Mumbai: A special court for the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has sentenced two men to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 17 lakh after they were held guilty of robbery and extortion of an elderly couple in Dahisar.

As per the prosecution’s case, in January 2001, the accused Maru Kunchikorve, a habitual offender, along with his accomplice Sunny Singh, came on a scooter and assaulted the victim and demanded Rs 15,000 at swordpoint. Singh also threatened to kill the man’s wife if he failed to pay him.

According to the man, the accused snatched his wife’s mangalsutra and also the bag containing cash. They were later arrested and booked under the stringent provisions of MCOCA based on several previous cases lodged against them.

Noida, Dec 19: Panic gripped Noida in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar district, as several prominent educational institutions received threatening emails warning of bomb blasts in their premises.

The e-mail bomb threat, received by the Step by Step School in Sector-126, triggered an alarm in the school administration, leading to the evacuation of children and teachers, followed by heightened security checks.

The police teams rushed to the campus after they were informed about a bomb threat by the school administration. Police reached the spot, cordoned off the school premises and carried out a thorough search operation; however, nothing suspicious was found. Bomb disposal squad and dog squad were brought in to scan the classrooms, corridors, basement, playgrounds and other sensitive areas.

As no mysterious objects or explosive materials were recovered during the search, the police eventually declared it to be a hoax call.

The latest episode of bomb threats in Noida and other NCR schools marks a continuation of the disturbing trend of hoax threats, seen in the past few months, targeting educational institutions – primarily schools.

Apart from the Step by Step School, the two other schools that are reported to have received hoax threat calls include Amity School and Shiv Nadar School. The simultaneous threats via email to the city’s three prestigious schools created an atmosphere of fear and trepidation among the administration as well as parents.

Meanwhile, the police have launched a detailed probe into the incident, activating its cyber cell to identify the source and sender of the hoax email. An investigation is underway to locate the IP address from which the threatening email was sent, and also to determine whether it was an act of mischief or an organised conspiracy.

The Noida Police have also appealed to the school authorities and the public at large, not to take any suspicious information lightly, but also not to pay attention to rumours and hearsay. Parents as well as the general public have been urged to immediately report any visible threat or suspicious activity to the police.

Mumbai: The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) has obtained permission to proceed against the Additional Sessions Judge of Mazgaon court, Aejazuddin S. Kazi, who has been booked for corruption charges. ACB has so far obtained his voice sample and also seized the mobile phone he was using.

The agency on Thursday opposed the bail plea of Chandrakant Vasudev, stenographer posted at Mazgaon court, arrested on corruption charges. The agency claimed that there is prima facie evidence showing active involvement of him and Additional Sessions Judge, Aejazuddin S. Kazi in the corruption case.

The prosecution on Thursday in its reply to Vasudev’s bail application informed the special court that the Bombay high court has last month allowed the agency to proceed against Kazi as per law.

After the high court’s permission, Kazi was summoned to join the probe, wherein his voice sample has been taken on December 8. Kazi’s phone has also been seized after he produced it before the investigating officer. Also the agency has also recorded his statement and his house was also searched on December 10, the prosecution informed the court in its reply.

While opposing Vasudev’s bail plea, the prosecution contended that, ‘investigation into the registered case is still ongoing, and prima facie evidence has been obtained showing the active involvement of Vasudev and Kazi in the crime.’

Besides, the prosecution claimed that they are probing the involvement any other public servant. Besides, the prosecution has also raised apprehension that if released on bail Vasudev may obstruct the probe and may attempt to destroy evidence.

Vasudev’s defence lawyer on the other hand has contended that for further investigation, his detention is not necessary and he may be released on bail imposing conditions. The court is likely to pass order on the bail plea om Friday.

Vasudev was arrested on November 10 for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs15 lakhs in exchange for a favourable verdict from Kazi in a dispute related to property.

It is alleged that it all started from on September 09, the complainant’s office associate was present at the Civil Sessions Court, Court No. 14 for the hearing of the petition involving the complainant. At that time, Vasudev contacted the office associate in the court’s washroom and told him to “do something for Saheb (the Judge), and the order will be in your favor”.

Further, Vasudev contacted the complainant and asked him to meet him at a café. There he allegedly demanded Rs 10 lakh for himself and 15 lakh for the judge, however, the complainant refused. The agency alleged that as the complainant did not accept the offer, Vasudev contacted complainant’s office associate who used to attend court hearings, on WhatsApp and said that if the money was not paid, the order would be against them, police said. The complainant then approached the ACB and after the verification a trap was laid.

The prosecution has claimed that after the trap it has come on record that Vasudev contacted Kazi on call seeking confirmation of the bribe amount. It is claimed that after Kazi’s consent Vasudev accepted bribe amount, thereafter Kazi instructed him to deliver the amount at his residence. For the prosecution, the said conversation is crucial to prove the allegations against the two.

“A notice was served to judge Kazi recently as per the provisions of CrPC and his statement was recorded. We have also seized his mobile phone and have sent it for data analysis to ascertain if anything has been deleted or destroyed from the phone. Once we get the mobile analysis report we will decide further course of action. At this moment we will not be able to comment further as the case is still under investigation,” said an ACB official, requesting anonymity.