Page 865 - Law Crime
Akbar records statement in defamation case against journalist, calls #MeToo allegations scurrilous
Former Union minister M J Akbar, who has filed a criminal defamation case against journalist Priya Ramani, told a Delhi court on Wednesday that an "immediate damage" has been caused to him due to the "scurrilous", concocted and false allegations of sexual misconduct levelled against him. Akbar appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal and recorded his statement to support the defamation complaint filed by him against Ramani on October 15. Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago. "Indeed there was an immediate damage because of the scurrilous nature of these concocted and false allegations. I was attacked in my personal capacity about alleged and fabricated non-events allegedly done two decades ago," he said in his statement. "I chose in that environment to seek justice in my personal capacity without the Appurtenance of Office. This is why I offered my registration as Minister of State, Govt of India. My reputation has been ...
Report: Saudi prosecutor visits Turkish intelligence agency
Turkish media reports say Saudi Arabia's top prosecutor, who is in Istanbul for discussions on the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, has met with Turkish intelligence officials. Private DHA news agency said Wednesday the prosecutor, Saud al-Mojeb, paid a midnight visit to the Turkish intelligence agency's Istanbul headquarters. Officials were not immediately available to comment. Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 Saudi suspects detained in Saudi Arabia over the killing of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate after he entered the building on October 2. It is also pressing Saudi Arabia for information concerning Khashoggi's remains, which still haven't been found, as well as who ordered the journalist's slaying. Saudi officials have said the kingdom will try the 18 and bring them to justice after the investigation is complete.
Pakistan SC overturns Christian woman's blasphemy death sentence
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted Asia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death on blasphemy charges, and ordered her immediate release amid threats from Islamist groups demanding her execution.
1987 Hashimpura massacre: 16 UP PAC men get life (Lead, correcting Headline)
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment 16 personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) for killing 42 people in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre in Meerut.
M J Akbar appears before Delhi court to record his statement in defamation case filed against Ramani
Former Union minister M J Akbar on Wednesday appeared before a Delhi court to record his statement in a criminal defamation case filed by him against journalist Priya Ramani. Ramani has accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago. Akbar appeared before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal and the recording of the statement is underway. Akbar's name cropped up on social media when he was in Nigeria, as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India. Multiple women have come out with accounts of alleged sexual harassment by Akbar when he was a journalist. Hours after returning home on October 14, Akbar termed the allegations "false, fabricated and deeply distressing" and said he was taking appropriate legal action against them. The women who accused Akbar of sexual harassment included Ghazala Wahab, Shuma Raha, Anju Bharti and Shutapa Paul.
Firecrackers other than green crackers will not be sold in Delhi-NCR: SC
The Supreme Court clarified on Wednesday that firecrackers other than green crackers will not be sold in the Delhi-NCR region this festival season. A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said firecrackers already produced can be sold in this festival season only in other parts of the country. In Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and other southern states, firecrackers can be burst from 4 am-5 am and from 9 pm-10 pm during festivals, the apex court said. It said its direction on community bursting of firecrackers will apply pan India for two hours. Its directions on the ban on sale of firecrackers through e-commerce websites will apply pan India, the court said.
1987 Hashimpura massacre: SC sentences 16 UP PAC men to life
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment 16 personnel of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) for killing 42 people in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre in Meerut.
1987 Hashimpura massacre case: Delhi HC sentences 16 ex-policemen to life imprisonment
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sentenced 16 former policemen to life imprisonment for killing 42 people of a minority community in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre case at Meerut in Uttar Pradesh. A bench of Justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel reversed a trial court's verdict which had acquitted the accused. The high court convicted the 16 former Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel for murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code. It termed the massacre "targeted killing" of unarmed and defenceless persons by the police. All the 16 convicts have retired from service. The high court's verdict came on pleas challenging a trial court's decision to acquit 16 policemen of charges of murder and other crimes in the case. The high court had on September 6 reserved its verdict on the appeals filed by Uttar Pradesh, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and some private parties including a survivor of the massacre, Zulfiqar ...
Kerala Minister's gunman shoots self to death
A personal security officer of Kerala Irrigation minister Mathew T Thomas, allegedly shot himself to death, using his service revolver early Wednesday, police said. The deceased, Sujith (28), who was attached to the armed reserve camp here, was found with gunshot wound on the head at his home at Kadakal in Kollam district, they said adding he had also cut veins in both hands. Though the officer was rushed to the hospital, his life could not be saved. Sujith, a bachelor, has left a suicide note, police said. Meanwhile, the Minister's office said Sujith has been working as Thomas' personal security officer for the past three months and was on leave yesterday.
7 killed, 14 injured in Kabul prison explosion
An explosion rattled the Pul-e-Charkhi prison on Wednesday morning, leaving seven people dead and 14 injured.Officials from the Ministry of Interior told TOLOnews that perpetrators targeted an employee vehicle at the prison's gate.Furthermore, security forces confirmed that most of the employees in the vehicle were women.Further details are awaited.
Pak SC acquits Asiya Bibi, orders immediate release
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered for Asiya Bibi's immediate release after acquitting her of blasphemy charges.The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar, read out the verdict and reversed the trial court's order which sentenced her to death. The said order was later upheld by the Lahore High Court."The judgement of the high court and that of the trial court is reversed," read the Chief Justice.He further mentioned that Bibi should be released from prison, provided she is not wanted in any other case, reported Dawn.The bench, which pronounced the judgement on Wednesday, comprised Chief Justice Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel.The top court had previously reserved its judgement on Bibi's final appeal against her death penalty on October 8. The legal appeal had challenged Lahore High Court's October 2014 judgement that upheld a trial court's 2010 decision of sentencing Bibi to death on charges of blasphemy.Security was heightened in .
Pakistan court acquits Christian woman on death row for blasphemy
In a landmark verdict, Pakistan's Supreme Court Wednesday overturned the conviction of a Christian woman facing execution for blasphemy. Asia Bibi was convicted in 2010 after being accused of insulting Islam in a row with her neighbours. She always maintained her innocence, but has spent most of the past eight years in solitary confinement. Her case has been deeply divisive in Pakistan where there is strong support for the blasphemy laws. The apex court, in a three-member bench led by chief justice Saqib Nisar, issued the verdict on Wednesday morning, three weeks after they had reached a decision. The delay followed threats by blasphemy campaigners to hold protests. "Her conviction is set aside and she is to be relieved forthwith if not required in other charges," said Nisar, reading out the judgment. There was tight security in the capital, Islamabad, amid fears of violence. Bibi was accused of committing blasphemy in 2009. She was convicted in 2010 by the trial court and her death ..
US mob boss killed in prison
Infamous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger who was convicted in 2013 of 11 murders and had inspired several films, has been found dead in a US federal prison in West Virginia.
UNHCHR calls for international experts to join Khashoggi murder probe
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday called for international experts to participate in the investigation into the murder of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi."For an investigation to be carried out free of any appearance of political considerations, the involvement of international experts, with full access to evidence and witnesses, would be highly desirable," Al Jazeera quoted a statement from Bachelet.The former President of Chile further urged the Gulf country to reveal the location of Khashoggi's body, citing autopsy and forensic evaluations of the body as crucial for the ongoing investigation in the "shockingly brazen crime."Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appealed to the chief prosecutor of Saudi Arabia to identify the person who authorised Khasshggi's murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Erdogan further urged him to not exempt "certain people" in his probe."Who sent these 15 people? As Saudi public ...
Human remains found at Vatican property could crack 1983 mysteries
Human remains have been discovered at a Rome property owned by the Vatican, the Holy See said Tuesday, in a potential breakthrough for police investigating one of Italy's darkest mysteries. "During restoration works in a space annexed to the Apostolic Nunciature of Italy... fragments of human bone were found," the Vatican said in a statement, in reference to the diplomatic office of the Holy See in Rome. A police investigation is underway to establish the age and gender of the body and date of death. Media reports said the remains were discovered on Monday. Detectives will be looking in particular at whether they are a DNA match for Emanuela Orlandi or Mirella Gregori, both of whom were underage when they went missing separately in Rome in 1983. Orlandi was the daughter of a member of the Vatican's police, and was last seen on June 22, 1983 when leaving a music class. Theories have circulated that the then 15-year-old was kidnapped by an organised crime gang to put pressure on Vatican
ED's Rajeshwar Singh goes on leave to pursue law course: Sources
Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer Rajeshwar Singh has gone on a leave to pursue a course in law, sources said.Singh will be pursuing a course in LLM (Masters in Law).According to reports, his leave was sanctioned by former Enforcement Directorate Director Karnal Singh, who retired on October 27.On October 25, the chief investigating officer for 2G cases, as his last task had filed a chargesheet under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against former Finance Minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti in connection with the Aircel-Maxis case.
Mueller refers plot to make false claims about him to FBI
Robert Mueller's office has referred to the FBI allegations that women were "offered money to make false claims" about the special counsel, according to Mueller's spokesman. In a statement, spokesman Peter Carr says that once the office learned of the allegations, it immediately referred the matter to the FBI for investigation. The statement didn't specify what the claims were, but the referral to the FBI and a rare public statement about it from the special counsel's office suggests that Mueller's office believed there was a potential crime for federal law enforcement to investigate. The attempt to spread what Mueller's office says are false claims about him also appears to be an effort to discredit the former FBI director as his team enters a critical stage of its investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia and whether the president attempted to obstruct justice. Mueller's office has charged 32 people so far, with four former associates of the president ..
School fined, construction work stopped for flouting NGT norms
The construction of a tunnel at a redevelopment project site in Pragati Maidan has been halted and a school in south Delhi fined Rs 5 lakh for "violating" NGT norms on curbing pollution, the area's civic body said Tuesday. Delhi's air quality nosedived to 'severe' on Tuesday, the first time this season. "Don Bosco School in Sukhdev Vihar has been fined Rs 5 lakh for violation of NGT norms. The fine has been imposed under section 337 of the DMC Act read with section 15 of NGT Act," the SDMC said in a statement. The violations observed over a plot of 20,000 sqm belonging to the school were "serious", it said. Also, the construction of a tunnel by an infrastructure major at the Pragati Maidan project site has also been "stopped", the SDMC said. "The action has been taken under section 344 (2) of the DMC Act after carrying out an inspection at the site where dust was found to be generated despite a letter of warning being issued earlier," the statement said. It was also observed that no ..
UN rights chief wants 'international experts' to help probe Khashoggi hit
The UN rights chief called Tuesday for "international experts" to help investigate the murder of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and called on Riyadh to reveal the whereabouts of his body. For an investigation to be carried out free of any appearance of political considerations, the involvement of international experts, with full access to evidence and witnesses, would be highly desirable," Michelle Bachelet said in a statement. hashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi journalist and Washington Post contributor, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain paperwork ahead of his upcoming wedding. His body has not yet been found. is death has brought near unprecedented international scrutiny on Saudi Arabia and its powerful Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. The journalist's fiancee has accused the regime of a massive cover-up. achelet stressed the importance of ensuring the murder be investigated in an independent and impartial manner. I ...
Notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger dead at 89
Notorious Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger was found dead on Tuesday at a prison in West Virginia, one day after he was transferred to the high-security facility to serve the remainder of his life sentence, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. According to press reports, Bulger, 89, was murdered but there was no immediate confirmation from the authorities. The prisons bureau said Bulger was found "unresponsive" Tuesday morning at the facility in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation was notified and an investigation has been initiated," it said in a statement. Bulger was serving a life sentence in prison for murder, racketeering, extortion, money laundering, possession of firearms and other crimes. Arrested in 2011 after 16 years on the run, Bulger's life of crime has been the subject of several movies and books. Bulger was arrested in Santa Monica, California, where he had been living under an assumed name with his longtime girlfriend Catherine ...