Page 863 - Law Crime
CBI row: Delhi court grants bail to DSP Devender Kumar
A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Devender Kumar on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of the same amount.Kumar was arrested last week in connection with bribery allegations involving CBI's Special Director Rakesh Asthana who was recently sent on leave by the government.Kumar's lawyer Rahul Tyagi said, "The sinister plan hatched to save Moin Qureshi and his friends in the CBI, has been lost, and our faith in the judiciary, as always, has been redeemed."The advocate further said that the CBI had no answer to the question raised by him during the court proceeding, adding that he firmly believes that the FIR lodged against Kumar was based on false evidence.In his bail application, filed on October 29, Kumar claimed that the CBI did not have valid search warrants when his office and residence were raided by the agency's anti-corruption unit in connection with Asthana case.Earlier this
CPCB asks state bodies to start criminal prosecution against those not following directives
Amid the deteriorating air quality in the national capital, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed the state pollution control bodies of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi to start criminal prosecution against agencies or individuals who do not comply with directives to check air pollution. CPCB Chairperson S P Singh Parihar has also issued directions to construction agencies, municipal corporations and land owning industries to comply with the directions of the NGT and the CPCB and ensure corrective actions within 48 hours in cases of air polluting activities as reported by the CPCB inspection teams. "Failure to which will make the defaulting agencies and individuals liable to criminal prosecution which may be initiated by the CPCB under appropriate provision of the law," a letter dated October 29 written by Parihar said. On Saturday, Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government had decided to initiate criminal prosecution against agencies which failed to ...
Alankit Assignments settles case with Sebi, pays Rs 59 lakh
City-based Alankit Assignments Wednesday settled proceedings with regulator Sebi by paying nearly Rs 59 lakh towards settlement charges for alleged violation of stock broker regulations. Sebi's High Powered Advisory Committee (HPAC) considered the settlement terms proposed by the entity and recommended the case for settlement upon payment of Rs 58.96 lakh. The panel of whole time members of Sebi also accepted the recommendations of the HPAC. It was alleged that Alankit Assignments had failed to carry out the actual settlement of funds and securities of active and inactive clients from April 2012 to February 2015, thereby violating stock brokers and sub-brokers regulations. Under the settlement, an entity is allowed to settle charges by paying a penalty without admission or denial of guilt. Alankit paid its settlement amount following which Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) settled the case. However, Sebi said if any representation made by the entity in the settlement ...
6 arrested with opium worth Rs 16 lakh in Jharkhand.
Six people, including three women, were arrested with 14 kg opium worth Rs 16 lakh in Jharkhand's Giridih district on Wednesday, police said.
Three absconders held in J-K
Three absconders, wanted in two separate cases, were arrested Wednesday in Doda and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said. Mohammad Farooq and Farooq Ahmed, both residents of Bhaderwah, were arrested by a special police team from Bhalra village of Doda, a police spokesman said. He said the duo was wanted in a case registered at Bari Brahmana police station in Samba district in 2011 and are accused of theft and receiving stolen property. Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Agra Chak village of R S Pura, was arrested from the Ghagwal area of Samba district, the spokesman said. He was on the run for the last four years and is facing charges of disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant and prevention of cruelty to animals act, he added.
Woman sentenced to 3 years in jail for possessing opium
A special court in Mizoram's Siaha town Wednesday sentenced a woman to three years imprisonment for possessing 48 grams of opium. The judge, H T C Lalrinchhana, announced the quantum of punishment and also ordered the woman to pay a fine of Rs 10,000. If the woman fails to pay the fine, she would have to undergo additional 100 days imprisonment, the judge said. The woman, a resident of Matu locality in Siaha town, was arrested on May 15 last year for possessing 48 grams of opium.
Gold worth Rs 19 lakh seized from air passenger
Smuggled gold worth Rs 19 lakh was seized from a passenger who arrived from Singapore here, customs officials said Wednesday. The gold was found kept concealed in marker pens after removing the cartridges when officials checked the hand baggage of Narayanan after he landed here Tuesday night. It weighed totally 599 gms, they said adding the passenger had been detained for interrogation.
Illegal cracker unit operating in garb of clinic busted in UP
An illegal firecracker unit operating under the garb of a homeopathic clinic was busted in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district on Wednesday and crackers worth Rs 50 lakh were seized, police said.
Girl dies after consuming poisonous substance in Kota
An 18-year-old girl died allegedly after she mistakenly consumed pesticide presuming it to be a cough syrup, police said Tuesday. Kavita Meena, a resident of Ayani village in the district, was a BA second year student. She had cough and cold and mistakenly consumed pesticide from a vile presuming it to be a cough syrup, Station House Officer at Ayana police station Bhawani Shankar said. She was taken to a hospital where she died, he said. He said the body was handed over to her family members after post-mortem. Police have initiated an investigation into the matter, he said.
Turkey doubts Saudi willingness to 'genuinely cooperate' on Khashoggi: official
Saudi Arabian officials have appeared unwilling to "genuinely cooperate" with Turkey's investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a senior Turkish official said Wednesday. "The Saudi officials seemed primarily interested in finding out what evidence the Turkish authorities had against the perpetrators," the official told AFP on the condition of anonymity. "We did not get the impression that they were keen on genuinely cooperating with the investigation.
Dalit girl beheaded by neighbour for rejecting advances
A 13-year-old Dalit girl was beheaded at a hamlet in this district of Tamil Nadu allegedly by her neighbour after she reportedly spurned his advances. A senior police official said Wednesday the accused Dinesh Kumar has been arrested and lodged in Salem jail and a probe was on. The incident happened at a small village near Attur in Salem district recently. In a complaint filed by the victim's relatives, they have levelled allegations of sexual misconduct against the accused, a caste Hindu, the official said. The police dismissed media reports that the accused was mentally disturbed. According to reports, the deceased teenager had rejected the accused's advances and also informed her mother. Police said Kumar beheaded her using a sickle. The victim was studying at a nearby government school and was the last of three siblings. Her parents are said to be labourers.
Protests after Pakistan Christian woman's blasphemy death sentence overturned
Radical Islamist groups protested on Wednesday in a number of Pakistan cities against the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the death sentence of Christian woman Asia Bibi, who had been convicted in 2010 of blasphemy.
France casts doubt on Saudi Khashoggi probe
France's foreign minister cast doubt on Saudi Arabia's investigation into the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Wednesday, saying "not enough" was being done to find those responsible for his murder. The comments appear to signal France upping the pressure on Saudi authorities, having so far declined to openly criticise the Riyadh regime over a death that has badly strained relations between the Middle East kingdom and the West. "This crime has to be punished and the perpetrators identified. The truth needs to come out. And today, even though Saudi authorities have admitted that there was a murder, it's not enough. The truth has not been revealed," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL. "The investigations need to continue. We will continue to be demanding." He added that "depending on the results that will be announced (of the Turkish and Saudi investigations), we will implement the necessary sanctions against those guilty". "We don't rule out anything on the ...
MHADA official held while taking bribe
An executive engineer of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) was caught red-handed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau here Wednesday while allegedly accepting bribe from a contractor. Suryakant Deshmukh (55) had allegedly demanded bribe from a contractor for clearing his bill of Rs 8 lakh, an ACB official said. The contractor had been engaged for repair of some old buildings at Sonapur in Marine Lines area, the official said. Deshmukh allegedly demanded two per cent commission for clearing payment of Rs 8 lakh and another Rs 5,000 for paying a vigilance department official. After the contractor approached the ACB, a trap was laid at MHADA office in Chandanwadi and Deshmukh was caught while allegedly accepting Rs 20,000, the official said.
16 ex-PAC troopers get life imprisonment for 1987 Hashimpura massacre (Third Lead)
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment 16 former troopers of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) for killing 38 people in 1987, calling it a targeted massacre of unarmed and innocent people from a community.
Delhi courts grants bail to CBI DSP in case involving Asthana
A Delhi court Wednesday granted bail to CBI DSP Devender Kumar arrested in connection with bribery allegations involving the agency's Special Director Rakesh Asthana. Special CBI Judge Santosh Snehi Mann granted the relief to Kumar and asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of like amount. The CBI did not oppose his bail petition. In his bail application, Kumar had termed his custody "illegal" and urged the court to set him free. The application also said Kumar was ready to abide by the conditions imposed by the court while granting him bail. Kumar and Asthana have already challenged the legality of the FIR filed against them. Besides them, two alleged middlemen -- Manoj Prasad and Somesh Prasad -- have also been named as accused in the case. The agency had earlier told the court that Kumar had tried to fabricate evidence during the investigation in another case. Kumar had claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case and that he was a victim of rivalry ...
ED seeks custodial interrogation of Chidambaram in Aircel-Maxis money laundering case
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday opposed in a Delhi court the anticipatory bail plea of former Union minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis money laundering case and sought his custodial interrogation. ED, which filed its response to the anticipatory bail plea of Chidambaram, said that he has remained evasive and was not cooperating in the probe and therefore grant of anticipatory bail at this stage would be highly detrimental to the investigation. "From the conduct of the petitioner, which gets amply demonstrated from the records available, the investigating agency has reached a bonafide conclusion that in the absence of custodial interrogation it will not be possible to reach the truth of the allegations as the petitioner has chosen to be evasive and non-cooperative," the agency said in reply opposing the anticipatory bail plea. It said Chidambaram, being a senior advocate practising in the Supreme Court, a Rajya Sabha MP and former union minister, ...
Chennai child rape case: HC rejects plea by 14 accused for CBI probe
The Madras High Court Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by 14 accused in the Ayanavaram child rape case, seeking transfer of the probe to the CBI. Rejecting the petition, Justice A D Jagadish Chandira said, "No specific material fact has been averted in the petition regarding mala fide exercise of power by the Inspector of Police who is the investigated the case. "The petitioners have not made out any extraordinary or special grounds for transfer of investigation or for further investigation." The matter relates to the rape of an 11-year-old hearing-impaired girl by a group of 17 people working at an apartment complex in Ayanavaram locality here, as plumbers, housekeepers, security guards and lift operators. The girl was allegedly sexually assaulted several times by the accused over seven months. All 17 were first arrested, and then detained under Goondas Act. Recently, the Goondas Advisory Board also confirmed the detention of the 17 under the Act. Claiming that the allegations ..
Mining baron Reddy's remark on death of Siddaramaiah's son sparks outrage
Mining baron G Janardhana Reddy has found himself at the centre of a row over his purported remarks about the death of former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's son with the BJP asking him to tender an apology, even as it drew Congress' ire. In an interview to a local news channel recently, Reddy purportedly referred to the death of Siddaramaiah's son as "God's punishment", as he accused the Congress leader of keeping him away from his children by sending him to jail for four years, by "misusing" the chief minister's office. "For keeping me away from my children, God has punished him," Reddy reportedly said. Siddaramaiah's son, Rakesh Siddaramaiah had died of multi-organ failure at a hospital in Belgium in July 2016. Condemning the remarks, BJP state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa demanded that Reddy apologise. "Janardhana Reddy's comment about the death of Siddaramaiah's son is something that does not give grace to him. I condemn it. I also demand that Janardhana Reddy should .
Hashimpura massacre: 16 ex-cops, acquitted earlier, get life imprisonment
The Delhi High Court (HC) on Wednesday sentenced 16 former Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel to life imprisonment in the Hashimpura massacre case.The police officers had killed 42 people of a minority community in 1987 during a riot in Uttar Pradesh's Hashimpura district.The High Court, while pronouncing the judgement, observed, "This was a targetted killing by the armed forces. Members of the minority community were killed and families had to wait 31 years for justice."The Delhi Court overruled the three-year-old judgement of a trial court that had acquitted all the 16 officials, nearly two months after it reserved its decision on the appeals by the then Uttar Pradesh government, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and survivors of the massacre.The trial court had acquitted the 16 giving them benefit of doubt. At that time, P Chidambaram was the Home Minister.The decision on a petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy for further ...