Crime file: Man held for raping girlfriend's 4-yr-old daughter in Goa; SI suspended following woman's death over obscene FB posts, and more

Man held for raping girlfriend's 4-yr-old daughter

Panaji (Goa): A 31-year-old man allegedly raped his Iranian girlfriend's four-year-old daughter while they were holidaying near here, police said today.

The accused, Ashley Crasta, a Mumbai resident, was arrested by Anjuna police on Monday, after his girlfriend filed a complaint in connection with the offence.

Crasta, who was holidaying in Goa with her girlfriend and staying in a rented house at Arpora, about 15 kms from here, raped the child on January 22 when her mother had gone to a market.

Later, the child informed her mother about the offence following which she filed a complaint at a local police station.

Crasta fled from Arpora after he got to know of the police complaint against him, but was traced to Anjuna village by the police. He has been booked under sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offence) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC and section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and section 8(2) of Goa Children's Act, police added. 

Next: SI suspended following woman's death over obscene FB posts

SI suspended following woman's death over obscene FB posts

Kochi: A Sub-Inspector of a local police station has been suspended for not registering a case in connection with the obscene messages posted on the social networking site against a 27-year-old woman, who later ended her life.

Cheranalloore SI, G Vidhyadhara Kumar has been suspended, police sources said on Tuesday.

Read here: Woman ends life after police ignores pictures on Facebook

The woman, Vijitha, had approached the police in December complaining that obscene messages against her had been posted on the Facebook by a man who was her relative. However, no case had been registered. She had also approached the High Court which had asked police to file a report.

Unable to bear the humiliation any longer, the woman took the extreme step of hanging herself inside her flat at Cheranallore on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the accused appeared before television channels saying he had no role in her death and that she had taken the step due to marital discord.

Police has registered a case and investigations are on.

Home minister, Ramesh Chennithala, has also sought a report from Kochi City Police commissioner, K.G. James.

Next: Woman kills drunkard husband in UP

Woman kills drunkard husband in UP

Hardoi (UP): A woman allegedly killed her drunkard husband by hitting him repeatedly with a stone in Rampura village in Tadiyawa area here, police said on Tuesday. 

Body of Itwari (42) was found near a primary school on Monday after which police began a probe and on a complaint filed by victim's cousin brother an FIR was registered against his wife Asha. The victim was a drunkard due to which his wife Asha used to remain unhappy with him. 

Next: Indian-origin babysitter booked for manslaughter in US

Indian-origin babysitter booked for manslaughter in US 

New York: An Indian-origin babysitter has been charged with manslaughter in the first degree in the US state of Connecticut following the death of a 19-month boy she was taking care of, police said on Tuesday.

Kinjal Patel, 27, suspected of causing the death of the Indian-origin boy, is being held on USD 1 million bond.

She allegedly told police that she became angry with the child and forced him to the floor, where he hit his head. The incident occurred at her home in New Haven on January 16.

Police responded to a "risk of injury" complaint at Yale–New Haven Hospital Paediatric Emergency Department and found the boy's skull was "severely fractured".

As the boy, Athiyan Sivakumar, was rushed to surgery, doctors told police his injuries were life-threatening, NBC News reported. The boy died on Sunday from his injuries.

The Office of the State’s Chief Medical Examiner determined his death was "homicide caused by blunt force".

On Wednesday, detectives interviewed Patel, who said she called the child's father to tell him his boy was injured. He came home and took his son to hospital.

Next: 72-yr-old man gets 5-yrs in jail for sexually assaulting minor girl

72-yr-old man gets 5-yrs in jail for sexually assaulting minor girl

New Delhi: A 72-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in jail by a Delhi court which found him guilty of having sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl.

Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Jain handed the sentence to Chandrika Prasad after pronouncing him guilty under Section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of IPC and under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on Prasad.

"I am of the considered opinion that the prosecution has succeeded in proving the guilt of the accused," the judge said.

According to police, an FIR was registered against Prasad in February last year on a complaint by the girl's father.

The girl's father said that he runs a shop here close to a factory where Prasad used to serve as a guard. He said that his daughter used to visit him at his shop in the afternoon following which he used to go home for lunch after asking Prasad to also keep an eye on his establishment.

But, on February 9 last year, his daughter told him that Prasad had molested her. Prasad was arrested the next day.

During the trial, the minor girl told the court that she was molested by the accused at the shop, allegations which Prasad denied, saying that he was being falsely implicated in the case.

The court, however, passed its verdict after stating that there was no reason to 'disbelieve' the girl's testimony. "In view of the fact that the accused (Prasad) failed to produce any contrary evidence... this court has no reason to disbelieve the testimony of the victim," it said.

Next: School cab driver gets one month jail for drunken driving

School cab driver gets one month jail for drunken driving

New Delhi: A court here has sentenced a man to one month in jail and also slapped a hefty fine for driving a school cab under the influence of alcohol.

Metropolitan Magistrate (traffic) Mahima Rai sentenced Jai Kumar and also imposed a fine of Rs 13,200 on January 24. Kumar was caught driving the school van on January 22 under heavy influence of alcohol, said Anil Shukla, Additional Commissioner of Police(traffic).

He was stopped during a special drive against drunk driving at Kalidas Chowk in Sadar Bazar area, he said. The driver also could not produce any relevant documents and thus prosecuted by ASI Shibu under various relevant sections of Motor Vehicles Act, Shukla said.

His previous record revealed he was convicted earlier for drunk driving.

Next: Five held with gold worth over Rs 2.3 crore at Delhi airport

Five held with gold worth over Rs 2.3 crore at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Five persons, including a woman, have been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold valuing over Rs 2.30 crore in separate incidents at the airport here.

The seizure, made during the last one week, is a result of heightened vigil at the airport, customs officials said.

In the first incident, a woman was intercepted after her arrival here on Monday from Bangkok. On her detailed examination, eight enamelled gold bangles weighing about 3 kgs were recovered which she was wearing in her hands, customs officials said. The accused, who is in her late twenties and hails from Punjab, was arrested and the recovered gold was seized. The value of the gold is Rs 75.58 lakh, they said.

In another incident, four accused were intercepted by customs officials upon their arrival on January 23 from different international and domestic flights - one from Bangkok and three from Hyderabad, Mumbai and Amritsar respectively.

One of the accused had hidden 600 gms of gold in his mobile while another passenger had hidden it in his innerwear. Rest were hiding gold in their baggage, the officials said. The accused were carrying ten gold bars collectively weighing about 6.2 kgs worth Rs 1.57 crore, they said. All the accused have been arrested and the gold bars have been seized.

The total value of gold being smuggled into the country in these two cases is Rs 232.38 crore. A man was also arrested on January 19 for allegedly trying to smuggle in the country gold valued at about Rs 32 lakh at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here.

On January 13, three persons were arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle gold valued at about Rs 75 lakh at the airport. The trio, who hail from Kerala, were intercepted by customs officials upon their arrival from Dubai. They had concealed three kilograms of gold inside the aluminium strips of their checked-in bags.

On January 7, three persons, including a man and his daughter, were arrested at the airport with gold bars valued at over Rs two crore. The customs officials had recovered 9 gold bars of one kg each and collectively valued at Rs 2.2 crore from these three passengers, customs officials had said.

Another man was arrested from the airport on January 4 for allegedly trying to smuggle 1.2 kg of gold bars worth about Rs 28.77 lakh. The accused, a native of Ghaziabad, was intercepted by customs officers after his arrival from Bangkok. 

Next: Man, convicted for raping daughter, found dead

Man, convicted for raping daughter, found dead

Kanpur: A man, who was living alone here after serving seven-year jail term for raping his daughter, was found dead under mysterious circumstances, police said on Tuesday.

The 50-year-old victim identified as Sarfraz Ali had been to jail on charges of raping his daughter in 2003 and released in 2010 following the completion of seven-year jail term, police said.

Ali's brother and relatives who came searching for him last night at his house in Parampurva locality here after they failed to get any news about his well-being for long, found Ali's body lying still on the bed after they broke open the door, they said.

The body was reported to be completely blackened. His relatives also found a food plate lying near his body, police said. They have expressed doubt that Ali was served poisoned food which caused his death, they said.

The body has been sent for post-mortem. The family members would be interrogated after receiving the report, said police. Ali was living alone in his house after his family members disowned him following the incident, they added.

Next: RS 5.3 crore worth gold seized at Chennai airport

RS 5.3 crore worth gold seized at Chennai airport

Chennai: Sleuths from the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption on Monday seized 16 kg of gold, worth over Rs 5.3 crore, from four parcels arrived from Singapore and declared as mobile phone consignment at the airport cargo section. Only on Saturday, DRI seized 8 kg of gold stuffed in cushions of seats in the Air India aircraft that arrived from Singapore.

According to airport sources, the DRI team found four consignments declared as mobile phone parcels were not collected by the addressees for the last four days.

“There was information that a huge quantity of gold was being smuggled in through the cargo section. When the DRI found that four parcels were not collected, the sleuths went and checked the Royapuram addresses and found them to be fake,” airport sources said.

When the officials opened the parcel, they found cheap quality mobile phones on top and below them were gold bars.

A total of 16 kg gold was found in the parcels and the entire quantity seized.

It was only on Saturday officials of the DRI detained three passengers at the city airport when they arrived from Singapore with 8 kg of gold, worth Rs 2.5 crore, concealed under their seats in the aircraft.

On investigation, it was found that while two of the passengers were to deplane at Chennai, one would continue his journey by the same flight to Mumbai. Officials later got into the aircraft, verifying their seat numbers and found that they had hidden three parcels of gold under the seat.

Next: Six-yr-old Kerala boy takes alcohol, hospitalised

Six-yr-old Kerala boy takes alcohol, hospitalised

Thrissur: A six-year-old boy was admitted to a private hospital here after consuming alcohol on Monday afternoon.

According to police, the boy hailing from Orruparambil near Kaipparambu and a kindergarten student, consumed alcohol from a bottle that he had found from an empty premises near his house.

On having the drink, the boy suffered dehydration and was admitted to hospital with high blood alcohol content.

“The parents found the boy in an intoxicated condition with the liquor bottle nearby and he was immediately rushed to a hospital. Preliminary investigations showed that the bottled contained only a very small quantity of liquor and attempts are on to trace the person who dumped the bottle at the spot”', said Biju Kumar, Circle Inspector of police, Peramangalam station.

Meanwhile, hospital authorities said that the boy was responding to treatment and there was nothing to worry.

Next: Military man rapes one-year-old in Bangalore

Military man rapes one-year-old

Bangalore: Trusting his colleague and neighbour with his baby daughter, aged one year and two months, proved costly for this military man. The child was allegedly sexually assaulted in JC Nagar police limits on Saturday.

The suspect, identified as Dharamveer Singh (33), holds the rank of naik at the Parachute Regiment Training Centre at Mekhri Circle. He has reportedly been in the military for the last 13 years.

Around 5.30 pm on Saturday, a fellow naik entrusted Singh with the care of his daughter as he and his wife had to step out of the military camp for some work.

On their return, the parents noticed that the child was crying incessantly and did not stop even when the mother held her and tried to pacify her. When the baby’s mother picked her up to soothe her nerves and make her stop crying, she noticed the child bleeding profusely from her private parts and informed her husband.

The duo rushed the toddler to a nearby hospital where the doctors confirmed that she had been raped.

The JC Nagar police rushed to the spot and arrested Singh. The victim and the suspect have both been sent for medical testing. A detailed probe is on. After certain formalities, military authorities handed over Naik to the city police on Monday.

Next: Two held from Karnataka held for theft of over 100 mobile handsets in Thane

Two held from Karnataka held for theft of over 100 mobile handsets in Thane

Thane: Two youths were arrested from Karnataka for allegedly stealing mobile handsets from a godown in Bhiwandi area of Thane district, police said on Tuesday.

Some unidentified persons had stolen nearly 147 mobile handsets worth about Rs 12 lakhs from the godown of Videocon mobile company at Vadpe village in Bhiwandi on December 28 last year, sub-inspector V S Shirsat of Bhiwandi taluka police station said.

During its probe, the police team traced some of the IMEI numbers of the stolen mobiles to Tanda of Mundargi in Yadgir district of Karnataka.

The Bhiwandi taluka police, with the help of their counterparts in Yadgir, reached the location and arrested the duo - Chandrakant Chavan and Mallu Rathod - on January 26 and seized 34 mobile phones from their possession.

Police said the two accused, who are mobile phone dealers, admitted that they sold some handsets to other persons. They were brought to Thane yesterday and would be produced in a local court today for remand, police said. A hunt is on for the others involved in the crime, police added. 

Next: 29 held for gambling, Rs 63k seized

29 held for gambling, Rs 63k seized

Hyderabad: In two separate incidents, a total of 29 people were arrested for gambling. Task force sleuths raided the Elite Club in Jubilee Hills, Road No. 5, and arrested  19 persons for gambling. The organiser, Uttam Reddy, and the gamblers were taken into custody. All the accused are locals and some traders. Some  Rs 50,000 and six cellphones were seized.

Meanwhile, Hayathn-agar police on Sunday raided the premises of Vishnu Transport at Laxmareddypalem and booked 10 persons for gambling. Most of the accused are truck drivers. Eight bikes and Rs 12,700  in cash were sei-zed. Cases under the Ga-ming Act were booked.

Next: AP man kidnapped in Jharkhand freed

AP man kidnapped in Jharkhand freed

Hyderabad: The Maoists in Jharkhand have released Anantapur native V. Sai Vamsi Vardhan, who is part of the Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow Scheme, along with three others.

“The four persons were travelling in a car when the Naxals intercepted their vehicle on Satur-day evening near Navka-nia village at the foothills of Parasnath in Giridih,” SP Kranti Kumar said. 

Vamsi Vardhan, who is from Timmanayanipet, was a research fellow in Giridih.

Vamsi Vardhan is a former employee of TCS. He was actively involved in ministry of rural development programmes in Jharkhand. On January 25, he had posted pictures of the government building blasted by the rebels in Tuyyo panchayat on his Facebook page and had taken part in Janata camps in the Maoist-hit area on January 22.

Next: Gang attacks cop’s wife, steals jewels

Gang attacks cop’s wife, steals jewels

Thanjavur: A gang of four, who barged into the house of a special sub-inspector of police at Venkateswara Nagar, in Kumbakonam, on Monday, robbed 25 sovereigns of jewels after attacking his wife.
On being informed, SP Dharmarajan and DSP Suyambu rushed to the house, inspected the scene of crime and conducted an enquiry.

Based on a complaint, the Kumbakonam east police have registered a case and are investigating.

Next: 2 robbed on Republic Day in Bangalore

2 robbed on Republic Day in Bangalore

Bangalore: Three bike-borne miscreants brandishing lethal weapons robbed two people of their gold ornaments near Sri Krishna International School at ITI Layout, Banashankari III stage, C.K. Achukattu police limits.

The police said the robberies occurred around 8.45 pm in dimly-lit parts of the road, barely 100 me­tres away from a bus stop. The miscreants – who we­re on a black Pulsar – were reportedly wearing ma­sks, while the two pilli­ons were wielding a hockey stick and a machete to threaten the victims.

Hemanth (30), a busine­ssman, was robbed of his diamond ring, while 46-year-old Gurumurthy, a priest, was robbed of his go­ld chain barely five minutes later. The police suspect that the robbers were known to the victims, although the victims do not know each other.

The C.K. Achukattu pol­ice have registered a case and are investigating.

Next: Techie robbed of valuables

Techie robbed of valuables

Bangalore: A 34-year-old software engineer was robbed of her valuables including a passport and PAN card, in HSR Layout police limits on Sunday night. The victim, Smitha Arohar (34), is a resident of HSR Layout third sector.

Smitha told police that she was walking near a fast-food outlet in the BDA complex at 8 pm when two bike-borne miscreants rode past and snatched her handbag containing her mobile phone, passport, PAN card and Rs 7,000 in cash.

The victim has given a description of both men to the police, and a case has been registered by the HSR Layout police.

Next: Man arrested for cheating job aspirants

Man arrested for cheating job aspirants

Kottayam: Changanacherry police on Sunday night arrested Madhu, 46, a native of Punalur for allegedly embezzling many lakhs of rupees from job aspirants promising that he would arrange jobs for them in foreign countries. The co-accused, Sudha who is Madhu's wife is however absconding. 

Madhu and wife Sudha were running a travel agency near Perunna bus stand in Changanacherry. 

Changanacherry CI, VM Nishad Mon, arrested Madhu after receiving petitions from job aspirants who gave money to the couples.   Madhu was nabbed on the basis of a petition filed by Arun, a native of Chennithala near Mannar.

Police said that the couple had received Rs 90,000 from Arun on the promise that they would arrange a job for him in Kuwait.

Police said that the couple had received money running into lakhs from various persons, on the guarantee that they would arrange jobs for the aspirants in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait and other gulf countries.

Arun handed over the money almost a year ago, police said. But he was not given the work visa at the promised time, and worse, the couple closed their travel agency office near Perunna. Following this Arun, lodged a complaint with the Changanacherry police station, and the police started an inquiry.