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Crime

Arrests of facilitators have opened Pandora’s Box

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A series of arrests, made by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (UP-ATS) and Kolkata Special Task Force (STF) from different parts of the state in the last three months, have opened up the Pandora’s Box. After interrogating the arrested people, mainly facilitators, the investigators have traced mammoth financial transactions to accounts of the human trafficking syndicate, which smuggled Bangladeshis and members of the ethnic Muslim Rohingya community into India through the porous West Bengal border and then packed them off abroad with forged passports and Hindu identities.

In the last three months, the UP-ATS in close collaboration with the Kolkata STF, have arrested 21 people, including four facilitators, six conduits and the mastermind Mithun Mandal. Mandal along with Shaon Ahmed, Mominur Islam and Mahendi Hasan were arrested from the Deen Dayal Upadhya Railway Station, Mughalsarai, in October.

According to sources in the UP-ATS, Mandla who is now on transit remand in Lucknow lived life kingsize with lavish spending, five-star stays and foreign jaunts, but did not make assets to avoid taxman’s glare. Expensive apparels pegged at lakhs of rupees, five-star hotel bills and passports with stamped visas of exotic European and Southeast Asian destinations were seized.

“They don’t stay at one place and keep traveling in Southeast Asian countries and stay in rented apartments,” said one officer.

The UP-ATS that busted the network with international linkages, found over Rs 10 crore transactions in accounts of facilitators, middlemen and kingpins in a one-year span.

An informed senior ATS officer said, multiple bank accounts of Mandal, show a money trail of crores of rupees, adding that if total funds flow to the syndicate was calculated, it crossed Rs 10 crore in less than 12 months.

The facilitators included Ratan Mandal, Sameer Mandal, Noor Alam and Mohammad Jameel – all arrested from several places in West Bengal.

Explaining their modus operandi, sources in the Kolkata STF said kingpin Mithun Mandal used to operate a travel agency named European Tour and Travels in Bardhaman district of West Bengal.

His aide, Mahfuzur, used WhatsApp to communicate with clients in Bangladesh and Myanmar, who were interested in going abroad. He created a WhatsApp group (‘Only Bro’) and operated it under the name, Tony.

“Those ready to infiltrate and move abroad were asked to cough up Rs 5-7 lakh, depending on the country of their choice,” an STF officer said.

Once smuggled into India, the syndicate would provide them with fake Hindu identities and forged documents. Then they would be put across to middlemen in Gulf, South Africa and the UK. The gang would pocket the fee after spending just Rs 50,000-70,000 on forging documents.

Though the investigators are yet to connect the illegal immigration with any kind of terror design but what is keeping the investigators and the agencies on the tenterhooks is the growing trend of infiltrating into the country might be used effectively to push in terrorists into the Indian soil. The investigators are of opinion that the Covid-induced lockdowns and the subsequent unemployment which is making the work of these terror groups easier.

Taking advantage of the porous border with Bangladesh and unemployment, international terror groups like JMB, Ansarullah Faction and even the Islamic State are trying to spread their network in West Bengal.

The aim is to make the state the headquarters of the terror activities in entire eastern India.

Sometimes via direct interaction and at times through online, they are targeting smart but unemployed young boys and girls in the state.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Kolkata Police have secured this information from the three JMB terrorists who were arrested by the STF sleuths recently from a colony in the southern outskirts of Kolkata.

Crime

Delhi: Murder case solved within 16 hours, husband arrested for killing wife

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New Delhi, Sep 16: Delhi Police on Wednesday have claimed to have solved a murder case within 16 hours with the arrest of a 24-year-old man for allegedly killing his wife following an altercation arising out of strained marital relations and frequent quarrels.

According to police, the case was registered at Anand Parbat police station under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

On September 14, police received information regarding a suspected murder at Punjabi Basti in Baljeet Nagar, Anand Parbat. The police reached the spot, where a 32-year-old woman was found dead inside a room.

During the preliminary inquiry, police learned that the deceased was living in the room with her husband, two minor daughters and her mother.

The deceased’s elder daughter, aged around 10, told police that she woke up at around 3:45-4 a.m. and saw her father near her mother, checking her breathing. She said her father then left the house. After some time, she noticed that her mother was not responding.

On examining the body, police found no apparent external injuries, except nail-like marks on the left side of the neck. The Crime Team and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team inspected the crime scene and documented it through photographs.

The woman was shifted to Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) Hospital, where she was declared brought dead. Her body was preserved for postmortem examination.

Police said the circumstances of the incident and the statement of the minor daughter raised suspicion about the involvement of the deceased’s husband. Accordingly, FIR No. 517/2026 was registered on September 15 and an investigation was launched.

The postmortem examination was conducted at the LHMC mortuary, following which the body was handed over to the family members.

Considering the gravity of the offence and the possibility of the accused escaping, the police team launched a search operation.

Through technical investigation, corroboration of available information and local intelligence, the team traced and apprehended the accused, identified as Chandrapal Bhati, a resident of Wair in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, within 16 hours of the incident.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed his involvement in the crime. Police said he stated that he and his wife frequently quarrelled and that their marital relationship had remained strained.

The accused allegedly further disclosed that he strangled his wife to death following an altercation arising from their strained marital relations and frequent quarrels.

Police said no previous involvement of the accused has come to notice so far.

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Crime

Gurugram hit-and-run case: Car driver, cousin sent to two days’ police custody

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Gurugram, Sep 16: A Gurugram court on Wednesday sent Kalyan Bainsla, the driver accused of hitting a woman biker on Golf Course Road, and his cousin to two days’ police custody in connection with the hit-and-run case.

Bainsla and his cousin Lavneesh were produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMIC) Nidhi Beniwal, who sent them to police custody.

Both accused will be produced before the court again on September 18.

The development came a day after Gurugram police arrested Bainsla from Rajasthan’s Dausa and Lavneesh from Haryana’s Palwal in connection with the incident.

Lavneesh was allegedly present in the car along with Bainsla at the time of the incident.

The Gurugram Police had earlier added Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to attempt to murder, to the FIR after the victim, Sia, and her family approached the police seeking stringent action against those involved.

The case was initially registered after the police took suo motu cognisance of a video showing a car hitting a female biker on Golf Course Road.

Following a detailed investigation and analysis of CCTV footage, the police added the attempt-to-murder charge, which carries a punishment of up to 10 years.

The development came after Sia’s family submitted her written statement to Inspector Manoj Kumar, Station House Officer of Gurugram’s Sector-56 police station. The police are also recording her detailed statement as part of the investigation.

The Gurugram police have maintained that lawlessness will not be tolerated and said they are committed to taking strict action against those responsible.

Meanwhile, Sia on Wednesday appealed for strict punishment for all four occupants of the car, saying it was necessary to send the right message to society regarding women’s safety.

Speaking to media, Sia said she had “great expectations” from the court and wanted justice in the case. “I stated in court yesterday that all four, who were in the car, should be arrested and that strict action taken against all of them. In my opinion, they should face harsh consequences; that is the only way to send a message to such young men—so that anyone thinking of committing such an act would think twice,” she said.

Reacting to the accused’s reported claim that he was in a hurry to use the restroom, Sia said the explanation was “despicable”, stating that the entire incident had been recorded on video. She said that had the dashcam on her bike not recorded the incident, she “probably wouldn’t have even been able to justify what happened”. “So many women, who might be heading to work, have to face this kind of harassment. They don’t have cameras, and often, cases like this don’t even get registered,” she said.

Sia reiterated that all four occupants of the car should face action, saying: “All four must be punished; only then can we set an example for our society.”

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Crime

Yemen nationals found staying ‘illegally’ in Pune, cases filed against two house owners

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Pune, Sep 16: Pune Police have registered separate cases against two house owners for allegedly renting out their flats to Yemeni nationals for the past seven to eight years, without informing the police.

According to police, the tenants’ passports had expired and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRO) had issued restriction orders against them. Their passports have been deposited with the authorities.

The cases were registered at Kondhwa police station under relevant provisions after the house owners allegedly violated police orders by concealing information about the foreign nationals staying at their properties.

Senior Police Inspector Santosh Khetmals of Kondhwa police station told media that deportation proceedings against the Yemeni nationals have been initiated by the FRO.

In the first case, a case was registered against house owner Khan Faheema Jabbar, 55, a resident of Ghorpade Peth, for allegedly renting out her flat to a Yemeni family without informing the police.

In the second case, house owner Jabbar A. Sattar Khan, 62, also a resident of Ghorpade Peth, was booked for allegedly renting out his flat to another Yemeni family without informing the police.

Police said further action in the matter is being taken in coordination with the FRO.

This is however not the first such incident in Pune.

Earlier, on August 13, the special branch of Pune City Police arrested and detained 11 Yemeni nationals and two Afghan nationals from Yevalewadi, Phursungi and Kondhwa for allegedly staying illegally in India.

In 2022, Pune Police had deported a six-member family from Yemen, comprising three adults and three minor children, after they were found to have overstayed in India.

The police had identified the deported Yemeni nationals as Alkharraz Waled Abdurabu Ateq, 37, his wife, Heba Yahya Mohammed Hussen, 33, his brother, Shawqi Abdurabu Ateq, 34, and his three minor children.

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