Crime file: Employers insert chillies into 11-yr-old maid's private parts; sharp kite-threads kill 2, and more

11-yr-old domestic help brutalised with chillies; trader held

Thane: In a shocking case of brutality, an 11-year-old domestic help was allegedly starved for days and tortured by her employers, who inserted green chillies into her private parts to make her obey their orders.

The victim, who was brought from Uttar Pradesh for domestic work, approached the police on Saturday with the help of her neighbours in the housing complex at Ghodbunder Road, where she worked for accused Sarjil Ansari (36) and Farhat Ansari (32), PI Dhanaji Kshirsagar of Mira Road Police Station said.

The maid servant, whose body bore several old and fresh injury marks, was allegedly beaten up frequently over petty issues and was made to starve for days together.

The Ansaris even force fed her chillies and inserted it into her private parts, if she disobeyed them, the girl alleged in the complaint.

The allegations are being verified, the official said. After the girl managed to reach the cops, Sarjil, a local trader, was arrested on Sunday and produced in a local court, which remanded him in police custody till January 21.

However, his wife Farhat is still at large and searches have been intensified to nab her, Kshirsagar said. The accused duo have been charged under sections 323, 324, 374 of the IPC. The girl is presently in the custody of a NGO, which rescued her.

According to police sources, the minor, who was promised a job in a Mumbai household was 'sold' to the Thane couple by her parents for Rs 15,000, an allegation which is still being probed.

Next: Sharp kite-thread claims two lives; many others injured on Sankranti

Sharp kite-thread claims two lives; many others injured on Sankranti

Jaipur/Nagpur: Kite flying tradition on Makar Sankranti on Tuesday turned out to be a nightmare for parents of a five-year-old girl in Jaipur, who died after her throat was slit by a sharp thread, while a youth was killed in Nagpur.

Jaipur girl Chanchal, who was going with her father on a bike in Tonk Road area here, fell down on the road side after the 'manjha' (Kite-thread) hit her neck, the police said, adding her father also got injuries in arm.

Chanchal was rushed to hospital bleeding profusely where she was declared brought dead by the emergency doctors, SMS Hospital Additional Superintendent Dr Ajit Singh told PTI.

The body was handed over to the parents after post mortem, Singh said.

In the kite flying related accidents in Jaipur, altogether 73 injured people mostly children reported to the hospital's Emergency, where 13 were admitted to the trauma ward, and rest were discharged after required treatment, Singh added.

Besides hundreds of birds got wounded and scores were killed during kite festival due to 'manjha', which is coated with glass pieces, according to an NGO which provided medical treatment for the injured avians.

The Nagpur youth died when his throat slit by sharp thread of a high flying kite in the Sakkardara area in the South City area, the police said.

The police said, one Rahul Nagpure (26) who was on way to office on his motorbike Tuesday morning, got entagled with razor-sharp thread of a kite which slit his throat. A bleeding Nagpure was rushed to a private hospital, but he died at the time of admission, the police said. The police has begun an investigation into the incident.

Next: Chinese female doctor sentenced to death for child trafficking

Chinese female doctor sentenced to death for child trafficking

Beijing: A Chinese female doctor was on Tuesday given a suspended death sentenced for selling seven babies to human traffickers, a case that drew massive public outcry against the growing menace of child trafficking.

Zhang Shuxia, an obstetrician with Fuping County Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital in northwestern Shaanxi Province, is accused of selling seven babies, one of whom later died, to human traffickers.

The 55-year-old accused used to persuade the parents of the babies to give up their 'sick' newborns, the Weinan Intermediate People's Court said in its verdict. She told parents their infants had serious diseases and convinced them to give up the babies, the court said.

Zhang has been sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve. Suspended death sentences are normally commuted to life imprisonment in China.

Zhang sold seven babies to child traffickers between November 2011 and July 2013, including a pair of twins, a judgement posted on the Weinan Intermediate People's Court's microblog said. Six of the babies were rescued, but one baby girl died.

On July 20, a mother surnamed Dong suspected her baby had been abducted and reported the incident to police. Zhang is accused of falsely claiming that her child had a congenital disease, according to the court.

"Zhang used her position as medical personnel to fabricate reports about the infants, saying they suffered from birth defects or diseases that were hard to cure," the court said.

"She abducted and sold several new-born infants, violating professional and social ethics," it said. It is not yet clear whether Zhang will appeal, the court said. Zhang and several other suspects were arrested after the most recent abduction case in July.

The parents reported the case to police after they suspected their baby had been trafficked. The baby was found and returned to his parents in August. Police said they were still investigating 50 related cases, including 26 cases linked to Zhang, and several other suspects were in criminal detention, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Four other officials from the hospital are on trial for suspected dereliction of duty and are awaiting sentencing, the report said. Zhang received around 20,000 yuan each for several female babies, it added, while a male baby fetched a price of 47,000 yuan in 2011.

Zhang's actions shocked people across China and exposed the flourishing underground child trafficking industry in the world's most populous nation which follows one-child policy.

Next: Rogue father arrested for molesting 5-year-old girl

Rogue father arrested for molesting 5-year-old girl

Kochi: The police on Monday arrested the man who had allegedly molested his five-year-old daughter inside a car on Sunday at the parking space of a popular mall in the city. The accused belongs to Idukki district and is currently with his family at Palarivattom.

Kochi City Police Commissioner K.G.James said the man was arrested on the basis of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. The incident occurred when the child and its father had gone shopping at the mall at Edappally.

The incident came to light when the child’s mother took her to a child psychologist as the little girl was found to be in a disturbed state when she had come home after shopping.

Read here: 16-year-old girl drugged, gang raped in Hyderabad

It is learnt that after several rounds of counselling sessions, the girl revealed that her father had toyed with her private parts which had unsettled her. Later, the psychologist contacted the Town North police and gave a statement in the presence of the mother.

The police registered the case following the submission made by the psychologist. In yet another incident, a 53-year-old man was held by the Aluva police for molesting his young daughter.

Thankachan who lives near Aluva railway station was arrested on a complaint by the daughter who is working abroad and has now come to her native place on leave. She is the daughter of Thankachan’s first wife and the incident had taken place years ago.

After Thankachan divorced his first wife, the daughter had been staying with her father. He is said to have molested her several times and unable to withstand the trauma, she moved away.

Next: Man sentenced to 7-year jail for dowry death let off by HC

Man sentenced to 7-year jail for dowry death let off by HC

New Delhi: A man sentenced by a trial court to seven-year imprisonment for abetting his wife's suicide due to harassment for dowry has been let off by the Delhi High Court which held that it could not be proved if the victim was subjected to cruelty for dowry.

A bench of justice S P Garg acquitted Ahmed Sayeed giving him benefit of doubt, while noting that "the trial court itself was not sure if soon before death Ishrat was subjected with cruelty for or in connection with dowry demands."

"The prosecution has failed to establish beyond reasonable doubt that there was a direct nexus between the cruelty and the suicide," it said.

The bench perused the verdict of the trial court which said "although it cannot be held that the accused used to demand dowry the circumstances clearly show that accused was dissatisfied with his wife...The reason for his callous attitude towards his wife are not difficult to find, admittedly, the in-laws of the accused were not very well off..."

The HC judge said "the impugned judgment is based upon surmises and conjectures. The prosecution is required to prove the very case it alleges and the court cannot substitute its own opinion and make out a new case."

Ahmed Sayeed was sentenced to seven-year imprisonment for dowry death in June 2000 for allegedly harassing his wife Ishrat for dowry forcing her to set herself ablaze on the intervening night of May 17-18, 1998, within seven years of their marriage while the accused was asleep on the terrace of the house.

Next: Teenager dies after torture by stepmother

Teenager dies after torture by stepmother

Kochi: A teenaged girl in North Paravur died on Monday after her stepmother tortured her by refusing to give her adequate food or treat her ailment for nearly a month.

Jamiya, 16, breathed her last at the Chalakka Medical College on Monday morning after neighbours found her lying in a shed before her house at Manjali in a critical condition. Both her stepmother Ramla, 45, and father Ummar, 48, were taken into custody.

They were charged under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and the provisions of the Juvenile Act.
“She was suffering from a disease for over a month.

However, her stepmother refused to treat her and even forced her to lie in a shed before her house. She had grown pale and was not even able to move. The father was a mute spectator to his children being subjected to torture,” police said.

According to locals, Jamiya, her twin sister and brother were tortured by their stepmother which forced her brother to flee the house.

Jamiya and her sister were staying in an orphanage (yatimkhana) in Malappuram. The latter came to her house in Manjali early last month following the ailment.

“She was hospitalised on December 17 but discharged eight days later. However, her disease had not abated and the couple refused to further treat her. They also forced her to stay in a shed. Both the father and the stepmother will be produced in the court on Tuesday,” police said.

Next: Over 1 kg gold seized from three air passengers in Hyderabad

Over 1 kg gold seized from three air passengers in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Over one kg of gold was today seized and three passengers were detained by the customs officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad near here.

On suspicion, the Air Intelligence Wing of Customs intercepted a male passenger, who landed from Bangkok, and during checking found 333 grams of gold bar which was concealed in a secret pouch in his trousers, a customs official said.

The officials also seized 231 gms and 468 gms of crude gold from an elderly man and his daughter-in-law respectively, who came by a flight from Dubai. They have been charged for non-declaration of the yellow metal, he said.

While the passenger from Bangkok "confessed" of trying to smuggle the gold, the duo from Dubai are contesting against it, the official said, adding that a penalty will be imposed on the three passengers, who were let off.

Next: Pub brawl: Bouncers thrash builder’s sons

Pub brawl: Bouncers thrash builder’s sons

Bangalore: An ugly Sunday night incident at Sadashivnagar’s Pebble Bar caused more than ripples on Monday, leading to at least three cases being filed with the police.

Karan and Aditya Virwani, sons of Jitendra Virwani, the chairman and managing director of the Embassy Group of Builders, and three of their friends were allegedly thrashed on Sunday night by bouncers at the pub and later by the High Grounds police.

It all started when the owner of Pebble bar began to suspect that one of the Virwanis’ friends was smoking a narcotic and sought to throw him out of the pub. When the Virwanis and their friends tried to intervene, the pub’s bouncers allegedly thrashed them.

Jitendra Virwani told Deccan Chronicle that he found his sons, battered and bleeding, by the roadside when he was driving past Palace Grounds on his way home at around 10.45 pm.

As allegations and counter-allegations flew, three cases have been filed with the police following the incident. The owner of Pebble bar has reportedly filed a case against the Virwani sons and their friends; Virwani, in turn, has filed a counter-complaint against the owner and bouncers of Pebble Bar for assaulting the youngsters.

A third case has been filed by an assistant sub-inspector of the High Grounds police who claims that the youngsters assaulted him.

Chairman and managing director of Embassy Group of builders Jitendra Virwani was on his way to his residence on Cunningham road around 10.45 pm on Sunday when his driver noticed his second son, 19-year-old Aditya Virwani, bleeding and sitting on the pavement on Bellary main road opposite Palace Grounds.

The car screeched to a halt and Virwani picked up his dazed son, who told him that his older brother Karan was also battered and laying on the side of the road a few metres ahead.

The shocked father then picked up 22-year-old Karan Virwani, a business school graduate, and went straight to Pebble bar after being told by his sons that a group of 10-11 bouncers had allegedly assaulted the duo and three of their friends — including a girl —with tube lights and iron rods.

“The trouble began when one of the boys in the group was thrown out of the bar by the bouncers for allegedly smoking a suspicious substance. When Karan and Aditya saw their friend being shoved out, they intervened to ask why, and the owner — a woman —ordered that the bouncers beat up the entire group and throw them all out.

The first blows came from the bouncers, and my sons and their friends also retaliated, but the number of bouncers suddenly began increasing,” said Virwani.

Fearing for their lives, Karan and Aditya reportedly ran out of the bar and across the street, and the bouncers followed. After a heated chase, they finally caught the brothers. Beating them up black and blue, they then left the two boys lying on the side of Bellary main road where their father saw them.

The drama was far from over, however. Hearing of the assault, Virwani went inside the bar and reportedly began arguing with the owner as to why the group was assaulted instead of merely being told to leave. The owner then allegedly threatened to have the bouncers hit Virwani as well.

“I called the police for assistance when one of the bouncers moved as though to attack me. A group of policemen then came within ten minutes and they began lathicharging our entire group. My eldest son, Karan, was hit in the face by a policeman wearing a blue jacket.

They then hauled off two of my sons’ friends to the High Grounds police station in a Hoysala to register a complaint. I then sent Karan to a private hospital to get a CT scan done as he complained that his head was hurting.

I went back to the High Grounds police station to file a complaint against the owner and bouncers of Pebble bar but was shocked when the police discouraged me from doing so and asked me to forget about the incident. I refused and filed the complaint anyway,” recalled Virwani.

The other youngsters were all reportedly taken to Bowring Hospital for medical testing, after which they were taken back to the station to complete certain formalities and released.

On Monday morning, he reportedly got a call from the owner of Pebble bar who allegedly threatened him to withdraw the complaint and reach a compromise, saying she would release CCTV footage of the incident if he didn’t comply.

“I stood my ground, because my boys told me that they were attacked first. They retaliated only in self-defence. The bouncers did not hit the girl but roughed her up; and none of the youngsters hit any policemen who were present,” Virwani added.

Next: Medical shop owner found murdered in Bangalore

Medical shop owner found murdered in Bangalore

Bangalore: Two people have been murdered in the city in separate incidents since Sunday night. In the first case, a 35-year-old medical shop owner was found dead in his shop on Lakshman Mudaliar road in Commercial Street police limits on Sunday night.

In the second case, the body of a 27-year-old man was found in DJ Halli police limits on Monday morning.

45-year-old Kumarvelu alias Saiguru, who owns a medical store on Lakshman Mudaliyar Street, was brutally murdered and robbed of his gold valuables in Commercial Street police limits on Sunday night.

Police suspect the murder took place around 10 pm, when the victim was closing his shop. The assailants attacked him, slit his throat and robbed him or two gold chains, two gold rings and cash.

The incident came to light when Jagadishan, father of the deceased, who lives in the vicinity tried to call his son and found his phone wasn’t reachable. Suspecting foul play, Jagadishan came to the shop, where he found it with the shutter half open, despite the fact that the lights inside were switched off.

He opened the shutter to find his son lying there, dead. The local Commercial Street police were informed about the incident. Jagadishan claims he last saw his son at around 8.30 pm when he went to give him some fruits before going for his evening walk, the police said. Police suspect that the murder was for gain.

In another murder, a 27-year-old autrorikshaw driver was stabbed in the back by unidentified assailants in D J Halli early on Monday morning. The police have identified the deceased as Riyaz Baig, who lived in Shadab Nagar with his wife and four children.

According to the police, the Hoysala police on their night patrol saw a man lying on the roadside bleeding profusely. He was rushed to AMC hospital where he succumbed due to excessive blood loss.

Riyaz was an alcoholic and irregular to work. The police suspect that murder might have been the result of a possible drunken brawl.

Next: Man held for killing wife, ends life in prison

Man held for killing wife, ends life in prison

Chennai: A 60-year-old man committed suicide on Monday inside the Puzhal central prison. He had been arrested by the Tiruvallur town police for murdering his wife on Saturday night.

The deceased, Deenadayalan, a resident of Kongu Reddy street in Tiruvallur, was arrested after he slashed his wife Thangamani’s throat with a blade, leaving her to die.

He had commited the crime after an argument broke out between the couple over the husband taking to drinking again, after a gap of three months.

After slashing her throat, he slept beside her. The man’s son, Selvam, who returned to find his mother lying in a pool of blood, informed the police. He was subsequently arrested by the Tiruvallur town police and lodged in Puzhal prison.

The police sources said he could have committed suicide, feeling guilty over his act. A case has been registered at the Puzhal police station and further investigations are on.