Crime
Hema Upadhyay Murder Case: Bombay HC Dismisses Bail Plea Of Key Accused Chintan Upadhyaya

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of artist Chintan Upadhyay who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for abetting and conspiring to kill his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay in December 2015,
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Gauri Godse dismissed the plea observing that prima facie there was sufficient ground to show his involvement in the murder. The country will pass a reasoned order later.
HC admitted Chintan Upadhyay’s appeal
The HC, on October 25, admitted Upadhyay’s appeal challenging his conviction and sentencing by the sessions court. Upadhyay has approached the high court through advocate Bharat Manghani challenging his conviction contending that the sessions court erred in its findings while finding him guilty. Pending hearing in his appeal, he had sought bail.
The ghastly 2015 murder case
Hema and her lawyer Harish Bhambani were allegedly smothered to death by Vidhyadhar Rajbhar on December 11, 2015, with the help of other accused persons. He killed the duo allegedly at Upadhyay’s behest. The next day, a rubbish collector discovered their bodies stuffed in cardboard boxes in a nullah in Kandivali.
Sessions judge, on October 7, found Upadhyay guilty of abetting and conspiring to kill Hema and sentenced him to life in prison observing that the murder was “brutal”, but it cannot be termed as “rarest of rare” which warrants a “death penalty only”. The judge found three others – Vijay Rajbhar, Pradip Rajbhar and Shiv Kumar Rajbhar, who hail from the same village – guilty of murdering Hema and her lawyer and Harish Bhambhani and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Hema’s family had also approached the HC seeking permission to intervene in the matter and oppose Upadhyay’s bail plea. The HC had allowed the family to intervene.
Upadhyay’s conviction
Special public prosecutor Vaibhav Bagade opposed the bail plea contending that there was enough evidence against Upadhyay based on which the sessions court had convicted him.
Upadhyay’s appeal contends that the sessions judge erred in accepting the retracted and uncorroborated confession of a co-accused, Pradip, as voluntary, admissible and having been corroborated.
The judgment of the trial court lacks proper and cogent evidence and reasoning to convict him, the appeal argues. It wrongly relied on a retracted confession of co-accused Pradeep Rajbhar, to hold it as genuine. The appeal also questions the inference drawn by the sessions court that since Rajbhars had no motive to murder Hema, they acted at Upadhyay’s behest. It is not permissible in law to draw such an inference, said Manghani.
Crime
Terrorist killed in joint operation in J&K’s Kishtwar district

Jammu, April 11: A terrorist was killed in a joint operation launched against terrorists in J&K’s Kishtwar district on Friday, officials said.
The terrorist was killed in the joint operation by the army and the other security forces launched on April 9 in the Chatroo area of Kishtwar.
“The operation was based on specific intelligence inputs, which led to a firefight with terrorists, resulting in one terrorist neutralised. The search operation, conducted by the Army and police, aimed to flush out terrorists hiding in the dense forests, continues,” an official said.
Another operation is going on in the Joffar forest area in the jurisdiction of Ramnagar police station in Udhampur district.
A CASO (Cordon and search operation) by the joint forces was started on April 9, and three terrorists are reportedly trapped inside the cordoned off area.
Civilian Rachpal told security forces that three terrorists dressed in black, heavily armed, entered his house around 8.30 p.m. on April 9 and left around 11.30 p.m.
Following the disclosure by the civilian, security forces tightened the cordon, and after reinforcements were called in, the joint forces were closing in on the hiding terrorists, as per the last reports.
On March 3, a police team immediately reached Sanyal village in the Hiranagar area of Kathua district, where five terrorists were spotted.
Since Sanyal village is barely 4 km away from the international border, the group of terrorists spotted in Sanyal village are believed to have recently infiltrated into the Indian side.
The terrorists managed to escape from Sanyal to the Safiyun Jakhole area. The police team engaged the terrorists in a sustained gunfight, killing two terrorists.
Four policemen were martyred in that gunfight. To trace the remaining three terrorists, joint forces started a ‘seek & destroy’ operation, which was extended to higher reaches of Kathua and Rajouri districts.
A brief exchange of gunfire took place between the terrorists and the joint forces in the Billawar area of Kathua district.
On April 8, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level security review meeting in Srinagar. The meeting was attended by the J&K Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha, the Union Home Secretary, the IB chief, the army chief, the army’s Northern Commander, GOCs of all the corps in J&K, chiefs of paramilitary forces, the J&K DGP and heads of other intelligence agencies.
The Home Minister appreciated the role of the joint forces in curbing terrorism, but gave orders for the total eradication of terrorism from J&K with special focus on the Jammu division of the UT.
Crime
Muslim woman harassed for talking to Hindu youth in B’luru; 4 held, minor detained

Bengaluru, April 11: The Karnataka Police arrested four people and detained a minor on Friday in connection with a case of moral policing reported under the Chandra Layout police station limits in Bengaluru.
The accused allegedly confronted a Muslim woman for speaking with a Hindu youth. They verbally abused her and attempted to assault her.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Maheem, Afridi, Wasim, and Anjum. The police are also questioning the minor boy involved in the incident.
According to the police, the woman, who was wearing a burqa, was chatting with a Hindu youth seated on his bike in the Chandra Layout area. The group of accused individuals approached them and questioned the woman, asking why she was affectionately speaking to a Hindu boy while wearing a burqa.
The gang reportedly insulted her, asking whether she had any shame or self-respect. They also demanded that she provide the phone numbers of her family members so they could speak to them directly.
However, the woman stood her ground and confronted the group, questioning their interference in her personal matters. She reportedly told them that the person she was speaking to was her classmate and asked why she should give out her family’s contact information.
Enraged by her response, the group allegedly attempted to assault both the woman and the Hindu youth. The accused later circulated a video of the two chatting on social media, which went viral.
Following the circulation of the video, some Hindu organisations and activists raised objections and questioned Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asking whether this incident did not amount to moral policing. They further criticized the state government, rhetorically asking whether Sharia law had been implemented in Karnataka.
The Chandra Layout police registered a case and took swift action by arresting the accused.
In a horrific incident reported from Hangal town on January 8, 2024, a woman, a homemaker, was allegedly dragged out of a hotel after being seen with a person from another community and was beaten up.
The victim, who belonged to the minority community, said that when she was at the hotel, a group of five to six men barged inside, questioned her and took her on their motorcycles forcibly. She claimed that they took her to an isolated place and assaulted her brutally and all of them raped her. Later, they asked her to sit in a car and the driver also raped her. Her ordeal did not end there. She was also taken to other places and gang-raped. The police arrested the accused persons after the victim released a video and appealed for action.
Crime
Four including shooter arrested in BJP leader Anil Tiger’s murder case in Ranchi

Ranchi, April 10: The Ranchi Police have successfully solved the murder case of BJP leader Anil Mahato, also known as Anil Tiger, and have arrested four persons in connection with the case including the absconding shooter Aman, an official said. The investigation revealed that the murder was linked to a land dispute.
Ranchi DIG cum SSP Chandan Sinha held a press conference here on Thursday evening, revealing that a conspiracy to assassinate him was orchestrated by land dealer Devvrat Nath Shahdev, a resident of Kishore Ganj, Ranchi.
“Shahdev had a dispute with BJP leader Anil Tiger over the ownership of 10 acres of land in Gagi Khatanga village, under the Kanke police station area,” he said.
According to police, the investigation uncovered the involvement of seven individuals in the conspiracy — Devvrat Nath Shahdev, Abhishek Sinha, Rohit Verma, Aman Singh, Zeeshan Akhtar, Manish Chaurasia, and Ajay Kumar Rajak.
Among them, four persons — Aman Singh, Manish Chaurasia, Zeeshan Akhtar, and Ajay Kumar — have been arrested.
Anil Tiger was shot dead in broad daylight on March 26 around 4 p.m. while sitting inside a hotel at Kanke Chowk in Ranchi.
The killing sent shockwaves across the city, triggering widespread outrage. In protest, several political and social organisations called for a shutdown of Ranchi on March 27, which saw significant public response.
Following the murder, one of the two assailants, Rohit Verma, was arrested after a police encounter. However, his accomplice, Aman, had managed to flee and remained on the run for two weeks.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed to probe the high-profile case, apprehended Aman with the help of the police technical cell.
Apart from Aman, two other individuals have been arrested for conducting a recce of the BJP leader and aiding the conspiracy. Raids were carried out at multiple locations to nab the suspects.
The police are also interrogating Sunny Singh, a known criminal from Kishore Ganj, Ranchi, who is currently in custody on remand.
Initially, Rohit Verma claimed during questioning that the murder was an act of revenge for the killing of criminal Santosh Jaiswal in Lohardaga district, allegedly carried out at Anil Tiger’s behest.
However, police have since found this to be a deliberate attempt to mislead the investigation.
According to the police, fresh evidence now points to a property dispute as the actual motive, with a land dealer believed to be the mastermind behind the assassination.
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