Mexican Car Wash Massacre Leaves 15 Dead

MEXICO CITY — Gunmen killed 15 people at a car wash Wednesday in a Mexican Pacific coast state where drug-gang violence has risen this year. It was the third massacre in Mexico in less than a week.

The gunmen in three vehicles drove up to the car wash in the city of Tepic and opened fire without provocation, said Fernando Carvajal, public safety secretary of Nayarit state, where the city is located. Fifteen men were killed and three people were injured.

The motive was not immediately clear but investigators suspect it was the work of organized crime, Carvajal told reporters.

He said most of the victims were recovering drug addicts and worked at the car wash. One victim, however, had just driven up to the business in a motorcycle and appeared not to have worked there, and another body was found at a nearby fruit stand.

Carvajal said the owners of the business have another car wash in the city where a man was killed Tuesday, and police were investigating whether the attacks were linked.

Nayarit Gov. Ney Gonzalez said investigators believe some of the victims had been washing a stolen car.

"These boys were fighting for hope, were fighting against drugs," Gonzalez said in a statement posted by the state government. "The same as in Ciudad Juarez, the same thing in Tijuana," he said, referring to recent attacks on rehab centers in those cities.

President Felipe Calderon, speaking at a forum on security, called for a minute of silence for the victims of the Tepic attack and two other massacres that have occurred since Friday: an attack on a birthday party that killed 14 young people in the border city of Ciudad Juarez, and a shooting at a drug rehab center in Tijuana that killed 13 recovering addicts.

Prosecutors in Tijuana identified one of those killed in that attack as a Colombian man, Wilson Ramirez Pena, 42. They did not say what he was doing in Tijuana.

The three attacks did not appear to be related. Such mass shootings have become increasingly common in Mexico, where drug-gang violence surged after Calderon launched an offensive against drug cartels soon after taking office in December 2006.

In an interview with the BBC released Wednesday, Calderon said he had to launch the offensive in part because his predecessor Vicente Fox – who served as president from 2000 to 2006 and is a member of Calderon's conservative National Action Party – "didn't act in time" to stem the rise of the cartels.

"I have a great respect for former president Fox," Calderon said. "But I think he made a lot of mistakes on this issue. Perhaps the most important was not acting in time on this.

"I think that if Mexico had started to fight against this problem 10 years ago, we would be talking about something completely different now."

Cartel-style violence has picked up this year in Nayarit, a small Pacific coast state wedged along drug trafficking route disputed by several drug gangs.

In April, 12 bodies, eight of them partially burned, were found in the fields outside the Nayarit town of Xalisco. Gonzalez, the governor, ordered schools to close early in June because of rising violence.

Drug gangs were blamed in the first two massacres.

In Tijuana, prosecutors say they are investigating whether the attack there was related to a record seizure of nearly 135 tons of marijuana last week. Shortly after the attack, a voice was heard over a police radio frequency threatening that there would be as many as 135 killings in Tijuana – a possible reference to the government's pot haul.

In Ciudad Juarez, investigators said two men found dead Tuesday – one of them decapitated – might have been involved in the birthday party massacre Friday night. A note left with the bodies accused the men of killing women and children. The victims of the party attack ranged from 13 to 32 years old and included six women and girls.

In 2009, gunmen attacked several rehab centers in Ciudad Juarez, killing dozens of clients.

In other bloodshed in Ciudad Juarez, gunmen killed three undercover Mexican federal police officers as they waited for a person to cross a bridge from El Paso, Texas, authorities said Wednesday.

The Chihuahua state attorney general's office gave no further details of Tuesday's shooting, but motorists crossing the Cordova Americas International Bridge at about 1:30 p.m. were told by officials that there was a delay because of a shooting.

In an unrelated attack, a Chihuahua state police officer was killed Wednesday in his Ciudad Juarez home, said Arturo Sandoval, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office.

A territorial battle between the Juarez and Sinaloa drug cartels has torn Ciudad Juarez for nearly three years, claiming more than 6,500 lives, many of them police. The city of 1.3 million is one of the world's deadliest.

Federal police have come under increased attacks in Ciudad Juarez since taking over security in the city from the military earlier this year.

At least 115 police officers or investigators have been killed in Ciudad Juarez this year – including 32 federal police.

A video posted online Wednesday by a local newspaper showed the kidnapped brother of a former Mexican state attorney general saying at gunpoint that the former governor of Chihuahua, Jose Reyes Baeza, had met with Juarez drug cartel leader Vicente Carillo three times at a ranch.

It was the second video released this week showing attorney Mario Gonzalez – the brother of former state attorney general Patricia Gonzalez – sitting in a chair, handcuffed and surrounded masked men pointing guns at him. The video was posted by the Diario de Juarez newspaper.

Reached by telephone, Patricia Gonzalez said she could not comment on the latest tape, and a spokesman for the state attorney general's office said the same.

Gonzalez stepped down Oct. 3 as Chihuahua attorney general when a new governor took office. Her brother was kidnapped Oct. 21.

In the previous tape, the kidnapped attorney said he and his sister worked for the Juarez cartel. On the tape released Wednesday, Gonzalez said: "I ask forgiveness from God and the people for having killed so many innocent people. We were sick with power, me, my sister, the governor ... and all of the people in the Juarez cartel."

It is often impossible to verify the accuracy of the admissions made under extreme pressure. It is a tactic that has become increasingly common in Mexico's brutal drug war: cartels kidnapping police, officials and regular citizens and releasing video clips of the captives admitting to crimes.

In the northwest city of Culiacan, meanwhile, gunmen burst into a Red Cross hospital and kidnapped a young man who had been shot, said Martin Gastelum, a spokesman for the Sinaloa state attorney general's office.

The 23-year-old man had just been brought in with a gunshot wound when the armed men burst in, opened fire and hauled him out, Gastelum said.

Gastelum said he did not have further information but did not believe any Red Cross workers were hurt.

READ MORE - Mexican Car Wash Massacre Leaves 15 Dead

18-year-old, parents found dead in Delhi

New Delhi, Oct 25 (IANS) An 18-year-old mentally challenged youth and his parents were found dead in Delhi Monday, police said.

The youth was found dead inside his Sarita Vihar home in south Delhi while the bodies of his parents were recovered from the nearby railway tracks, a police official said.

'The boy's parents presumably committed suicide by coming under a train,' the official said.

There were no wound marks on the youth's body, the police official said, adding that the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination.

READ MORE - 18-year-old, parents found dead in Delhi

Engineer arrested for posting a bomb threat message on his Facebook wall.

Pune: A city-based engineer was arrested on Friday for posting a threat message on his Facebook wall to bomb SunGard Technology Services, a multinational company. Police said Yash Amol Karnik, who works at Jhonson Controls India, posted the comment out of frustration of poor work performance for the past few months. Suhas Ramchandra Shingare, senior manager of SunGard Technology, lodged the complaint at the Chatrushringi police station.

When contacted, Shingare refused to comment. However, police inspector B S Tele, the investigation officer, said, "Shingare called up the police on Thursday late evening saying that he received a threat to bomb SunGard on his Facebook account between 8 pm and 9 pm."

Police said Karnik, a resident of Mayur Colony, Kothrud, has done his engineering and higher education in UK. Karnik has mentioned on his Facebook account that he has pursued "communication engineering" from University of Manchester. He has also studied at the BITS Pilani in Dubai. Inspector Tele said, "During interrogation, Karnik said he sent the threat message because he was frustrated due to his own lacklustre performance at Jhonson Controls for the last seven months."

When a police team led by assistant commissioner of police Vishnu Mane and assistant inspector M N Joshi along with the bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) came to SunGard company offices at Senapati Bapat Road and Kharadi and conducted a search for about two hours. However, nothing suspicious emerged.

Later, the Chaturshringi police initiated a probe and found that the threat message was sent by Karnik of Jhonson Controls India that handles the maintenance of CCTV cameras at SunGard. The police arrested him under Sections 427, 506 (2) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66 of the Information Technology Act. He would be produced before the court on Saturday.

READ MORE - Engineer arrested for posting a bomb threat message on his Facebook wall.

Gujarat police crack bullion loot case, 4 held

By Rishi Banerji

Surat: With the arrest of four persons, including three women, from Mumbai on Friday, Surat Rural Police cracked the sensational Kosamba loot case.

The cops seized 1,310 gram of gold and Rs15 lakh in cash, kept in a house in Vadodara. However, the police failed to arrest the mastermind of the loot case and the tribals who looted the jewellery shop.

A week after a group of 20-25 tribals stormed and looted the jewellery shop in Kosamba, Surat police succeed in solving the case and nabbing the culprits. Acting on tip-offs, the police reached Mumbai and arrested three women and one person involved in the case.

Those arrested are identified as Ashokumar Jain, a resident of Zaveri bazaar in Mumbai and engaged in jewellery business, Parvinbibi Pathan, 55, and Pinki Pathan, 29, residents of Vadodara and Salma Sheikh, 45, a resident of Mumbai. Police said that the entire plan for the loot was prepared by Salim Malai, a Pakistani national, who is living illegally at Mandvi in Kutch. The case was cracked by tracking the cellphone records of Malai.

"Malai came into contact with some gangsters in Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh and asked them to loot KM Choksi jewellery shop in Kosamba. Actually, Malai used to frequently visit Kosamba, where he learnt about massive business of KM Choksi jewellers. He planned the entire loot and executed it," Kesarsinh Bhatti, DSP of Surat Rural Police said, at press meeting on Friday.

Police said that after committing the crime, the looters went to Vadodara and kept valuables and cash at Parvinbibi's house. Parvinbibi is a relative of Malai. Later, Pravinbibi and Pinki took everything to Sheikh's residence in Mumbai. Ashokumar helped Malai in planning the loot and also in concealing the looted items in Mumbai.

"Malai was arrested in 2007 for helping two ISI agents enter India with duplicate notes worth Rs30 lakh. Investigation is on to recover the remaining jewellery and cash," Bhatti added.

READ MORE - Gujarat police crack bullion loot case, 4 held

Call girl gang kills businessman, say police

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday claimed businessman Ramnath Singla (51), whose body was found in car in East Delhi's Pandav Nagar on Tuesday, was killed by a gang that provided call girls as escorts in the city.
Police sources said the gang has about 100 call girls and have put up their contact details on several websites.
The police claimed the gang caters mostly to rich businessmen and industrialists in the NCR, who they often rob under sedation, knowing they were unlikely to lodge a complaint.
The police claimed gang leader Sheetal (25) called Singla to her house in Shakarpur and served him liquor. Once the businessman was the drunk, she took his cash and smothered him to death with the help of her husband Ravi (26) and brother-in-law Ajay Kumar (36), they claimed. Officials said Singla first met Sheetal three years back and used to visit her often.
A team led by SI Vinay Yadav arrested the trio from East Delhi after tracing a PCO call made to Singla's number hours before his murder. On Sunday, Singla went to Shakarpur while returning from Chandigarh, and asked his driver to go back. Police claimed Singla was killed because he sensed their intentions. Singla's body was found in his Swift car two days after the murder. He had jewellery and Rs 2 lakh in cash with him that day.
The police claimed the gang used to make friends with rich people and provide them girls. "They would analyse the worth of a person and rob them whenever they saw them with cash and jewellery," said the source.
They had recently stolen the Honda Civic of a doctor after sedating him,
said the police, adding that the matter was, however, never reported. The sources said the three disclosed name of several persons they had robbed, but there had never been police complaints in these cases.
Sheetal, originally from Nepal, had come to Delhi some six years back.
"She started with a 'phone friend' business, but shifted to the Internet after the police cracked down on friendship clubs. They used to charge between Rs 10,000 and Rs 50,000 from the persons contacting them and send girls to farmhouses and flats of customers," said a source.

READ MORE - Call girl gang kills businessman, say police

Indian-American charged of sexual assault

Washington: An Indian-American has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman while she slept during a flight.
Ranchhodbhai Lakha of Georgia faces charges of assault for the September 28 incident on a Delta Air Lines flight from Dallas to Atlanta, the US Attorney Office said on Wednesday.
According to the woman, when she awoke during the September 28 Delta flight to discover that Lakha, 61, of touching her below the waist. She said that she removed his hand, but Lakha allegedly touched her again, prompting her to get up from her seat and report the incident to a flight attendant, CNN reported.

"Sexual assault is a crime wherever it happens, including airplanes," US Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in the statement.
"Many passengers let their guard down or even fall asleep in the closed, often crowded environment of an airplane, which makes this kind of sexual assault so deplorable." Lakha is in custody and has a tentative initial appearance before a US magistrate on October 25, Patrick Crosby, a spokesman for the US attorney's office in Atlanta said, according to CNN.
He has not entered a plea. A call to his attorney was not immediately returned.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

READ MORE - Indian-American charged of sexual assault

Monster commander's deeds stuns Canada

Toronto: The graphic accounts of Canada's former top military commander Russell Williams, who has pleaded guilty to raping and killing two women and taping their ordeal and breaking into young women's bedrooms to steal lingerie, has stunned and shamed the country.

Colonel Russell Williams poses in lingerie stolen during various fetish break-ins for lingerie in this combination of evidence photos released by the court. Williams pleaded guilty October 18, 2010 to more than 80 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, two sexual assaults and dozens of fetish break-ins for lingerie documented in lurid photos. REUTERS

The accounts were played Tuesday in courtroom that recoiled with horror when the prosecution ran tapes and photos (produced by the commander himself) of two badly battered and bleeding rape victims pleading for their life.
"Have a heart, please! I have been really good. I want to live," begged 37-year-old Corporal Marie-France Comeau, after hours of beatings and repeated rape at her home at Brighton, not far from the Trenton military base where she worked under him.
But the pleading had no effect on him as he taped her mouth to cut off her breathing and let her die. The court heard that the commander knew where she lived and that she was alone. A week before her death, he broke into Comeau's house to steal her panties.

Colonel Russell Williams (R), former Commander of Canadian Forces Base Trenton, is escorted from Belleville court October 19, 2010. Williams pleaded guilty on Monday to the murder of two women and a long list of sex crimes committed in the shadows of his decorated career, Canadian media reported. REUTERS

A week later, he again broke into her house and hid himself in her basement to wait for her to go to asleep. But the woman found him when she went to the basement to search for her cat. As she shouted and called him a "bastard", he bloodied her head with a flashlight and tied her up. Then he took to her bedroom to repeatedly rape and assault her and filmed his crime.
One video showed him smiling and kissing her cheek. Another showed her lying naked and unconscious on her stairway. When she pleaded with him to "have a heart please", the commander taped her mouth to choke her to death.
What was even more stunning was how he left the murder scene to drive straight to capital Ottawa to attend a meeting for buying a C-17 military transport plane for Canadian forces.
Equally horrific were the graphic details of the repeated rape and then death of 27-year-old Jessica Lloyd, who lived not far from the commander's house.

Articles of lingerie, stolen and catalogued by Colonel Russell Williams in 2009, are seen in this evidence photo released by the court. Williams pleaded guilty October 18, 2010 to more than 80 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, two sexual assaults and dozens of fetish break-ins for lingerie documented in lurid photos. REUTERS

The court heard how he first noticed her when she was exercising on a treadmill in the basement of her house. When she went to sleep, he broke into her house, tied her up, taped her mouth and repeatedly raped her before taking her to his cottage in Tweed (not far from Ottawa) where he repeatedly raped her.
When she began to suffer from seizures and pleaded him to take her to hospital, the commander continued to sexually assault her and videotape her ordeal. On the tape, Lloyd was heard saying: "If I die, will you make sure to let my mom know that I love her?"
Before killing her, the commander gave her some fruit to eat, then hit her head with a flashlight and strangle her with a rope Jan 29. A stunned courtroom heard how he left Lloyd's body at his home to leave for the military base to attend his work.

Colonel Russell Williams, seen in this evidence photo released by the court, poses in lingerie taken during a break-in committed in 2007. Williams pleaded guilty October 18, 2010 to more than 80 charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, two sexual assaults and dozens of fetish break-ins for lingerie documented in lurid photos. REUTERS

He stayed overnight at the base before flying soldiers to California and returned to dump her body in a nearby field. Canadian papers Tuesday carried photos of the commander posing in lingerie and his huge collections of stolen panties.
Since Canada has no death penalty, Williams faces life behind bars. He was arrested by chance in February when the tyre treads of his SUV matched those found at the one of the crime scenes.
Source: IANS

READ MORE - Monster commander's deeds stuns Canada

Mexico Pot Bust: Mexican Authorities Seize 105 Tons Of Marijuana

Soldiers and police officers guard packages of seized marijuana during a presentation for the media in Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Oct. 18, 2010. On a conjoined operation with the army, local and state police seized 105 tons of U.S.-bound marijuana Monday, by far the biggest drug bust in the country in recent years. The packages were labeled or marked in different ways. (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)

TIJUANA, Mexico — Mexican security forces seized at least 105 tons of U.S.-bound marijuana in the border city of Tijuana on Monday, by far the biggest pot bust in the country in recent years.

Soldiers and police grabbed the drugs in pre-dawn raids in three neighborhoods after police arrested 11 people following a shootout, army Gen. Alfonso Duarte Mujica said at a news conference.

The marijuana was found wrapped in 10,000 packages, which were displayed to journalists by soldiers in masks. Duarte said the drug had an estimated street value in Mexico of 4.2 billion pesos, about $340 million.

Duarte said authorities were still counting and weighing the packages and the amount could increase. He said the drugs – wrapped in different colors and labeled with apparently coded phrases and pictures that included Homer Simpson – would be incinerated immediately after the weighing and counting is completed.

The bust began when Tijuana municipal police on patrol came under fire from gunmen in a convoy of vehicles, Duarte said. One police officer and one suspect were injured.

Police arrested 11 people who were traveling in the convoy and called the army and state police for reinforcements, Duarte said.

He said the detainees led the security forces to three different neighborhoods in the city, which is across the border from San Diego, California. The drugs were found stored in tractor trailers and houses.

Duarte said local criminal gangs were gathering the drugs to smuggle into the United States. He did not identify any of the gangs or say where the marijuana originated.

Although Mexican drug cartels smuggle marijuana from South America, the drug is increasingly produced in Mexico.

Cannabis production in Mexico increased 35 percent to 12,000 hectares (29,652 acres) in 2009, from 8,900 hectares (21,991 acres) the previous year, according to the U.S. State Department's 2010 International Narcotics Control report.

The report attributed the increase to drug cartel efforts to "diminish reliance on foreign suppliers."

The Tijuana bust dwarfed marijuana seizures of recent years. Major pot seizures this year in Tijuana and other parts of the country have amounted to about a dozen tons each.

Before this seizure, soldiers in Baja California state, where Tijuana is located, had confiscated a total of 115 tons of marijuana this year.

The seizure comes as overall marijuana confiscation and crop eradication has dropped in Mexico.

Security forces seized 1,385 tons of marijuana in 2009, down from a yearly average of 2,000 tons in previous years, according to the U.S. report. It said Mexico eradicated 14,135 hectares (34,927 acres) of cannabis in the first 11 months of last year, compared to 18,663 hectares (46,116 acres) in all of 2008.

The report said the decline comes as Mexican security forces focus more on hard drugs like methamphetamines – but also as resources are increasingly deployed to confront drug cartel violence.

Upon taking office in December 2006, President Felipe Calderon deployed tens of thousands of troops and federal police to fight drug cartels in their strongholds. An unprecedented 28,000 people have been killed in drug gang violence since.

Before the intensified crackdown, marijuana eradication had averaged about 30,000 hectares (74,130 acres) a year, according to the State Department report.

The Tijuana bust came a little over a week after Calderon visited the border city and called it a success in his drug war.

Violence peaked in Tijuana in 2008 amid a showdown between two crime bosses – Fernando "The Engineer" Sanchez Arellano and Teodoro "El Teo" Garcia Simental, a renegade lieutenant who rose through the ranks by dissolving bodies in vats of lye.

Garcia was arrested last January. While killings have continued, the most gruesome displays of cartel violence – decapitations, hangings and daylight shootouts – subsided.

Last week, in the wake of Calderon's visit, several bodies were found beheaded and hanging from bridges in Tijuana, leading to fears that the cartels were resuming brutal tactics to send a message that the government is not in control.

Drug gang violence continued elsewhere in Mexico.

Gunmen stormed two homes and killed nine people in one neighborhood of Ciudad Juarez, a city across from El Paso, Texas, the Chihuahua state Attorney General's Office said in a statement Monday.

The gunmen first burst into a home where a family was having a party, the statement said. Three women and two men died at the scene Sunday night, and a man and a woman died at the hospital.

Assailants attacked a second home in the neighborhood minutes later, killing two men.

Police had no suspects and did not give a possible motive.

Ciudad Juarez has become one of the world's deadliest cities amid a turf war between the Sinaloa and Juarez drug cartels. More than 2,000 people have been killed this year in the city, which is across the border from El Paso, Texas.

READ MORE - Mexico Pot Bust: Mexican Authorities Seize 105 Tons Of Marijuana

Aunt tries black magic, kills two children

Dolly, the prime accused

Mumbai: Nalasopara Police are trying to rope in a relative of two children who died allegedly when their aunt tried black magic on them to exorcise "evil spirits', strangling them in the process, to stand as prosecution witness.
Police suspect the aunt, Dolly, had tried the same voodoo on another aunt of the children, Renu, who, however, did not die and was said to be recuperating in a hospital. Seven members of the Jaiswal family, including the parents and grandparents were arrested on Saturday. Police suspect Renu's husband Sanjay Jaiswal, who is absconding, was also present when the black magic was tried on the children, Om (5) and Ritika (2), who died on Friday. They are conducting inquiries to trace Sanjay.
Renu is also believed to have suffered the same torture at the hands of Dolly, the prime accused, said the police.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Thane Rural) Deepak Devraj said, "Dolly believed she was blessed with divine powers and had tonsured and tortured Renu a few days before the children died as she believed Renu was also possessed. The family had moved Renu to a hospital for treatment and she had been recuperating when the children died. Though Renu was not present at the time of the murder, it is obvious she knew about Dolly's black magic practice and we intend to bring her in as a prosecution witness. We will take her statement soon."
Meanwhile, police claimed the seven arrested did not show any regret. "We sought their remand to inquire whether there were any other person, like any 'tantrik', to help them during the incident and also to check if the children had faced any torture in the past as a result of the exorcism," added Devraj.

READ MORE - Aunt tries black magic, kills two children

Mumbai doctor held for rape watched porn first

Accused had stored pronographic clips in phone

Mumbai: A hospital doctor arrested for raping a patient in the intensive care unit allegedly watched pornographic clips stored in his mobile phone before sexually assaulting the woman.

"In her statement, the woman has said Dr Vishal Bane was going through pornographic clips in his cellphone before raping her. We have seized the mobile phone and sent it for analysis at the Forensic Sciences Laboratory at Kalina," said inspector Rajkumar Chaphekar of Vashi police station.

The woman, 35 and a resident of Koparkhairane, was semiconscious when Bane allegedly raped her. Complaining of fatigue and giddiness while attending a Durga Puja ceremony in Sector 15 of Vashi, she was admitted to Lotus Hospital Saturday night. Bane, the resident medical officer, advised she be moved to the ICU for the night as she was shivering and asked her family to wait outside. He allegedly raped her in the early hours of Sunday.

The police said she could understand she was being raped but was so was weak she could neither resist Bane nor raise an alarm.

The next morning, when her husband met her, she told him she had been raped. The family lodged an FIR at Vashi police station and Bane was arrested Sunday afternoon and remanded in police custody till October 25.

Police said preliminary medical reports have confirmed rape.

Bane, a resident of Ghansoli who specialises in Ayurveda, had been employed at the hospital since December. The police are investigating his past. "So far, we have not come across any evidence of past misconduct," Chaphekar said.

READ MORE - Mumbai doctor held for rape watched porn first

'Mossad agent' wanted station in India to keep tab on Pak

NEW YORK: An American national, who fled to Israel after killing his parents, has claimed that he worked for Israeli spy agency Mossad and wanted to set up a "station" in India to keep a tab on Pakistan.

Eric Bellucci, who killed his parents and then fled to Israel only to be extradited back to the US, was apprehended yesterday by the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Bellucci, who was brought back to New York from the Tel Aviv airport to face murder charges, told a friend that he had previously worked with the CIA and Mossad.

He told the friend that he planned "to set up a station in India so I can look at Pakistan," The New York Post reported.

Bellucci was fearful of living in NYC because he feared another Times Square attack.

Pakistani-American Faisal Shahzad, a LeT operative, tried to blow up an explosive-laden vehicle in Times Square on May 1 but failed and was later arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment after his conviction in the case.

"I had no idea he had a history of medication at all prior to this event," Bellucci's friend said on condition of anonymity.

Bellucci's parents, Arthur, 61, and Marian, 56, were found dead on Wednesday night in their home in Staten Island. The Post reported that their daughter found their bodies.

The American media said Bellucci, who reportedly suffers from schizophrenia, was picked up on Friday after trying to buy a plane ticket to Beijing, and arrived at the JFK airport on Sunday.

The man is in custody and is to appear at an arraignment hearing in Staten Island Criminal Court tomorrow.

"Police believed he traveled to Israel to meet a friend, but were unsure if Bellucci made contact. Bellucci had used a credit card to rent a car upon arrival," SI Live.com reported.

His unstable manner at the Israeli airport made an attendant suspicious who then informed the police. The attendant told an Israeli TV channel that Bellucci was talking to himself.

READ MORE - 'Mossad agent' wanted station in India to keep tab on Pak

Woman faints during Puja, raped by doc in ICU

NAVI MUMBAI: A visit to a Durga Puja pandal led to a nightmarish rape ordeal for a 30-year-old married woman in Vashi. The Bengali devotee, who had gone to the pandal on the premises of ICL School in Sector 15 on Saturday night, fainted when the festivities were going on and was admitted to Lotus Hospital in the vicinity where she was raped by the doctor on duty.

The Vashi police have arrested the 26-year-old resident medical officer (RMO), Dr Vishal Vanne, who reportedly raped the semi-conscious woman inside the intensive care unit of the hospital.

The investigating officer, inspector Rajkumar Chaphekar, told TOI, "The accused doctor, Vanne, who specialises in ayurveda and stays in Ghansoli, took advantage of the woman's helpless situation which was caused by low BP, and raped her on her ICU bed between 2 am and 5 am."

Chaphekar added that the female patient could comprehend that she was being violated, but due to her semi-conscious state could not cry out for help. A patient lying on the adjoining bed was fast asleep when the crime took place, while the woman's husband was sleeping in another part of the hospital.

"From initial questioning, we have come to know that the accused was employed at Lotus Hospital since last December. He has admitted to the crime, and we have also collected forensic data from the victim's clothes and bed as evidence," said Chaphekar.

Vanne will be produced before the local court on Monday, added the IO.

The zonal deputy commissioner of police, Ashok Dudhe, said that the police acted immediately on the complaint early on Sunday morning, after the devastated woman managed to tell her husband about it.

"Under the guidance of DCP Dudhe and ACP Purshottam Karad, we immediately started our investigations and quickly nabbed the accused, thus preventing a law and order situation in the locality," said Chaphekar.

Other senior medical employees of Lotus Hospital are also being questioned to know why the security was so lapse in a critical unit like the ICU. The hospital has been in existence for the last two years.

When TOI called up the hospital to speak to its representative, this correspondent was told that none were available for comment, as they all had been summoned by the Vashi police.

READ MORE - Woman faints during Puja, raped by doc in ICU

Woman found burnt to death

Phagwara, Oct 14 A woman, hailing from Bihar, was today found charred to death at a house in Ratanpura area here, police said.

Preliminary reports indicated that the woman, identified as Bhuchan, was burnt to death, they said.

Her husband Bharat Singh, a worker at the mill, was detained in this connection.

Bhuchan and Singh lived in the house as its caretakers since the owner lived outside the country.

The incident came to light today when workers who were engaged for repair work at the house informed a relative of the landlord that the house was locked. When the door of the house was forcibly opened, Bhuchan was found dead on the floor in a charred condition, they added.

READ MORE - Woman found burnt to death

Australian gets life term for murdering sons

MELBOURNE: An Australian man was sentenced on Friday to life in prison for murdering his three young sons by driving them into a reservoir on Father's Day to spite their mother.

Victoria state Supreme Court judge Justice Lex Lasry ordered Robert Farquharson, 41, to serve at least 33 years of the life sentence before he can be considered for parole.

Farquharson was taking his three sons, Jai, 10, Tyler, 7, and 2-year-old Bailey, to his ex-wife's home when he veered his car into a reservoir and left the boys to drown in September 2005. He claimed he had blacked out during a coughing fit while driving and pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.

But prosecutor Andrew Tinney told a jury during a three-month trial that began in May that Farquharson deliberately killed his sons out of resentment and anger toward his former wife, Cindy Gambino.

In July, a jury convicted Farquharson for all three murders for the second time. His 2007 conviction and life sentence, without possibility of parole, were quashed last year by an appeal court that ordered a retrial.

Tinney had argued that Farquharson should again be imprisoned without possibility of release for "an almost unspeakable act of vengeance" against Gambino.

Tinney said that after swimming from his submerged car, Farquharson had the "delicious reward" of telling Gambino about their children's deaths.

Outside court, a tearful Gambino said Farquharson should never be released.

"It's a life sentence for me. It should be a life sentence for him," she told reporters after the sentencing. Murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison in Australia but few killers are denied the prospect of release.

READ MORE - Australian gets life term for murdering sons

High seas drama: raid nets 460kg of cocaine

Police and customs officials have netted more than 460 kilograms of cocaine after raiding a yacht docked north of Brisbane.
The seizure is the third largest of the drug in Australia’s history and has an estimated street value of $160 million, according to the Australian Federal Police.
Police and Australian Customs officers uncovered the drugs on Tuesday at Scarborough Marina after acting on a tip-off from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

Click for more photos

Yacht drug raid

Authorities have seized drugs worth an estimated $160 million. Photo: Australian Federal Police

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Two men from New South Wales appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court yesterday charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of drugs.
A third man, also from New South Wales, faced court charged with attempted possession of drugs.
Simon Charles Golding, 41, Geoffrey Stuart Triplett, 38, both of Waterloo, and Terrance Elfar, 49, from Eden, did not apply for bail and have been remanded in custody to appear in court on November 5.
Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Andrew Colvin said the alleged smugglers may have previously brought drugs into the country.
‘‘This was a very sophisticated operation, they knew what they were doing,’’ he said. "They were very confident and they had good equipment.’’
The cocaine was allegedly transported from South America on a catamaran police have called the "mother vessel".
It was then transferred to a 40-foot luxury yacht 800 kilometres off the Queensland coast.
Customs and Border Protection managed to track the catamaran and it is being towed to Queensland for further investigation.
Officers yesterday detained two men, believed to be from Costa Rica and Germany, who were on board the vessel.
Customs and Border Protection Deputy CEO Marion Grant said officers endured 13-metre seas to capture the catamaran.
“Their dedication should come as a strong warning to potential importers," she said. "No matter the weather, the location or the plan – we are committed to keeping these harmful drugs out of the Australian community.
Federal police also searched 12 properties in New South Wales and Queensland, uncovering a clandestine lab in Eden, near the Victorian border.
Police described the haul as a "major strike" against organised crime.
It is not yet known where in South America the drugs were manufactured.

READ MORE - High seas drama: raid nets 460kg of cocaine

Rs.6 mn bank robbery cracked in nine hours, three held

Beed (Maharashtra), Oct 13 (IANS) Maharashtra Police Wednesday claimed to have solved a Beed district bank robbery case in just nine hours with the arrest of three people and recovery of cash worth Rs.6 million.

The police have recovered the entire cash of the Beed District Central Co-Operative Bank that was stolen Tuesday, Additional Superintendent of Police Virendra Mishra said.

The police suspect involvement of the bank peon, Mishra said, but refused to divulge the identity of those arrested.

'After interrogating the two bank staffers and the driver, we got leads and we managed to nab the culprits. The cash was recovered at 3 a.m. today (Wednesday),' Mishra told IANS.

The robbery took place on the Beed-Shirur highway Tuesday evening around 5.30 p.m. when the car carrying the bank cash, kept in a gunny bag, was proceeding to Shirur, Mishra said.

The vehicle, driven by Raju Syed, was carrying two staffers of the Beed District Central Co-operative Bank, handicapped clerk Uddhav Jaibhai and casual peon Vishnu Kedar. There were no security personnel accompanying them on the sensitive assignment.

On way, Kedar asked the driver to stop the vehicle. As the car stopped, two people zoomed there on a motorcycle, punched the driver and threw chilli powder in his eyes.

They also pushed around Jaibhai while Kedar was out of the car. The duo, one wearing a full helmet and the other a mask grabbed the gunny bag containing Rs.5.4 million in cash and sped off. However, they forgot to pick up the remaining (Rs.6 lakh) kept in another gunny bag in the car dickey.

On getting the message from the bank, a police team rushed there to investigate and took into custody the three who were carrying the cash in the vehicle.

'During sustained interrogation, the peon kept giving contradictory versions of the incident. Finally, around midnight, he cracked and revealed the entire plot,' Mishra told IANS.

Based on Kedar's confession, a police team rushed to nab his two accomplices who were waiting for him a few kilometers away from the scene of the crime.

READ MORE - Rs.6 mn bank robbery cracked in nine hours, three held

Former nun accuses priest of sexual abuse

Chennai: A former nun in Tiruchy has filed a police complaint against a priest, also the principal of a prestigious college, alleging that he sexually abused her, resulting in her pregnancy, which led to her subsequent removal as a nun.

Francismary, 28, once a nun, had joined a college in Tiruchy in 2006 for pursuing her MA. During this time, she met Rajarathinam, principal of St Joseph's College. One day in January 2006, when she went to meet him, Rajarathinam served her a cold drink laced with sedatives, she alleged in the complaint. She was raped, her obscene pictures were taken on the cellphone camera, and she was threatened against telling anyone about it.

Rajarathinam took her to several places and abused her, she said, adding that this resulted in a pregnancy which was aborted at a private hospital in 2008. However, when the news about her pregnancy and abortion became public, Francismary was removed from the order.

She also named a few other priests of threatening her on behalf of the accused priest. A case has been registered at the Tiruchy Fort Women's Police Station, according to police sources.

READ MORE - Former nun accuses priest of sexual abuse

Indian accused of stabbing ex-girlfriend 27 times in Dubai

DUBAI: A 41-year-old Indian computer programmer has denied in court the charge of premeditatedly attempting to murder his ex-girlfriend, who claimed he stabbed her 27 times.

According to a news report, prosecutors accused the man, identified only as MN of repeatedly stabbing the 23-year-old Filipina, identified as MS with knife and also attacked her two Indian workmates when they tried to save her, a Gulf News report said.

"I did not have any intention to kill her. The incident happened so suddenly and I did not preplan the whole matter...besides I was under the influence of liquor," MN said, pleading not guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

According to the charge sheet, MN repeatedly stabbed her with a medium-sized kitchen knife. The computer programmer was charged with the victim MS premeditated murder attempt and causing her ten per cent permanent disability.

He was also arraigned with assaulting the Indian workmates identified as, 37-year-old EK and 45-year-old BC, and drinking liquor, the report said.

The defendant contended before Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad in courtroom four yesterday: "I am not guilty...I consumed alcohol prior to the assault. I am seeking a swift judgement."

However, Presiding Judge Abdul Jawad said the court will assign a lawyer to defend MN when it reconvenes on November 11. The Filipina testified that the incident happened some time after she jilted her ex-boyfriend and decided to leave him because he was married and due to religious differences.

"I broke up with him because we couldn't marry...he had earlier threatened to kill me if I ditched him.

On August 4, 2009, he walked into the company where I worked as a receptionist.

I told him that I would speak to him later because he was drunk...suddenly he faced me and took out a knife and started stabbing me," MS claimed.

Prosecution records said workmates intervened upon hearing MS's cries.

EK and BC were injured while saving the girl.

READ MORE - Indian accused of stabbing ex-girlfriend 27 times in Dubai

Uncle raped girls before father joined in the act

NAGPUR (India): The city's Fritzl case, where a 15-year-old girl was raped by her father and found to be three months pregnant, has turned murkier with the maternal uncle also implicated in the crime. Police said the victim's elder sister, who is also a minor, has now alleged that the uncle had also indulged in a physical relationship with both sisters.

Last week, Dhantoli police had booked Ajay Agrawal for raping his minor daughter for over four months. The complaint was lodged by the victim's mother, and the absconding accused was arrested by the cops the next day. On Sunday night, cops also arrested Sheetal alias Chotu Kawde (27), who is the maternal uncle of the girls. Kawde, who works as a plumber, is a native of Brahmapuri village. Both the accused have been charged with rape, said a cop from Dhantoli police station.

According to the police, since the victim Meenal (name changed) was under depression, she had not revealed the abuse by her uncle. It was her elder sister, who is also a minor, who revealed everything.

The siblings thought it would affect their family's reputation and hence they had been silent.

After the fact was revealed, Kawde was called to the city by the cops. "We told him we wanted to hand over the girls to him and called him to Dhantoli. On questioning, he confessed and we arrested him," said PP Masad, police sub-inspector of Dhantoli police station.

READ MORE - Uncle raped girls before father joined in the act

Anaheim police searching for two kidnapped boys

Police are asking for help in finding Justin Quinones, 2, and Jacob Quinones, 4, two brothers (shown above) who were abducted from their Anaheim, Calif., home on Thursday. Anaheim police arrested one alleged assistant in the kidnapping on Sunday morning, but are still looking for the boys. Investigators are also searching for the kids' 23-year-old father, Abraham Fernandez, and grandfather, 52-year-old Louis Fernandez (shown below). Both are suspected kidnappers.
Abraham Fernandez

Louis Fernandez

Anyone with more information should call 911.
Full story from the Anaheim Police Department.

READ MORE - Anaheim police searching for two kidnapped boys

Man confesses to killing and then raping his niece

Taranto (Italy): A 15-year-old girl in Italy was strangled to death and then raped by her uncle before he threw the corpse into a well to hide the crime, media reports said. Michele Misseri admitted to killing his niece Sarah Scazzi 41 days after she disappeared in the Puglia region.

Misseri, 53, broke down during a 15-hour interrogation and confessed to killing his niece who went missing Aug 26. An autopsy on her "unrecognisable" decomposed body showed signs of rape after her death, according to investigators in the city of Taranto.

"I strangled her with a cord while I was behind her and I raped her after she was dead," he told investigators, according to unnamed sources close to the probe, who said the crime occurred in Misseri's garage.

Misseri has been detained for kidnapping, murder and concealment of a body. "This person confessed to killing the girl and he told us where to find find her," said Taranto investigator Franco Sebastio, during a press conference Thursday.

The victim's mother Concetta Serrano Spagnolo was appearing on a live national television show that aims to solve missing people and murder cases when she learned late Wednesday that police had located her daughter's body.

Investigators' suspicion that a family member could be involved in her disappearance was heightened when Misseri last month contacted authorities to say that he found his niece's burned mobile phone not far from where she lived in the town of Avetrana.

"The finding of the mobile phone was virtually a way of saying 'come and get me'," Scazzi family lawyer Walter Biscotti, told AKI. "It was done in a manner of a person who doesn't know how to keep a secret," he added.

READ MORE - Man confesses to killing and then raping his niece

South Delhi dealer kills 7-yr-old son with hammer

Today's crime file has the shocking case of a south Delhi dealer killing his 7-year-old son with a hammer over a marital dispute. In another strange case, a man in Italy has confessed to killing and then raping his niece. A fresher was stripped and and assaulted in a UP college, while Delhi police blow the lid of a syndicate betting on the Commonwealth Games. All this and more...

South Delhi dealer kills 7-yr-old son with hammer
New Delhi: A property dealer from south Delhi killed his seven-year-old son by hitting him with a hammer on his head on Sunday. The victim, Arpit Singh, a class I student of Greenfield Public School, died instantly.
The accused, Bhupender Singh, 38, a resident of Sadarjung Enclave, was arrested while trying to flee the city. A case of murder has been filed. Even though the police refused to comment on the case, it seems like the attack was a result of a heated argument between Bhupender and his wife. Sources said the argument was over an extramarital affair and the manner in which Singh conducted himself in public.
Arpit's 11-year-old sister and his mother were not in the room when the incident took place. Singh also reportedly suffers from alcoholism. According to senior police officers, the couple had a bitter argument on Sunday after which Singh stomped back to his room.
"Around 1.30pm, he picked up a hammer and hit Arpit on his head. The boy dropped down dead immediately. He was rushed to AIIMS where he was declared dead," a police officer said. The police said the accused was later arrested while he was trying to flee the city. Singh's other family members are being questioned.
The murder weapon has been recovered from the spot and sent for forensic examination. A crime team, which reached the spot, has now decided to match the accused's fingerprints in order to prove his role in the murder.

READ MORE - South Delhi dealer kills 7-yr-old son with hammer

How a cell phone picture led to girl's suicide

At age 13, Hope Witsell struggled in middle school. Not because her class work at Shields Middle School in Ruskin, Florida, was challenging, but because Hope was being bullied.

Her friend, Kyla Stich, told CNN that fellow students would "walk up to her and call her 'slut,' 'whore,' and they would sometimes, they would call her 'skank' and just be really cruel to her."

Another friend, Lexi Leber, said, "We had to make like a wall, we had people surrounding her, and she had to be in the middle because people would come by and try to hit her and push her into a locker or something.

"She was afraid to walk alone, she was afraid someone would do something to her, like verbally attack her, so she would always have someone with her," Leber added.

This all started in the spring of 2009 during the last week of school.

Friends and family say Hope had "sexted" a picture of her breasts to her boyfriend. Another girl from school, they say, got her hands on the photo and sent it to students at six different schools in the area.

Before Hope could do anything to stop it, that photo had gone viral.

The school alerted Hope's parents. Her mother, Donna Witsell, told CNN how she learned about the photo.

"The assistant principal had a meeting with my husband and I and pretty much told us that he did not see the image but that he had heard that it was Hope and when he confronted Hope, Hope did not deny it. She wasn't proud of it but she didn't lie," Hope's mother said.

Mrs. Witsell says she had warned her daughter about the dark side of technology, about "some of the pretty sexual images of young girls and guys."

She added, "Hope was very aware of that, of inappropriate dress and most definitely posing."

Still, because of that photo, Hope had become a target for 11-, 12-, and 13-year-old bullies.

But she didn't share her pain with her parents.

Even when bullies wrote horrible things about Hope on a MySpace page called the "Shields Middle School Burn Book" and started a "Hope Hater Page," the young girl kept silent.

Summer provided a bit of a break, but when the new school year began, the taunting was even worse.

On Saturday, September 12, 2009, Hope Witsell helped her father mow the lawn. They cooked a special seafood dinner together as a family. Then Hope disappeared to her room upstairs. Her parents stayed downstairs and watched TV.

Donna Witsell will never forget the moment she went to say goodnight to her daughter.

"I went upstairs to go in her room and kiss her goodnight. That was when I found her. I screamed for my husband. And started doing CPR."

It was too late. Hope was already dead. She had used her favorite scarves to hang herself from her canopy bed.

After Hope died, her mother learned her daughter had been summoned to meet with a school social worker. A spokesperson for the school says the social worker was concerned Hope might have been trying to hurt herself, so she had Hope sign what's called a "no harm" contract in which Hope agreed to talk to an adult if she wanted to harm herself.

Hope's mother says she was never told about the contract, which she found crumpled up in the garbage in her daughter's bedroom after she died.

School officials told CNN they believed the social worker had tried calling Hope's mother to alert her but weren't sure if she had left a message.

"The school dropped the ball," Donna Witsell said.

"The school did not call. We have the digital telephone; we have the cell phones that indicate when there was an incoming call and what number was calling in. We have a house phone, I have a cell phone, my husband has a cell phone. We have emergency contact numbers at the school which was my sister-in-law and her husband. There was no indication that the school called any of those numbers," Hope's mother said.

Days after Hope died, her older sister, Samantha Beattie, discovered the bullying was still going on. Even in death, Hope could not escape it.

"I knew she had MySpace and Facebook. There were people putting comments on there: 'Did Hope really kill herself?' 'I can't believe that whore did that.' Just obscene things that I would never expect from a 12-year-old or a 13-year-old," said Samantha.

In the year or so that has passed since Hope Witsell took her own life, her mother has started a group called Hope's Warriors. She hopes it will help combat bullying and save other moms from feeling the horrendous pain that she feels.

Donna Witsell has a message for parents: "It happened to my daughter, it can happen to yours too. No one is untouchable. No one is untouchable."

READ MORE - How a cell phone picture led to girl's suicide

'Black Jesus' convicted of raping young 'flower girls'

A cult leader known as 'Black Jesus' has been found guilty of raping young 'flower girls' belonging to his Papua New Guinea sect.
Steven Tari, 38, avoided a murder charge even though villigers claimed he had sacrificed at least three of the girls and drunk their blood.
The Lutheran pastor's first hit the headlines when he was captured in 2007 after eluding police for more than a year by moving from village to village in the Transgogol area of Madang province.

Guilty: Steven Tari (pictured) has been convicted by a court in Madang of four counts of rape

Tari had thousands of village followers, including a core of armed warriors to protect him, in what is commonly referred to in PNG as a 'cargo cult'.
As part of his 'culture ministry' Tari preached the young girls were to be married to him as it was God's prophecy.
One woman told police that she was present when Tari killed her young daughter by slitting her throat after which he drank her blood.
Interviewed in Madang's Boen Prison a year later after his dramatic capture, Tari defended his practice in the black arts and of sleeping with young girls who joined his cult, admitting that 'I got plenty - 430 girls'.
But he added: 'What I did is under and in line with my religion. It was religious and was not wrong.'
But when Tari appeared before Judge David Cannings this week he was convicted on four rape charges.
He will be sentenced later this month and police said they expected him to receive a long term in jail.
Tari had gathered more than six thousand 'disciples' as he travelled through villages in jungle-clad mountains,.
He dressed in long white robes and stood on boulders declaring that he was the modern Jesus.
But when word spread that he had sacrificed three young women, drinking their blood and eating part of their flesh as part of his bizarre ceremonies, the devotion of his followers began to turn to fear.
Added to concerns were claims by the relatives of a mother who was said to have fallen under his spell and drank her own daughter's blood.
A Mail investigation in the remote villages of Papua New Guinea heard claims from relatives of 13-year-old Rita Hemen that she had been stripped naked, tied to a crude bed and raped by Tari before having her throat cut.
Her relatives said her blood had been drained into a coconut shell and drunk by Tari and his evil henchmen - and in a final horrific act they had eaten strips of her flesh.
Tari's wickedness came to an end when he reached the village of Matepi, where he was overpowered while sleeping in a hut.
A church pastor, Paul Makura, said it had been difficult for police to catch Tari as he never stayed long in one place.
'When he came here we heard that he had killed young women so we put a plan into action. We encouraged him to stay on and when he went to a hut to rest a group of eight villagers broke in, pounced on him and tied him up.'
Heavily armed police who made their way to Matepi found Tari tied to a tree. There was no sign of his bow-and-arrow-carrying bodyguards who, on a previous occasion, had engaged in a fight to the death with police.
Tari was still in possession of what he called his 'magic rod' - a knife - and a battered Bible, many of the teachings of which he had denied in his own sermons.
A spokesman for the Lutheran church, which is strongly represented in Papua New Guinea, said: 'We hope that the passage of time will erase memories of what this evil man has done.'

READ MORE - 'Black Jesus' convicted of raping young 'flower girls'

5 Indians trapped on human trafficking charges.

Ten people including five Indians have been arrested, just for allegedly involved in human trafficking and illegal arms trading in Nepal.

To get work at a casino in Goa, girls were trafficked from Nepal to India.

In this connection, Indian Jasbir Singh and three Nepalese nationals were arrested from Kathmandu's Thomell tourist destination.

The case related three Nepalese women were also been arrested with this.

According to the Kathmandu's Metropolitan Police, arrested people were trying to offer a job in Goa's Casino. By the roadway they were in search of sending 11 Nepalese women in India. Now, 11 Nepali women have all been freeded.

Meanwhile, four other Indians were arrested from Maitidevi. Identified Abhishek Singh [28], Ashish Srivastava [27], Lal [30] and Pradeep Shukla [24] are having allegedly on charges of purchasing weapons and selling illegally.

As per my point of view, 5 trapped Indians may face strict sentence under the human trafficking charges.

READ MORE - 5 Indians trapped on human trafficking charges.

Prisoner Of Tihar Jail Attacked Doctor

An injured Prisoner of Tihar Jail Attacked a doctor of Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) through a surgical blade.
 
 A case has been filed against the prisoner.
According to the Police, a fight eupted among eight prisooners on last Monday. One prisoner was injured in the scuffle.
The three police officers then took the injured prisoner Shiv Kumar to the DDU hospital for the treatment. Dr. Raghuraj Singh yadav attended the patient and said that there is no need to admit the patient.
Irritated over doctor's statement the prisoner attacked the doctor with a surgical blade.

READ MORE - Prisoner Of Tihar Jail Attacked Doctor

Prathiba case: Driver convicted

Bangalore: A fast-track court in Bangalore on Wednesday convicted cab driver Shiv Kumar for the rape and murder of BPO employee Pratibha Srikanthamurthy in 2005.

Shiv Kumar will be sentenced on October 8.
The prosecution's case had hinged on how Kumar conned the 28-year-old Pratibha into travelling in his cab around 1.50 am on December 3, 2005, and took her to a deserted place in Anjanapura, where he raped and murdered her. Her body was found three days later.
The police arrested Kumar based on the statement provided by Jagdish, the driver who was supposed to pick Pratibha from her residence in Kumaraswamy Layout that night. There were calls on Pratibha's mobile too from Shiv Kumar which suggested foul play.
The accused made his victim believe that he was to ferry her to work at HP GlobalSoft, since the regular driver was on leave.
After the arrest, Kumar reportedly told the police that he committed the crime since he had been sexually frustrated ever since his wife's pregnancy. He later retracted the statement in the court.
The murder of Pratibha shocked IT firms across the country, forcing companies to adopt stringent security measures for their women employees. Ever since the incident, security guards have been assigned to vehicles ferrying staff working night shifts.

Ever since her daughter's murder in December 2005, Prathibha's mother, Gowramma has been fighting a lone battle. She has attended every court hearing. She hopes the court will hand the guilty man a death sentence.
It was Pratibha's mother Gowramma, who lost her only daughter, who waged a relentless battle for justice. Initially, Pratibha's company and her husband showed some interest, but later they did not attend the hearing.
"I continue to suffer. I attend every hearing. Loneliness haunts me now," she told the media. She also said she will have to suffer till her death.
Over 80 witnesses were examined in the case in which BPO employee Pratibha Srikanthamurthy was allegedly raped and murdered by the cab driver in December 2005.
The case took four years despite being tried by a fast track court.
The murder of the newly wed Pratibha was a major talking point in Bangalore where BPO employees began to fear for their lives.
Pratibha's husband had testified on how his wife had a call from the company on a change of driver. Later it truned out that it was Shiva Kumar who had made the call.
S Srinivas, Pratibha's uncle, was also instrumental in supporting Gowramma. He too expressed his disgust over the company not taking any interest in the case. "The company, the cab company and others -- should be taken to task. There should be a message of heavy punishment," he told the media.
Source: India Syndicate and Agencies

READ MORE - Prathiba case: Driver convicted

Engineer held for posting fake Orkut profile

A Delhi-based IT engineer was on Tuesday arrested for allegedly posting a fake Orkut profile of his wife with obscene remarks, police said.

Bharat Vats, a resident of Vasant Kunj, has been taken into custody following investigations into a complaint by his wife, also an engineer, that some one had posted her profile in social networking site 'Orkut' with "obscene remarks", a senior police officer said.

His wife had filed the complaint on September 25.

Investigations revealed that the man had done the act to defame his Noida-based wife and procure custody of their two-year-old son, the officer said.

The couple got married in 2007 and went to the US and stayed there for two years. However, differences cropped up between them and they returned to India in 2009. Since the last six months, they have been living separately, the officer said.

READ MORE - Engineer held for posting fake Orkut profile

Priyadarshini Mattoo case: Death commuted to life

The Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted the convict Santosh Singh’s death sentence to life imprisonment in the Pryiyadarshini Mattoo rape and murder case.

The Apex Court judge upheld Santosh Singh guilty for raping and then killing Priyadarshini but reduced the death penalty to the life sentence, saying that the balance sheet falls in favour of the convict.

"The conviction is maintained," a Bench comprising Justices H S Bedi and C K Prasad said.

However, the Bench said "To our mind, certain things are in favour of appellant (Singh). We are converting the punishment of death sentence into the life imprisonment."

Santosh Kumar had challenged the verdict of Delhi High Court, which in October 2006 awarded death penalty to Santosh Kumar on the charges of raping and murdering Priyadarshini Mattoo.

Earlier, Santosh was freed from the charges of rape and murder by the trial court in December 1999. The victim’s family then approached Delhi High Court, the court in October 2006, held Santosh guilty of raping and killing Priyadarshini.
Priyadarshini was pursuing law from Delhi University in January 1996, when she was raped and murdered by Santosh Kumar Singh, son of a former IPS officer.

READ MORE - Priyadarshini Mattoo case: Death commuted to life

Policeman sodomizes a dozen schoolchildren in Rajasthan

AJMER: The horror stories of cops' brutalities continue in Rajasthan: days after rape and murder of a woman constable by her colleagues in Kota, a constable has been sent to Police Lines on charges of sodomizing at least a dozen schoolchildren at a police outpost in Ajmer's Kishangarh town.

The matter came to light when an NGO approached the police and media along with children, including some victims. The children study at a government school situated near the police outpost where the accused constable was deputed in Kishangarh.

The police said investigations were on, and that the constable would be arrested if the allegations were found true. According to reports, the accused, identified as Indrajeet Singh, was a constable attached to a police outpost situated outside the Kishangarh Railway Station. "The school, where children from nearby villages study, is not very far from the outpost," said Hariprasad Sharma, SP (Ajmer).

Indrajeet Singh allegedly lured children to the outpost after the school hours. He would promise to drop them back at the school gate and take them to the outpost. "During the time, the other outpost staff were out on duty.

The NGO has complained that Indrajeet threatened the children if they complained and sodomized them," said a police officer. However, the children informed the NGO about it. The NGO complained to the SP, Ajmer.

READ MORE - Policeman sodomizes a dozen schoolchildren in Rajasthan

Bank robbery on way to pick kids!

It's a bizarre example of juggling work and home life a 37-year-old mother of two in the US robbed a bank on her way to pick up kids from school, a media report said.
Erica Anderson went into an Umpqua Bank branch in Grants Pass and handed the teller a note demanding cash with one special request not to call the police for 15 minutes as she had to pick her kids from school.

"The note also instructed the teller to wait 15 minutes before calling law enforcement or else two kids wouldn't make it home from school," Detective Sgt Dennis Ward was quoted by the 'People' magazine as saying.

Anderson fled the bank with US dollars 1,300 with  Joshua K Deeter Tseu, 19, driving the getaway car, said Ward, and the officers who responded within minutes were baffled and concerned by the note, fearing children were in danger.

Instead, said Ward, "She didn't want to be late picking up her kids."

Anderson was arrested in her driveway, not long after picking up her kids at a local elementary school. Both her daughters were munching on ice cream bars when officers arrived at the scene.

Anderson reportedly appeared concerned about what might happen to her daughters following her arrest. "But I guess if she's really all that concerned about their welfare, she probably wouldn't be committing bank robbery," Ward said.

Both Anderson and Tseu are charged with first-degree theft and second-degree robbery. "We average between three and five bank robberies a year. But I don't think I've ever heard of anything quite like this," Ward said.

READ MORE - Bank robbery on way to pick kids!