1. Sex-for-Silence Case: Two Orthodox Church Priests Surrender as SC Rejects Bail Plea
After evading arrest for more than a month, two priests in the controversial sex-for-silence case surrendered on Monday, 13 August. This comes a week after the Supreme Court dismissed their anticipatory bail plea. Two Malankara Orthodox Church priests were among the four accused of sexually assaulting a woman from Thiruvalla.
First accused Father Abraham Varghese alias Sony Varghese surrendered at the Thiruvalla Magistrate Court, while fourth accused Jaise K George reportedly surrendered at the Kollam crime branch office.
This, after the apex court dismissed their pleas for anticipatory bail on 6 August, asking them to surrender before the investigating team by 13 August.
Dismissing their anticipatory bail plea, the apex court had also directed the two accused priests to surrender their mobile phones to the police and cooperate with the probe.
(Source: The News Minute)
2. Chhattisgarh BJP Leader Booked for Allegedly Raping Teenager
A local BJP leader was booked for allegedly raping a teenager in the tribal-dominated Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, police said on 13 August.
Police said that the parents of the 19-year-old girl had filed a case of rape at Kansabel police station on 7 August against Motilal Bhagat (45), president of the Kansabel Janpad Panchayat in Jashpur.
The complaint had alleged that Bhagat had raped the girl in October 2016 while she was a class 12 student staying in Kansabel in a rented house.
The complaint stated that Bhagat had married her in Odisha in January this year despite he being already married.
Bhagat left the girl in June following which her parents filed a complaint, the official said, adding that Bhagat had been charged with rape, kidnapping and criminal intimidation.
Sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were also invoked as the girl was a minor when the accused had raped her earlier.
(Source: PTI)
3. Girl Takes Her Own Life After Filing Rape Complaint
A 16-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan of her house in Nimthur village of Rajasthan's Baran district, police said on 13 August.
She had on Sunday, 12 August, lodged a rape case against a 25-year-old youth, they said.
The girl had consumed some poisonous substance on 12 August when her family learnt about her relationship with the youth. She was rushed to a government hospital at Chabda from where she was referred to Baran district hospital, SHO Tara Chand said.
The girl was discharged from the hospital around Sunday noon and in the evening she approached Chabda police station with her parents and lodged a case of rape against the youth.
The exact reason behind the suicide could be known only after the investigation is over and post-mortem report is received, the SHO said.
(Source: PTI)
4. French Tourist Found Murdered in TN, One Held
A 50-year old French tourist was found murdered in a village in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu and a local acquaintance arrested for allegedly killing him, police said on 13 August.
The killing came to light on 12 August after the half-burnt body of M Pierre Boutier wrapped in a gunny bag was found in an irrigation channel.
Police arrested 29-year old Thirumurugan, a resident of Avikkottai village in the district, on the charge of killing the French national whom he had befriended during a visit to Mahabalipuram recently.
According to police, Thirumurugan, who surrendered on his own, 'confessed' to the crime.
The two were allegedly in an homosexual relationship and Boutier had come to Avikottai on 5 August on an invitation by Thirumurugan.
Some days ago, when both were consuming liquor an argument broke out and Thirumurugan allegedly attacked the Frenchman, killing him on the spot.
(Source: PTI)
5. Child Porn on WhatsApp: All Members of Group Liable for Prosecution
The Thane rural police, probing members of a WhatsApp group for allegedly sharing child pornography videos on the group, said the group, BB Bad Boys, was active since 2 January and at the time when a case was registered against two ‘admins’ last week, it had 217 members, several living outside India.
The police registered a case following it up with arrests after a man, who was part of the group, uncomfortable with the videos, approached Santacruz-based cyber crime and cyber security expert Ritesh Bhatia.
“I did a detailed investigation at the request of the police and advised him to approach the police station closest to where he lives to file a complaint,” said Bhatia.
He said some 20 clips showing sexual assaults on children were posted on the group since February. Eight videos show Indian children while the rest appear to have been shot outside India, he added.
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. Woman Alleges Sexual Harassment by 43 of Her Colleagues
A woman engineer of a company has lodged a complaint with the Noida police alleging that she was molested by 43 employees of her company.
The complainant, who is in her mid 20s, is a resident of Ghaziabad and has been working with the Noida branch of the IT company since 2016. Sector 58 police of Noida has named 21 people in an FIR while 22 others have been mentioned as unknown since the complainant did not know their names.
In the complaint, a copy of which is available with India Today, she told police that some colleagues had harassed her and made sexual advances in the office since November 2017. "I was asked to sleep with some of my colleagues," reads the complaint.
In the FIR, She also alleged that her colleagues had posted objectionable things about her on a WhatsApp group.
(Source: India Today)
7. Andhra Sub-Inspector Faces Probe After Woman Alleges Sexual Harassment
A police sub-inspector has been accused of harassing a woman complainant through phone calls in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district. The victim approached higher officials, following which the SI has been sent to Vacancy Reserved (VR).
The incident took place in Atmakur Mandal in Kurnool District, where a woman, who was having a land dispute with her sister's family, had approached Atmakuru SI Venkata Subbaiah to register a complaint. While filing the complaint, she had furnished her mobile number for formal communication with regard to the case.
However, the SI later reportedly asked both families to sort out the matter since it is a civil case. Reports in local media suggest that SI also arranged a counselling between both the parties.
The woman alleged that the SI has been 'harassing her sexually', by calling her at odd hours and making inappropriate comments.
(Source: The News Minute)
8. Journalists Attacked at Rape-Accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal’s Home
Several mediapersons from Kerala were allegedly assaulted by a group of private security guards at the Bishop’s House in Jalandhar in Punjab on 13 August.
The Delhi-based journalists were in Jalandhar to report on the police investigation and questioning of Roman Catholic Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who had allegedly abused his position and repeatedly raped a nun from Kerala.
According to some of the journalists, the guards manhandled them and damaged their cameras and equipment while they were capturing visuals of Bishop Mulakkal who had just returned to his headquarters from Chandigarh.
No official comment was immediately available on the alleged assault of journalists.
A special team of Kerala Police earlier reached the Bishop’s House to question the Bishop but was unable to do so since he was in Chandigarh.
Read the full story here.
9. Murder Trial of RTI Activist Amit Jethva: Judge Seeks 24x7 Security
Special CBI judge KM Dave, who is presiding over the murder trial of RTI activist Amit Jethva has sought “round-the-clock” security for himself and his family, citing the “sensitivity” of the case. Former BJP MP from Junagadh, Dinu Bogha Solanki, is the prime accused in the case, and is currently on bail.
Sources in the CBI said that on behalf of judge KM Dave, then principal sessions court judge A R Patel had written a letter to the CBI Director in June this year asking for the security cover.
When The Indian Express sought a response from judge Dave, he said, “It is in process. I would not like to talk about it. You ask the concerned department.”
Jethva was shot dead on 20 July 2010 by two assailants outside the Gujarat High Court. Through RTI replies, the social worker had exposed illegal mining activities in Gir forest allegedly by former MP Solanki.
(Source: The Indian Express)
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