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Hyderabad gang rape: Police begin questioning five juveniles

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Rape

Hyderabad police on Saturday began questioning five juveniles arrested in connection with the May 28 gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in a car. The police until now was questioning only the accused who is a major.

The minors were brought to Jubilee Hills police station from Juvenile Home, where they have been lodged since their arrest a few days ago.

The police had requested Juvenile Home authorities to make arrangements for questioning the minors in their premises but that was not possible. The juveniles were then brought to the police station.

The Children in Conflict with Law (CCL), as the minors are called by the police, will be questioned from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. After 5 p.m., CCL will be handed over to Juvenile Home.

The Juvenile Justice Board on Thursday granted police a five-day custody of three CCLs. However, they could not be questioned on Friday, as the day was lost in the tussle over the location of questioning.

With the Board allowing five-day police custody of the remaining two CCLs on Friday, the police decided to bring all of them to the police station for simultaneous but separate questioning.

The investigators are likely to show CCL the evidence gathered by the police against them including the CCTV footage to make them confess to the crime.

Meanwhile, police continued questioning Saduddin Malik, who is the only major accused in the sensational case. Police officers were grilling him for the third consecutive day on Saturday.

The police are seeking to gather more information to piece together the sequence of events, role played by each of the offenders to build a strong case against the accused.

The police also plan to conduct reconstruction of crime scene and potency tests on the accused. Potency test is a medical test which establish whether a person is capable of engaging in sexual acts or not.

If necessary, the police may approach the court for extending the police custody of Malik which is expiring on Sunday.

The police officials are also reportedly collecting information from the accused as to who helped them in escaping after committing the crime. The accused were reportedly arrested from places in other states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa.

Since the accused belong to politically influential families, police have come under flak from going soft on those who helped them flee or might have tampered with the evidence.

Out of five accused who sexually assaulted the girl, four are aged 16-17. The fifth accused is 18-year-old Malik, who is the prime accused.

The sixth accused who has been charged with molestation is one month short of turning 18. He is the son of an MLA of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).

The leader is also the chairman of a government-run body. Two others are said to be sons of TRS corporators in Greater Hyderabad and Sangareddy. One of them is said to have played the key role in trapping the victim and lure her into the car.

Malik (18) and four CCL have been booked under IPC’s Sections 376 D (gang rape), 323 (causing hurt), Section 5 (G) (gang penetrative sexual assault on child) read with Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 366 (kidnapping a woman) and 366 A (procuration of a minor girl) and Section 67 of Information Technology Act.

Police say the accused could face punishment for not less than 20 years or imprisonment for life till death or even death penalty.

The sixth CCL was not involved in rape but he kissed the victim in the car. He has been booked under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 and Section 9 (G) read with 10 of POCSO Act. He could face 5-7 years imprisonment.

The incident occurred on May 28 after the victim and accused attended a daytime party at a pub in upscale Jubilee Hills.

Crime

Blaze kills woman in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala; 10-day infant among 6 injured

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Mumbai, April 26: A woman was killed and six people, including a 10-day-old infant, were injured in a fire in an high-rise building in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala in Andheri (West), early on Saturday, said the Mumbai Fire Brigade.

Abhina Kartik Sanjanvalia, 34, died on the way to Cooper Hospital. Her family member Kartik Sanjanvalia, 40, is undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation, said an official.

Five fire tenders fought the blaze, which started at around 2.40 am in Broke Land Building near Ashok Academy Lane, and restricted it to room number 104 on the first floor before extinguishing it at 5.30 a.m, said an official.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade suspect that the fire in the eight floor building was sparked by an electric short circuit. However, the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed.

The blaze burnt down furniture, mattresses, clothes, split and window air-conditioners and electrical installations in the flat on the first floor, said an official.

The other injured residents taken to Kokilaben Hospital were identified as 10-day-old baby boy Pradumna Gupta, Rihan, 3, Daya Gupta, 21, Aparna Gupta, 41 and Polam Gupta, 40.

The incident revived painful memories of another fire incident in a 15-storey building in Lokhandwala last October which claimed the lives of three people, including a visually impaired citizen.

Soon after the fire in Riya Palace building, a 37-year-old building at Cross Road Number 4 of Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri, there were demands for opening a fire station on a plot allotted for the purpose in the area three decades ago.

The October 2024 blaze that broke out on the 10th floor of the building started around 8 am and was doused around 9 p.m. The victims were identified as Kanta Soni, 74, Chandraprakash Soni, 74, and Pelubeta, 42.

In another fire incident on Saturday in Maharashtra, a plywood godown was gutted in Thane district. The fire started around 3.30 a.m, in a three-storey building in Rahnal village in Bhiwandi and four fire tenders continued to battle the flames for hours.

A firefighter of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) got a fracture in his leg during the operation to douse the blaze.

An official said due to a huge pile of plywood the blaze had posed a challenge to fire-fighters.

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Crime

Tahawwur Rana denies role in Mumbai terror attack during interrogation (Ld)

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Mumbai, April 26: Tahawwur Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian national accused of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has denied any role in the conspiracy during his interrogation by the Mumbai Crime Branch.

According to senior officials, Rana, who is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi, was questioned for over eight hours by a team of Mumbai Police officers.

During the interrogation, Rana distanced himself from the attacks that claimed over 166 lives and injured hundreds on November 26, 2008.

Rana reportedly told investigators that he had “no connection whatsoever” with the planning or execution of the attack.

He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused, David Coleman Headley, was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects.

Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including in Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

During questioning, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also travelled to Kerala.

When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed he had gone there to meet a known acquaintance and had provided the individual’s name and address to the agency.

Following this, sources said a team from the Mumbai Crime Branch may soon travel to Kerala to verify his claims and question the said person.

Officials revealed that Rana was largely uncooperative during the interrogation and frequently gave evasive answers.

He also cited memory lapses, stating that he was unable to recall specific details related to the attack that occurred over 17 years ago.

The interrogation is part of an ongoing probe by the NIA into the extensive three-year groundwork carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) prior to the Mumbai terror attacks.

Rana is also being questioned about his alleged links to several individuals whose names surfaced in intercepted communications, including Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, Sajid Majid, Ilyas Kashmiri, and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — all of whom are believed to have played crucial roles in the 26/11 conspiracy.

Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, was extradited to India from the United States recently to face justice in the Mumbai attack case.

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Crime

‘Rise against your govt, army for encouraging terrorism,’ Sunni cleric’s appeal to Pakistanis

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Lucknow, April 24: In a strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, senior Sunni cleric and Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, on Thursday called on the people of Pakistan to rise against their government and military for facilitating acts of terror on Indian soil.

The remarks come after 26 people, most of them tourists, were gunned down in a brutal targeted terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam on Tuesday.

The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based terror outfit and offshoot of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba, is suspected to be behind the massacre.

Speaking to Media, Firangi Mahali said, “The people of Pakistan should understand that no one will support such activities. They should raise their voices against their own government and army, which are encouraging these acts of terrorism.”

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a series of stringent measures in response to the attack.

These include the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, closure of the Attari-Wagah border, cancellation of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, expulsion of Pakistan’s military attaches from New Delhi and a reduction in diplomatic staff at both High Commissions.

Calling these actions “necessary and timely,” Firangi Mahali stated, “The horrific incident of terrorism in Pahalgam has been condemned in the harshest terms. This tragic event has shaken the entire country. The steps taken by the Government of India — whether on the water agreement, diplomatic expulsions, or visa cancellations — are absolutely appropriate.”

Appealing for national unity, he urged political parties to come together on a single platform in support of the government’s decisions.

“This is not the time for political division. All parties must stand united so that a positive image of national solidarity is conveyed internationally,” he said.

The cleric also warned against communalising the tragedy. “My appeal to fellow Indians is not to view this terror incident through a religious lens. No religion condones violence or terrorism,” he said.

“Some of the posts circulating on social media are sending out a very negative message. In this hour of crisis, every Indian — regardless of religion or political affiliation — must stand together,” he added.

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