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I foiled attempts to burn Andhra: Suspended IPS officer

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A day after he was suspended by the Andhra Pradesh government for the second time in less than two-and-a-half years, senior IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao said on Wednesday that some individuals and forces were targeting him.

He told the mediapersons that some people are angry with him because as the then intelligence chief, he had foiled attempts to burn the state.

“Using Kodi Katti case as an excuse, they wanted to burn the state. Within a few hours, I effectively countered this. That’s why some people are angry with me,” he said without naming anyone.

‘Kodi Katti’ case refers to the knife attack on Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy by a youth at Visakhapatnam Airport in 2018.

Reddy, who was then the leader of opposition, sustained minor injury. The attacker used ‘kodi katti’ or a small knife which is used during cockfight.

A month after Rao’s reinstatement following the Supreme Court order, the state government on Tuesday suspended him on charges of trying to influence witnesses pertaining to the criminal case against him.

Chief Secretary Sameer Sharma issued an order placing the former Intelligence chief under suspension under sub-rule (3) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969

The Indian Police Service (IPS) officer said he would challenge his suspension in a court of law and exuded confidence that it will not stand legal scrutiny. He argued that an officer can’t be suspended twice on the same issue.

Rao claimed that there was no chargesheet filed against him and hence there was no question of influencing the witnesses. He said he had a lot of evidence to prove that every word in the FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) is false.

The officer said there was no misappropriation of even one rupee. He said the Israeli company wrote to the government that it paid no commission.

In February 2020, the state government had placed Venkateswara Rao, the IPS officer of 1989 batch, under suspension for his alleged misconduct and irregularities in the purchase of security equipment.

The officer was working as Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) during the previous government

Considered close to then chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Rao was removed as the intelligence chief after Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy assumed office in May 2019. He was waiting for a posting.

The police officer had approached Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had set aside the suspension on May 22, 2020.

The Supreme Court on April 22, 2022 dismissed the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the state government challenging Andhra Pradesh High Court order.

The Supreme Court made it clear that the suspension could be for a maximum of two years as per the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Amendments Rules, 2015. It said since the two year period was over, the suspension could no longer be in place.

In May, the state government issued orders revoking Rao’s suspension with effect from February, 2022.

Though the officer had reported to the General Administration Department on May 19 for the posting, he was made to wait for nearly a month. He was finally appointed as commissioner, printing and stationery on June 15.

Rao said Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Srilakshmi has cases against her and chargesheets were filed against her but All India Service rules did not apply to her. “When the rules don’t apply to her, how can they apply to me,” he asked.

Srilakshmi is facing corruption charges in quid pro quo cases allegedly involving Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The IPS officer said several petitions and complaints were filed against him but during these three years there was no evidence that he did anything wrong.

Crime

Mumbai: Man Stabbed To Death After He Intervenes To Settle Dispute In Sion Koliwada; Antop Hill Police Arrest 5

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Mumbai: Man Stabbed To Death After He Intervenes To Settle Dispute In Sion Koliwada; Antop Hill Police Arrest 5

Mumbai: A 22-year-old was murdered in the early hours of Friday in Mumbai’s Sion Koliwada area after an argument broke out over noise pollution. The Antop Hill police have registered an FIR in the case and so far five people have been arrested and further investigation is underway.

The incident took place around 12:30 am in Kokri Agar In Jai Maharashtra Nagar, Antop Hill. Vivek Gupta (22) was attacked with a knife and he succumbed to his injuries. As initial information available, a group of people were making noise causing disturbance on the street which lead to an argument broke out. Gupta had gone to resolve the dispute between the accused, however, angered over his interference, Gupta was attacked.

What started as a small fight soon escalated and Gupta was attacked with a knife. He was immediately taken to Sion Hospital, however, he succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced dead at 3:30 am. The senior police officers of Mumbai Police Zone 4 were present at the hospital. The cops have so far arrested five suspects connected to this incident, and further investigation is underway.

The arrested accused are: Karthik R Mohan Devendra, Karthik Kumar Devendra, Vicky Muttu Devendra, Miniappan Ravi Devendra and the wife of Karthik R Mogan, the police informed. The case is registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

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Crime

Mumbai: 6 Booked For Defrauding Stock Trader Of ₹1.5 Cr In Bitcoin Investment Scam

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Mumbai: The Bandra police have registered an FIR against six persons for allegedly defrauding a stock trader of nearly Rs 1.50 crore in a Bitcoin investment scam. The suspects fled even before the case was filed, prompting a manhunt. They have been identified as Abur Sode, Dhanjibhai Rawaria, Jishan Shaikh, Indrajit Latif, Abdul Latif, and Ramkumar Dharmak, all from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

The complainant in the case, Yogesh More, 50, is a resident of Parel and operates a stock trading business in the Marwari area in Bandra West. He met the accused three years ago, during which they introduced themselves as representatives of a company called Friptex Finsol, claiming to offer Bitcoin as a virtual currency.

Trusting them, More transferred around Rs42 lakh in cash and Rs1.08 crore via cheque to various bank accounts associated with the company for Bitcoin purchases between November 2021 and October 2024. Despite these payments, he did not receive the promised Bitcoins, and after multiple inquiries, the accused continued to evade him. Over the last three years, neither the Bitcoins nor a refund was provided.

Complaint Lodged At Bandra Police Station

Suspecting fraud, he began investigating and discovered that Friptex Finsol was a bogus company, and the accused had orchestrated a scam. He then lodged a complaint with the Bandra police. Following an initial inquiry, the police registered a case against six persons under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 34 (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

A police officer said that the accused are from Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. “The preliminary inquiry has not revealed any past criminal history. We are searching for the accused,” the officer added.

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Crime

West Bengal: Youth Arrested For Rape Of Deaf & Mute Woman In South 24 Parganas’ Kultali

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Kolkata: A youth was arrested on the charges of raping a deaf and mute woman at a deserted building in Kultali in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

Even as the main accused in the case has been arrested, the local people had been agitating claiming that a local Trinamool Congress panchayat chief Prahlad Nashkar allegedly pressurised family members of the victim to settle the matter against Rs 2,00,000.

However, Nashkar has denied the allegations, saying he was the first to reach the spot and inform the family members of the victim about the incident.

Complaint Filed

The victim’s family members filed a complaint on Wednesday evening. Thereafter, the police started an investigation and based on circumstantial evidence, the accused youth was arrested.

He will be presented at a district court in South 24 Parganas on Thursday only and the public prosecutor will seek his police custody, a district police official said.

Part Of Kultali & Jaynagar Turn Into Virtual Battlefields

In the first week of this month, part of Kultali and adjacent Jaynagar turned into virtual battlefields over violent protests by the local people over the rape and murder of a minor girl there.

At that point in time, the main allegation of the local people was against the police and the latter ignored the missing complaint by the parents of the victim. The local people also alleged that had the police been active in tracking the victim minor, the heinous crime could have been averted.

The protesters became violent and attacked the police station. A local police camp was ransacked and set on fire. The police had to resort to massive lathi-charge to dispel the mob then.

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