Crime file: Bank staffer, wife and son held for Rs 4.5cr gold theft in Hyderabad; trio puts minor through hell for a month and more
Bank staffer, wife and son held for Rs 4.5 crore gold theft in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: Cyberabad Police on Tuesday resolved the sensational bank burglary case at a private bank here in which 15 kg gold worth Rs 4.5 crores was stolen, with the arrest of a gold appraiser working at the bank besides his wife and son.
Accused Macherloju Brahma Chary, working as a gold appraiser at AP Mahesh Co-operative Urban Bank in A.S. Rao Nagar, and his wife Macherloju Lalitha and son Macherloju Veda Virat were arrested in connection with the last week's theft case from a location here when Chary was planning to dispose the stolen property, Cyberabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand told reporters here.
The 15 kg gold was recovered intact from them.
Since Brahma Chary's earnings were not sufficient, he decided to commit a large scale theft of the valuable and hatched a plan with his family members and selected the bank where he was working, the Cyberabad Police chief said.
"He minutely studied the loopholes of the security system of the Mahesh Bank and took the advantage of slackness of bank staff during the lunch hours. He got prepared duplicate keys with the help of original keys of the bank shutter, grills and strongroom," Anand said.
As per his plan, at 11 pm on November 28, Brahma Chary entered the Mahesh Bank by opening the shutter and other doors of the bank with false keys and disconnected power supply of the surveillance CCTV cameras. He then opened the strongroom door and cut the grill door with the cutting machine.
Later, he broke open the door of the almirah and committed theft of about 15 kg gold worth Rs 4.5 crores, the senior police official explained.
After committing the theft, Brahma Chary handed over the precious metal to his wife and son to conceal the booty at his sister's house in Nalgonda district to avoid police, he said adding that the accused also confessed to have pledged fake gold ornaments of his friends and obtained loans and thereby cheated the bank.
Cyberabad Police, in the meanwhile, instructed all the banks to increase security levels and educate the customers and tighten the security system to avoid such incidents and to take precautions with regard to fake gold being pledged in the banks.
Next: Woman raped by husband's friends in Madhya Pradesh
Woman raped by husband's friends
Tikamgarh (MP): Two men allegedly raped wife of their friend at Kharoh village near here, police said today. The incident took place last night when the victim and her husband were going to their village on foot, they said.
Police said the accused, identified as Jagdish Dhimar and Ratna Dhimar, arrived on their motorcycle and offered to drop the woman to her village.
The unsuspecting husband agreed to this. However, the accused took the woman to a deserted area where they allegedly raped her and fled. The woman then reported the matter to her husband, who lodged a complaint at Lidhora police station. A case of rape has been registered by police and hunt is on to trace the accused, police added.
Next: Lawyer on run after killing client to save wife
Lawyer on run after killing client to save wife
Coimbatore: In what seems straight out of an Agatha Christie thriller, a city lawyer is on the run for killing his client and passing off the body as that of his wife so as to save her from punishment for a multi-crore financial fraud.
Two years after a 45-year-old woman Ammasi went missing, the police here have now found that she was murdered by her own lawyer, E.T. Rajavelu.
While the lawyer is abscÂonding, his two accomplices Ponraj and PalanÂisamy have been nabbed. They had helped Rajavelu strangulate the unsuspecting client.
Briefing the media about the crime case packed with conspiracy, cheating and gruesome violence, Police commissioner A. K. ViswanÂthan said Ammasi had appÂroached Rajavelu for legal assistance to get her share of property from her estranged husband. The lawyer asked her to meet him at his office near the court complex on the Huzur Road for discussion.
AmÂmasi, who was living with her daughter Sakunthala at Tatabad, visited Rajavelu on December 10, 2011, little knowing he had other plans for her.
Helped by accomplices Ponraj and Palanisamy, the lawyer strangulated ÂAmmasi. He then took the body home and enacted a drama that his wife MohÂana, wanted by the Orissa police in a Rs 12 crore money-chain scam, had died.
He cremated the body the next morning and even obtained a death certificate in the name of his wife and sent it over to the Orissa police hoping they would close the case against her.
“Just to help his wife get out of the fraud case, Rajavelu killed Ammasi and passed off the dead woman as his wife. But the long arm of law has caught up with the couple while the Orissa case continues to be alive. We will nab the lawyer soon”, commissioner ViswaÂÂÂnÂathan said.
Detailing how fate had the last laugh, he said the cops probing the murder of an AIDS patient heard someone say that Rajavelu was a fraud and had even faked his wife’s death. When prodded further, the man told the police that Rajavelu had brought a body one night and sobbed saying it was his wife. He cremated the body early morning and later shiÂfted house.
But an ex-neighbour saw his wife later at a marriage and rumours soon spread. After sometime, RaÂjaÂvelu even moved the court alleging that somebody had fraudulently obtained his wife’s death certificate and got that cancelled, commissioner Viswanathan said.
Next: Trio puts minor through hell for a month
Trio puts minor through hell for a month
B. Tharun Kumar | DC
Vijayawada: A 16-year-old girl who ran away from home after being scolded by her parents was gang raped by three persons for about a month. She was found by a police constable, roaming aimlessly at the Durga ghat near Indrakeeladri on Monday morning.
According to One Town inspector L. Hamunath Rao, a woman constable spoke to the girl, and then took her to the police station.
On questioning, she said that she had been raped by three persons whom she identified as G. Madhav, 22, K. Subrahmanyam, 27, and K. Naga Mahesh, 20. She told the police that she was from Secunderabad and had come to Vijayawada after her parents scolded her. Her father is an autorickshaw driver.
She said that she had gone to Mahesh, with whom she had got acquainted with six months ago when she came to the Kanakadurga temple along with her family.
They had exchanged telephone numbers. Mahesh works in a shop atop the Indrakeeladri hill. She told the police that he had sent her with Madhav, who took her to a house and raped her.
The house belonged to one Lalitha, who also works in shops on the Indrakeeladri. Lalitha was told that the girl was an orphan.
Ten days later, Mahesh took her to Vishakapatnam for a few days and brought back. She was then taken to another house where Subramanyam, raped her.
On Monday, the girl slipped out of the house and was spotted by the cop. The girl’s parents were informed and the victim was sent to Childline. Police has arrested the trio.
Sources said the police was asking her why she did not raise an alarm earlier, though the house where she was held was in a congested area, or why she did not escape when she travelled to Visakhapatnam.
The trio claimed that the girl had consented to sex, but West Zone ACP T. Hari Krishna said even consensual sex with a minor amounts to rape.
Next: 7-yr-old tied to pillar for peeing
7-yr-old tied to pillar for peeing
Erode: A 7-year-old boy was allegedly tethered to a pillar and punished by his class teacher for passing urine in the classroom at a private school near GobiÂchettipalayam in Erode district.
The Class 1 student of St Mary's Primary School at Kallipatti, C. Karthik Senthil, is said to have urinated in the classroom, messing up the walls and the books of his classmates on Friday. His class teacher S. Geetha allegedly abused him and tethered him to a pillar for nearly an hour.
The incident came to light on Monday as the boy's parents and their relatives trooped to the school and staged a protest. Local cops arrived, but the boy's father Chennimalai, a farmer, refused to lodge a police complaint.
“I do not want to file a police complaint because the case will drag on in the courts. And we have no time or money to keep visiting the courts,” ChenniÂmaÂlai said.
However, he wanted the school to return the Rs 30,000 deposit he had paid during admission. After intervention by the police, the school management returned the deposit amount and issued a transfer certificate to the boy.
The Erode district Chief Educational Officer, P. Ayannan, who probed into the incident, said, “We cannot take departmental action as it is a private school. Also, the matter has been amicably settled.” He said teacher Geetha had joined the school only two months ago.
Next: Gold worth Rs 45 lakh recovered from flight in Kerala
Gold recovered from flight in Kerala
Kozhikode: One-and-a-half kilogrammes of gold valued about Rs 45 lakh was recovered from a Dubai-Kozhikode Air India flight when it landed at the nearby Karippur International Airport on Tuesday.
The bag containing the gold, in three pieces, was recovered under a seat by the cleaning officials after the passengers alighted from the flight, official sources said.
Next: 2 scribes victims: 1 molested, 1 attacked
2 scribes victims: 1 molested, 1 attacked
Mangalore: Hooliganism and vigilantism raised its head yet again in the port city of Mangalore, in two separate incidents over the last week when two journalists were targeted.
The first was a victim of moral policing, and the other of hooliganism. On Sunday night around 9.30 pm, two men on a motorcycle tried to molest a woman journalist, on her way home from work.
The young woman's loud cries saw passersby come to her rescue. Her attackers- Johnson and Denver - were handed over to police.
In what is being seen as an act of moral policing, a journalist- V.T. Prasad, a reporter working for Kannada eveninger Karavali Ale at Vittal was assaulted by a 40-man gang on Wednesday, allegedly part of a Muslim vigilante group, for writing about the plight of a Muslim woman and for helping her to build a house at Vittal. Four people have been arrested so far.
Next: Man instals camera in bathroom, held
Man instals camera in bathroom, held
Hyderabad: A private cable operator has been arrested for allegedly installing a hidden camera in his neighbour’s bathroom at Singadikunta in Banjara Hills.
K. Ravishankar Prasad, 41, had fitted the camera near the door of the bathroom on Saturday and connected it to his computer. The victim, a 24-year-old woman, found the camera on Sunday night and informed the locals and the police.
Ravishankar, who is a native of Tirupati, lives in another portion of the same building.
“Three families share the bathroom. On Sunday night, when I entered the bathroom, I saw a red light blinking on the top corner of the door. When I took it out, I saw it was a web camera with a long cable. I informed the elders. They traced the cable with the help of a neighbour,” said the victim in her complaint.
The cable led to Ravishankar’s room where it was hooked to his computer.
Ravishankar, who was sitting at the computer, was beaten up by locals and relatives of the victim.
“We were informed by the family and the accused was handed over to us. We verified the complaint and have seized the computer,” said inspector Murali Krishna.
The police has started examining the computer’s hard disc to ascertain if Prasad had stored any videos. “We have not found any footage. He had just started to watch after installing it, SI Anvesh Reddy said.
Next: Techie called wife before suicide
Techie called wife before suicide
Hyderabad: Infosys techie Deepak Habeeb, who ended his life on Sunday, had talked to his wife for about half-an-hour over the phone, before he cut his wrists and jumped from the third floor of his apartment complex.
His wife, Anni, aka Vijayalakshmi, was celebrating her birthday with her family on the same night, said Deepak’s brother Srinivas.
Meanwhile, Deepak’s family members also could not find the reason behind his suicide. His body was sent to Hubli after post-mortem at the Gandhi Hospital.
However, the police is yet to take the version of his wife as she too is in Hubli. “We do not know what Deepak and his wife talked about. Once we take her version, we will get a clear picture,” said an investigation officer.
The police suspects that either profession related depression or personal problems might have forced him to commit suicide.
“We are yet to find out the real reason behind the suicide. There are some possibilities and we are exploring them,” said Ghatkesar inspector V.V. Chalapathi.
The Ghatkesar cops said that they did not find anything suspicious in the death.
“The doctor, who conducted the post-mortem said that the injuries were self-inflicted. We are waiting for the final post-mortem report to confirm the cause of death,” said C. Venkataiah, the SI of Ghatkesar.
The doctors at the mortuary found that Deepak had cut both his wrists before he jumped from the third floor of the building in Sanskruti township in the wee hours of Sunday.
“While the injury on the left hand was deep, the one on the right hand was minor,” investigation officers said.
As part of the investigation, the Ghatkesar police will record the versions of Deepak’s family members who live in Hubli.
Police also talked to some Infosys employees.
Next: Former soldier rapes disabled girl
Former soldier rapes disabled girl
Guntur: A mentally challenged, mute minor girl was allegedly raped by a 51-year old ex-serviceman in the Chinamutlapudi village of Guntur district on Monday.
Repalle circle inspector Suryanarayana Reddy said that Shaik Allabakshu, an ex-serviceman, raped the 16-year-old disabled girl living in her sister’s house in the same village.
The sister used to keep the victim locked in the house.
Allabakshu, who had been observing this for a long time, entered the house, and raped the minor. The victim’s sister saw the accused in the house and alerted neighbours.
They thrashed the man and handed him over to the police.
Based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s relatives the police registered a case. Allabakshu runs a tea stall in the same village.
CI Suryanarayana Reddy said, “The police has arrested the accused and has sent the victim to the government hospital for medical examination.”
Next: B.Tech student commits suicide
B.Tech student commits suicide
Visakhapatnam: Poor academic performance drove a B.Tech student to suicide at Madhurawada in the city on Monday.
K. Omkar, 19, a second year B.Tech student of a private engineering college, hanged himself to death from a ceiling fan in his hostel room on Monday morning after his roommates left for classes.
Omkar had completed diploma in mechanical engineering and had secured admission at the Gayatri Engineering College in the city.
Next: Man killed by brothers-in-law
Man killed by brothers-in-law
Hyderabad: A man was murdered by his brothers-in-law over an argument on Monday in Fatimanagar Vattepally, in Falaknuma. He was attacked in his house with boulders.
The victim has been identified as Aziz Ahmed, an autorickshaw driver.
According to the Falaknuma police, Aziz used to have frequent fights with his wife. On Monday evening, the couple had another argument.
When Aziz’s wife’s brothers came to know of this, three of them came to Aziz’s house to question him.
After an argument, they attacked him with boulders. He sustained a head injury and died on the way to the hospital.
Next: 55-year-old woman killed: Son, friend held
55-year-old woman killed: Son, friend held
Bengaluru: The HAL police have craÂcÂked the murder case of a 55-year-old womÂan and have arrested the victim’s son and his friend.
The accused have been identified as LakshÂmana alias Lakshmana Reddy, 34, a daily wage worker and his friend SubraÂmani, 30, a driver. Both are residents of Chittoor district in Andhra PradÂesh.
They have been accuÂsed of murdering Reddy’s 55-year-old mother MuniÂyamma alias Reddamma near her house at DoddaÂnekkundi Lake in HAL on the night of November 25. She was working as a domestic help at a few flats near her house.
Reddy was addicted to a number of vices and had lost a lot of money gambling. He had bought a two-wheeler recently, but had no money to pay the installments.
On the afternoon of November 25, he went to his mother’s house and asked for money. But Reddamma told him that she did not have money and there was a quarrel between them.
“In the evening, he consumed alcohol with his friend Subramani and allegedly hatched a plot to murder his mother. The same night, he went to her house again and told her that his friend had gold jewels worth around Rs 20,000 and he was ready to give them for just Rs 5,000.
Reddamma said that she was ready to buy them. He told her that his friend was waiting outside and took her near Subramani, who was waiting about 50 metres away from her house. As Reddamma was talking to Subramani, Reddy abused her that she had money to buy gold but not to give him. Then, he pushed her and the duo murdered her by smashing her head with a stone. After she died, they took away her gold chain and ear and nose rings,” the police said.
Lakshmana’s father Malla Reddy, a security guard, had gone to work when the incident occuÂrÂred. “InvestiÂgaÂtions revealed that ReddaÂmma’s son pestered her for money. Based on that lead, the case was investigated. The accused duo had sold the stolen jewels to a pawn broker in Mulbagal, where both were nabbed,” the police said.
