'Amritpal, his aide were in Delhi, stayed with DU student in her flat’

The Indian Express | 2 months ago | 29-03-2023 | 12:45 pm

Days before Nepal put fugitive Amritpal Singh on its surveillance list, intelligence agencies have found that he was in Delhi. According to sources, a second-year Delhi University student purportedly provided shelter to him and his associate Papalpreet at her rented flat in East Delhi’s Laxmi Nagar.A senior officer from the Delhi Police has confirmed the same. Intelligence agencies, along with Punjab Police, are now questioning the woman.Amritpal has been on the run since March 18 when Punjab Police launched a crackdown on him and his outfit, Waris Punjab De.Intelligence agencies have also found CCTV footage from March 21, from Sai Chowk in Madhu Vihar, that purportedly shows Amritpal and his aide walking on the streets after leaving her house. In the footage, a man who is purportedly Amritpal is seen sporting a different look — his hair hanging loose, with no turban and his face covered with a mask. The man is wearing a jacket and glasses and is walking ahead of another man who is wearing a turban, glasses and mask.Sources told The Indian Express that the woman allegedly met Papalpreet during the farmers’ protest in Delhi and he had visited her house twice earlier. They said she is from an area near his village.“The woman told police during her questioning that on March 20, around 8.20 pm, the two men, in disguise, reached her house. She had never met Amritpal before, and Papalpreet requested her to provide them shelter for a night. She offered them food and they slept at her house,” a source said.Officers said they left after lunch on March 21. “Intelligence agencies got to know about this input, and they have verified the same after coordinating with the Delhi Police. Punjab police were also informed; they are questioning the woman before taking legal action against her,” a source said.Meanwhile, the Punjab government Tuesday informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that they were coordinating with several agencies and were close to catching Amritpal, the assertion coming after the pro-Khalistan preacher’s counsel claimed he was being held in illegal custody. The HC took up for hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Advocate Imaan Singh Khara, which claimed that Amritpal was in “illegal custody” of Punjab Police.Punjab Advocate General Vinod Ghai, however, told the court that Amritpal has not been arrested yet and they were coordinating with multiple agencies to nab him. Upon this, the bench of Justice NS Shekhawat asked Khara to file an affidavit to produce evidence that Amritpal was in police custody and pointed out that the state’s stand was that the preacher had not been arrested. If provided evidence, Justice Shekhawat said, the court would direct the relevant officials to conduct a raid and provide relief to the petitioner.The court, while fixing March 29 as the next date of hearing in the case, directed the Punjab government to file an affidavit, through the Inspector General of Police concerned. 

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Mumbai murder: She was ‘like daughter’, says man accused of cutting partner into pieces

The Indian Express | 18 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 12:45 pm

The Indian Express

18 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 12:45 pm

The man accused of killing his alleged live-in partner in their flat in Geeta Nagar area of Mira Road, near Mumbai, and allegedly chopping the body into innumerable pieces, has told police during interrogation that he is HIV-positive and had never had physical relationship with Vaidya, as she was “like his daughter”, a senior police officer told The Indian Express.The officer said that accused Manoj Ramesh Sane, 56, who was arrested on Thursday, has claimed that Saraswati Vaidya, 32, died by suicide on June 3. Fearing that he would be booked in the case, he allegedly tried to dispose of the body, and told police that he planned to end his life thereafter, the officer said.The officer, who visited the spot on Wednesday night, after the death came to light, said details of Sane’s claims during interrogation are being verified.After cutting the body into small parts with an electric tree cutter, Sane allegedly boiled parts of it in a pressure cooker and roasted them on gas to dump them easily, police said. He had allegedly kept the pieces in a bucket, tub, cooker and other vessels in the kitchen, and cut them so small that police could not even count them, an officer said.Police have invoked IPC Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) in the FIR. “He was produced in a Thane court and has been remanded in police custody until June 16,” DCP Jayant Bajbale, zone-1, Mira-Bhayander Vasai Virar police, said.“During preliminary inquiry, Sane told police that in 2008 he discovered that he was HIV positive,” the senior officer said. “Since then, he has been on medication. He said that he suspects he contracted the disease due to use of infected blood during his treatment a long time ago, after he had met with an accident.”According to Sane’s confession to police, Vaidya was very possessive in nature and suspected that he was being unfaithful to her whenever he returned home late, the officer said. She was planning to appear for Class 10 SSC exams and Sane was teaching her math, the officer said, quoting from his admission during interrogation.The officer said they found a board on one of the walls of the seventh-floor flat, with math equations scribbled on it.Sane told police that he saw Vaidya lying on the floor of their flat on June 3 morning, froth coming out of her mouth. He checked her pulse and found her dead, he told police. Fearing action against him, Sane reportedly told police, he decided to get rid of the body.Sane has told police that he has an Industrial Training Institute certificate but has been working at a PDS shop for 10 years as he did not get a decent job. The body parts collected from the kitchen have been sent to Sir JJ Hospital for forensic analysis, DCP Bajbale said.Police are taking the help of medical experts and trying to ascertain which parts of the body are missing. They have seized an electric cutter. Police suspect the crime took place earlier and emerged on Wednesday, when neighbours reported foul smell from the couple’s flat. After police were informed, they broke open the door to gain entry into the flat and found the woman’s body, chopped into pieces, in the kitchen. Unaware of police presence, Sane returned home in the evening. He was nabbed as he tried to escape, an officer said.A senior officer said when the accused was being questioned, he showed no remorse.

In Uttarkashi, ‘love jihad’ row weighs heavy on some shopkeepers, residents

The Indian Express | 18 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 12:45 pm

The Indian Express

18 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 12:45 pm

Zahid Malik came to Purola town in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district over 30 years ago, and has been running a readymade garments shop for 18 years. He had also joined the BJP six years ago. However, on Wednesday night, he had packed everything up and loaded it into a truck as he got ready to shut the shop for good.He is one of at least seven Muslim shop owners in Purola market to permanently close their shops and leave the town in the past two-three days.Zahid’s elder brother, Abdul Wahid, had moved to Purola much before Zahid. The tailoring shop that Abdul ran for more than three decades has been managed by his son, Shahnawaz, ever since Abdul’s death a few years ago. Now, Shahnawaz is also considering leaving town.Tensions in the Purola area erupted on May 26 after two men were allegedly found with a minor girl by some local residents. One of the two men was Muslim, leading to allegations of “love jihad”.Police identified the two men as Ubaid Khan (24) and Jitendra Saini (23), who were booked under sections 363 (kidnapping) and 366A (procuration of minor girl) of the IPC, as well as under the POCSO Act. They are currently in judicial custody.Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand: Muslim owned shops forcibly closed by Hindutva outfits! Posters have come up asking Muslim traders to vacate their shops before a Panchayat for “targeting Hindu women” to be held on June 15! Some Muslim shopkeepers have left Uttarkashi & came to Dehradun! pic.twitter.com/FQ6vYJD0bL— Muslim Spaces (@MuslimSpaces) June 6, 2023An officer familiar with the investigation said, “The girl did not know these people… There is no love jihad angle. We can call it love jihad only if the girl and boys knew each other, or the guy introduced himself as someone else, or they already had a friendship. But that is not the case here.”The day after the incident, protest rallies were organised by right-wing groups, the local Vyapar Mandal (trade union), and some residents. They demanded strict action against the accused and called for a stringent verification process of “outsiders” who come to the town.Posters also came up threatening Muslim traders with consequences if they did not shut down their shops.There are around 35-40 shops run by Muslims in Purola, and all have been shut for the past 12 days.The district administration have meanwhile formed joint teams of revenue and police officials to verify the antecedents of those coming from outside.“There are around five-six (Muslim) families living here for decades, including ours, and they, too, are being targeted now. They are using social media to threaten us. We have also been removed from the WhatsApp group of the Vyapar Mandal. Instead of giving us security, the PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) jawans deployed here are asking us not to leave our houses,” said Mohammad Ashraf (41), who runs a garment shop in the area. Ashraf is one of the few members of the community to own a house in Purola.“My family came to Purola in 1978 from Bijnor. Our shop was one of the first few in the area. Three generations of my family lived here, but we have never seen anything like this before… I was born here. I studied in the local Saraswati Shishu Mandir. Most of my friends here are Hindus. We cannot leave this place,” he said.Those who have already left include three traders of toys and crockery, two who were running garments shops, one car wash owner, and one mobile repair shop owner.Having shut down his garment shop, Zahid said he would leave the BJP. He claimed that he was the Uttarkashi district president of the BJP’s minority wing, but the party’s district president Satendra Rana denied this, saying that post was currently vacant and that Zahid had once been a district general secretary.On his decision to shut his business in Purola, Zahid said, “There was a big rally on May 28, during which some people vandalised the hoardings and flex boards of shops owned by Muslims. At that time, I came to Dehradun. We thought we would wait a few days until the situation gets normal. But then, there was another rally in Badkot. Four days ago, we decided to leave Purola.”He said he would look for a shop to rent in Dehradun’s Vikas Nagar area.Local resident Abhishek Semwal, a BJP member, said several Muslim families had been living in the area for decades, but that “problems” started when “new people started coming and opening shops”.Semwal and others, like BJP office bearer Pawan Nautiyal, alleged that such “outsiders” were involved in illegal activities.Meanwhile, Purola sub-divisional magistrate Devanand Sharma Thursday held a Peace Committee Meeting with local public representatives, influential members of society, and local members of the Muslim community. He said that the situation was under control.On Friday, another meeting will be held with local residents to decide the future course of action.Brij Mohan Chauhan, president of the Purola Vyapar Mandal, said: “It is expected that we will ask the administration to make sure that those coming from outside present a character certificate from their local police station. Those already living here for several decades will be allowed to stay here. We will give them a date when they can open their shops.”

International referee speaks: ‘I saw Brij Bhushan standing next to her, she freed herself... something wrong happened to her’

The Indian Express | 18 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 12:45 pm

The Indian Express

18 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 12:45 pm

In the FIR filed by six adult wrestlers detailing several incidents of alleged sexual harassment by Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, one complainant said that in March last year, as the team posed for a photo at the end of the trials in Lucknow for the Asian Championships, he “placed his hands on my buttocks” following which she tried to move away.Jagbir Singh, an international wrestling referee since 2007, who was standing a few feet away from Brij Bhushan and the complainant, has corroborated the wrestler’s allegations in his testimony to the Delhi Police. Speaking to The Indian Express, Jagbir Singh referred to the photo and said that Delhi police had asked him about it.Jagbir is among the over 125 potential witnesses, across four states, who are part of the police probe that is expected, as per Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur’s statement Wednesday, to be wrapped up June 15.An Olympian, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, an international referee and a state-level coach have corroborated the allegations of at least three female wrestlers, The Indian Express has reported.“I saw him (Brij Bhushan) standing next to her. She freed herself, pushed away, mumbled and moved away. She was standing next to the president, but then came to the front. I saw how this woman wrestler was reacting and she was uncomfortable. Uske saath kuchh galat hua (Something wrong happened to her). I didn’t see him doing the act but uske haath pair khoob chalte the, idhar aa ja. Idhar khadi ho ja (He used to keep touching wrestlers saying come here, come and stand here). From her (complainant’s) behaviour, it was clear something was wrong that day (during the photo session),” Jagbir said.According to the FIR, Singh forcibly held her by the shoulder before she could break free and move to the front row for the photograph.“Since I was one of the tallest wrestlers, I was supposed to stand in the last row. While I was standing in the last row and waiting for the other wrestlers to take their positions, the accused came and stood alongside me. To my shock and surprise, I suddenly felt a hand on my buttock. I immediately looked back and to my horror, the accused had placed his hands on my buttocks… I immediately tried to move away from that spot in order to protect myself from further inappropriate touching by the accused. However, when I tried moving away, I was forcibly held by my shoulder by the accused. Somehow, I managed to get free from the clutches of the accused. Since I could not have avoided getting the team photograph clicked, I decided to go and sit in the first row away from the accused,” the FIR states.The FIR adds that the woman wrestler was stunned by Singh’s “highly indecent” and “objectionable” action which was without her consent.Jagbir is the second witness this paper has spoken to, the other being 2010 CWG gold medallist Anita. Both have corroborated claims made by at least two wrestlers.Anita said that the complainant had called her from a tournament abroad to “share” the incident where Brij Bhushan had allegedly called her to his room and “forcibly” hugged her. The complainant cried when narrating her ordeal to Anita, after returning to the national camp in Patiala. In her complaint, she has said that she was “traumatised” because of the “forcible hug” on the night of her gold-medal victory.In the two FIRs filed by Delhi Police, based on complaints of seven woman wrestlers, including a minor, there have been at least two instances of the WFI chief demanding “sexual favours” in lieu of professional assistance; close to 15 incidents of sexual harassment that include 10 episodes of inappropriate touching, molestation that includes running hands over breasts, touching the navel; and several instances of intimidation, including stalking.On Wednesday, there was a breakthrough in the protracted standoff between the protesting wrestlers and the Government. The wrestlers, Olympic medallists Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, who met Thakur, agreed to pause their protest until June 15. This is the date by which the Delhi Police will file a chargesheet, Thakur said.

Days After Scoring 92% In Class 10 Exams, Thane Teen Dies By Suicide

Ndtv | 19 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 11:30 am

Ndtv

19 hours ago | 09-06-2023 | 11:30 am

A case of accidental death was registered and further probe was underway, the police said.Thane: A 15-year old boy, who scored 92 per cent marks in Class 10 state board exams, allegedly committed in Maharashtra's Thane city on Thursday, police said.The teenager jumped from the 23rd floor of a high-rise building in the Vartak Nagar area, but the cause of the suicide was not yet known, they said.The police said the boy had scored 92 per cent marks in his SSC (Class 10) exams of the Maharashtra education board, results of which were announced last week.Residents of the high-rise heard a loud thud sound and saw the boy lying in a pool of blood at around 2 am, they said.A case of accidental death was registered and further probe was underway, the police added.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)HelplinesVandrevala Foundation for Mental Health9999666555 or help@vandrevalafoundation.comTISS iCall022-25521111 (Monday-Saturday: 8 am to 10 pm)(If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist.)

Sharad Pawar's Reminder After Massive Clashes Over Tipu Sultan, Aurangzeb

Ndtv | 1 day ago | 08-06-2023 | 03:41 pm

Ndtv

1 day ago | 08-06-2023 | 03:41 pm

Sharad Pawar today spoke out about the violence in Maharashtra's Kohlapur. (File)Pune: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar today said the violence that took place in Kolhapur and some other places over the posters and social media posts allegedly glorifying Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan was not in line with the culture of Maharashtra.Tension gripped Kolhapur city, 285 kilometres from Mumbai, on Tuesday after some persons allegedly kept an image of 18th-century ruler Tipu Sultan and an offensive audio message as their social media status, resulting in a protest by some Hindu outfits at Shivaji Chowk the next day.Police had to resort to lathicharge (baton charge) to quell the stone-pelting and violence that the protest descended into, following which 36 people were held in connection with the incidents in the western Maharashtra city.Speaking to reporters in Baramati, Mr Pawar said, "People of the state and these places where such incidents took place must maintain peace. Whatever happened at two to three places is not in line with the culture of Maharashtra. Maharashtra is known as a peace loving and patient state, and people here do not have a tendency to take the law into their own hands.""I also would like to tell those who try to create disputes deliberately that common people have to pay the price for all this. I appeal that for the betterment of the common people, ensure such things do not take place. People must fully cooperate with police," the former Union minister added.Sharad Pawar said Kolhapur has a very rich history and peace must prevail by remembering the towering ideals of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj and Tarabai."The interests of common people should be protected. I am sure the situation will change if a majority of the people and state government adopt a wise approach. I am sure this picture will change," Mr Pawar asserted.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comSome persons were booked in Ahmednagar for allegedly carrying posters of Aurangzeb during a procession in Fakirwada area there on June 7. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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