Crime
Maharashtra Sarpanch murder: Prime suspect Walmik Karad surrenders

Pune (Maharashtra), Dec 31: After posting a video statement, absconder Walmik Karad — a prime suspect in the sensational broad daylight murder of Massajog (Beed) Sarpanch Santosh Pandit Deshmukh on December 9 — surrendered to the CID, Pune, here on Tuesday morning.
Karad – on the run for the past 22 days — claimed innocence in an extortion case he had been booked for. He gave himself up after a series of measures by the state police to zero in on him.
In his statement, he contended that he was implicated in a false case of extortion on December 12 — which is now being linked with the Beed Sarpanch murder case, though his name doesn’t figure in this (murder) — said that he was prepared to cooperate with the investigators and also ready for any punishment.
A former domestic helper at the home of Maharashtra’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Cabinet Minister Dhananjay P. Munde, Karad was later elected as a municipal councillor, but abruptly ‘disappeared’ as politics went on a massive boil.
Subsequently, deploying tech intel, the police tracked his movements to Pune and Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) and initiated the process to seize his properties, freeze bank accounts, other assets, etc.
Post-surrender, Karad is undergoing a questioning session with top police and CID officials, after which he is likely to be arrested and produced before a designated court for remand, an official indicated.
The deceased Sarpanch’s daughter Vaibhavi S. Deshmukh expressed satisfaction over Karad’s surrender, but demanded that even the other absconding culprits must be arrested and punished “to ensure justice to my father”.
“The police must scan the CDR of his (Karad) mobile, and find out all those who had helped him in any manner, arrest and give them the most stringent punishment under the law,” she demanded, her eyes moist with tears.
Nationalist Congress Party (SP) General Secretary Dr Jitendra Awhad alleged that “everything is planned and orchestrated” and Karad is reportedly named as an ‘accused’ in a murder case lodged with Parli (Beed) Police.
Leaders of multiple political parties have said that Karad is booked/wanted/accused in several big and small cases but has continued to thrive owing to political patronage.
Shivba Sanghatana chief Manoj Jarange-Patil said that now Karad is in the police clutches, the investigators should arrest the other fugitives and reiterated that “Karad was supported by his political masters”, warning against any attempts to ‘protect him’.
The Sarpanch murder snowballed into a national political storm with condemnation from Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale, Congress’ Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Ambedkar and other bigwigs.
The issue had also figured in the state legislature during the recent Winter Session in Nagpur, at least three all-party protest marches were taken out in Beed, Latur and Parbhani in support of the Deshmukh family.
In a move of solidarity, 543 Gram Panchayats in Gondia, 491 in Washim and 205 in Yavatmal districts are observing a 3-day shutdown to condemn the Massajog (Beed) Sarpanch’s murder, and over the next few days, more Gram Panchayats are expected to follow suit.
Crime
Accused in air hostess sexual assault case was porn addict: Gurugram Police

Gurugram, April 19: Gurugram Police said on Saturday that the accused in the air hostess sexual assault case was a porn addict, an official said.
Gurugram Police Spokesperson Sandeep Kumar said that the accused used to watch porn videos habitually, which was also confirmed from the mobile phone recovered from him.
He said that during police interrogation, it was found that the accused has a B.Sc. (OT) degree from a private institute from the years 2019-2022, and he was an average student in studies.
“For the last five months, he was working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital. The accused going to the victim at the time of the incident was confirmed from the CCTV cameras installed in the hospital,” he said.
The Spokesperson said that during interrogation of the accused, it was also found that he had watched porn videos before the incident and even after committing the crime.
“Which is also being confirmed from the search history of the accused’s mobile phone. He was produced before the court on Saturday, from where he was sent to judicial custody for further proceedings,” he said.
Meanwhile, the SIT on Friday nabbed the accused, after analysing at least 800 CCTV cameras installed inside and outside of the hospital, who sexually assaulted the woman when she was on a ventilator.
The accused was identified as Deepak (25), a native of Muzaffarpur in Bihar. The accused had been working as a treatment machine technician in the ICU of the hospital for the past five months and was arrested in the Sadar police station area on Friday.
An official privy to the investigation said that the accused has confessed to his crime in the matter.
“While investigating the incident, eight police teams checked the footage of 800 CCTV cameras installed in the hospital, and around 50 hospital staff, including doctors, were questioned about the incident. Keeping in mind the seriousness of the incident, the police teams investigated from every angle and collected a lot of information related to the incident, as a result of which the police got great success in identifying the accused who committed the crime,” said Arpit Jain, DCP (Headquarters).
On Thursday, Vikas Kumar Arora, Commissioner of Police, Gurugram, had constituted an SIT and ordered the identification and arrest of the accused.
As per the order of the Police Commissioner, an SIT was constituted under the leadership of Arpit Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Headquarters, Gurugram, in which a total of eight different police teams were given special directions and deployed to collect information and evidence related to the incident.
Dr. Sanjay Durani, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, said in a statement that: “We have been informed that the police have identified a suspect who has been taken into custody in connection with the ongoing investigation concerning allegations of sexual assault on a patient. On the basis of information provided to us by the police, we have suspended the suspect employee. As we await the final outcome of the investigation, we will continue to provide full support to the police.”
Crime
Manipur govt launches verification of papers of arms license holders

Imphal, April 19: The Manipur government has launched a drive to verify the licensed arms and asked all the district administrations to examine the papers of the arms license holders and arms dealers, officials said on Saturday.
A senior official said that the Commissioner (Home) has, in an urgent circular, asked the Deputy Commissioners of all 16 districts to take steps to verify the papers of arms license holders and arms dealers in their respective districts.
Accordingly, all the Deputy Commissioners directed the arms license holders and arms dealers to submit their papers in their nearest or respective police stations on or before April 25.
“Non-compliance with the orders may lead to penalisation and cancellation of arms license,” the official said, referring to the circular of the Commissioner (Home). Till March 6, around 1,000 looted and illegally held weapons, including many sophisticated arms, and a huge cache of ammunition, have been returned to the security forces since Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla appealed for the first time on February 20.
The initiative to recover the looted and illegally held arms began on May 31, 2023, when former Chief Minister N. Biren Singh made an appeal to all concerned to surrender the firearms looted from security forces and police armouries.
Officials said that before Singh’s resignation as Chief Minister on February 9, a total of 3,422 firearms had been voluntarily surrendered to the authorities and police stations in different districts.
Various official reports, political parties claimed that during the ethnic riots, which broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, over 6,020 varied types of sophisticated arms and lakhs of different types of ammunition were looted from the police stations and police outposts by the mobs, attackers and militants.
Crime
Put under house arrest again, says Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

Srinagar, April 18: Senior religious and Huriyat Conference (HC) Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, said on Friday that authorities have placed him under house arrest, thereby denying him the right to offer congregational prayers during the day.
Mirwaiz Farooq said on X, “Every Friday I am put under arbitrary house arrest ! Putting pressure on me not to speak up, the ban also aims to weaken the centrality of Muslim institutions of the valley-the Jama Masjid, office of the Mirwaiz, and cause collective grief to Muslims and all those who oppose this authoritarian and sectarian outlook. My house detention case is still pending in court, where I am seeking relief from the Hon’ble High Court, but In such times patience remains our only strength.”
Mirwaiz traditionally delivers the Friday sermon at the Jamia Masjid in the Nowhatta area of old Srinagar city. He also heads the Anjuman-e-Nusratul Islam, a religious organisation that runs some educational institutions in Kashmir, including the Islamia High School in Rajouri Kadal area of Srinagar.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) last month declared the Mirwaiz-headed Awami Action Committee (ACC) a banned organisation for five years. The ACC was formed in 1963 during the Holy Relic agitation by Mirwaiz Maulana Mohammad Farooq. After the elder Mirwaiz was assassinated in 1990 by the terrorists, the ACC came to be headed by his son, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
The MHA order said that the ACC has been encouraging youth to violence and is acting in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the state.
Mirwaiz Farooq, who is the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference, has witnessed the desertion of several affiliates. As many as 12 Hurriyat-linked organisations have broken off from secessionism, reposing trust in the Constitution of India.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that “separatism has become history in Kashmir”, and the unifying policies of the Modi government have eliminated separatism in J&K. He has also said this is a victory of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
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