clients for handling their legal cases, thus violating the rule of the Bar Council of India that 'no salaried employee can practice law'.The apex court will next hear the matter on March 12.
HC orders setting up of committee to probe Kamala Mills fire
The Bombay High Court today ordered setting up of a three-member committee, led by a retired high court judge, to probe into the Kamala Mills fire incident that claimed 14 lives in December last year. The order was passed by a division bench of justices R M Borde and R G Ketkar while hearing a public interest litigation filed by former Mumbai top cop Julio Ribeiro seeking a judicial inquiry into the fire incident. Fourteen people were killed and over 30 injured when the fire broke out at two restaurants - 1Above and Mojos Bistro - at Kamala Mills compound in central Mumbai on December 29 last year. Observing that such incidents should not repeat in the future, the high court said that setting up of a judicial committee was the domain of the state government. "However, the state government is reluctant to do so. Hence, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, we need to have an independent probe," the bench said. The court ordered that a three-member independent committee .
Woman attempts suicide in front of Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan
A 60-year-old woman allegedly attempted suicide by consuming poison in front of the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan, police said, adding that a property dispute in her family might have been a trigger. Police officials said that Nashik-resident Sakhubai Jhale tried to end her life this afternoon on a road near Vidhan Bhavan in south Mumbai's Nariman Point area and was rushed to hospital after passers-by alerted the police. An official said that the woman's condition was stable, adding that investigations into the reasons behind Jhale's act was underway.
Man's hacking in Rajasthan: SC directs CBI to seek instructions
The Supreme Court today directed the CBI to seek instructions on a plea of the widow of a Muslim labourer from West Bengal, who was hacked and burnt alive in Rajasthan on December 6 last year, seeking an independent probe into the murder. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar asked the lawyer appearing for the agency to take instructions on conducting the probe and providing of adequate compensation sought by the petitioner. Gulbahar Bibi, wife of 50-year-old Afrazul Khan, has also sought a direction that the video of her husband's ghastly murder and setting him ablaze be withdrawn from the internet and social media sites. Senior advocate Indira Jaising, counsel for Bibi, also sought transfer of the probe from Rajasthan to West Bengal. The top court, however, said it would look into the issue at a later stage. Earlier, the apex court had termed as "horrendous" the video of the labourer being hacked and burnt alive in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district on .
London-educated techie held for duping lawyers, judges
A 52-year-old M.Tech degree holder from London who is a murder convict has been arrested for duping over 20 senior lawyers, Rajasthan High Court judges and other administrative officers by posing as a Supreme Court additional registrar, police said on Friday.
Kerala Catholic priest accused of rape surrenders
A Kerala Catholic priest against whom a Bangladeshi-born British passport holder had lodged a complaint of rape and robbery surrendered at a court near here on Friday, police said.
CPIL moves SC seeking contempt proceedings against DoPT Secretary
NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against Secretary, Personnel & Training for appointing Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta as Special Public Prosecutor for 2G cases in defiance of apex court's earlier directions.
Suspended VC's judicial custody extended till March 2
The judicial custody of suspended Bharathiar University Vice-Chancellor, A Ganapathy, arrested on bribery charges, was today extended till March 2. Ganapathy was arrested by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption on February 3 for allegedly accepting Rs 30 lakh as bribe from an aspirant for the post of an assistant professor. He is lodged in the central jail along with professor Dharmaraj who allegedly brokered the deal. Based on a petition by DVAC, the court of Prevention of Corruption Act special Judge John Mino allowed police five days custody of Ganapathy for questioning on February 12. As the custody period ended, Ganapathy was produced before the judge, who extended his judicial custody till March 3.
Cong to intensify protest, Sudhakaran to observe 48 hour fast
As part of intensifying the agitation against the "delay" in arresting those behind the murder of a Youth Congress functionary in Kannur, senior party leader K Sudhakaran will observe a 48-hour fast from Monday. The Congress also alleged that 19 murder case accused had been granted parole before the Youth Congress functionary Shuhaib was hacked to death at Mattanur in February 13. Kannur district Congress committee president Sateeshan Pacheni and Youth Congress workers had held 24 hour fast earlier demanding the immediate arrest of the accused. Announcing the protest, Sudhakaran said he would launch the agitation in front of the Kannur collectorate at 10 am on Monday, and if the accused were not brought to book by then, he would continue the fast. Opposition leader in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala lashed out at the ruling CPI(M)-led LDF and alleged that 19 murder case accused had been out on parole when Shuhaib was killed. Those who were out on parole included Kodi ...
Cauvery water dispute: SC raises K'taka share, allows TN to extract groundwater
The Supreme Court today raised the 270 tmcft share of Cauvery water for Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu's share while compensating it by allowing extraction of 10 tmcft groundwater from the river basin, saying the issue of drinking water has to be placed on a "higher pedestal". By virtue of today's apex court verdict, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory Puducherry would be annually entitled to 404.25 tmcft, 284.75 tmcft, 30 tmcft and 7 tmcft of Cauvery water respectively out of a total of 740 tmcft. Besides this, 10 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water would be used for environment protection and 4 tmcft would be kept for inevitable escapages into the sea. The Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) award of February 5, 2007, which was notified in the gazette on February 19, 2013, had allocated 419 tmcft , 270 tmcft, 30 tmcft and 7 tmcft of water yearly to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry respectively. The top court concurred with the ..
Defamation case: Kejriwal's lawyer quits
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's lawyer Anoop George Chaudhari on Friday said that he will no longer be able to appear for him in the defamation case, filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.In December 2015, Jaitley filed a defamation case against Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh, Raghav Chadha and Deepak Bajpayee.Jaitley claimed that Kejriwal and others made 'false and defamatory' statements in the case involving the Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and harmed his reputation. The Finance Minister has sought Rs 10 crore in damages.
Cop who led probe on tandoor murder case pens book
Maxwell Pereira, who headed the team that investigated the tandoor murder case of Delhi, tells the inside story of one of India's most sensational cases in a new book. In "The Tandoor Murder", Pereira provides nuggets of information and insights into the way policing and the legal and political systems work. Naina Sahni's murder and the discovery of her body being burnt in a tandoor in a restaurant in the heart of Delhi shook the country's conscience and galvanised the criminal and justice system. What exactly happened on the night of the murder? How did the accused, Sushil Sharma, Naina's partner and Youth Congress leader, manage to stave off conviction for close to a decade? What were the twists and turns in the case and how did the investigation manage to stay the course? Pereira, who was in charge of the case, provides answers to these questions and an insider's account of events as they unfolded, based on his notes and investigation reports as well as the many stories that ...