Sep 29, 2011: Tamil Nadu: All 269 accused found guilty in Vatchathi rape case

Binoy Valsan, TNN | Sep 29, 2011, 02.06PM IST

DHARMAPURI: A Dharmpauri sessions court in north Tamil Nadu on Thursday pronounced its verdict, holding all 215 accused guilty of atrocities against the Vachathi tribes who live in the hill ranges in the district. The much-awaited judgment was delivered by sessions judge S Kumaraguru in a jam-packed court hall where all the 215 accused and the 100-odd victims were present. The court will resume at 2.30 pm when the judge will pronounce the sentences for all the accused.

The CBI had investigated the case in which tribals accused forest and police personnel of raping and torturing them during the Veerappan operation by the forest and police personnel in June 1992. The tribals said they were picked up under the guise of questioning during the operation to nab Veerappan and some of the women were raped and the men tortured for information about the dreaded sandalwood bandit's whereabouts. Later the operations by a special task force took over and it went on for many years until 2004 when Veerappan was shot dead.

At 11 am on Thursday, the district sessions court delivered its judgement even as the small court room was crowded with the accused, victims, representatives of human rights organisations and mediapersons. At least nine police and forest personnel have been held guilty for rape while all the accused have been charged under various IPC sections for rape, torture and other human rights violations as well as sections under the SC/ST Act.
The long-pending case had come under the scanner of the National Human Rights Commission and media spotlight as Tamil Nadu-based human rights organisations stepped up protests against the inordinate delay. In fact, the verdict was to be delivered on Monday, but the court postponed it as three of the accused were not present. They later surrendered before the court which fixed Thursday for delivering what could be a landmark judgement. Fifty-four of the 269 accused and chargesheeted by the CBI died during the course of the trial.
Link: Tamil Nadu: All 269 accused found guilty in Vatchathi rape case
Link: 1992 Vachati mass rape case: 215 forest personnel held guilty, nine for rape

Sep 27, 2011: Doctor upset with wife, kills her

IANS | Sep 27, 2011, 09.59PM IST

NEW DELHI: A 31-year-old surgeon who strangled his wife here and dumped the body in Allahabad citing incompatibility has been arrested, police said Tuesday.

Chandra Vibhash, who worked at the Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital here, packed wife Supriya's body in a bag and drove about 630 km to Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to throw it into the Ganges. He missed the mark and the bag landed on a bridge, Additional Commissioner of Police V. Renganathan said.

Vibhash told police that he killed Supriya as they were not on the same "mental and physical" wave length. Supriya, who studied management after completing engineering, got married to Vibhash in November last year in Jharkhand. According to Supriya's father, within months Vibhash told Supriya to leave their house. Both families intervened to bring peace. That did not happen.

Supriya had September 24 frantically telephoned her mother in Jharkhand expressing the fear that she could be murdered. Before her parents could rush to Delhi to rescue her, she was dead.

Link: Doctor upset with wife, kills her

Sep 26, 2011: Four boys gang-rape 8-year-old in Punjab village

Neel Kamal, TNN | Sep 26, 2011, 04.36PM IST

CHANDIGARH: Four 12 years old boys have raped an eight years old girl in a Punjab village on Saturday night. The profusely bleeding girl has been admitted at a civil hospital at Dhuri and all four boys have been taken into custody. The boys studying in 6 ^{th and} 7 ^th classes had lured the girl and raped her repeatedly. She is studying in class 2 ^nd near the village Kanjhla drain. The dalit family of the girl is very poor.

Kanjhla village's former sarpanch Rattan Kumar' son Basant Kumar, who had got the girl to Dhuri civil hospital said, "Four village kids got the minor girl to a secluded place in the village near the drain on Saturday night at about 8 pm and when the villagers got to know about the heinous crime, the girl was bleeding profusely. He along with others got the girl to hospital, where she is convalescing." Basant said, the girl's family belonging to Bazigar community, is making both ends meet either by begging or indulging in menial jobs.

The poor girl's father said, "We are hardly making both ends meet and now this act of village boys have made our life more miserable." He demanded stern action against the erring boys, who have spoilt the life of a small girl.

Dhuri Sadar police station SHO Shuved Singh said police are working on the complaint of girl's parents and have arrested Jasbir Singh, Narpinder Singh, Harvinder Singh, Kamaljit Singh, all studying at a government school. He said all four of them have been sent to juvenile home at Ludhiana after registering rape case against them.

Link: Four boys gang-rape 8-year-old in Punjab village

Sep 25, 2011: 4 held for running sex racket

TNN | Sep 25, 2011, 05.01PM IST

CHANDIGARH: With the arrest of four persons today, the Haryana Police claimed to have busted a sex racket in Sirsa city.

Ramesh Bhatia, Dharmender, Sonu and Vikram were arrested and produced in court which sent them to jail, police said.

During interrogation the accused admitted that they brought girls from West Bengal to Delhi on promise of job and thereafter the girls were subjected to prostitution, police said.

Meanwhile, three cricket bookies were also arrested from Durga Colony in Karnal, police said.

Bharat Bhushan, Hemant and Rajan, all resident of Karnal were arrested for allegedly betting during a 20-20 match between Chenai Super King and Mumbai Indian Champion League.

Link: 4 held for running sex racket

Sep 25, 2011: Kanchi police arrest couple for murder

TNN | Sep 25, 2011, 06.57AM IST

CHENNAI: The Kancheepuram police on Saturday arrested a couple in connection with the murder of a 32-year-old woman near Baluchetty Chattram on September 2. The husband-and-wife duo have been identified as M Vidyasekhar (29) of Nilgiris and his wife B Sreeja (25).They have also been charged with robbing gold ornaments worth three sovereigns and Rs 4,000 in cash.

B Chitra, a housewife,was found murdered in her house at Anna Nagar around 4pm on September 2. "The accused had come to Kancheepuram to sell a two wheeler. We nabbed them when they about to sell the stolen jewels," a police officer said.

Link: Kanchi police arrest couple for murder

Sep 25, 2011: Wife planned Moti Nagar businessman's murder

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN | Sep 25, 2011, 01.56AM IST

NEW DELHI: From the most romantic of unions to a ruthless murder, over the years their life took a trajectory that neither Virender nor Aarti foresaw on their fateful meeting in a railway compartment 18 years ago. Relations between theMoti Nagar businessman and his wife of 14 years had been strained for some time, but when the police announced on Saturday that Aarti had planned and financed Virender's brutal murder - he was stabbed 36 times with an ice pick in the early hours of Wednesday - the news jarred with the details of their early life.

If Aarti Sachdeva, nee Arvinder Kaur, had really offered to pay contract killer Mridul Dixit Rs 10 lakh to bump off her husband, as the police claim, she must have become a completely different person from the coy schoolgirl who fell for Virender Sachdeva on their first brush years ago, fought off opposition from her family for four years to marry him, and then bore him two children.

Police on Saturday said Aarti (33) had been in an extramarital relationship with a Paharganj hotelier, Sant Saran Nehra (32), for the last three years. The two had thought out the plan to get rid of Virender (37) together, cops said.

Announcing the arrest of Aarti, Nehra and Dixit, additional CP (west) V Renganathan said, "The accused had not hit the victim repeatedly with a hammer (as initially reported); we found 36 stab wounds on Virender's body which were inflicted with an iron poker. The death was brutal.''

Cops said the murder was planned out at Nehra's hotel.

Police said Nehra got married in March this year, the same month when Aarti lost her only son to an illness. "Nehra and Aarti had known each other since childhood as her mother's family lived in his neighbourhood. In 2009, the two travelled to Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh with their families. They probably fell in love on this trip. After returning to Delhi, Aarti kept frequenting Paharganj.

"She also attended Nehra's marriage ceremony against the will of her husband and remained there for three days, after which he allegedly beat her up,'' said a senior police officer

Police sources also said relations had been strained between the couple.

"They had shifted to Moti Nagar from Tagore Garden (Sachdeva's family address) as Aarti was not on good terms with in-laws. Virender suspected that Aarti was in an extramarital affair, which led to quarrels," said an officer.

Link: Wife planned Moti Nagar businessman's murder

Sep 24, 2011:Dell employee held for slur against colleague's wife

TNN | Sep 24, 2011, 03.46AM IST

HYDERABAD: A Dell employee was arrested on Friday by Cyberabad police for allegedly creating a fake photo profile of his colleague's wife by attaching abusive messages.

Police said that 23-year-old Bandela Vishal, a resident of Vijaynagar Colony, had created a profile of the wife of Kousik Mukherjee, a colleague of the accused on locanto.com.
"Since Vishal had differences with Kousik, the former in order to defame Kousik uploaded the photograph of her wife by attaching abusive messages," Cyberabad police commissioner Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao said in a press release.
During the investigation, police came to know that the accused collected her photograph from Facebook. "After writing defamatory contents about her, Vishal gave the phone number of her husband on the Locanto website. By seeing it, several people started calling up Kousik. But during the investigation we came to know that it was Vishal who did the mischief,'' Cyber Crime inspector KS Rao said.

Link: Dell employee held for slur against colleague's wife

Sep 23, 2011: Minor sexually abused for six months

PTI | Sep 23, 2011, 06.40PM IST

BUNDI/JAIPUR: A 13-year-old girl was sexually abused for about six months allegedly by a school teacher at Dabhi village here, police said today.

The girl's labourer parents came to know about the episode when she got pregnant, Dhabi SHO Mahendra Maru said.

Mahindra Kumar Mali allegedly lured the girl to a local guest house and abused her sexually when her parents were out for work. This continued for nearly six months, the police official said, adding a manhunt has been launched to nab the absconding teacher.

In another incident, a 14-year-old was allegedly raped by two youths at Dablana area here earlier this month.

As per the complaint filed by the victim's father, the girl was raped by Nandlal Mali and Shoyagilal Mali when she was returning from her school, police said, adding the duo was absconding.

Link: Minor sexually abused for six months

Sep 23, 2011: Woman BJP leader set on fire, daughter dies of shock

PTI | Sep 23, 2011, 08.32PM IST

DEHRA DUN: The daughter of a woman BJP leader today died of shock after she allegedly witnessed her mother being set on fire by a person over personal enmity in Rishikesh near here, police said.

Geeta Shanker, zonal president of Uttarakhand BJP women's wing, was allegedly set on fire by a person, Lakshman Singh, at her house in THDC colony, police said.

Her daughter Khushboo (17), was present at the that time of the incident went into a state of shock after witnessing the gruesome scene. Khushboo was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died during treatment, police said.

Geeta was also rushed to hospital with over 65 per cent burn injuries and was referred to government hospital in Dehra Dun in view of her serious condition.

Singh had gone to Geeta's house in the morning when her husband was away, poured petrol on her and set her on fire.

President of Parwadun BJP district unit, Saroj Dimri said the accused is related of Geeta and was angry with her as she was pressurising the police to take action against him in a case involving a local girl early this week.

Meanwhile, police arrested Singh and are interrogating him.

Link: Woman BJP leader set on fire, daughter dies of shock

Sept. 22, 2011: 'Friend' kills elderly woman over Rs 50

V Narayan & S Ahmed Ali, TNN | Sep 22, 2011, 05.17AM IST

MUMBAI: It is a crime that defies belief. A 61-year-old woman killed her friend and neighbour of 13 years because she needed money and because she felt slighted over the latter's refusal to lend her Rs 50.

Latika Kamble, 55, was found murdered at her home in Kannamwar Nagar, Vikhroli (East), on September 14, her head bludgeoned in two places with a dull object and some valuables robbed. The crime, the Mumbai crime branch said on Wednesday, was committed by Laxmibai Dangle, a 60-year-old who lives three doors down from Kamble's house.

"We initially thought it was the handiwork of some outsider, but, as the investigation progressed, we realized that an insider was involved. It later turned out to be Dangle. She tried to mislead us at first but broke down and confessed on Tuesday," said Himanshu Roy, joint commissioner of police (crime). "It is shocking to see how someone could kill her friend for money."

Dangle was arrested on Wednesday. Officers said she is a widow, as was Kamble. She lived at her Vikhroli residence with a nephew and his wife. And, for a while, she was in debt.

The sordid saga began on the afternoon of September 11, when Dangle went to Kamble's home to borrow Rs 50. Neighbours for about 13 years, the two were really close, so much so that they often exchanged food and stories. Kamble had even shown Dangle in the past the gold ornaments meant for the weddings of her son and daughter.
On that afternoon however, Kamble, in the presence of her youngest daughter Manisha, declined to loan money. She told Dangle that she had exhausted all her cash on buying provisions.

"This infuriated Dangle. She argued with my mother. She shouted that my mother had my late father's pension and that me and my siblings earned adequately," Manisha said on Wednesday. "On that point, she left our house. I immediately sent my mother with Rs 50 to Dangle's home but, this time, Dangle turned it down."

Three days passed by without the neighbours sharing a word. Around 1.30pm on September 14, Kamble bumped into Dangle as she was purchasing fish from a roving fishmonger outside her flat. She offered to buy Dangle fish but the latter declined. A while later, Dangle visited Kamble's home. Burying the hatchet, the two talked casually until 2.30pm, when Kamble asked Dangle to leave because she had to take an afternoon nap. On her way out, Dangle left the door ajar.

Link: 'Friend' kills elderly woman over Rs 50

Sept. 22, 2011: 11-year-old girl raped, murdered in Ajmer

TNN | Sep 22, 2011, 01.13AM IST

AJMER/JAIPUR: An 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed at Dilawari village in Ajmer district on Wednesday. The mutilated body of the victim was found in a farm in the village. Thousands of villagers staged a protest march after the body was found.

"She went to the school on Tuesday as usual but did not return till the evening. A hunt was launched and her body was found in the fields. Only after getting the post-mortem report that we would know whether she was raped before the murder," said superintendent of police, Ajmer, Bipin Kumar Pandey.
"My daughter went out but did not return for lunch. Then we went for her search," said Satyanarayan Jat father of the deceased.
"We have registered a case of murder and rape under Sections 302 and 376 of IPC on the basis of a complaint given by her father. We will do our best to nab the culprit at the earliest," Pandey added.
Meanwhile, angry villagers also observed a bandh at Nasirabad town. The villagers forced all markets to close. "If our children are not safe in villages, where is the law and order," asked former panch Sampat Singh Choudhary.
The police rushed to the spot and tried to pacify the agitated villagers. The local administration soon assured to register an FIR. They persuaded the villagers to stop the agitation. Later they agreed to stop the agitation after an assurance of prompt action against the culprits.

Link: 11-year-old girl raped, murdered in Ajmer

Sep 21, 2011: Engg college instructor held for raping teen maid

Pradeep Gupta, TNN | Sep 21, 2011, 04.24AM IST

DOMBIVLI: A 47-year-old person working as a technical instructor at an engineering college, who allegedly raped his under-age maid for last five months, was arrested with his wife's help on Monday after she learned from the victim and approached the local police to lodge case against her husband.

According to Manpada police, accused threatened and raped the minor several times in last five month. It was done when her wife was out of town for some work.

The arrested person is identified as Rajiv Khadapkar (48) is works as technical instructor at Navi Mumbai based famous engineering college.

According to Manpada police, the victim a 16 year minor girl is resident of Ratnagiri and she was working as care taker for accused child at his home in Chandresh Building in Lodha Heaven in Dombivli East.

The incident came to light when victim frustrated with employers act approached to her employer's wife about the incident.

After learning about husband's act, Rajiv's wife immediately took victim to the police station where she lodged complaint with Manpada police station.

According to Prakash Nilewad, Senior police inspector, "In complaint victim revealed that in last five month accused raped her several time at three places including his in Dombivli, Navi Mumbai and Pune".

The girl told police that she was in fear as his boss would threaten her with dire consequences if she told anyone. The police have booked Khadapkar under rape charges and threatening to the girl.

Victim's parents are very poor and they also do not have any earning members in the family this is the reason to when a relative offered her job at accused house in Dombivli and then join work as care taker.

On Tuesday he was produced in to the Kalyan court where he has been remanded to police custody for seven day.

Link: Engg college instructor held for raping teen maid

Sept. 20, 2011: Father-in-law kills newly-married woman

IANS | Sep 20, 2011, 05.35PM IST

HANUMANGARH/RAJASTHAN: A newly-married woman died of severe burns in Rajasthan after her drunk father-in-law allegedly placed searing hot tongs on her thinking she was possessed by evil spirits, police said Tuesday.

The incident took place in Manak Thedi village of this district late Monday, about 375 km from state capital Jaipur. The police have registered a case acting on a complaint from victim Vimala Devi's brother.

"Vimala was married to Roshanlal a couple of months ago. Father-in-law Ramswaroop had suspicion that she was possessed by evil spirits... he gagged her and placed searing hot tongs on her body. I found her dead body lying on the floor," the brother complained.

"We have registered a case against some members of the in-laws' family for torture and murder," said a police officer.

Link: Father-in-law kills newly-married woman

Sep 20, 2011: Man held for sexual harrassment of wife

TNN | Sep 20, 2011, 12.53AM IST

KODAIKANAL: A 35-year-old man was arrested here on Monday for alleged sexual harassment of his wife in front of his daughters. Police said that the accused person has been identified as A Packyanath alias Marimuthu, an employee of the Kodaikanal municipality and a resident of Anna Nagar in the city.

According to the police, Marimuthu got married to one Murugeshwari about 15 years ago. The couple has two daughters namely, Nagarani (14) and Lakshmi Rani (12). As the accused was an alcohol addict, he would come home drunk daily, and sexually harass his wife in front of his children. 
A few days ago, unable to bear her husband's harassment, Murugeshwari went to her mother's house along with their two daughters. However, Marimuthu went to his mother-in-law's house, where he assaulted his wife for not giving in to his sexual desires. When his two daughters cried and urged him not to assault their mother, Marimuthu assaulted them as well.
Neighbours, who heard the children screaming, went to the house to pacify him. However, he did not heed to their requests and instead tried to assault them.
Angry neighbours then overpowered him and took him to the Kodaikanal police station.
Sub-inspector Jayaprakash made inquiries with Marimuthu's children and his wife, where they explained the whole incident to him. The daughters also urged their mother to file a case against their father, following which she filed a complaint against Marimuthu.
Based on a complaint filed by the wife, police have arrested and sent him to 15 days judicial custody. Kodaikanal police are investigating.

Link: Man held for sexual harrassment of wife

Sep 18, 2011: Cop booked for trying to kill wife with disinfectant

Pradeep Gupta, TNN | Sep 18, 2011, 01.29AM IST

KALYAN: A 38-year-old constable and four of his family members have been booked for attempting to murder his 35-year-old wife.

The incident took place on Saturday morning at Beturkarpada in Kalyan where the victim, Shobha, who is also a constable, lives with her husband, Hari Desai.
Hari and his family members would allegedly constantly harass Shobha as they suspected her of having an extramarital affair. On Saturday, Hari was annoyed that Shobha had cooked despite knowing that he was fasting that day. Hari then sat on his wife's chest and forced her to drink phenyl, the police said.
Shobha called her parents, who live nearby, and told them what had happened. Her parents took her to hospital where she has been admitted to the ICU. Shobha, who is posted at the Kalyan police control room, married Hari eight and a half years ago. The couple have a six-year-old daughter. In her complaint, Shobha stated that after six months of their marriage, her husband and his family members started torturing her, falsely accusing her of having extramarital affairs. They also demanded money from her, she said.
The husband and his family members used to harass the victim, who is also a constable, because they suspected her of having an extramarital affair.
On Saturday morning the family was annoyed because the victim prepared food despite knowing that he was fasting. He sat on the victim's chest and forced to drink phenyl. She is in the ICU.
The incident took place on Saturday morning at Kalyan's Beturkarpada area, where victim Shobha Desai,35 posted with Kalyan police control room lived with her husband Hari Desai who is also police constable with Kasara police station in Thane Gramin area.
According to complainant he got married to husband eight and half year ago and have six year old daughter with him. In complaint Sobha alleged that after six months of marriage her husband and family members used to torture her making false allegation of her extra martial affairs and also used to demands for the money.

Link: Cop booked for trying to kill wife with disinfectant

Sept 16, 2011: Extortionist cop informer arrested

Nitasha Natu, TNN | Sep 16, 2011, 03.21AM IST

MUMBAI: A police informer has been arrested from Andheri (E) for allegedly extorting moneyfrom local hoteliers, claiming that he was acting at the behest of senior officers and ministers. The police have also seized his car.

A native of Nagpur, Dinesh Tule (35) is a real estate broker. The police said he had been an informer for the social service branch of the Mumbai police for the past six months and tipped them off on bars flouting rules. Tule himself was an alcoholic and splurged on drinks, the police said, adding that his game was up on Thursday when SSB assistant commissioner Vasant Dhoble-whose name he dropped for extortion-caught him.

"Bar owners were aware that Tule had police contacts," senior inspector Pradeep Gosavi said. "Tule told hoteliers that he collected money on behalf of Dhoble who required funds fpr his son's education. The hoteliers did not know that Dhoble's son was already studying overseas." Over the past few weeks, Tule had collected Rs 3.25 lakh from the owners of Mansi, Ratna and Arrow bars at Andheri.

Tule not only misused Dhoble's name but he even claimed to be a close aide of guardian minister Naseem Khan.

Fed up with his demands, one of the bar owners called up Dhoble a few days ago to verify Tule's claims. Dhoble, along with the hoteliers, laid a trap; the hoteliers called Tule to Andheri early on Thursday and Dhoble landed up there. Tule was later handed over to the Andheri police and Arun Shetty, manager of Mansi Bar, lodged a complaint.

The Andheri police have recovered Rs 78,000 from Tule. He has cheating case registered with the Nagpur cops and extortion with the Aurangabad police. He was produced before a local court at Andheri East on Thursday.

Link: Extortionist cop informer arrested

Sept 16, 2011: 'Girls undergo systematic rape and torture in brothels'

Subhro Niyogi, TNN | Sep 16, 2011, 06.33PM IST

KOLKATA: One doesn't expect socialites to spend a languid rainy afternoon listening to horror stories. Especially when it's a diminutive 62-year-old narrating the tales. But when it is oneAnuradha Koirala doing the talk, the glamour quotient doesn't matter. The grit that fuels this character does. It jolts listeners out of stupor and lands them in a stark world with sleaze and grime.

A packed audience, mostly members of the FICCI ladies organization, listened with rapt attention as the chairperson of Maiti Nepal (an NGO that has rescued over 18,000 women from sexual slavery and exploitation) recounted stories that touch a nadir in human depravation.

Radhika, a 16-year-old from a well-to-do high caste Nepali family, fell in love with a boy from a low caste and eloped to get married. But with the boy unable to find a job and the girl's family unwilling to support them, the husband convinced her to sell one of her kidneys at Chennai for Rs 65,000. By then, they had already had a girl. After the money was spent, the husband sold her along with the daughter to a brothel in Mumbai. There she was first gang raped and then forced into sex trade. Her daughter's tongue was burned to prevent her from crying for her mother when she was entertaining clients. They lived like this for six years till a client learnt about her tale and informed Maiti.

"We managed to rescue Radhika and her daughter. There are many instances when tip-offs from clients have led to rescue of Nepali girls forced into prostitution. But for every such fairytale ending, there are hundreds of cases in which a girl lives and dies a sex slave," said Koirala.

Sarita, another Nepali girl trafficked to Mumbai and working in a brothel, broke both her legs after jumping off the three-storied building when she attempted to escape from forced oral sex. She survived. But for many girls, it is too late when rescued. "Several of them are infected with AIDS. Others become drug addicts. All that Maiti can then provide them is dignified death. At its hospice, there are 17-year-olds who look like 70, waiting for death to deliver them from a short, yet horribly cruel life. While women rescued from India are usually infected with diseases, those rescued from the Gulf are worse off with 57% psychotic cases from not just sexual but physical and mental abuse as well. Depravation reaches new levels when girls are trafficked to the Gulf. They are like zombies when rescued," she said.

While most girls trafficked from Nepal land up in brothels in Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Surat, Delhi, Bangalore, Siliguri, Gorakhpur and Meerut, girls are increasingly being re-routed to the Gulf, China and South-East Asia as well. "While traffickers in India prefer girls with mongoloid features as prevalent in people from lower castes in Nepal, those in China prefer girls from high caste who have prominent nose and high cheek bone," Maiti Nepal director Bishwo Ram Khadka said.

Of the 600,000-800,000 people trafficked every year globally, 70% are women and children. Of this, 150,000 cases are in South Asia with Nepal accounting for a lion's share. Maiti estimates there are 150,000-400,000 Nepali girls and women in Indian brothels. A big chunk of them are aged 7-24 years.

"The girls undergo systematic rape and torture. They are starved and scalded by smoldering cigarettes and sometimes even murdered. Those who are young are given hormone injections so that they appear big and then gang raped as an initiation into the trade. Thereafter, they are made to entertain 5-50 clients a day," said Koirala.

While extreme poverty in west Nepal is considered the primary reason for Nepali girls being trafficked in large numbers, Koirala says gender discrimination is the root cause, citing social practices like Chaupadi, Deuki and Badi where girls are driven into flesh trade by families.

Koirala took up the cause of rescuing and rehabilitating women in 1993 after suffering domestic violence. "At the time, everyone in Nepal was speaking about trafficking but no one was doing anything. So I took a plunge and have been swimming against the tide since," said Koirala, who was awarded CNN Hero of the Year 2010.

Link: 'Girls undergo systematic rape and torture in brothels'

Sep 14, 2011: Hyderabad engineer arrested for raping, cheating Delhi woman

PTI | Sep 14, 2011, 07.23PM IST

NEW DELHI: An engineer from Hyderabad, who runs an education society, was arrested for allegedly raping and cheating a woman of Rs 2.5 lakh on the pretext of marrying her, police said.

32-year-old Mohammad Sirajuddin Ahmed, who is also into organising cricket matches, landed into the trap laid by Delhi Police in the Andhra Pradesh capital last week and was arrested.

The arrest came on a complaint filed by Rita (name changed), a resident of Mehrauli here, that Ahmed raped and cheated her of Rs 2.5 lakh on the pretext of marrying her after coming into contact with her through a matrimonial site.

The victim had no photograph of the alleged accused and she knew only his phone number and the address of his educational society.

A Delhi Police team went to Hyderabad to nab the accused but they found that the premises had was occupied by some other firm.

Several efforts by the team to nab the accused failed but luck smiled on police in the form of an advertisement in papers for T-20 cricket matches to be held in six cities in South India with a phone number similar to that of the accused.

"A local SIM card and a person having local accent was arranged and a communication was made with accused by the team through that person as cricket team manager of three local cricket teams, who wants to take part in the tournament.

"Subsequently, the accused agreed to meet with the team. He was arrested when he came at designated place at 8.30 PM on September 10 near Osmania Women College, Koti, Hyderabad," Chhaya Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South District, said.

Link: Hyderabad engineer arrested for raping, cheating Delhi woman

Sep 14, 2011: Woman set on fire for giving birth to girl

PTI | Sep 14, 2011, 07.01PM IST

GHAZIABAD: A 28-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband and in-laws for giving birth to a girl and not fulfilling their demands in Sanjay Nagar area here, police said today.

Meetu, who got married to Diwakar last year, gave birth to the girl about one month back and since then she was being harassed, father of the deceased alleged in his complaint.

They used to beat her up demanding money for the girl's upbringing, the father alleged.

Meetu was allegedly set on fire last evening and was found dead on her bed, police said, adding prima facie it appeared to be a case of murder which was given a colour of suicide.

Her in-laws left the house after the incident, they said. A case of dowry death has been registered and post mortem report is awaited, police said.

Link: Woman set on fire for giving birth to girl

Sept 13, 2011: Software engineer fined Rs 200 for molesting 16-yr-old

Link: Software engineer fined Rs 200 for molesting 16-yr-old

Sept 13, 2011: 88-year-old woman found murdered

TNN | Sep 13, 2011, 02.28AM IST

AHMEDABAD: An 88-year-old woman was found murdered at her residence in Usmanpura on Sunday. Police have detained a domestic help as primary suspect in the case.

Police have not yet been able to find the motive behind the murder and have started questioning nearby residents and relatives of the deceased.
The victim was identified as Jaya Patel, a resident of Panchsheel Society, Usmanpura, whose body was spotted by a woman at 10.30 am on Sunday when she had come for the routine chores at the bungalow as domestic help. She then informed Patel's daughter and son-in-law in Satellite who rushed to the spot and informed police.
"She was bed-ridden for some days due to ill health. We found her dead on the bed itself. Her body didn't bear any struggle marks. However, the post-mortem showed strangulation as cause of death. It might have been done with bare hands," said M C Patel, inspector of Naranpura police station.
"At the moment, we have not been able to establish whether there was any break-in or not, but we can't rule out the possibility that Patel was targeted as she was living alone," he added.
The inspector said that police have rounded up a male domestic help who used to work at the victim's house and who was found missing at the time of murder. Also being questioned are the victim's relatives and neighbours to know the last time they had met her or had seen any suspicious movement near her residence.
Three days ago, a 70-year-old woman in Saijpur was murdered by the youths who stole goods worth more than Rs 90,000 from her residence.
On Saturday, two domestic helps working at a senior citizen woman's residence in Ambawadi robbed her of gold bangles worth Rs 55,000. City police have urged the senior citizens to dial toll free number 1095 for help in case of such emergency.

Link: 88-year-old woman found murdered

Sept. 13, 2011: 68-yr-old strangled at home in Juhu, helps suspected

Vijay V Singh, TNN | Sep 13, 2011, 07.35AM IST

MUMBAI: An elderly woman was found strangled to death at her Juhu residence on Monday morning. Police suspect the crime was committed by two recently employed house helps, in what is the fourth such case in the city in the last one month.

Bharti Shah, a 68-yearold interior designer, lived alone in her apartment in Anand Society on Barfiwala Lane in Juhu. Her body was discovered around 10am on Monday by her sister and neighbours after their attempts to reach Shah proved unsuccessful.

Pratap Dighavkar, deputy commissioner of police (Zone IX), said the safes in Shah's house were unbroken, though valuables like "a necklace, bangles and cash" were missing. The police suspect the murder was committed on Sunday night by two helps hired by Shah last Thursday or Friday, and their motive, at least prima facie, was robbery.

The police said since the helps had not been registered at the local police station, little is known about them. The two last left Shah's residence on Sunday night, after which no one else visited the place. "We have some leads and we are working on finding the killer or killers," said Dighavkar.

Cops are trying to find the duo's photographs, failing which their sketches would be prepared with the help of the building staff.

Incidentally, a constable had visited Anand Society as part of a new police drive to hand out forms for registration of house helps.

UNSAFE ELDERS

In the past one month, four women have been killed in their homes in Mumbai. Servants are suspects in most of the cases September 12: Bharti Shah, 68, throttled in Juhu September 9: Tabitha Fonseca, 83, strangulated to death in Dadar August 30: Kavita Yogesh Suchak, 46, murdered in Juhu August 17: Aarti Chhablani, 56, killed in Santa Cruz (W)

Helps not registered

In a tragic coincidence, Bharti Shah , the 68-yearold interior designer who was found dead in her Juhu flat on Monday, had received a police form to help her register her domestic helps. She discussed getting the two new helps hired on Thursday or Friday registered with her sister, but it was not done. The duo are suspected of murdering her. The police said Shah dismissed her previous maid on Friday, saying she had employed new helps. She did not share any other details.

On Sunday night, Shah's sister, who lives in Andheri, rang the interior designer's residence twice but did not get a reply. Next morning, she called again and, on again not getting a response, requested Shah's neighbour on phone to investigate. When no one opened the door, the neighbour told the sister that Shah was not at home.

She realized that something was amiss because Shah would inform her every time before leaving home. Around 10am, the sister rushed to Shah's residence and opened the front door with a spare key. Shah's body was found with strangulation marks on her neck.

Link: 68-yr-old strangled at home in Juhu, helps suspected

Sept 11, 2011: Three youths jailed for ten years for raping girl

PTI | Sep 11, 2011, 12.33PM IST

NEW DELHI: Three youths have been sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court for gangraping a 19-year-old girl at knife point.

District judge P S Teji sentenced East Delhi residents Nesar (20), Sunny (22) and Mukesh (20) after convicting them for raping the girl in a slum while she was on her way back to home from work.

"In the view of facts and circumstances of the case, all the convicts are hereby awarded rigorous imprisonment for a period of 10 years and fine of Rs 5,000 each for the offence punishable under Section 376(2)(g) IPC (punishment for gang rape)," the judge said.

Police had lodged the FIR in the case on October 25, 2009 on the victim's compliant.

She told police she worked as a maid-servant and on the fateful night of October 24, 2009, she was returning home in Kalyanpuri jhuggis from work at about 9 pm when she was accosted by the trio, who were known to her.

She said they caught hold of her and took her into a nearby jhuggi and raped her one after one at knife point.

During trial, the accused took a plea that they were being falsely implicated for taking revenge as they had a fight with a friend of the girl.

The judge, however, preferred to believe the victim's statement saying that in Indian society, "any girl would not make such allegations as she is aware of the repercussions."

"If she is found to be false, she would be looked by the society with contempt throughout her life. For an unmarried girl, it will be difficult to find a suitable groom.

"Therefore, unless an offence has really been committed, the girl or woman would be extremely reluctant even to admit any such incident had taken place which is likely to reflect on her chastity," the judge said.

Link: Three youths jailed for ten years for raping girl

Sept. 11, 2011: Policeman's daughter stabbed by eve-teasers

PTI | Sep 10, 2011, 05.45PM IST

KOLKATA: The daughter of a policeman was stabbed by two eve-teasers while alighting from a local train at Barrackpore station in North 24 Parganas district, police said today.

The incident took place last evening and the injured girl, a student, was admitted to a local hospital by other passengers, while the miscreants fled.

Locals alleged that police initially refused to assist the girl's relatives in taking her to the hospital.

DG (rail) Dilip Mitra said he had asked ADG (rail) to visit the spot and inquire into the delay in nabbing the culprits.

If needed assistance of the CID might be taken, he said.

The girl's family alleged that the attackers had threatened the girl when she protested and resisted the eve-teasers in the crowded station

Link: Policeman's daughter stabbed by eve-teasers

Sept. 11: Cop held for sexually harassing new recruit

TNN | Sep 11, 2011, 04.10AM IST

AJMER: A new recruit, undergoing training at Rajasthan Police Training School in Kishangarh, was sexually harassed by a constable on Friday.

The accused has been detained and an inquiry has been ordered. A case was registered against him by Madanganj police on Saturday.

According to sources, a newly recruited constable was on guard duty at the night in the training school. One constable Jet Ram came to his post and scolded him for being "careless on duty".

"He asked me to come with him to Barrack No 3 and I followed him," said the complainant later.

"He asked me to remove my shirt and pants and lie down on the bed. He then started the sexual act with me. Though I cried for help he forced me to remain silent," he said in his complaint.

Hearing his cries, other newly recruited candidates reached the place and they called senior police officers. "The matter was reported to commandant D D Singh and Jet Ram was detained in the training institute," a source said.

Link: Cop held for sexually harassing new recruit

Sept 10, 2011: Misbehaviour with B N College girl

B K Mishra, TNN | Sep 10, 2011, 08.29PM IST

PATNA: The growing lawlessness on the B N College campus came to the fore here on Saturday when a girl student was forcibly taken out of the college up to Gandhi Maidan and another student was mercilessly beaten up by some miscreants. An FIR has been lodged with the Pirbahore police against a former college student.

Giving details of the incident, PU proctor Kriteshwar Prasad said that a former student of BBA course was teasing a girl student and hurling vulgar comments on her for the last few days. When a student objected to it, he was mercilessly beaten up causing severe injuries. The ex-student forcibly took the girl out of the campus. In the meantime, some students collected and chased them up to Gandhi Maidan.

Prasad said that stern action would be taken against the miscreant who was reportedly residing unauthorisedly in the B N College hostel. He said that this boy was also involved in the incident in which the then college principal, Raj Kishore Prasad, and some other teachers were attacked a couple of years back.

Link: Misbehaviour with B N College girl

Sept 10, 2011: Drunk husband sets woman on fire for giving birth to girl child

Purusharth Aradhak, TNN | Sep 10, 2011, 03.45AM IST

GREATER NOIDA: The trauma faced by women after giving birth to a girl child does not seem to end. A 26-year-old woman was burnt to death by her husband in Dankaur area for giving birth to a daughter on Friday afternoon. The accused has been arrested and the deceased's body has been sent for post mortem.

According to Dankaur station officer Anuj Chowdhary, they got a report around 2 pm that a man had set his wife on fire in Dhanauri Kalan village. The deceased has been identified as Babita, a native of Khurja. She got married to the accused Jeet Singh six years back. "Babita had given birth to three children, including two sons, but due to some reasons the boys died. The couple has a three-year-old daughter," said Chowdhary.

On Friday afternoon, Jeet Singh reached his residence in an inebriated state and started abusing and beating his wife. He then poured kerosene and set her on fire.

Link: Drunk husband sets woman on fire for giving birth to girl child

Sept 8, 2011: Parents kill teenage girl

TNN | Sep 8, 2011, 02.46AM IST

NALGONDA: In yet another case of honour killing in Nalgonda district, a 15-year-old tribal girl was killed by her parents as she was found to be in her seventh month of pregnancy. While the foetus was removed with a knife, the girl, Banothu Sunita, was allegedly buried after her parents throttled her to death. This shocking incident took place in Sakrunaik thanda in Devarakonda mandal.

The parents -- Banothu Jabbarlal and Hassi -- were furious after they found that their daughter was pregnant, which was confirmed by a doctor in Devarakonda. They throttled her to death in the house, removed the foetus and cremated both of them in the early hours of Tuesday.

The incident came to light on Wednesday after locals grew suspicious about the whereabouts of Sunita and questioned the parents, who spilled the beans. The couple have three daughters and Sunita is the second among the siblings. Sources said the accused resorted to killing their daughter to protect their family's honour after they came to know that Sunita's brother-in-law, elder sister's husband, allegedly impregnated her.

Link: Parents kill teenage girl

Sept. 8, 2011: Woman comes under scanner in minor's MMS case

Kundan Pandey, TNN | Sep 8, 2011, 12.21PM IST

INDORE: The minor girl's MMS case took a new turn on Wednesday with a woman coming under the scanner for providing sub-inspector Ramkishore Shivhare and his two accomplices her home to make the obscene MMS.

Meanwhile, the police seized the cell phone and sent it to the Centre for Forensic and Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, for further probe. The three accused were sent to judicial custody for 14 days.
Annapurna CSP Dilip Singh Tomar said the police were working to ascertain the role of the woman as her house was used to make the MMS of the victim. However, he said that the cops were not sure whether the woman in question had actively participated in the crime or her premises were used by her relative Sanjay Thakur, one of the accused, for the crime. He said that the trio had erased the MMS from the cell phone. "We are sending the mobile set to Hyderabad lab to find out whether any tampering has been done by the accused," the CSP added.
Meanwhile, hundreds of lawyers and residents assembled at the court to teach the accused a lesson for kidnapping and preparing the MMS of a minor girl. At around 1 pm when Shivhare was brought to the court, the crowd tried to manhandle him, but due to the timely intervention by the police any untoward incident was prevented.
CSP Kotwali Rajesh Raghuvanshi said that he along with 50 police personnel had reached the court premises to control the situation. "When we reached the spot, we found that people were agitated over the fact that policemen were getting involved in such illegal acts," he said, adding that the police would ensure that Shivhare is not spared. The CSP said that the Indore police were determined to take action against the culprits.
Shivhare, 35, a resident of Tikamgarh, is posted at the Chandan Nagar police station. The accused SI and two of his accomplices were brought to the court and remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. The accused were arrested on Tuesday from Gangwal bus stand while they were threatening the victim. However, the three were unaware of the fact that the girl was a relative of Paras Saklecha, MLA of Ratlam.
Strangely, the police, instead of seeking custodial remand for interrogating the SI and his accomplices, urged the court for judicial remand. Advocate Mahendra Maurya said, "Had it been a case not involving a cop, the police would have asked for police remand." He alleged that the police were trying to protect Shivhare by seeking only judicial remand.
Inspector of Chandan Nagar police Pawan Mishra said that Shivhare had joined the force in 2007. He said that the 35-year-old accused has two children. According to him, the accused has been charged under section 365, 363,342, 506 and 34 of the Indian Panel Code. The two other accused -- Sanjay Thakur, resident of Rishivihar and Vijay Sharma, resident of Saibaba Colony -- were also sent to judicial custody.

Link: Woman comes under scanner in minor's MMS case

Sept 8, 2011: Judge awards death penalty to five people in honour killing case

Link: Judge awards death penalty to five people in honour killing case

Sep 6, 2011: Four held for forcible marriage of minor girl

PTI | Sep 6, 2011, 10.30PM IST

HYDERABAD: Four persons, including a United Arab Emirates national, have been arrested in connection with alleged forcible marriage of a minor here, police said on Tuesday.

Based on credible information, Santosh Nagar Police on the night of September 4, nabbed the 47-year-old bridegroom Hilal Saeed Mohammed Al Hilal, a municipal employee in Sharjah, and rescued the minor girl from the contract of marriage and from being deported, they said.

There have been several instances of old Arabs marrying young girls from Old City here in the past. The families of the victims have fallen prey to Arabs who bribe them with money and promise them to take their girls to Arab countries, but only to divorce them finally, police said.

In the particular case, when police reached Moin Bagh in Riyasathnagar area, the marriage was already solemnised by the Qazi. But, the bride was taken into safe custody and subjected to age determination test at Osmania General Hospital wherein it was found that she is a minor and aged 16, they said.

Qazi Mohd Waheeduddin without verification and authenticity of the age of the bride, fraudulently performed the marriage of the minor girl and obtained her signatures on marriage forms, blank forms and other documents, police said.

During investigation it was revealed that Mohammed Al Hilal, paid the parents of the girl Awan bin Salam Barawas and his wife Parveen Sultana, a sum of Rs 30,000.

During further enquiry, Mohammed Al Hilal allegedly confessed that he married the victim with an intention to fraudulently have sexual intercourse during his stay in India.

Mohammed Al Hilal, Waheeduddin, Awan bin Salam Barawas, and Sultana were booked under relevant sections of IPC and the Prohibition of the Child Marriage Act, 2006.

The marriage contract between the minor bride with Mohammed Al Hilal is null and void and necessary steps are being taken for the lawful custody of the minor victim bride girl, police said.

Link: Four held for forcible marriage of minor girl

Sep 6, 2011: 5 held for misbehaving with rly passengers

TNN | Sep 6, 2011, 10.56PM IST

MANIPAL: Konkan Railway police on Monday arrested five residents of Kerala, said to be armed forces personnel on charges of trying to outrage the modesty and misbehaving with fellow women railway passengers on board train 12618 Mangala Express. Acting on a complaint from Gracy D'Souza (62), resident of Andheri West, Mumbai, who was travelling with family members, railway police arrested Sujith T V of Mallapuram district, Deepesh of Kasargod district, Anandan K, Allepey district, Santhosh of Calicut district, and Deepesh V K of Kozhikode district.

The accused, part of a group of around 12 passengers, speaking Malayalam, allegedly misbehaved with Gracy and her sister twice while travelling in S10 coach, once on September 4 while the train was passing through Nashik, and again on September 5 when the train was nearing Baindoor in Udupi district. The accused were later released on bail.

Link: 5 held for misbehaving with rly passengers

Sept 5, 2011: Three booked for molesting woman

Sanjay Yadav, TNN | Sep 5, 2011, 05.34AM IST

GURGAON: Three youths have been charged with molesting a woman at a ring ceremony held in a hotel in Sector-14. The accused allegedly even beat her and her husband when they opposed the group.

According to the police, the youths, who were drunk, fled from the spot soon after the incident.

The incident took place at the ceremony venue around 1pm on Saturday.

According to the police, Tina (name changed), a resident of Sector-13, Karnal, had come to Gurgaon with her husband to take part in a ring ceremony, which was organized in a hotel in Sector 14.

"The three accused, Nitin Jain, Sachin and Jatin, were also a part of the ceremony, and had joined the group from Karnal. The accused started molesting Tina following which her husband tried to confront them. They then beat up the husband and fled from the spot," said a police officer.

The victim reached the Civil Lines police station late in the night and lodged a complaint. On the basis of the complaint, police have registered a case against the three accused and started investigation.

Link: Three booked for molesting

Sept 5, 2011: Crime against women on the rise in Meghalaya

TNN | Sep 5, 2011, 10.38AM IST

SHILLONG: The Civil Society Women Organization (CSWO) has expressed concern over the frequent reports of rape cases in different parts of Meghalaya, particularly sexual violence against minors.
In a press statement issued here, CSWO general secretary Evangeline Thabah said, "One of the reasons will be the low rate of conviction when it comes to rape cases and the spread of pornographic videos and X-rated CDs. It's the insensitivity of some police personnel, especially in Jaintia Hills, to such crimes, which can be attributed to non-conviction as the cases are haphazardly investigated."
"The police deter and do not take seriously such cognizable crimes, especially when the perpetrator is well connected," a social activist said.
The CSWO has urged the government to take stringent steps against such crimes by initiating thorough investigation into rape cases and also expedite investigation by setting specific time limits. It also called for setting up of separate medical units to deal with sexual assaults so that the victims are not subjected to further humiliation.
The organization also urged the government to take action against 'erring' police officers who "mislead the people and help the perpetrators". The CSWO said bails should not be granted to perpetrators and called upon authorities to ensure that magistrates were available to take down statements of the victims and witnesses.
Besides, the women's organization wanted all rape cases to be transferred to Fast Track Courts besides provision of adequate compensation to the victims.

Meghalaya, despite being predominantly inhabited by tribal communities who follow the matrilineal system, has been witness to crimes against the fairer sex over the years. "Women here are not free from male domination as is the case in other parts of the country," said a woman activist.

Link: Crime against women on the rise in Meghalaya

Sept 5, 2011: Woman, two sons burnt to death for dowry

Link: Woman, two sons burnt to death for dowry

Sept 5, 2011: Woman throws acid on boyfriend's face

Link: Woman throws acid on boyfriend's face

Sept 5, 2011: Teenager rapes, kills three-year-old girl in Mumbai

Link: Teenager rapes, kills three-year-old girl in Mumbai:

Sept 3, 2011: Finnish woman raped in Delhi

PTI | Sep 3, 2011, 07.25PM IST

NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old Finnish woman was raped allegedly by a youth at a south Delhi guesthouse early on Saturday morning after he offered her a lift, police said.

The woman, who works in the capital, was raped allegedly by Elvis Mentanna (25), who hails from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and currently resides in Mumbai with his parents.

Mentanna was arrested and a case under sections 376 ( rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) was registered against him, a senior police official said.

The victim had gone to a discotheque in a hotel in New Delhi area last night after having food in aGreater Kailash restaurant where she met Mentanna, the official said.

"She had drinks at the discotheque and had danced with Mentanna. When she was leaving for home and was looking for a taxi, Mentanna offered to drop her home," the official said.

The accused allegedly took her to a guest house in Hauz Khas and allegedly raped her, the official said, adding he threatened her with dire consequences if she reported the matter to the police.

"He told her that he will stab her to death if she reported the matter," the official said.

However, she gathered courage and approached police following which she was taken to a hospital where a medical examination confirmed sexual assault.

Following the registration of the case, the official said Mentanna was traced and placed under arrest.

Link: Finnish woman raped in Delhi - The Times of India

Update: Rape accused was club hopper
TNN | Sep 5, 2011, 03.28AM IST
NEW DELHI: The accused in the rape of a Finnish woman, Elvis Menttanna, "used to frequent pubs and night clubs and become friendly with foreigners easily", police have said. 

The 25-year-old from Mumbai was produced before the duty magistrate at the Saket court on Sunday and sent to Tihar Jail for 14 days' judicial custody. "I am innocent. I have not done anything wrong," he said while being taken to court.

Menttanna allegedly took the 30-year-old woman to his guesthouse room after meeting her in a discotheque in New Delhi and raped her. He has been booked under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC at Hauz Khas police station. Investigations have, however, confirmed that the victim was not drugged by him on Saturday. She is undergoing counselling with the police.

The youth was reportedly in Delhi for two-and-a-half months as he had got freelance assignments as translator and would usually leave to relax in the evening, said deputy commissioner of police (south) Chhaya Sharma on Sunday.

The accused told the police he was from Goa but one of the documents found on him also mentioned Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The police have spoken to his relatives in Mumbai and are also verifying about him from the Andamans and Goa. "We have not found any previous record of his at least in Delhi but we are checking with Mumbai and other places," Sharma told TOI. The victim had said she left her guesthouse in south Delhi with two friends, both expats, and had dinner at a Greater Kailash-I restaurant and then went to the discotheque. She alleged that Menttanna soon struck a friendship with her and offered to drop her home but took her to his guesthouse. When the victim refused to stay there, he allegedly raped her.