Page 1950 - Law Crime
Bangladeshi woman accuses Catholic priest of rape
A foreign national has accused a Catholic priest in Kerala of raping her after befriending her on Facebook, the police said today. They were verifying the complaint of rape filed against Syro-Malabar catholic church priest Fr Thomas Thanninilkkumthadathil filed by the Bangladeshi woman based in the UK, police said. The priest reportedly went absconding following the complaint filed against him yesterday. In her complaint filed at Kaduthuruthy in the district, the 42-year-old woman alleged that Thomas raped her in Kerala after befriending her on Facebook. Thomas (36) committed the offence after promising her that he would marry her. Police said Thomas was currently serving as vicar of a church at Perumthururth near Kaduthuruthy. Pala diocese of the Syro-Malabar Catholic church issued a release today stating that Thomas has been dismissed from pastoral service and "all stages of priesthood." An explanation was sought from Thomas after summoning him to the diocese on ...
Woman drowns infant son in tub of water
A young woman allegedly killed her two-and-a-half month old son, by drowning him in a plastic tub filled with water, upset over her husband suspecting her fidelity, police said today. Lakshmi (24) of Vaikalipatti village in the district, drowned the baby, her third child, in the water in the tub at her house and later 'surrendered' to the Village Administrative Officer, they said. She had been arrested and further investigation was on, police said. They said Lakshmi was unhappy as her husband suspected her fidelity and indulged in frequent quarrels. The woman was also dejected because the child was suffering from a congenital heart problem, which led to heavy medical expenditure, police said.
Kerala CPI-M worker kicks pregnant woman, arrested
A local leader of the ruling CPI-M and five of his accomplices were arrested in this Kerala district on Thursday for kicking a pregnant woman, resulting in her losing the baby, police said on Thursday.
PNB scam: CBI seals residence of Nirav Modi's wife
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sealed the residence of Ami Modi, wife of Nirav Modi in Mumbai's Worli in connection with Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case involving her husband and businessman Nirav Moid.The CBI sealed her residence after conducting a raid on February 3 and 4. The probe agency also seized 95 documents including import bills and applications.As per the CBI sources, Ami, an American citizen, left India on January 6 while Nirav left on January 1, days before CBI issued a lookout circulars against all accused in the scam.The CBI issued the circulars against all the accused on January 31.The Punjab National Bank detected a 1.77 billion dollars scam in which jeweller Nirav Modi acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from one of its branches for overseas credit from other Indian lenders.The PNB has suspended 10 officers involved in this scam and referred the matter to CBI for investigation.The scam was started in 2011 and was detected in the third week
Lt Col Purohit declared hostile witness in Mecca Masjid blast case
Lt Col Prasad Purohit, an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, today turned hostile while deposing in a court here as a witness in the 2007 Mecca Masjid bomb blast case. Purohit had been listed as a witness by the CBI in the case related to the blast at the Mecca Masjid here on May 18, 2007 which killed nine persons and injured several others. The case was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). A sessions court here which is conducting trial in the case had summoned Purohit as a prosecution witness yesterday, said a prosecution officer. During his deposition, Purohit said he had worked as an intelligence officer in the Army, and whomsoever (among the accused) he had met, it was only while discharging his official duty. He denied that he was examined by the CBI in the Mecca Masjid blast case. The CBI never recorded his statement when he was lodged in the Nashik jail, he claimed in the court. Contradicting the CBI's contention, Purohit said he didnt know Bharat
Terror funding: Court reserves order on photojournalist's bail
A Delhi court today reserved its order on the bail plea of a freelance photo-journalist, arrested last year for alleged stone-pelting and other offences in the Kashmir Valley, after he alleged that NIA was trying to gag the media. Additional Sessions Judge Tarun Sherawat reserved the order for February 19 after hearing arguments from accused Kamran Yusuf and the probe agency, which had said that allegations levelled against him were serious. The NIA had filed a charge sheet against the accused and 11 others, including Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen head Syed Salahuddin. The advocate appearing for the accused told the court court that there was no evidence against the accused in the charge sheet. "There is nothing in the charge sheet against my client. It only claims that he was in contact with other journalists but does not show any conspiracy with the other co-accused in the case," advocate Warisha Farasat, appearing for Yusuf, said. "They are trying to gag ..
Indian-origin illegal moneylender jailed in UK
An Indian-origin businessman who ran an unauthorised money-lending service in the UK has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of crimes under the country's financial regulations. Dharam Prakash Gopee, charged under the the UK's Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the FinancialServices and Markets Act 2000, has also been issued with a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO), which will severely restrict the 64-year-old's ability to carry out any illegal money-lending activity in future. The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said this was the first case where it had sought such an order, which underlines the seriousness of the case. "The court is sending a very clear message that deliberate and repeated offending will lead to long periods of imprisonment. The FCA will continue to take whatever action is necessary to bring offenders to justice and protect consumers," said Mark Steward, Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA. Between ...
HP chief secy says 'sorry' to SC for non-appearance of state lawyers
Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary today appeared before the Supreme Court and tendered an unconditional apology for the confusion which prevailed due to the non-appearance of lawyers representing the state. The newly appointed Chief Secretary, Vineet Chaudhary, was summoned by the top court on February 7, as none of the lawyers representing the state had appeared before the bench to argue a criminal matter. The apex court told the top officer of the state to take extra care in the future so that they do not go unrepresented in cases before it, or face "appropriate action". A bench of Justices N V Ramana and S Abdul Nazeer asked the 1982 batch IAS officer about the problem and why cases before the top court were going unrepresented. "This is not the only matter. Various cases have gone unrepresented. What is the problem. Have you appointed anybody," the bench asked Chaudhary. The chief secretary said he had assumed the charge only in the month of January and a new counsel has been ...
PW can carry out existing clients' audit work till March 2019: SAT
The Securities Appellate Tribunal today allowed Price Waterhouse and its network entities to continue with audit works of existing clients till the end of March 2019. While refusing to grant a stay on Sebi's ruling that barred PW and its network entities from taking up new audit work for listed companies, the tribunal modified its order passed on January 19. The tribunal in its order in January had clarified that PW and its network entities can carry out audit certification of listed companies till March 31, 2018. Following a hearing today, SAT ruled that PW and its network entities can now carry on with audit certification work for the existing clients till March 31, 2019 or till a new division bench is constituted. Judicial member Jog Singh would be demitting office on February 19 while Presiding Officer J V Devadhar has already recused himself from hearing the PW matter. Consequently after February 19, there would be only one member to hear the pleas. After finding it guilty in the
NIA gets transit remand of five behind LeT terrorist's escape
A court here on Thursday granted the NIA two days' transit remand of five accused in LeT terrorist Naveed Jat alias Abu Hunzullah's escape case.
Phone frauds using debit & credit cards, e-wallets increasing: MHA
Phone frauds, especially by using debit and credit cards and e-wallets, besides fraudulent transfers of funds, are on the rise and have became a matter of concern, the home ministry has said and asked all states to take immediate action to check such crimes. The ministry has also designated the Intelligence Bureau as the nodal agency for coordination with state governments for facilitating investigation into all such cases. In a communication, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it has been noticed that financial frauds involving mobile phones and e-wallets are being carried out by fraudsters adopting various modes of operations. "With the increase in use of digital payments by the common Indian public, phone frauds, especially through debit/credit cards and e-wallets are also rising. Such frauds are committed using or involving a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card, to fraudulently transfer funds from such card to an e-wallet account," the ministry said. The ...
HC asks if due process followed in allotting land for Metro car shed
The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government to file a reply clarifying whether due process had been followed in allotting around 25 hectares of land in Aarey Milk colony for the construction of a car shed for Mumbai Metro III. A bench of justices S C Dharmadhikari and Bharati Dangre also asked the state government and the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) to tell the court about the extent of ecological damage that the construction work for the proposed car shed is likely to cause. It directed the state to file its reply by March 1. The court was hearing a public interest litigation challenging a notification of the state government through which, in August 2017, around 25 hectares of land in Aarey colony was allotted for the construction of a car shed and allied services for the Mumbai Metro III (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ) project. The petitioners claimed that earlier the plot was reserved as a no development zone. However, the state's 2017 notification permitted an .
Cop lands in soup after his illegal pistol goes off
An FIR was today registered against a constable for keeping an illegal country made pistol after the weapon accidently fired injuring him, police said. Constable Shivprakash was in his barrack in Aliganj police station when his country made pistol accidently fired, they said. He was rushed to a hospital. Additional SP, Om Prakash Negh said that an FIR was registered against the policeman, who was referred to Aligarh for treatment.
Centre to file reply in SC justifying provision protecting sealing
The Centre today told the Supreme Court that it would submit a reply "justifying" a special 2006 law which protects unauthorised construction from being sealed in Delhi. The Centre told a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta that it had nothing to do with the sealing as it was for the municipal agencies in Delhi to look into it. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A N S Nadkrani, representing the Centre, told the bench that entire documents of the case was not available and they would file an affidavit after looking into all the details. "I have a draft but I have to see all the documents. I do not want to file a sketchy affidavit," Nadkarni said, adding, "We have nothing to do with the sealing. We are concerned with the law. Sealing is for the municipal agencies to look into". Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, assisting the court as an amicus curiae in the matter, said the issue was of 2006 and it was strange that after 12 years, the Centre wants to file an ...
Antrix-Devas deal case: Court grants bail to ex-DoS official
A special court today granted bail to a former additional secretary in Department of Space (DoS) in the sensational Antrix-Devas deal case involving former ISRO chairperson G Madhavan Nair as an accused, in which a loss of Rs 578 crore was allegedly caused to the exchequer. Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann granted the relief to Veena Sri Ram Rao after she appeared before the court in pursuance to the summons issued against her and others on September 16 last year. "Co-accused, who have put appearance, have already been granted bail. In these circumstances, it is deemed just and proper to grant bail to accused Ms. Veena Sri Ram Rao on her furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs 50,000, with two sureties of the like amount," the court said while granting exemption to Nair from personal appearance for the day. The court posted the matter for further hearing on April 26 and directed the CBI to hand over certain documents, filed along with the charge sheet, to the accused persons who ...
Haryana university Gangrape: SC refuse to give relief to two convicts
The Supreme Court today refused to vacate its stay on suspension of a 20-year sentence awarded to two convicts in a case of gangrape at a Haryana private university and directed the high court to decide their appeals in five months. The top court observed that peculiarity of this gangrape case was that the accused had remained in jail throughout the trial, and once they were convicted by the trial court, they were released by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao said its interim order of stay on the suspension of the sentence will continue till the convicts' appeals are decided. In the interest of justice, we do not propose to discuss the merits of the case as the appeals are pending in the high court. We find it appropriate that two interim orders passed by this court will remain in force till pending of the appeals. We request the high court to hear and decide the appeal not later than five months. Parties are directed to appear before
Indian-origin teacher jailed for filming in UK school toilets
An Indian-origin science teacher has been jailed for over four years after he pleaded guilty to placing cameras in toilets of three schools where he worked in southwest England. Rahul Odedra positioned the cameras in cubicles and toilet roll holders to film dozens of women and girls using the facilities, the Gloucester Crown Court was told. The 46-year-old was described by Judge Ian Lawrieas "not wholly bad, and not wholly good" as he sentenced him yesterday for "persistently and deliberately"carrying out his perverse compulsion. Odedra had earlier pleaded guilty to one offence of attempting to possess an indecent image, two offences of possession of indecent images and 20 offences of voyeurism between 2009 and 2017. "He would set it up in the lunch period and then take it down later," prosecutor Anjali Gohil told the court. "No one goes to a toilet, locks the door and expects to be filmed for third parties to see," she added. The judge agreed that it was a "gross breach of trust" and
Nobody will be spared: FinMin on PNB fraud case
The finance ministry today said the assets in the Nirav Modi fraud case involving state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) will be recovered and nobody will be spared. PNB has detected a USD 1.77 billion (about Rs 11,400 crore) scam where billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking from a branch in Mumbai to secure overseas credit from other Indian lenders. The Enforcement Directorate today conducted multiple searches in connection with a money laundering case against Modi and others following a complaint by PNB. Talking to reporters on the PNB fraud case, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said the bank will make the required provisioning and it has "sufficient" funds for it. "Whole lot of assets will be recovered. Nobody will be spared," Kumar said. The secretary further said that the issue is an "isolated case of a single branch" and all possible action will be taken against the guilty persons. "This is not likely to escalate to other ...
Accused won't be spared: PNB on Nirav Modi fraud case
Managing Director of Punjab National Bank (PNB) Sunil Mehta on Thursday said the bank will not hold any leniency against any accused employees in connection with jewellery designer Nirav Modi fraud case, irrespective of their post.While addressing a press conference here, Mehta said, "Mainly foreign branches of the Indian banks are involved in it barring one case. We have already initiated the legal process in the matter and have conducted a consortium meeting because both the companies are dealing with a large number of banks. Information to SEBI was given on time. We will not spare anybody, be it senior or junior."Earlier on Wednesday, the bank had confirmed fraudulent activities at its branches in Mumbai, worth transactions USD 1771.69 million for the benefit of some account holders.He added that rest of the details will be given after the investigation is completed."We have already informed the lenders during the consortium meetings and we are working on the modalities. If any ...
Congress to seek CBI probe into Kannur murder
The Congress party in Kerala has decided to approach the High Court with a petition to seek a CBI probe into the killing of Youth Congress worker Shoaib in Kannur district, a party member said on Thursday.