May 4, 2012: Private firm head held on rape charge

A Selvaraj, TNN | May 4, 2012, 03.19AM IST

CHENNAI: A 29-year-old managing director of a Chennai-based private firm was arrested on Thursday on charges of rape and assault. 

Based on the complaint of Sapna (name changed), a 20-year-old final year B Sc student, the Kilpauk all-women police registered a case under various sections, including rape, against William James (name changed), head of the city unit of a company, and arrested him. Sapna had been working in the human resources department of the company for the past month, police said. 

In her complaint, Sapna said that one night two weeks ago when she was about to leave for home, James called her to his cabin for some work and gave her a soft drink. She blacked out after drinking it, the complaint said. 

Sapna told investigation officers that when she woke up, she was shocked to find herself naked. She also said she felt she had been sexually assaulted. James said he had taken nude pictures of her on his mobile phone and threatened to make them public, she said. 

After the incident, Sapna said, she believed James would marry her but she was shocked when he came to know that James had got engaged to a girl and planned to marry her in May. She approached James and asked him to marry her. When he refused, Sapna approached police commissioner J K Tripathy and submitted a complaint which was forwarded to the Kilpauk all-women police. 

"We searched his house in Royapettah. We have confiscated his laptop and his mobile phone to verify if he has any video clippings of the girl. The seized laptop and mobile will be sent to the cyber crime laboratory for further verification," a police officer said. 

The girl would be sent to the government general hospital for a medical examination on Friday after being produced before a magistrate court in the city, a police officer said. 
Link: Private firm head held on rape charge

May 4, 2012: Patient ‘harassed’ doctor for 3 years

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN | May 4, 2012, 02.10AM IST

NEW DELHI: A dentist practising at a Rohini clinic has alleged that one of her patients who clicked objectionable photographs of her after drugging her has been threatening to post the obscene clips online. The patient has been blackmailing her for three years, the woman has claimed. 

According to police officials, the patient first visited the doctor's clinic three years ago complaining of a sore tooth. He visited the dentist four more times and each time he told her about his family problems, eventually striking a friendship with her. 

"The woman told us that on one of his visits, the patient offered her some chocolates which were allegedly laced with sedatives. She lost conciousness for a while and woke up only to be told that her obscene clips will be released on social networking sites if she did not pay him some money. The woman claims to have paid over Rs 2.5 lakh him," said an investigator. 

The complainant said that the accused forced her to pay Rs 1 lakh initially but demanded more money later. In the meantime, he set up a web-designing shop near her clinic and continued to harass her. Things turned uglier when the victim tried to work out a settlement by approaching the relatives of the accused and demanding the negatives of the pictures. When she reached the accused's Rohini residence on March 10, she was allegedly beaten up. A witness called the cops but the woman did not register a complaint fearing social embarrassment. 

However, a few days later she confided in a relative who asked her to approach cops. "We have seized evidence from the victim's residence at Bahadurgarh, including a computer and CDs. We have sent them to FSL Rohini for analysis. We are trying to trace the accused. If the charges are proved to be true, we might even invoke the IT Act,'' said a senior police official, outer district. A case of blackmailing and cheating has been registered.
Link: Patient ‘harassed’ doctor for 3 years

May 4, 2012: Howrah teacher held for showing porn to school students

TNN | May 4, 2012, 04.41AM IST

HOWRAH: A 47-year-old school teacher from Howrah was hauled up for showing pornographic material on his mobile phone to students. Bally resident Debasis Das, who taught English at Belur High School, was arrested on Thursday after parents lodged a complaint against him. Das was also suspended from the school immediately.

A couple of months ago, MLAs of Karnataka and Gujarat were accused of watching it in their respective Assemblies. And now, a 47-year-old schoolteacher from Howrah has been hauled up for showing pornographic material in his mobile phone to students. Bally resident Debasis Das, who taught English in the Belur High School, was arrested on Thursday after parents lodged a complaint against him. He was also suspended from the school immediately.

Das taught English to students of Classes V to VIII in the all boys' school. On Thursday morning, hundreds of parents turned up at the school and demanded a meeting with headmaster Tapas Chattopadhyay. The headmaster was shocked when the parents accused Das of showing obscene photographs and film clips on his mobile phone to their sons. The parents also staged a demonstration outside the school premises demanding the teacher's suspension.

The parents then lodged a complaint with the police, accusing Das of sexually harassing their children. Das was arrested and taken to the police station.

"The governing body of the school is taking this charge very seriously and we have suspended him. I will also take up the matter with the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. In December, 2011, this teacher was suspended for academic reasons. The suspension was revoked in the end of March and he started taking classes again. We are treating this complaint very seriously though," Chattopadhyay said.

Nishat Pervez, DC(HQ), Howrah City Police, confirmed that the teacher was arrested and investigations were on. Display of pornographic material to minors is a punishable offence in India and Das is liable to be sentenced if the charges against him are proved.
Link: Howrah teacher held for showing porn to school students

May 4, 2012: Woman raped in Darjeeling, two held

Deep Gazmer, TNN | May 4, 2012, 04.57AM IST

DARJEELING: A woman dumped by her husband was allegedly raped near Pound Road in Darjeeling on Wednesday night. A police patrol team luckily spotted the girl surrounded by a group of four youths and rescued her.

While police arrested two of the youths, the other two managed to flee. The arrested duo, identified as Sangay Bhutia and Shankar Sharma, will be produced in court on Friday.

On Wednesday night, a police team patrolling the town area noticed four youths and a woman near Pound Road. When they approached the group, police found that the woman, in her early 30s, was in an unstable condition. Though the youths tried to escape, police managed to arrest two of them.

Primary investigation revealed that the woman, a homemaker, was a resident of Melling tea estate under Jorebungalow police station. She had come to Darjeeling on Wednesday morning with her husband, a casual worker. The woman claimed that her husband who is an alcoholic deserted her and left for the tea estate. Since the victim had no money, she could not return to her home and hence started looking for accommodation. It was then that youths approached her and reportedly raped her on the pretext of helping her.

LT Bhutia, inspector in charge of Darjeeling sadar police station, said, "The woman was raped by some youths that we have arrested. We have sent the woman for medical examination to the Darjeeling district hospital."

Police are trying to nab the other culprits.
Link: Woman raped in Darjeeling, two held

May 3, 2012: Techie gets life term for killing girlfriend

Nitin Yeshwantrao, TNN | May 3, 2012, 01.32AM IST

THANE: A 30-year-old engineer from Navi Mumbai was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his 20-year-old girl-friend in 2008. He has also been fined Rs 5,000. Samantha Antovio Fernandes, an aspiring fashion designer and a student of Sophia College, died of excessive bleeding due to multiple stab wounds inflicted on her by Sumit Brijbihari Giri on March 20.

Giri suspected Fernandes of two-timing him. He was determined to kill her and end his life as well.

After stabbing Fernandes repeatedly, Giri consumed poison and stabbed himself. Both were taken to hospital but Fernandes failed to survive the assault.

Additional sessions judge SG Gabhne slapped a fine of Rs 3,000 and sentenced Giri to an additional 6 months in jail for the suicide bid.

Sumit Brijbihari Giri seemed amused by the verdict as he emerged smiling from the court room of additional sessions judge SG Gabhne who held him guilty of stabbing to death Samantha Antovio Fernandes.

Police said two were in a relationship and belonged to affluent and educated families with Giri's father a retired Indian Navy officer. The victims mother is a high-ranking officer with the Central government agency and her father is a top executive in a steel factory.

On March 20, Giri took his girlfriend to the Aniket Lodge at Rabale, Navi Mumbai at around 2 pm. He registered himself under a fictitious name and informed the staff that they would vacate the room by 7.30 pm. When the couple did not emerge out of the room till 9 pm, the hotel staff summoned the police who broke open the door and found them lying in a pool of blood,'' said chief public prosecutor RJ Kadri.

There was no eye-witness to the incident. However, circumstantial evidence such as the room being locked from inside and the recovery of the murder weapon from the scene of the crime were sufficient to nail the culprit,'' Kadri told TOI.

Judget Gabhne overlooked the argument by defence lawyer who argued that Giri was being made s scapegoat in a murder which was a fallout of a political rivalry as the hotel belonged to a prominent politician from Navi Mumbai, Kadri said.
Link: Techie gets life term for killing girlfriend

May 3, 2012: Jilted lover kills woman, commits suicide

PTI | May 3, 2012, 06.46PM IST

LUCKNOW: A widow was today shot dead allegedly by her jilted lover, who later committed suicide, in Raath area of Hamirpur district, a senior police officer said here. 

The woman, Rupa Devi, was allegedly shot dead by Ram Swaroop Dwiwedi, who was miffed after she ended their relationship, Inspector General of Police (law and order) B P Singh told reporters. 

Dwiwedi later shot himself with the same weapon in nearby Auta village, he said. 

Devi purportedly had an affair with Dwiwedi after her husband's death. Their relationship, however, soured in the last few days, following which Devi spurned him, the IG said.
Link: Jilted lover kills woman, commits suicide

May 3, 2012: Widow sold off for Rs 60000

PTI | May 3, 2012, 06.33PM IST

MORENA (MP): In a case of human trafficking, a widow was allegedly sold by three persons, including a woman, for Rs 60,000 to a Rajasthan-based man, police said today.


Seema Parihar, a resident of Keshav colony here was taken to Rajasthan by her acquaintance Vijay Singh Rawat under the pretext of visiting Kaila Devi temple but he sold her there to one Kalli Meena of Kaseda village in Karauli district for Rs 60,000, they said.


When Seema did not return, her brother Santosh tried to locate her and met Rawat, one Pittu and a woman Munni Kushwaha in this regard. They told him that she was living in Kaseda village in Rajasthan with Meena.


Santosh then rushed to Kaseda to meet Seema where she narrated the whole incident to him.


When he tried to bring her back, Meena along with other villagers manhandled him and forced him to go back without her.


Santosh later reported the matter to Morena SP Sanjay Kumar, following which a police team was sent to Kaseda village but they were also beaten by the villagers.


The SP confirmed that Seema was sold and now a fresh police team will be sent to Kaseda to rescue her.


Meanwhile, the three accused in the case are absconding and efforts are on to nab them, he said.

Link: Widow sold off for Rs 60000

May 3, 2012: Constable demands sexual favour from roadside vendor, stabbed

TNN | May 3, 2012, 06.51AM IST

VADODARA: Persistently demanding sexual favours from a roadside vendor turned lethal for a police constable who was stabbed by the vendor who could no longer tolerate his advances.

Bunty Mulchand Motwanim, who sells bangles at a roadside stall in Mangal Bazar, registered an offence at Kishanwadi police station, stating that police constable Rajendra alias Khumansinh entered his house at about 11.30 pm on Tuesday and asked for sexual favours. An enraged Bunty attacked Rajendra with a knife leaving the latter severely injured.

Bunty told police that about 25 days ago Rajendra came to meet him at his stall and said that he can "help" him in many ways. "Rajendra also took Bunty's mobile number and asked him to remain in touch," the police said.

"Some days ago, Rajendra again called up Bunty and went to him at his home. The cop asked Bunty why he wasn't meeting him. He then told Bunty that he wants to have physical relation with him. A shocked Bunty refused and told Rajendra that they can only be friends," the police added.

On Tuesday night, Rajendra reached Bunty's house again and asked for sexual favours. The cop threatened Bunty and tried to enter the house forcibly. When Bunty refused, Rajendra, who is married and is father of two kids, continued with his advances.

An enraged Bunty, who lives with his wife and two sons, reached out for a knife in the kitchen and attacked Rajendra in his stomach, chest and neck. The cops have made Bunty both accused and complainant in the case.

"A complaint of criminal assault will be registered against Rajendra too. His statement has been recorded. There is no legal section to deal with sexual harassment of such nature on men so we will register offence of criminal assault against Rajendra," city police commissioner Satish Sharma said.

Rajendra is in stable condition and he has suffered injuries on his neck, stomach and chest. Police are investigationg further.
Link: Constable demands sexual favour from roadside vendor, stabbed

May 3, 2012: Rapes in Bengal twice India's average, reveals National Commission for Women report

Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN | May 3, 2012, 04.00AM IST

NEW DELHI: Fresh from its April visit to the state, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has sent a stinker to West Bengal government pointing towards a steep rise in crime against women in the state in recent months and adding that this rise in rapes in the state in the recent past is almost twice than that of the national average.

The report also, significantly, expressed the commission's "unhappiness'' at the twin transfers where former joint CP (crime) Damayanti Sen - who investigated the Park Street gang rape case - and Pranab Kumar, SP (Bankura) - who investigated the rape case of a deaf and mute girl - were shunted out after preliminary investigations.

The commission laid more emphasis on the Bankura case. "The case is extremely distressing considering that the victim is a person of special needs and she was under the care of a doctor, who not only is alleged to have committed the crime but also breached the trust of the patient. The commission notes with dismay that the young SP who took prompt action in the matter and ensured timely enquiry was transferred," a three-member committee that probed the matter said in its report.

The NCW had constituted a three-member inquiry committee to look into the recent incidents of crime against women in the state and it had visited Bengal in the first week of April. It comprised Wansuk Syeim and Nirmala Samant Prabhavalkar, members of the commission and Anita Agnihotri, member secretary, NCW. As a source in NCW clearly noted, the team had observed that incidents of such crimes coupled with a set of unpreparedness among the officers at the level of public contact may actually make the "crime a nearly risk-free business for criminals".

Member secretary Anita Agnihotri said, "The report has been placed and the NCW recommendations sent to the state government. This is not aimed to target the state government but to build a system where such issues are promptly addressed and the mistakes are rectified. While the state government can transfer any officer, the committee felt at times such acts hamper the continuity of investigations."

In another significant development, the NCW team has also recommended review of the convention presently adopted by the Comissionerate of Police, Kolkata, which requires an order of a court before a rape victim is subjected to a medical examination. Stating that such a practice has been discontinued all across the country and even in parts of Bengal, the commission said this was against "the spirit of law and recent judgments of Supreme Court and High courts which clearly indicate that neither the medical officers nor the accused should get advantage in the process and valuable medical evidence against the accused is lost in any matter. This, incidentally, was touted as a reason for delayed medical tests in the Park Street case.

The NCW quoted an analysis of recent cases conducted by a NGO network called Maitree which pointed that West Bengal recorded the second highest number of rape cases in the country and the rate of increase in reported cases was twice the national average. Moreover, this state had the second lowest conviction rate. It said girls from the age of 7 to women of 72 were subjected to rape and that in 44% cases of gang rape 39% victims were minor girls; 17% of victims were mentally/physically disabled; 8% rapes happened in hospitals trains; in 44% of cases, accused is still absconding; in 17% of cases, women's character, or the veracity of cases were publicly questioned; about 39% of rapists were known to women; in about 25% of the cases, FIRs were not filed at all, or filed later due to public pressure or court orders to this effect; and that majority of the case took place in the districts and small towns and villages.

"The women who have been targets of attack should be offered financial compensation under provisions of the law (Section 357-A Cr.PC) by preparing an appropriate scheme, as has been done by other states. Hand-holding of the women should be done by designated field functionaries of the Women and Child Development Department so as to ensure that they do not suffer trauma and disruption of livelihood. If required, special assistance of psychologists and social workers should be provided," it said.

The report goes on to state that victims comprised of all possible ages. Further, girls from the age of 7 to women of 72 were subjected to rape; this included housewives, working women, mentally and physically challenged women, and tribals; the incidents occurred at all times of the day and night in public places, government hospitals, homes, fields and everywhere. The rapists ranged from students to tutors, teachers, family members, robbers, political party workers and government workers among others,'' the report stated. The NCW has been asked the state to set up 24 hour help desks to help these victims.
Link: Rapes in Bengal twice India's average, reveals National Commission for Women report

May 3, 2012: 6-year-old accuses youth of molestation

TNN | May 3, 2012, 06.41AM IST

KANPUR: In a shocking incident, a six-year-old girl was allegedly molested by her 25-year-old neighbour on late Monday night in Gwaltoli area. According to reports, the incident took place while the girl had gone to fetch water from a nearby handpump. She was lured by a youth identified as Shahid, a resident of the same area. He took the girl to his house situated nearby and molested her.

While a complaint against the accused has been made with the Gwaltoli police station, the cops are yet to make any arrest in this connection when the report last came in. The girl's kin, who preferred anonymity, alleged: "The girl, who was sexually abused on Monday night developed some kind of complications and apprised her mother about the incident only on Tuesday. She was standing near a handpump and was waiting for her turn, when the accused took her to his nearby house where he molested her inside the room."

"The accused had also threatened her with dire consequences before fleeing the scene," the girl's kin claimed. The victim's parents alerted the Gwaltoli police about the incident. The girl was later taken to the police station.
Link: 6-year-old accuses youth of molestation