1. ‘Main Conspirator’ of Kathua Rape-Murder Surrenders
A retired revenue official who is suspected to be the main conspirator behind the abduction, rape and murder of an eight-year-old Bakerwal girl in Jammu’s Kathua district surrendered before the state Crime Branch on Tuesday, 20 March.
Sources said the Crime Branch recently issued a notice seeking the appearance of the retired Patwari, identified as Sanji Ram, before a special investigation team (SIT) inquiring into the matter.
His son Vishal, a Sc student, was arrested from Meerut three days ago. His involvement in the crime came up during interrogation of those arrested, sources said. With the nabbing of Vishal and Sanji Ram, the number of arrests in the matter has risen to eight.
The Crime Branch had earlier arrested a police sub-inspector, a head constable, two special police officers and two villagers including Shubam Sangra, a nephew of Sanji Ram.
Crime Branch officials believe that Sanji Ram was the main conspirator behind the crime. He allegedly conspired with his nephew Shubham Sangra and SPO Deepak Khajuria to abduct and kill the girl to make Bakerwals leave the area.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Ghaziabad Woman Attacked With Acid on Way to Office
Two motorcycle-borne men allegedly threw acid at a 23-year-old employee of Punjab National Bank while she was on her way to work in an autorickshaw near Ghaziabad’s Mohan Nagar area on Tuesday morning.
Having suffered around 20 percent burn injuries, the woman has alleged that her former colleague was behind the attack, police said.
“For the last six months, someone from her family has been accompanying her from home to office, or at least till the autorickshaw stand, because she was allegedly being harassed by a former woman colleague,” said Rakesh Kumar Singh, the Sahibabad police SHO. On Tuesday, too, her father had dropped her off at the autorickshaw stand around 9.30 am.
Four other passengers, who were sharing an autorickshaw with the woman, suffered minor burns, police said. An FIR under Section 326A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid) of the IPC has been registered against unknown persons at Sahibabad police station.
Based on the woman’s statement, her 25-year-old former colleague was named as an accused in the case later, police said.
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Two Teenagers Confined, Raped Over 15 Days by 9 Men in Chhattisgarh
Two teenage girls from Chhattisgarh's Koriya district were purportedly confined and raped by nine men for over a fortnight, police said on Tuesday, 20 March.
The girls, aged 17 and 15 years, were rescued by the police on Monday from a place near Bijuri railway station in Madhya Pradesh (MP), they said.
The victims belong to Jhagrakhand area in Koriya located on the border of Chhattisgarh and MP. Koriya Additional Superintendent of Police Nivedita Sharma said, "On March 4, the main accused Abhijeet Pal alias Pinku (20) took one of victims, with whom he was having an affair, on the pretext of marrying her. A friend of the victim accompanied them."
Sharma said Pal, a native of Khongapani village of Jhagrakhand, took the two minor girls to a place in Khongapani and raped them.
"Later, Pal and eight of his friends repeatedly raped the two after confining them in Ledri and Bijuri villages," she said.
Officials said a complaint was filed by the victims' families on the morning of 18 March. The ASP said that a police team, on the basis of a tip-off, raided a place near Bijuri railway station in the early hours on Monday and rescued the girls.
Seven of the nine accused were arrested during the rescue, Sharma said.
They were identified as Ashraf Ali (26), Manoj Kumar (28), Hemraj Panika (20), Avinash (28), Jitendra Kumar Rai (26) and Rakesh Kumar Navait (23) apart from Pal, she said.
A manhunt was underway for two more people, she said.
(Source: PTI)
4. Armed Robbers Loot Rs 18 Lakh Outside Bank in Ludhiana
In a broad daylight robbery, two men opened fire at the employees of a collection company and took away Rs 18 lakh from them when they were going to deposit the cash in the bank. The incident took place outside the HDFC bank on Ludhiana Ferozepur road on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident, which has been captured on CCTV cameras installed outside the bank shows one of the robbers dashing towards the collection officer, who was walking towards the bank, and pinning him down the floor. In the melee, the bag falls to the ground.
As the collection officer tries to pick up the bag, one of the robbers opens fire in the air. Hearing the gunshot, the security guard who was accompanying the collection officer tries to come out of the car but the second robber stops him. The robbers then picked up the bag and escaped towards Sidhwan Canal in Hyundai Creta car. Their accomplices had already been waiting for them in the car.
The police have recovered two bullet-shells from the spot. They are reportedly exploring all angles in the case. It seems that the accused were chasing the employees of the collection company and had done proper ground work before executing the crime. The police are also questioning the employees of the company. The police have registered a case of robbery against unidentified robbers.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. 55-Year-Old Held for Molestation
A 55-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly molesting a five-year-old girl from in Khatana village of Jarcha in Greater Noida on Tuesday morning, the police said.
The accused, Navin Sharma, is a farmer based in Khatana village, the police said. The victim’s parents in their complaint alleged that the accused lured the girl with a candy and molested her on Monday evening.
“We had received a complaint from the girl’s father. He said the incident happened around 4 pm when their daughter was playing in the village. Mr. Sharma, who knew the girl, lured her with a candy,” said Shalendra Pratap Singh, Station House Officer, Jarcha police station.
The girl followed him to the field, where he molested her, the police added. He has been booked him under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 354 (A) of the IPC for sexual harassment and Section 7/8 of the POCSO Act.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Neighbour Apprehended for Rape of 8-Year-Old
An eight-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her neighbour in northeast Delhi’s Jafrabad on Tuesday morning, the police said. The accused, who has been apprehended, claims to be a juvenile, they added.
The incident happened when the victim was leaving for school and the accused called her on some false pretext, the police said.
As soon as she went inside, the accused bolted the door and tried to rape her but she started shouting for help. The accused slapped and threatened her before raping her, the police added.
On hearing the cries, her parents and neighbours rushed to the room and broke open the door. They nabbed the accused and called the police. The accused was handed over to the police.
A senior police officer said they have registered a case on charges of rape and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act against the accused. “The accused claims to be a minor and we are still verifying it. The girl’s medical examination was conducted and doctors confirmed rape,” he said.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. 3 Held for Theft in Army Officers’ Homes
Three men, including a suspended Military Engineering Services (MES) employee, have been arrested for allegedly carrying out burglaries at residences of Army officers in Delhi’s Cantonment, the police said on Tuesday.
Dharambir (54), a Fitter General Mechanic, was suspended in 2011. He used to facilitate entry of his associates in Cantonment in his car by showing his government ID card at sentry posts. The other accused have been identified as Deepak (30) and Dheeraj (22). The police claimed to have worked out five cases of burglary with their arrest.
On 27 February, the gang burgled the homes of an Army and a Naval officer. They stole Rs 15,000 from the home of the Army officer, and cameras and branded shoes, among other items, from the home of the Naval officer, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Bhisham Singh.
On 23 December, they stole jewellery from an Army officer’s residence. On 2 February , the accused stole jewellery worth Rs 7 lakh from the home of another Army officer. The gang fled with an LED TV, laptop and utensils worth several lakhs of rupees from the bungalow of an Army officer posted in Doklam.
Keeping in view the recent incidents of daylight burglaries at residences of senior Army officers in Cantonment, the Military Intelligence, after conducting preliminary investigations, approached the Crime Branch for a joint operation, said the officer.
The accused were nabbed on the intervening night of 18 and 19 March from Sector-1, Dwarka, while on the way to dispose the stolen articles.
(Source: The Hindu)
8. EOW Arrests Woman, Daughter in Mumbai for Duping 130 People of Rs 5 Crore
Officials of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police have arrested a 53-year-old woman, who allegedly duped 130 people of Rs 5 crore across Mumbai on the pretext of getting them flats in Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) buildings built under Slum Rehabilitation Scheme (SRS) for those affected by MMRDA’s road widening and railway’s land expansion projects.
The accused woman’s daughter was also arrested as she allegedly helped her mother in her illegal acts.
Sushila Narayan Shetty and her daughter Suman Shetty, 32, were arrested on Monday by the officials of the housing unit of EOW.
The victims had approached the police in 2015. A case was registered against Sushila and her daughter at the Kanjurmarg police station. Later, the case was transferred to EOW.
EOW officials recorded statements of 94 victims and after collecting evidence on Monday, arrested Sushila and her daughter. Investigators have also seized forged documents pertaining to the case from the residence of the accused. The two have been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, the police said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. Gang Barges Into House, Attacks, Robs Students
A gang of six-seven dacoits carrying daggers and machetes barged into a house occupied by three students, attacked them and robbed them of their cash and valuables at Vinayaka Layout in Nayandahalli.
One of the members of the gang had approached Kyapi Azam, 20, and asked him for water. When Azam came back with the water, the gang cornered him and his two room mates. The Chandra Layout police have launched a manhunt to nab the miscreants.
Azam, a native of Bihar, and his room mates are studying in a private college in the city.
Around 12:30 am of Sunday, Azam was fetching water from the tap inside the compound when he saw a youth standing near the tap. “He asked me to give him drinking water, so I went inside and brought a glass of water. Soon a gang of six-seven persons surrounded me, pushed me inside the house and started assaulting me. They asked my roommates and me not to make any noise, and threatened to kill us, waving machetes and daggers in our faces,” he told Bangalore Mirror.
(Source: Bangalore Mirror)
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