New Delhi, Nov 4: The NHRC has sought a report within two weeks from the Karnataka government and state police chief over the alleged collection of bribes from a grieving 64-year-old father of a woman who died after a brain haemorrhage, an official said on Tuesday.

The alleged harassment of the man started after the death of his daughter, an IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad graduate working in Bengaluru, who suffered a brain haemorrhage on September 18.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that, while mourning the death of his only daughter, the elderly man was made to pay bribes at every step, including an ambulance driver, police, crematorium staff and civic officials in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

According to the media report, carried on October 30, what should have been a solemn farewell turned into a nightmare of corruption, bureaucracy and inhumanity.

The Commission has observed that the contents of the news report, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights. Therefore, it has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Karnataka, calling for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

When the father called an ambulance after the death of his daughter, the ambulance driver apparently overcharged for the services. When he reported his daughter’s death to the police, they not only displayed a lack of empathy but also gave copies of the FIR and post-mortem report only after a bribe was paid.

According to the media report, the deceased’s family donated the girl’s eyes before cremation. Money was again demanded at the crematorium, which the father paid.

There was also a considerable delay in issuing a death certificate from the Mahadevapura Municipal authorities. Despite intervention by a senior officer, the certificate was issued only after the father paid a bribe.

Earlier, the NHRC asked 19 state governments and 4 UT Administrations to take pre-emptive steps and implement relief measures for vulnerable people ahead of the upcoming winter season.

The Commission directed the State and UT governments to protect newborns, children, infants, poor, elderly, homeless, destitutes and people involved in beggary, who are at risk of exposure to cold waves due to lack of shelter and resources, said a statement.

The right body also called for Action-Taken Reports from the government on steps taken to deal with cold waves and stressed upon the need for sensitising the State/UT authorities concerned.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Kafeel Ahmed Mohammed Ayub, 65, who was arrested thirteen years ago in connection with the July 13, 2011 triple blasts case that killed 27 persons and injured 127. 

A bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and RR Bhonsale granted bail to Ayub on a surety of Rs one lakh. A detailed order copy is awaited. At present, he is lodged at the Mumbai Central prison. 

Ayub had approached the  HC after his bail plea was rejected by the special court in 2022. 

Ayub, a resident of Bihar, was arrested in February 2012 and has been in custody since then. 

On July 13, 2011, Mumbai was rocked by three blasts — at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and near a school in Dadar Kabutarkhana close to the railway station — in a span on 10 minutes. 

The probe  was handed over to the state Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) police. It alleged that terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) had orchestrated the blasts and the main conspirator was its founder Yasin Bhatkal. Eleven persons are facing trial in the case. 

According to the ATS, Ayub and the other accused in the case were indoctrinating Muslim youths to carry out terror acts at the behest of IM. It further claimed that Ayub was in close contact with Yasin Bhatkal, who is alleged to be the main conspirator, and is still absconding. 

Ayub’s advocate Mubin Solkar argued that Ayub has been languishing in jail for over a decade. The prosecution has said it would examine 800 witnesses, and not a single witness has been examined yet, his plea contended. 

His plea claimed that he is innocent and implicated in the case. Moreover, the prosecution has no evidence against him except his own confession which he said was not given voluntarily. 

Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell has arrested Keyur Jayesh Gogri (29), son of Beena Gogri, National President of the BJP’s Bharat Raksha Manch, for allegedly selling hydro ganja smuggled from Thailand.

The arrest followed a raid at his residence in Kharghar Sector 19, where police seized 800 milligrams of hydro ganja worth ₹5,000.

Acting on a tip-off, a team led by Senior Police Inspector Sandeep Nigde of the Anti-Narcotics Cell conducted a raid on October 30 at Shivsai Building in Kharghar. During the search, police recovered plastic packets, a crusher, and a weighing scale from Gogri’s apartment.

A further inspection of his car led to the discovery of hydro ganja concealed under the seat.

According to officials, the contraband was reportedly smuggled from Thailand through illegal routes by two of Gogri’s friends. During interrogation, Gogri allegedly confessed that he had procured the substance from his friend Sharikh, a resident of Bhandup, who smuggled it from Thailand, and occasionally from Noman, who lives in Ulwe.

He admitted that he intended to sell the drug to local youths in the Kharghar area.

Following the seizure, the Anti-Narcotics Cell registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at the Kharghar Police Station, leading to Gogri’s arrest.

Police have since intensified their search for the two suppliers linked to the Thailand-based drug network.

“The seized hydro ganja has a clear international trail connected to Thailand. We are tracing the two other suspects involved in this smuggling network,” said Senior Police Inspector Sandeep Nigde of the Anti-Narcotics Cell.