Crime file: Indian cabbie jailed in Australia for raping drunk schoolgirl; teacher suspended for cutting student's hair and more
Indian cabbie jailed in Australia for raping drunk schoolgirl
Melbourne: A 30-year-old Indian taxi driver has been sentenced to six years in prison in Australia for raping a drunk and vulnerable teenage schoolgirl who he had been asked to drop home.
County Court judge Wendy Wilmoth said Nitin Rana, who was found guilty by a jury of three counts of rape, had preyed on the 17-year-old girl when she was in such an intoxicated state that she could not sit up straight in the taxi or even fasten her seatbelt.
Rana was jailed for six years with a non-parole period of four years and the Judge ordered him to be placed on the sex offenders register for 15 years, according to a media report.
The report said that the teenaged passenger was in such an intoxicated state that she could not sit up straight in the taxi or even fasten her seatbelt. Rana was given 50 dollars by a group of good Samaritans to take the girl home.
"The public is entitled to expect to be safe in taxis; parents should be able to trust that their teenage children will be safe in taxis," Wilmoth told Rana. "This girl's safety was entrusted to you when the people who helped her gave you the money for her fare, to take her safely home.
"Instead you violated that trust when you raped her."
"[The victim] was a child, and at the time she was struggling with personal issues and had consumed a large amount of both medication and alcohol," the judge said. "She was very drunk, and this could be seen from her condition and behaviour before and at the time of getting into your taxi.
"It is clear from the verdict that the jury accepted that you knew what her condition was," Wilmoth said.
The teenager had been drinking vodka at a friend's house before sharing a taxi with a male friend to a railway station in Melbourne's east at about 1 am on November 4 last year. While her friend continued home in the taxi after dropping her at the station, the victim got stranded as she had no money and no way of getting home as trains had stopped running for the night.
She also accepted two valium tablets from a couple who she came across and she described as junkies. While she was trying to walk down the street, a married couple and two friends who were attending a birthday party dinner saw her fall over and tried to help to reach home.
The group tried to help the teenager and even called the emergency number. Rana who drove past during that time in his taxi was then given 50 Australian dollars to take the teenage to her place. Rana drove off and then raped the teenager before dropping her home.
The teenager told her mother the next day that she had been sexually assaulted. Wilmoth noted that Rana hailed from well regarded middle-class family in Hyderabad and had completed a commerce degree before working for several multinational companies in India. He had migrated to Australia in 2008 where he completed a diploma course in hospitality and management.
He was driving a taxi to support himself and to save money to return to India.
The judge said she had received letters from Rana's family and two friends expressing their faith in him as 'a good person, well brought up, and respectful of women', Wilmoth said, "The charges are very serious indeed, and in this case there are some aggravating features."
Next: Kerala teacher suspended for cutting student's hair
Teacher suspended for cutting student's hair
Thiruvananthapuram: A woman physical education teacher allegedly chopped off the hair of a student forcefully following which she has been suspended from the institute at Nedumangadu near here.
The school management took action against her after local police registered a case against her based on a complaint by the parent of the 13-year-old boy. The teacher cut the hair of the boy, studying in Class VIII, during the physical education class holding that growing long hair was against the school code.
The boy's father had lodged the complaint on Thursday. Though it was said that more students had been victims of her 'hair-cutting act', only one parent had come up with the complaint, police said.
She would be summoned for questioning soon.
Following the incident, several youth outfits also demanded action against the teacher.
Next: Murder accused abuses judge, hurls ink-pad at him
Murder accused abuses judge, hurls ink-pad at him
New Delhi: A man facing trial in a murder case today abused a judge and hurled ink-pad at him during the proceedings at a Saket court here.
"The ink-pad hit the judge on his shoulder," court sources said adding the accused was agitated as the next date of hearing in the case was given after a long gap. "A man in his 30s threw an ink-pad at Additional Sessions Judge V K Khanna who was recording evidence in the matter.
The accused also abused the judge. "He was angry over the long gap between the next date fixed by the judge," court sources said without disclosing the name of the accused.
However, he was overpowered by police personnel present inside the court room, sources added.
The judge did not order registration of an FIR against the accused in connection with the attack but directed the jail authorities to take administrative action, as per jail manual, against him. The accused is facing trial for allegedly committing a murder four years ago.
Next: Aligarh Muslim University professor booked, suspended over sexual harassment
AMU professor booked, suspended over sexual harassment
Aligarh: A professor in Law department of the Aligarh Muslim University has been booked and placed under suspension after a complaint of sexual harassment by a student.
Muhammad Shabbir, who is the chairman of department of Law in the University, was suspended on Thursday. Late Thursday evening, the father of the girl lodged a case at Civil Lines Police station against the professor under relevant sections of the IPC, police said.
On December 3, the girl, studying LLM, had filed a complaint alleging that the professor had indulged in sexual harassment when she met him in connection with a project report, AMU spokesman Rahat Abrar said.
The university authorities immediately referred the matter to the Women Complaint Cell and after preliminary inquiry the cell submitted its report on Thursday. Acting on the report, which found charges of the girl "prima facie correct", the authorities suspended the teacher.
Next: Man gets life term for raping, sodomising minor daughter
Man gets life term for raping, sodomising minor daughter
New Delhi: A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for repeatedly raping and sodomising his nine-year-old daughter with a Delhi court saying he showed no respect for the chastity of his offspring.
The court awarded the maximum jail term, prescribed for the offence of rape under the law, to the Delhi resident and observed that she was sexually assaulted by her father and could not tell about the incident to anyone on account of threats extended by him.
It also directed the Delhi government to give Rs two lakh compensation to the child, who is staying at a reform home here, under the 'Restorative and Compensatory Justice' scheme for her welfare.
"...She (victim) was sharing substantial household responsibilities with her parents, both of them were away for work for long hours. Despite the fact that the child was a pillar of strength for her parents, the convict, instead of showing his love and affection to the child, sexually abused her.
"He showed no respect for chastity of his daughter, despite the fact that he was her father and child trusted him for her security and protection. He gave her severe beatings and subjected her to incest – sexual assault, unnatural sexual assault and even oral sex," Additional Sessions Judge Illa Rawat said and also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
According to the police, the girl's ordeal came to light when she disclosed her father's acts to her tuition teacher who worked with an NGO and noticed injury marks on her body.
The victim told her teacher that when her mother used to go out for work, she took care of her younger siblings and do household work and her father used to rape and sodomise her repeatedly. She said her father used to beat her and also threaten her not to disclose about his acts to anyone.
Her teacher discussed the issue with her colleagues and also informed her mother and lodged a case. The man was arrested by the officials of Adarsh Nagar police station here.
Next: 4 let off in 11-yr-old gang rape case; 'victim', witnesses untraceable
4 let off in gang rape case; 'victim', witnesses untraceable
New Delhi: Four men accused of kidnapping and gang raping a girl 11 years ago in a moving car here were acquitted by a Delhi court on the grounds that she and other key witnesses "did not bother" to take part in the proceedings and remained untraceable.
Additional Sessions Judge Yogesh Khanna let off the four Delhi residents, all in their 30s, observing that the alleged victim had also turned hostile and failed to identify another accused who had faced trial in the case earlier and was acquitted.
The court said the accused 'have been suffering trial from the day the charge sheet was filed' and it saw 'no reason' for the case to be allowed to further linger on.
"The attempts to serve the prosecutrix (the girl) as well as other witnesses have turned futile and there is no reason as to why the case be allowed linger on for indefinite period as the (four) accused persons have been suffering trial from the day the charge sheet was filed.
"Various efforts of the prosecution to produce the girl and other material witnesses have failed and hence considering that earlier also the witnesses had turned hostile against the accused (fifth person) in the trial already held, I see no reason for the case to be allowed to further linger on, when the victim and the witnesses themselves are also not serious or following the case and had even not bothered/cared to find out its details...," the court said.
The girl had lodged a complaint with the Lajpat Nagar police station here on October 7, 2002 alleging that while she and her friends went to India Gate to have ice cream at night, five men started making obscene gestures.
She had said that when her friends objected, they started a quarrel. However, the girl and her friends left for their home in their car, but the five assailants followed them. They later blocked their route and thrashed the girl's friend and kidnapped her, the police had said. The men took the girl in their car, gangraped her and later dumped her on the roadside, it added.
The court said, "The finger print report, even if positive, has no relevance in the absence of the depositions of the victim/ witnesses as cannot prove the circumstances under which such finger prints were found on the object, so cannot be used against the accused persons".
Initially, the police were able to arrest only one of the five accused. He was acquitted by the trial court which had relied on the testimony of the victim, who had said that "he is not the same person who had raped her".
The remaining four were apprehended and charge sheeted in February 2010, but since then the girl and her friends, who were involved in a musical Group, remained untraceable. The judge noted that the investigating officer had tried her level best to serve summons to the girl and her friends, who were the prosecution witnesses, but they had left their addresses and are untraceable.
"...I had noted that on numerous occasions the summons has been sent to the prosecutrix,...through ordinarily process through SHO of Police Station concerned and through DCP (Legal cell) but summons were returned with the reports that they are not traceable," the judge said.
Next: 57-year-old held for raping minor
57-year-old held for raping minor
S. Prasad | DC
Puducherry: A 57-year-old man was arrested for raping his neighbour’s minor daughter in Thattanchavady. Ganapathy, a vendor selling padaneer, was produced before a local court on Thursday and remanded to custody.
The thirteen year old girl and her aunt came to the Child Welfare Committee, seeking admission in a home here. The girl’s father was dead and her aunt sought admission in a home as the girl’s mother was unable to take care of her.
“Members of the Child Welfare Committee who conducted an enquiry found that the girl’s aunt had furnished a wrong address in Chennai but later traced the address to Thattanchavady in Puducherry where the child was studying class VIII in a government school and was being raised by her mother.
When the child was subjected to a medical examination, we found that she was eight months pregnant,” Dr Vidya Ramkumar, CWC chairperson told Deccan Chronicle.
During counseling the girl told the CWC that Ganapathy hailing from Tirunelveli district who was selling padaneer in the area had drugged and repeatedly raped her in his house on several occasions.
As the girl’s aunt did not come forward to lodge a complaint, the CWC took suo moto action and directed police to arrest Ganapathy, Dr Vidya said. Police arrested him and booked him under section 6 (aggravated penetrative assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.
Next: 21-year-old held for abusing teen
21-year-old held for abusing teen
Chennai: A 21-year-old truck driver was arrested by Mangadu police on Thursday for allegedly sexually abusing a 14-year-old school girl studying in a private school. His crime came to light after her family found out that the girl was pregnant for four months.
According to police, Lenin, a resident of Sivanthangal in Mangadu, befriended the girl and sexually abused her several times.
The incident came to light after the girl began complaining of nausea and dizziness. The family took her to a private hospital where the doctors diagnosed her to be pregnant.
Subsequently, the girl’s father lodged a complaint with Mangadu police.
The truck driver admitted that he had lured her and molested the girl and had threatened her not to reveal what happened between them.
Subsequently, a case under section 3 and 4 of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 along with threatening and rape was registered. Lenin was produced before a magistrate who remanded him to judicial custody for 15 days.
Next: Doctor chased, beaten up by 10 armed miscreants
Doctor chased, beaten up by 10 armed miscreants
Praveen Kumar | DC
Bangalore: A senior doctor of Fortis Hospital on Bannerghatta Road was chased and beaten up with tree branches and metal rods by a group of 10 miscreants in a case of road rage last week.
Dr Richard Edwin, a resident of JP Nagar, was passing through Bannerghatta Road on his motorbike, when another two-wheeler rider with his mother on the pillion took a sharp right turn.
Dr Edwin stopped his vehicle just in time to avoid an accident. He advised the rider, identified as Byresh, to ride carefully.
Angry with the advice, Byresh called his friends to the spot and they started beating up the doctor.
The attackers pulled branches from the roadside trees and attacked him. Byresh also allegedly held onto the tie and tried to choke the doctor. He snatched Dr Edwin’s bike keys and the laptop.
Next: Housewife ends life after fight with spouse
Housewife ends life after fight with spouse
Hyderabad: Kalavathi, a 33-year-old housewife, who had consumed poison to end her life following an argument with her husband Chinna Rao, died on Thursday.
In a suicide note that she had written, Kalavathi said no one was responsible for her decision to end her life. She also gave ‘loads of love and blessings’ to her kids Bhavani and Prasanna.
According to the police, the couple recently had an argument over some family issue. About 10 days ago, Kalavathi consumed the poison at her house in Ghansmandi, Secunderabad, after writing the suicide note. She was rushed to the Gandhi Hospital by her family members and was treated there until she died on Thursday.
A suspicious death case was registered and the police is investigating. Kalavathi’s body was handed over to her family after
post-mortem.
Next: Youth attempts ‘suicide’
Youth attempts ‘suicide’
Bangalore: A youth attempted suicide in front of his lover's residence in HBR Layout after she refused to go with him. The youth is said to have pretended to commit suicide by consuming poison.
The K G Halli police have arrested the youth, identified as Karthik, a resident of Ramamurthy Nagar on Thursday afternoon.
Karthik was in love with Sahana of HBR Layout for the last five years. It is alleged that they were even in a live-in relationship for the last two years.
Due to some differences, Sahana returned to her parents’ house. Upset over his lover's decision, Karthik is said to have created problems in front of her house on many occasions.
On Thursday, Karthik staged a protest in front of her house asking her to go with him. He even had problems with the members of the women organisation who too were present, the police said.
After she refused to go with him, Karthik is alleged to have pretended to commit suicide by consuming poison. The K G Halli police who were summoned to the spot took him to a nearby hospital and found him out of danger. Later, he was taken to our custody, the police added.
Next: ASI held for selling land using forged documents
ASI held for selling land using forged documents
Bangalore: An Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police was arrested for allegedly selling a government land by forging documents.
The accused has been identified as Jagadish, 54, who was working in Channapatna police station.
According to the Kumbalagod police, a few employees of a private company had purchased a land in Doddabele.
A gang of 15 members had sold the land to them. Some days after purchasing the land, the employees learnt that the documents pertaining to the land were fake.
They filed a case with Kumbalgod police two months ago.
“During the course of investigation, 14 members were arrested. The accused also revealed that Jagadish had supported them in creating fake documents. Based on that information, Jagadish was arrested on Wednesday. The help them procure fake documents, the ASI had taken money from the gang. He also had a fake rubber stamp of a senior official of revenue department,” the police added. Further investigations are on.
Next: Bomb blast accused hacked to death
Bomb blast accused hacked to death
Madurai: In broad daylight, a bomb blast accused on bail was hacked to death by an armed gang at Anuppanadi in Madurai on Thursday.
Four other accused who accompanied him suffered serious cut injuries as the gang hacked them indiscriminately. The gangsters also hurled petrol bombs in which two of their motorcycles were completely burnt.
Seven persons of Puliangulam who were returning in a van from Thevar memorial at Pasumpon after paying homage to the leader on October 30, 2012, were killed on the spot when a gang intercepted the vehicle near Chinthamani on Ring Road and threw petrol bombs inside it. In this connection, Avaniapuram police arrested Mohan (27), Vignesh (27), Muthuvijayan (17), Manikandan (22), Chandrasekaran (20), Sonaiah (20), Nagaraj (20), Muthukaruppan (20), Bala (18) and Azhagar (20).
Enlarged on bail only 10 days ago, they have been signing at the JM VI court daily since then.
Except Azhagar, the other nine accused, accompanied by their associates Muneeskumar and Arjunan, were on their way back from the court.
While Vignesh and Sonaiah were coming on two motorcycles, the others travelled in a special utility vehicle closely following them.
Meanwhile, a 15-member gang attacked them with sickles, was laying in wait in three autorickshaws on a cross street on Anuppanadi Road.
When the motorcycles and the SUV were nearing Sourashtra girls’ higher secondary school on Anuppanadi road, gangsters in one autorickshaw intercepted the motorcycle-borne accused and assaulted them with sickles.
As the duo tried to flee, the second group which came in another auto hurled petrol bombs at the motorcycles which got burnt completely.
The men in the third auto damaged the SUV with clubs and pulled the occupants – Muthuvijayan, Arjunan and Muneeskumar, out and attacked them with sickles. As Muthuvijayan started running, they chased him and hacked him to death on the middle of the road.
Meanwhile, the others in the SUV emerged out and retaliated by damaging the auto while the auto-borne assailants chased four youth – Vignesh, Sonaiah, Muneeskumar and Arjunan. Vignesh who sustained cut injuries ran in to the Teppakulam police station after which the assailants escaped in the autos. All the four were admitted to Government Rajaji Hospital.
Deputy commissioner Samant Rohan Rajendra inspected the scene of crime. Forensic experts lifted fingerprints. Fire service personnel were called to put off fire. Police have formed special teams to nab the assailants. Police said the murderous attack was carried out to avenge the Thevar jayanthi bomb blast incident.
Next: Tractor runs over schoolgirl
Tractor runs over schoolgirl
Chennai: A 14-year-old girl, who was on her way to school on her bicycle, was run over by a tractor laden with a water tank near Avadi on Thursday. She died on the spot, the police said.
Pavithra, a student of Class 9 student, was only a few metres away from the school on Avadi Tank Factory road when the accident happened. She was turning to enter the school gates when the tractor knocked her down from behind.
She usually went to school with elder sister Gayathri, a student who of Class 11, said Pavithra’s father Harikrishnan, an auto driver. He and wife Lakshmi who were at their house at Ashok Nagar in Avadi rushed to the spot on learning of the incident.
A huge crowd gathered at the spot and beat the driver of the tractor, Munisamy, 29, who tried to flee the scene before handing him over to the police. The Avadi police and officials from the Poonamalee Traffic Investigation wing sent the girl's body to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for an autopsy whereafter the family claimed it later in the evening.
The police detained Munisamy for rash and negligent driving. The Poonamalee Traffic Investigation police have registered a case and are investigating. Traffic was disrupted on the busy Avadi Tank Factory Road after the accident by the large crowd gathered there.
