Page 871 - Law Crime
Muzaffarpur shelter homes case: SC asks why Bihar ex-minister has not been arrested
The Supreme Court Tuesday asked the Bihar police why former state minister Manju Verma has not been arrested in a case related to the recovery of ammunition in a Muzaffarpur shelter home where several girls were allegedly raped. A bench of Justices M B Lokur, S A Nazeer and Deepak Gupta also directed that Brajesh Thakur, prime accused in the Muzaffarpur shelter homes sexual abuse case, be shifted to the Patiala high security jail in Punjab from Bihar's Badarpur jail. Verma's husband was the owner of the home. The alleged sexual exploitation of the girls was first highlighted in an audit report submitted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to the state's social welfare department.
British woman charged with murder of her husband in Malaysia
A British woman has been charged with murdering her husband, who was found stabbed to death at their home on the Malaysian resort island of Langkawi. Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo says Samantha Jones, 51, was asked Tuesday by a court official if she understood the charge, which carries the mandatory death sentence by hanging, and that her client said yes. Police found a blood-stained kitchen knife in the couple's home where John William Jones was found dead on Oct. 18. Kaur says Jones didn't enter a plea as the magistrate court has no jurisdiction to hear a murder case and that the case is expected to be transferred to the high court. She said Tuesday that Jones was "very, very overwhelmed" and grieved for her husband.
Bangladesh court doubles jail term for former prime minister Zia in orphanage graft case
In a stunning decision, a Bangladeshi court on Tuesday doubled former prime minister Khaleda Zia's jail term from five to 10 years in a corruption case. The decision came a day after she was sentenced to seven years in prison in another graft case. A High Court bench comprising Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Mostafizur Rahman announced the verdict after accepting the Anti-Corruption Commission's review petition to increase Zia's imprisonment in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case, The Daily Star reported. "This verdict means that Khaleda Zia will not be able to contest in the upcoming election," ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told reporters. A Dhaka court sentenced Zia to five years in jail in the orphanage corruption case on February 8. Her son Tarique Rahman and four others Kamal Uddin Siddique, Salimul, Sharfuddin, and Ziaur Rahman's nephew Mominur Rahman were sentenced to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment. Zia has been imprisoned at the former central jail since then. On .
Pharrell Williams sends legal notice to Trump for playing 'Happy' at rally
Pharrell Williams sent a legal notice to Donald Trump after his popular track "Happy" was played at the US president's Saturday political rally, the same day of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. Williams' lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to the POTUS for using the "Despicable Me 2" song at a gathering in Illinois' Murphysboro, hours after 11 people were killed in the mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue. "On the day of the mass murder of 11 human beings at the hands of a deranged 'nationalist', you played his song 'Happy' to a crowd at a political event in Indiana. "There was nothing 'happy' about the tragedy inflicted upon our country on Saturday and no permission was granted for your use of this song for this purpose," the singer's attorney Howard E King wrote in the letter, obtained by The Los Angeles Times. The letter further read that Williams had not and would not grant Trump permission "to publicly perform or otherwise broadcast or disseminate any of his ...
Khaleda Zia's jail term doubled in orphanage graft case
A Bangladesh court on Tuesday doubled the jail term of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from five years to 10 in an orphanage graft case following an appeal by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Gutka worth Rs 44 lakh seized, two arrested
Gutka worth around Rs 44 lakh was seized and two persons were arrested near Khanivade village in neighbouring Palghar district of Maharashtra, police said on Tuesday. The seizure was made in the early hours of Sunday, they said. "A patrol team of Palghar rural police spotted a tempo at Khanivade check post early Sunday. When they checked the vehicle, they found gutka worth around Rs 44.10 lakh inside," police spokesperson Hemant Kumar Katkar said. The driver of the vehicle Pankaj Pandey (30) and his assistant Prakash Yadav (50) were arrested and their vehicle was also seized. An offence was registered at Virar police station, he said. Police are trying to find out the source and the destination of the contraband.
Rickshaw driver held for vandalising petrol pump
A 26-year-old autorickshaw driver was arrested for allegedly vandalising a petrol pump and trying to extort money from its staff at Kalyan in Thane district of Maharashtra, police said Tuesday. The accused, Rakesh Kolgaonkar, was arrested in the wee hours of Monday when the incident took place, Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar said. "The accused took his rickshaw to the pump at around 11.30 pm on Sunday and requested the employees to fill CNG in his vehicle. However, the staff members told him that there was no CNG available," she said. "Thereafter, he asked them to fill petrol. But they told him that since the facility was shut, they cannot do so. Angered by their reply, he demanded money from them by issuing threats. However, he was turned away by them," Narkar said. Kolgaonkar left in a huff, but returned an hour later with a sickle in hand. Therafter, he went on a rampage and damaged the property of the petrol pump, she said. A police patrol van, which was ...
Synagogue massacre defendant appears in court in wheelchair
The man accused in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre appeared briefly in federal court in a wheelchair and handcuffs Monday to face charges he killed 11 people in what is believed to be the deadliest attack on Jews in US history. Robert Gregory Bowers, who was wounded in a gun battle with police during the shooting rampage, was released from a hospital and wheeled into the courtroom, where he was ordered held without bail for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, when prosecutors will outline their case against him. During the proceeding, Bowers talked with two court-appointed lawyers, went over documents and confirmed his identity to a judge, saying little more than "Yes" in a soft voice a few times. Courtroom deputies freed one of his hands from cuffs so he could sign paperwork. He did not enter a plea. He was expressionless. "It was not the face of villainy that I thought we'd see," said Jon Pushinsky, a congregant who was in court for the hearing. Federal prosecutors set in motion ...
Swiss Bank executive gets 10 years for Venezuela graft case
A former Swiss bank executive has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for his role in a USD 1.2 billion international scheme to launder funds embezzled from Venezuela's state-owned oil company Petrleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), the US Justice department has said. Matthias Krull, 44, a German national and Panamanian resident, had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering on August 22. The former managing director and vice chairman of a Swiss bank, Krull has also been ordered to pay a fine in the amount of USD 50,000 and a forfeiture money judgment of USD 600,000, the Department of Justice said on Monday. The PDVSA is Venezuela's primary source of income and foreign currency namely, US Dollars and Euros. As part of his guilty plea, the Department of Justice said Krull admitted that in his position with the Swiss bank, he attracted private clients, particularly clients from Venezuela, to the bank. In this role, Krull's clients included Francisco Convit ...
HC initiates contempt proceedings against Chennai journalist
The Delhi High Court on Monday initiated contempt proceedings against Swaminathan Gurumurthy, Editor of a Chennai-based Tamil weekly news magazine "Thuglak", for his tweets against sitting judge Justice S. Muralidhar.
Appointment Lt Gen Ganguly as Army DGMS, directs SC
The Supreme Court on Monday directed for the appointment of Lt Gen Manomoy Ganguly as the Director General Medical Services (DGMS)-Army as it struck down the shifting of Air Marshal Rajvir Singh from DGMS-Air to DGMS-Army as impermissible.
Posing as cops, two men sexually assault woman and niece in Delhi's Kanjhawala
Posing as policemen, two men allegedly raped a woman and molested her minor niece at outer Delhi's Kanjhawala area, officials said Monday. The incident took place on Sunday night, they added. According to the police complaint filed by the 20-year-old woman and her niece at Kanjhawala police station, two men approached them and began a conversation, saying they were policemen, a senior police officer said. The woman alleged that when she was being raped by one of the men, the other was molesting her niece, he added. A case has been registered and the matter is being probed, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer) Seju Kuruvilla said. Medical examination of the victims were conducted and their statements were recorded in front of a magistrate, police said, adding the two men are yet to be identified.
Bharati College sends recommendations to DU in sexual harassment case
The governing body of Bharati College has sent its recommendations to the Delhi University (DU) administration on the action to be taken against a professor found guilty of sexual harassment, an official said on Monday. The report of the college's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) had found the professor guilty of sexually harassing a student and had recommended compulsory retirement for him, sources said. The professor had presented himself before the governing body earlier this month and was also issued a show cause notice to which he replied last week. On Monday, the body studied his reply and after finalising their decision about the action to be taken, the report was sent to the varsity authorities for approval, the official said. Meanwhile, Bharati College principal Mukti Sanyal refused to comment on the issue. In February this year, a student had complained to the Delhi University authorities that the professor had sent lewd messages to her and had also submitted a video in ..
Trump administration aggressively enforcing hate crimes laws: US Attorney General
The Trump administration is "aggressively and appropriately" enforcing hate crimes laws and laws protecting churches and faith groups, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said on Monday, two days after 11 people were shot dead in a mass shooting inside a Pittsburg synagogue. Under President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice is going to courts across America to defend the rights of people of faith, Sessions said at an event in Boston, The Trump administration, he said, is aggressively and appropriately enforcing civil rights laws, hate crimes laws, and laws protecting churches and faith groups. Since January 2017, we have obtained 14 indictments and 10 convictions in cases involving arson or other attacks or threats against houses of worship and against individuals because of their religion, he said. Over the last 12 months, the Department has obtained 30 hate crime convictions, and since January 2017, has indicted 50 more such defendants. And this weekend, we added once again to .
Trump interviews Indian-American woman to replace Kavanaugh in DC Circuit Court
US President Donald Trump has interviewed an Indian-American woman to replace Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the powerful federal appeals court in Washington, DC, according to a report. Neomi Jehangir Rao, 45, who is currently administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, was recommended for the judgeship on the DC Circuit Court by former White House counsel Don McGahn, news website Axios reported Sunday. Citing sources, the website said Trump was interested in Rao so that he could appoint a minority woman to Kavanaugh's old job. Rao, a former clerk for conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, was confirmed by the Senate with a 54-41 vote in July 2017 to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. The agency reviews executive branch regulations, a task the DC Circuit often addresses. Rao in this capacity is called the regulatory czar of the Trump administration. Before being sworn in as the US Supreme Court Judge, Kavanaugh, whose ..
8-yr-old gang-raped by quack, friend inside clinic
A minor girl was allegedly gang-raped by a quack and his friend inside the former's clinic here, police said on Monday. The incident took place on Sunday afternoon in a residential locality under Muradnagar Police Station, they said. The eight-year-old was alone at home when the accused duo lured her inside the clinic by giving her Rs 20 and gang-raped her, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Ghaziabad Prabhat Kumar said. When the girl's parents returned home at around 10.30 pm, she narrated the ordeal to her mother and complained of pain in the abdomen. Based on the complaint by the parents, the police registered an FIR against the quack, Shoeb and his friend Farukh alias Montuunder section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Both the accused are still at large but will be nabbed soon, police said.
Dengue spreads tentacles in Delhi, 290 new cases reported last week
As many as 290 fresh cases of dengue were reported in the national capital in the week ending October 27, compared to 190 in the previous week, according to a municipal report released on Monday.
HC upholds conviction of cops, doctor in custodial death case
The Madras High Court has upheld the judgment by a lower court here convicting seven policemen and a doctor in a case of custodial death reported in Puducherry in December 1993. The trial court in 2002 had sentenced three policemen to seven years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and three others along with the doctor to one year RI. Another police man had died during the trial while three other policemen were acquitted. Upholding the conviction, Justice M V Muralidharan observed that the public has lost faith in the police and had to seek help from the court for redress of grievances. The notion that police is a friend of the public remains only on paper, in reality it is not so, the judge said. When an ordinary citizen goes to the police station to lodge a complaint, the personnel there should receive it and inquire into it in a manner known to law without being influenced by any political, monetary or other source, only then would people respect and trust the police, he said. The judge ...
Documents linked to Alok Verma being submitted to CVC: CBI sources
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is in the process of submitting required documents linked to probe against its Director Alok Verma to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), said agency sources.
11 held for smuggling cattle in Jharkhand
Eleven persons were on Monday arrested for allegedly smuggling cattle in Palamau district of Jharkhand, police said. The arrests were made when the accused belonging to two different communities were caught transporting the cattle without any valid documents, in Lesligunj area under Lesligunj police station, SP Indrajeet Mahatha said. He said the arrested persons have been remanded to 14 days judicial custody.