Crime
Bombay HC commutes death punishment to life for 3 in Shakti Mills gang-rape case
The Bombay High Court on Thursday commuted to rigorous life imprisonment the death sentences awarded to three repeat offenders, who were convicted for the brutal gang-rape of a photo-journalist in the Shakti Mills Compound in 2013.
A division bench of Justice S.S. Jadhav and Justice P.K. Chavan, while upholding the conviction, commuted the trial court’s 2014 order of Principal Judge Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi, giving the death penalty to the accused trio — Qasim Shaikh ‘Bengali’, 21, Salim Ansari, 28 and Vijay Jadhav, 19.
The verdict came in appeals filed by the three convicts, who — along with one Siraj Rehman Khan and an unidentified minor — were tried for the August 22, 2013 gang-rape which shook the nation.
The judges ruled that the Constitutional court cannot award punishment based on public opinion and though it may be contrary to the majority view, the court followed the procedure.
The three convicts — who became the first in the country to be awarded under the amended Indian Penal Code Section 376 (E) providing for life term in jail or death for rape cases or repeat offenders, in the wake of the Delhi Nirbhaya gang-rape case of December 2012 — shall not be entitled to furlough or parole while serving their rigorous imprisonment for life.
The incident took place late that evening when the young woman photo-journalist, along with a male colleague, was on an assignment to the defunct Shakti Mills Compound.
There, they were waylaid for the four young men and a minor boy, sparking a nationwide outrage, and the Mumbai Police managed to arrest all the accused within a week.
Subsequently, another victim, a 19-year old telephone operator also approached the police a month later to complain against the same five youngsters at the same venue on July 31, 2013, three weeks before the second incident.
Both the victim women identified the accused, and the two cases were heard simultaneously and in March 2014, the Sessions Court Principal Judge Phansalkar-Joshi found the four adults guilty in each case, while two minors were tried by the Juvenile Justice Board.
Subsequently, the prosecution sought permission to invoke the IPC Section 376(E) against the convicts which was allowed, the court sentenced the trio of Shaikh, Ansari and Jadhav to death as it was “the rarest of rare cases”, while one was awarded a life sentence.
In the Bombay High Court, the public prosecutor Deepak Salvi, along with Sanil Salvi argued for the highest punishment since it was the ‘rarest of rare cases’ as their acts amounted to devastation of social trust, led to a fear psychosis due to the brutal, barbaric and diabolical nature of the crime, all the accused threatening to kill the victim, committing the violence brutal sexual assault involving anal and oral sex.
The Amicus Curiae, advocate Yug M. Choudhary, assisted by lawyer Payoshi Roy — appointed for the accused — argued against the death sentence saying the accused were not given any opportunity to defend or reform themselves.
He explained how the accused were never exposed to any correctional influence, their socio-economic circumstance, no schooling, were used to a life of abject violence and did not deserve the death penalty especially when the maximum punishment for the offence was 20 years.
Mumbai: Thane Rural Police have arrested Adarsh Chandrakant Bhalerao from Titwala for the murder of missing Ola driver Nasir Ahmed.
Ahmed’s body was found in the jurisdiction of Otur Police Station near Malshej Ghat, while his blood-stained car was discovered in a forest near Govili village on the Kalyan–Murbad road.
Police traced the accused through CCTV footage and technical analysis, and the motive behind the murder is still under investigation.
The dead body with multiple wounds of a Ola driver Nasir Ahmed was found 90 km from Titwala in one of the forest, he was missing since last four days, his car was found in a pool of blood at abondoned place near Govali village, Kalyan Taluka police (Thane Rural) doing the further probe.
Mumbai: Five persons were arrested on Saturday, March, for allegedly assaulting civic officials during an anti-hawker drive conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in Kandivali a day earlier.
The incident took place on Friday night in the Lokhandwala Circle area when a team of BMC officials was carrying out a drive to remove illegal street vendors from the locality.
During the operation, a group of individuals allegedly confronted the civic staff and chased them, leading to an altercation. The driver of an earthmover machine deployed for the anti-encroachment drive was also reportedly assaulted during the incident.
Following the incident, police launched an investigation and arrested five individuals in connection with the alleged assault.
The incident comes barely a week after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) conducted a major anti-encroachment drive in Thakur Complex under Ward 24.
During the operation, civic officials, accompanied by police personnel and local representatives, removed unauthorised stalls and cleared footpaths that residents said had become heavily congested over time.
The action was part of a wider civic initiative across Mumbai aimed at reclaiming pedestrian spaces and addressing long-standing complaints of blocked pavements and traffic bottlenecks.
Local corporator Swati Sanjay Jaiswal, who was present during the drive, said the administration would take a strict stand against illegal encroachments in the locality. “Illegal hawking or encroachment will not be allowed in this area,” she said.
Jaiswal also alleged that an organised hawker network operates in certain parts of the suburb and stated that the ongoing drives are intended to curb such activities. At the same time, she clarified that the action is not directed at all vendors.
Highlighting concerns around livelihood, she noted that several government welfare schemes are available for eligible individuals. “They can apply under different government schemes, but occupying footpaths illegally will not be permitted,” she added.
Residents, meanwhile, welcomed the civic action and expressed hope that the cleared pavements would remain accessible to pedestrians in the future.
Crime
Mumbai Police Crack Down On Topaz Bar: Manager Booked For Licence Violations In Late-Night Raid
Mumbai: The Crime Branch Unit 3 of the Mumbai Police conducted a late-night raid at an orchestra bar in South Mumbai and registered an FIR against the establishment’s manager for allegedly violating licence conditions.
According to officials, the action was taken at Topaz Bar and Restaurant located under the jurisdiction of DB Marg Police Station. An FIR has been registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Police said that at around 11:55 pm on March 6, a team from Crime Branch Unit 3 carried out a raid at the bar in the presence of panch witnesses. During the inspection, officers found that the bar manager had allegedly violated the terms and conditions of the licence issued by the government for operating the bar establishment.
Following the raid, the manager, identified as Vipin Kumar Santosh Singh (43), a resident of Rashmi Star City, Naigaon East, was booked. He was later handed over to the DB Marg Police Station for further legal action.
The raid was conducted by a team comprising Senior Police Inspector Yerekar, API Deshmukh, PSI Trupti Patil, Head Constable Palande, Constable Patil, and driver Dhayigade. Further investigation is underway.
Thane Rural Police Arrest Titwala Man For Brutal Murder Of Missing Ola Driver
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