Connect with us
Saturday,22-November-2025
Breaking News

Crime

72-year-old lawyer who practised with fake license for decades held

Published

on

Police said the woman had been practicing law by submitting a fake vakalatnama to each court before representing a client Mumbai: A 72-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday for impersonating a lawyer and practicing in the family court without proper authorization for decades
A 72-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday for impersonating a lawyer and practicing in the family court without proper authorization for decades. The woman identified as Mordekai Rebecca Joub alias Mandakini Kashinath Sohini had allegedly been practicing in various courts based on a fake lawyer’s license. While the police have said the licence is fake, it has now been forwarded to the Maharashtra and Goa Bar Council for further verification. The woman has been remanded in BKC police custody.

Police said the woman had been practicing law by submitting a fake vakalatnama to each court before representing a client. The police had issued her a summons in July after a lawyer from Borivali court identified as Akbarali Mohammed Khan challenged her credentials. However, Sohini, a resident of Pali Hill in Bandra, did not turn up.
On Saturday, Sohini went to the police station and submitted her degree along with her Aadhaar Card and Vakalatnama. Police officers said that her licence to practice law turned out to be fake. Police have now contacted the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa to verify the woman’s licence.

Officers said that as per the FIR, Sohini claimed that she has got a valid licence to practice and submitted the ‘Sanad’ or ‘licence’ number (MAH/253/1979). “Her licence number showed that she had been practicing with the licence that was issued to one lawyer Kanbeshwar Pandrinath Yashwant from Solapur. Later, she claimed that her genuine licence is (MAH/253/1979). When verified, this too turned out to be issued in the name of lawyer Suresh Rambhau Gurde from Amarvati,” said a police officer of the BKC police station.Khan, 44, who stays in Borivali, had alleged that Sohini was not a lawyer and had been practising since decades in the family and other courts of Mumbai illegally. Khan was tipped off about Sohini practicing without a valid licence by a source in the family court after which he filed a written application with the BKC police. Sohini was produced before the Bandra holiday court on Sunday.

Advocate Sashi Nair, president of the bar council of family court, said that this practise is rampant in the family court. “There is an investigation going on at the family court about this and all the judges have made it clear that whoever appears for their client should attach their sanad (licence) along with the vakalatnama and submit it to the judge before representation,” said Nair.

Crime

Delhi: AGS arrests accused wanted in attempt-to-murder case in Timarpur

Published

on

New Delhi, Nov 22: A team of the Anti-Gangster Squad (AGS), led by Inspector Krishan Kumar on Saturday arrested 32-year-old accused Rajeev alias Raj in Timarpur. He was wanted in a sensational attempt-to-murder case registered under FIR No. 529/2025 on October 25, under Sections 109(1)/3(5) of the BNS. The accused had been absconding since the incident.

According to a statement issued by the AGS, on October 24 at around 7 p.m., an altercation took place between Rajeev and Vishal near the Sulabh Shauchalaya in Sanjay Basti, Timarpur. Acting as a responsible citizen, Rahul, the complainant, made a PCR call to report the quarrel. When the accused learned that Rahul had informed the police, both Rajeev and Vishal became enraged and attacked him with a knife, inflicting multiple injuries.

After the attack, both accused fled the scene. A case was subsequently registered under FIR No. 529/2025 at Timarpur Police Station. Both men remained absconding until Rajeev’s arrest.

With Rajeev’s arrest, the sensational attempt-to-murder case has been partially solved. Vishal, however, is still on the run.

In response to rising incidents of street crime, armed assaults, and gang-related activities in the national Capital, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police has intensified efforts to trace and apprehend active and absconding criminals. The AGS has been specifically tasked with developing Intelligence networks and conducting surveillance on such offenders across Delhi and neighbouring states.

A dedicated AGS team led by Inspector Krishan Kumar and comprising SI Agam Prasad, SI Braj Lal, ASI Gobind, ASI Surender, ASI Mintu, HC Vinod, HC Dharmraj, and HC Deepak was formed under the close supervision of Bhagwati Prasad, ACP/AGS, and the direction of Harsh Indora, IPS, DCP/Crime Branch, to trace the accused.

The team conducted persistent manual Intelligence gathering along with technical surveillance on Rajeev’s movements. On November 20, the team received credible secret information regarding his location. Acting swiftly, the AGS laid surveillance and successfully apprehended Rajeev from Dwarka Mor, Delhi.

During sustained interrogation, the accused admitted to his involvement in the attempt-to-murder case and revealed several past involvements in criminal activities.

Rajeev, a resident of Sanjay Basti, Timarpur, lives with his mother, younger brother Vishal, sister Babita, wife Simran, and four-year-old son. He is uneducated and works as a caretaker at a Sulabh toilet in Timarpur.

Due to drug addiction and association with criminal elements, he has been involved in unlawful activities since childhood and has been imprisoned multiple times. He is a declared Bad Character (BC) of PS Timarpur and a previous convict in FIR No. 190/2009, registered under Sections 395/397/34 of the IPC at PS Dwarka Sector-23, Delhi.

Continue Reading

Crime

BLO dies in West Bengal; suicide note cites SIR ‘workload’

Published

on

Kolkata, Nov 22: Another Booth Level Officer (BLO) died in West Bengal on Saturday, allegedly due to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) related work pressure, said the police on Saturday.

The incident comes three days after a female BLO in the Mal Bazar area of Jalpaiguri district in Bengal died, allegedly over the same reason.

This time, a female BLO hanged herself in the Shasthitala area of Krishnanagar in Nadia district.

The deceased has been identified as Rinku Tarafdar (51). According to the police, a suicide note has been recovered from her room.

The police said the woman wrote in that suicide letter that administrative pressure would come to her if she did not complete the work of a BLO.

“I can’t handle the pressure,” the female BLO allegedly wrote in the suicide letter, according to the police.

She has also blamed the Election Commission for her death.

Police said Rinku Tarafdar was a part-time teacher at Swami Vivekananda Vidya Mandir in Nadia district’s Chapra police station area. She was working as a BLO in the Bangaljhi area.

At the same time, Rinku wrote that no one in her family was responsible for her death.

Blaming the Election Commission for her death, the BLO also wrote, “The Election Commission is responsible for my fate. I do not support any political party. I am a very ordinary person. But I cannot bear the pressure of this inhuman work. I am a part-time teacher. The salary is very low compared to the hard work. But, they did not spare me.”

A senior officer of Krishnanagar Police District said, “The body of a female BLO was found hanging. A suicide note has been recovered. She blamed the Election Commission for her death as she could not bear the pressure related to SIR work. A case of unnatural death has been registered. The body has been recovered and sent for autopsy.”

On Wednesday, a female BLO identified as Shanti Muni Ekka died by “suicide” due to alleged work pressure during the SIR exercise in the state. The incident took place in the Mal Bazar area in Jalpaiguri. The family of the woman alleged that she decided to end her life as she could not bear the pressure of SIR work.

Following the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lambasted the Election Commission of India over the “suicide” of a female BLO.

Using her social media handles, CM Banerjee claimed that about 28 people have died in the state since the Election Commission began the SIR of Bengal’s electoral rolls.

The West Bengal Chief Minister also asked the ECI to halt this “unplanned drive” to save lives in the state.

On the same day, another female BLO named Tapati Biswas suffered a cerebral attack in the middle of SIR-related work in Hooghly district’s Konnagar area. The day after, she was relieved of her election duty following her cerebral attack.

On Friday, the West Bengal government announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of deceased BLO Shanti Muni Ekka in Jalpaiguri and Rs 1 lakh for BLO Tapati Biswas in Hooghly.

Meanwhile, a compensation of Rs 2 lakh was also announced for the family of BLO Lalit Adhikari, who died in a road accident on Thursday. He was a resident of the Baradham Chatragram area in the Cooch Behar district. The compensations were handed over to the families by district officials.

Continue Reading

Crime

Mumbai: Court Convicts Chand Shaikh For Culpable Homicide, Sentences Him To 10 Years For Fatal Stabbing During Scuffle

Published

on

Mumbai: A sessions court has convicted Guljar alias Chand Shaikh, a resident of Antop Hill, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after he stabbed Imtiaz alias Raju, who was trying to intervene and resolve a scuffle. The victim succumbed to multiple stab injuries.

The court held that since there was no intention to kill, charges of murder cannot be invoked. It observed, “the act of the accused does not fall under section 302 IPC, as the intention to cause death is not established beyond reasonable doubt. However, the accused had the knowledge that their act was likely to cause death.”

Shaikh has been sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment, while his siblings Fatima, Sadam, Arif and their mother Sabira have been awarded three years’ rigorous imprisonment each for the same offence.

The case, registered with Ghatkopar police in 2015 by the deceased’s brother Abdul Khan, stemmed from an extramarital affair between Jafar Kadar Ali Sayyad and Fatima. On March 12, 2015, a quarrel erupted; Fatima’s brothers assaulted Jafar, Fatima threw chilli powder, and when Imtiaz tried to pacify the situation, Chand stabbed him. Days earlier, on March 8, 2015, Chand had threatened Jafar and Imtiaz.

Relying on eyewitness testimonies, the court convicted the family but ruled out murder charges.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending