Crime file: Mentally challenged girl raped by duo in AP; Indian mother in UK charged with 3-yr-old son's death, and more

Mentally challenged girl raped in AP

Hyderabad: A 20-year-old mentally challenged girl was allegedly raped by two youths in Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh, police said on Sunday.

The incident occurred Saturday night when Venka Reddy and Ramana Reddy, both labourers from Juvaleru village under Podili police station limits, forcibly took the victim to a secluded place and raped her, they said, adding the duo were in an inebriated condition at the time of the crime.

A case was registered against them under relevant sections of the IPC on complaint of the victim's father and she has been sent for medical examination, police said, adding that a hunt is launched to nab the accused duo.

Next: Youths gang rape 23-yr-old woman, slit her throat

Youths gang rape 23-yr-old woman, slit her throat

Uttarkashi: In a gruesome incident, two youths allegedly gang raped a 23-year-old woman, slit her throat and burnt her body, dumping it into nearby jungles before escaping with her mobile phone and jewellery, police said on Sunday.

The body of the girl, who had gone missing since December 30, was found half burnt in Radi jungle on the instance of the accused, who have been arrested, police said.

Giving details, police said one of the two accused, Amardeep had lured the girl from her home on the pretext of marriage and afterwards, gang raped her along with his friend Ajay Shah.

When the girl insisted on marriage, the duo slit her throat and burnt her body after drenching it in petrol, police said, adding that they also took away her mobile phone and earrings.

The girl's parents had lodged a missing persons report and her mobile phone was being tracked, which is how the accused were caught, they said. The matter is being probed, they said.

Next: Indian-origin mother in UK charged with 3-year-old son's death

Indian-origin mother in UK charged with 3-year-old son's death

Rosdeep Kular, 33, is due to appear at the Edinburgh Sheriff's Court on Monday over the death of Mikaeel Kular, who was reported missing on Wednesday evening, prompting a massive search operation.

Kular was detained on Friday night and arrested and charged on Saturday after Mikaeel's body was found by officers in woodland behind her former home in Kirkcaldy, Fife, where she lived before moving to Edinburgh.

She was charged after almost 24 hours of questioning, as police confirmed the body was that of her missing son.

The body was removed by officers for an autopsy.

Mikaeel Kular - File photo

Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham of Police Scotland said: "Following formal identification, I can now confirm that a 33-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in connection with Mikaeel's death. The woman is expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday."

Kular, a mother of five, told police that she put her son to bed at 9pm on Wednesday, but when she went to wake him up at 7:15am the following morning he was missing. She also said that on the night when Mikaeel allegedly disappeared, he was sleeping alone in the bedroom he normally shared with his twin sister Ashika.

Officers initially suggested that the little boy may have got up in the middle of the night, put on his clothes, and left the building 'for a wander'. It later emerged that Mikaeel had not been at his nursery school for almost a month because of an apparent chest infection.

Neighbours said they had not seen Mikaeel for some time and that the little boy's domestic circumstances were complex. He had never met his biological father, who is of Pakistani origin, and his mother was estranged from her husband, Omotoso Adekunle Adekoya, 35, a taxi driver from Nigeria who lives nearby.

On her Facebook page Kular, who runs a mobile health and beauty studio, indicated a love of partying and nightclubs that saw her nicknamed the 'dancing queen'.

It has been claimed that the parents of her estranged husband had reservations about her lifestyle which they believe contributed to the collapse of her marriage.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "This is a tragic development in this harrowing story and the news that we have all been dreading. The hearts of everyone across Scotland and beyond have been touched by the events of recent days. We should at this difficult time remember the work of the officers of Police Scotland who have responded to this difficult task and investigation and shown such professionalism and dedication."

Kular's sister Pandeep, 37, currently lives at the house near which the body was found, but is not implicated in any way in the discovery. Her mother Harjinder, a retired doctor, also lives nearby.

Mikaeel's disappearance led to a large search operation involving hundreds of volunteers from across Scotland.

For two days, Police Scotland insisted there was no evidence of criminality, and expressed sympathy for Mikaeel's 'very distraught' mother. But the tone of the inquiry changed early on Friday evening when officers admitted for the first time that the child could be the victim of a crime.

Mikaeel had not been at nursery since Christmas and the discovery raises the possibility that he may have died some time before the alarm was raised.

Hundreds of people attended a memorial service for the little boy at Muirhouse St. Andrew's Church in Edinburgh, less than a mile from Mikaeel's home, last evening. Men, women and children of all ages filled the 300-capacity church building and an overflow room which could hold another 80 people.

Bangarpet Krishnaswamy, a Bangalore doctor married to Mikaeel's grandmother Harjinder, gave an emotional tribute to those who helped search for the little boy.

"I would like to thank all the public and the police for the search, which sadly turned out to be a futile," he told the 'Sunday Mirror'. Floral tributes, soft toys and candles have been placed at a small park in the Drylaw area in Edinburgh, just around the corner from the flat where Mikaeel lived on Ferry Gait Crescent.

Next: Heroin with street value of Rs 85 crore seized in Amritsar

Heroin with street value of Rs 85 crore seized in Amritsar

Amritsar: Seventeen packets of heroin with street value of Rs 85 crore along with arms and ammunition were seized by the Border Security Force near the Indo-Pak border here today.

Each packet weighed one kilogramme and the total value of the seized heroin was Rs 85 crore in the drug market, BSF Inspector General (Punjab Frontier) Ajay Kumar Tomar said.

BSF officers showing 17 kilogram of Heroin valued Rs 85 crore in international market recovered from Smugglers in Amritsar on Sunday - PTI

BSF jawans noticed suspicious movements of some persons along the border security fence near village Daoke at around 4.30 A M, he said. They were trying to insert a plastic pipe through the fence into the Indian border, Tomar said.

When challenged, they fired at BSF troopers triggering a brief exchange of fire, he said.

Taking advantage of dense fog enveloping the area, they managed to escape to Pakistan, the IG said.

The BSF conducted a thorough search of the area and found 17 packets of heroin, two pistols, a magazine and eight rounds of ammunition besides a mobile set and a sim, he said.

Next: Man kills 'hysterical' teenage daughter, self

Man kills 'hysterical' teenage daughter, self

Akola (Maharashtra): A 50-year-old man allegedly killed his teenage daughter, who was reportedly suffering from 'hysteria', before hanging himself at his house here, police said on Sunday.

Anil Gaikwad, a rickshaw puller, was found hanging to the ceiling whereas his daughter Moni (18) lying dead in their house in Kailas Tekdi area here yesterday by the youngest of his three daughters, they said.

In a suicide note left behind, Gaikwad wrote that he had strangulated Moni to death before killing himself though he did not mention the reason behind taking the extreme step, Khadan police station in-charge Shailesh Sakpal said.

However, sources said Gaikwad was upset with the 'mental condition' of Moni who had been pestering him to get herself married. She would walk out of the house in that state of mind and Gaikwad would have to search for her, sources said.

Police suspect the incident might have occurred last night when Gaikwad's wife walked out of their house following a spat with her husband and Moni.

Next: Gold worth Rs 1.81 crore seized from nine air passengers in Mumbai

Gold worth Rs 1.81 crore seized from nine air passengers in Mumbai

Mumbai: Customs sleuths detected nine cases of smuggling at the Mumbai international airport here and seized 7.3 kg of gold valued at around Rs 1.81 crore on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, a senior police official said.

In separate cases, nine air passengers, who are all Indians, were intercepted at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport after they landed from different flights arriving from Dubai, Singapore, Sharjah and Bangkok on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

Gold in the form of jewellery, rods and bars collectively weighing 7.3 kg was seized, the official said. Three of the nine accused, who possessed gold worth more than Rs 20 lakh each, were arrested, while the rest were allowed to go. However, they would be called for questioning as and when required, the officer said.

Next: 6 gold rods, 2 gold coins worth Rs 13.33 lakh seized at Kochi airport

6 gold rods, 2 gold coins worth Rs 13.33 lakh seized at Kochi airport

Kochi: Six crude gold rods coated with silver and two gold coins, together worth Rs 13.33 lakh, were seized from a man who arrived here today by a flight from Dubai, customs officials said.

The gold rods were concealed and stitched along the beading of the hand baggage of the passenger, hailing from Kannur district, they said.

Naushad was intercepted at the exit gate while he was passing through the Green Channel on suspicion that he was carrying contraband gold.

He replied in the negative when asked if he had any gold with him, but an X-ray scan of his baggage (two pieces checked in and one hand baggage), showed dark coloured metal rods in hand luggage alongside the beadings, a customs release said.

The beadings were cut open and the crude gold rods weighing 480 grams were found concealed inside. He was then subjected to a body search and two gold coins totally weighing eight gm were also recovered.

Naushad was arrested under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962 and later released on bail.

Next: Thief falls, dies while trying to escape

Thief falls, dies while trying to escape

Coimbatore: A burglar on Sunday fell from the first floor of a house where he had gone to steal and died in a local government hospital where the owner got him admitted, police said.

They said the man gained entry to the first floor of the house in Vadavalli, while the owner and his family members were sleeping downstairs.

The owner woke up on hearing a sound and alerted his neighbours and relatives through SMS about presence of the thief, they said.

Seeing people coming to the house, the man tried to escape, but slipped and fell down from the terrace.

The owner noticed the man lying in a pool of blood and immediately got him admitted to a hospital. The thief, however, died, police added.

Next: Mentally challenged girl raped by coach in Andhra Pradesh

Mentally challenged girl raped by coach in Andhra Pradesh

Anantapur: A coach named Narendra Luther was arrested for allegedly raping a mentally challenged athlete of Anantapur district during the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games-2013 at New Castle in Australia last month.

The issue came to light on Saturday after the victim’s parents lodged a complaint with the police against the coach for inappropriate behaviour.

However, the coach has already been dismissed.

Sources said a NGO named RDT (Rural Development Trust) had started a coaching institute for mentally challenged children at Bathalapalli four years ago.

Training was being given to students by specially trained coaches in various events. The RDT also encourages the mentally challenged kids to take part in international events every year.

About 21 mentally challenged athletes, 11 girls and 10 boys, were sent to to the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games-2013 held from December 1 to December 7 in Australia.

The RDT team of athletes represented India and the NGO bore all expenses including flight, lodging and boarding for all the athletes.

The organisers had also sent coaches Narendra Luther, Madan Mohan and Sreevani with the athletes.

Coach Narendra Luther allegedly raped the mentally challenged athlete in a hotel in Australia. Sources said the institute dismissed Luther for “behaving rudely” with the girl.

Parents lodged a complaint against Narendra Luther for molesting their daughter during the Special Olympic Asia Pacific Games-2013.

Bathalapalli circle inspector B. Narasingappa said a case was registered against the coach. The girl has been sent for medical examination.

Next: Newly-wed minor girl ends life

Newly-wed minor girl ends life

Salem: A newly married 16-year-old girl committed suicide at her residence at Veeranam in Salem on Friday, police said.

Jailakshmi, minor daughter of Kaliappan, resident of Sevvapettai, was given in marriage to a construction worker Thirunavakarasu, 23 residing at Veeranam.

She went to her mother-in-law’s house along with her husband for the festival and her parents also joined in the festivities.

Meanwhile, Jailakshmi’s mother gave her Rs 500 for her expenses, with which she planned to watch a movie with her husband.

When the couple returned home, Thirunav­akara­su did not take her to the cinema, but took the money for his expenses.

Depressed, Jailakshmi committed suicide by hanging at her house, police said. Veeranam police have registered a case and are investigating.

Next: 2 Kerala youths assault Oriya girl and cousin

2 Kerala youths assault Oriya girl and cousin

Kochi: A 20-year old Oriya girl and her cousin who came to Aluva in search of jobs were brutally assaulted near the Aluva railway station by two unidentified men in the wee hours of Saturday.

The incident happened around 2am when the unidentified youth introduced themselves as police personnel and began to torture the duo who had come to the town in the hope of picking up jobs in the plywood industry in Perumbavoor.

“The victim and her cousin arrived on Friday evening but were held up at the station as they didn’t know the way,” police said. The assailants beat them up and tried to tear the girl’s dress. When the duo made a hue and cry, the accused fled from the scene.

“We’ve taken a case under sec 354 A (criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty). The hunt for the accused is on,” police said.

Next: 12-yr-old raped, murdered in Thane

12-yr-old raped, murdered in Thane

Thane: The body of a 12-year-old girl, allegedly raped and then killed, was found at a village farm here, police said on Sunday.

The girl, from Kaman village in Vasai area of Thane district, had left for her school on January 16, but did not return home. Later, her family members, after carrying out a search in vain, lodged a missing complaint with the local police, Waliv police station inspector Rajendra Mohite said.

Saturday afternoon, police received information about a body lying at a farm in the village.

The police rushed to the site and later the decomposed body was identified as that of the missing girl. Police said the body was sent for postmortem which revealed that the girl had been raped before being killed.

Offences have been registered against unidentified persons under sections 302 (murder) and 376 (rape) of the IPC along with relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, police said, adding that search for the culprits was on.

Next: 3 held for making obscene calls to UP police control room

3 held for making obscene calls to UP police control room

Ghaziabad: Police on Sunday arrested three persons for allegedly making obscene and abusive calls to women police personnel deployed in the control room.

Whenever any male staffer attended their calls, they also misbehaved with him, police said. The arrested have been identified as Aftab, Tasleem and Harshwardhan, all residents of Ghaziabad and aged between 25 and 30 years.

The accused were arrested after the numbers from where they used to dial the control room were traced, police said.

Some women police staffer posted in the control room at the police headquarter had complained of receiving obscene and abusive calls from some unidentified persons, they said.

Besides, male staffer of the control room also lodged a complaint about misbehaviour and abusive calls from unknown persons.

"Accused would call control room and indulge in obscene and abusive discussions with female staffer. A team of crime branch traced the calls and arrested three persons in this connection," said a senior police officer.

Next: Honour killing: UP youth kills sister over love affair

Honour killing: UP youth kills sister over love affair

Meerut: In a suspected case of honour killing, a youth allegedly shot dead his sister in Karanawal village of the district, police said on Sunday. The accused Asif has been arrested and sent to police custody, they said.

The victim Rukeya (19) had been engaged to a youth and was in a relationship with another youth from the village, to which her family and accused brother objected, police said. According to the police, the incident occurred when the victim was speaking to her paramour over a mobile phone in her room.

The accused overheard the conversation and angry with his sister for going against the wishes of the family, he barged in her room and shot her dead.

The victim died on the spot while Asif managed to flee. However, police in the wee hours today arrested the accused, who was in an inebriated condition and trying to flee from the village.

Next: Scholar from IIT-Bombay kills himself

Scholar from IIT-Bombay kills himself

Visakhapatnam: Molakala Siva Teja, a 26-year-old PhD (ECE) scholar of IIT-Bombay, hailing from Hyderabad, was found dead at the Ashwini Lodge in the city on Saturday. Police said that Teja committed suicide by suffocating himself with a thick plastic bag in the bathroom.

Teja did not leave a suicide note, and the police is yet to ascertain the reasons for the suicide.

The incident took place on Friday, but came to light on Saturday when lodge staffers alerted the police. The cops broke open the door, and found Teja dead in the bathroom.

Police said that Teja came to the city on January 16 and had booked a room at Ashwini Lodge.

He came out on Friday morning for water. Since he was not seen after Friday 9 am, the staff asked Teja to come out on Saturday morning. When he didn’t respond, the police was called.

Cops found a PAN card, an IIT-B ID card and a dismantled mobile phone.

The cops reassembled the mobile phone, and based on the contacts list called Teja’s parents, who live in the ECIL area of Hyderabad.

Teja's relative Y.V. Rami Reddy, who is settled in Vizag, said that he was brilliant in academics, and had done BTech and MTech at IIT-B.

Reddy said that they were confused about why Siva Teja came to Vizag, and stayed in a lodge. He says that depression might have been the cause for suicide.

Dwaraka Zone SI S. Somaraju said the parents of Siva Teja had lodged a missing complaint at Mumbai a few days back after they lost contact with their son on January 13.

Somaraju said the police had registered a case of suspicious death under Section 174, and the body was sent for postmortem at the King George Hospital. The parents, M. Rajasekhara Reddy and M.U. Rani are likely to come to Vizag on Saturday night.

Next: Killer, aides nabbed for teenager’s murder

Killer, aides nabbed for teenager’s murder

Hyderabad: The police has arrested the prime suspect, 40-year-old Sheik Ali, alias Ali Bomb, and four minors involved in the murder of Nawaaz, 15. Nawaaz was killed in Yakutpura.

The cops seized two daggers and a scooter from them.

Inspector G. Ramesh, said that recently Ali Bomb had lost Rs 7,000, and suspected Nawaaz.

On January 11, they called Nawaaz to a spot near the Yakutpura railway tracks and started questioning him about the money.

“They assaulted him for using his brother Parvez’s name to threaten them. After beating him, they stabbed him to death,” inspector Ramesh said.

Ali Bomb was sent to judicial remand by the court, and the minors were sent to a juvenile home on Saturday.

Both Nawaaz and the accused are well known to each other and are involved in several offences. While Nawaaz’s name is not on record, Ali’s involved in various cases including in Afzalgunj, Nampally railway, Rein Bazaar police stations.

After his death, they wrapped his body in a bag and threw into a twelve feet deep manhole, which opens into a nala in the Imambada area.

“It was late in the night on Tuesday; Parvez approached the police and lodged a complaint stating that his brother is missing. A case was registered and probe was on, and we retrieved the decomposed body in the early hours on Wednesday from the drainage.” The inspector added.

Ali Bomb was sent to the judicial remand, while the minors were sent to juvenile home on Saturday.

Next: Gold, cash stolen from locked house

Gold, cash stolen from locked house

Chennai: Burglars allegedly deca­m­ped with around Rs 50 lakh worth gold and diamond jewellery and Rs 3.5 lakh cash from the locked house of a businessman at Ekkattuthangal.

The family had gone to Tirupati for the Pongal holidays.

According to police sources, Jayaprakash, who runs a moulding factory at Thirumudi­vakk­am, had returned to his ho­use at Defence Colony on Friday evening to find the backdoor and the saf­e­­ty locker inside open.

While Jayaprakash, who lives in the house wi­th his wife and mother, cl­ai­med that nearly 100 sovereigns of jewellery and Rs3.5 lakh cash were missing, the Nandamb­ak­k­am police, who are inve­s­t­igating the case, contest this and say that the missing property could be less.

While Jayaprakash had lodged a complaint with the Nandambakkam police on Friday, the police said they were also interrogating the family members. This is because the locker is password protected and it did not seem to have been broken open.

“The locker was opened only after the password was entered and even the complainant said only the family members knew the password,” said inspector N. Giri.

Next: Rs 60L cash seized from passengers

Rs 60L cash seized from passengers

Coimbatore: Railway Police seized Rs 60 lakhs of unaccounted cash from two passen­­gers at the Coimbatore Railway junction here on Saturday. S. Senthil, Deputy Superintendent of Railway Police told media persons that Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel posted near the junction entrance found two persons moving in a suspicious manner with a bag.

Security personnel questioned the two and examined their bags in a luggage scanner.

The scan revealed that the bags were filled with wads of currency notes. A total of Rs 60 lakhs in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were found in the bag and there were no valid documents for the cash.

The two who were handed over to the Railway Police have been identified as V. Senthil Kumar, 25 and G. Raja 58), a private employee of jewellery from Karuppa Gounder Street in Coimbatore.

During the interrogation, the duo told the police that their manager Raam had given them the cash and asked them to deposit it with the firm’s branch at Nagercoil. They had planned to take the Hyderabad- Trivandrum Sabari Express to Thrissur and take a bus to Nagercoil from there.

Sabari Express is scheduled to arrive at Coim­bat­ore at 8.29 am and reach Th­rissur by 12 noon.

How­ever the police caught them red handed. Railway Police have informed the Income Tax Department of the cash seizure.

Next: Brown sugar worth Rs 40l seized

Brown sugar worth Rs 40l seized

Shimoga: The Anti-Rowdy Squad (ARS) on Saturday held five persons, including a police constable, and seized brown sugar worth about Rs 50 lakh in Shimoga city.

Police sources said the squad, led by circle police inspector H. Jairaj, arrested the culprits near the Sahyadri College, when they were allegedly trying to sell brown sugar to college students.

It is said that the seized contraband weighed nearly 400 grams and was valued around Rs 50 lakh in the international market.

Those arrested have been identified as Jayakumar (22), a constable at the Old Town Police Station in Bhadravati; Suchith (22), a native of Tirthahalli and resident of Goraguntepalya in Bangalore, Wilson (40) of Tirthahalli, Chandra­kanth alias Polu (30) and Ashok (30) of Karkala in Udupi district. Police is on the lookout for few more persons involved in the racket.

Sources said there were complaints of drugs being supplied to students in medical and engineering college campuses in the city.

Next: Two held, property recovered

Two held, property recovered

Tirupati: Tirupati central crime station (CCS) police have arrested two thieves in connection with multiple crimes and have recovered stolen property from the duo on Saturday.

According to the police, Srinivas and Raviteja, wanted in several theft-related crimes were taken into custody in Tirupati.

The duo was living in Tirupati are wanted in connection with around 18 cases under various police limits in Chittoor district.

Srinivas and Raviteja used to target low profile temples in the district and used rob temple jewellery and valuables during nights.

204 grams of gold, 3.5 kg of silver have been recovered from the thieves by the police.