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Kids’ kidnap-murder case: Bombay HC commutes death verdict for 2 to life

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Bombay High Court.

Bombay High Court.

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentences on two prime accused – both step-sisters – to life term till death in jail, in the sensational case of the kidnapping of 13 minor children and murdering at least 5 of them, that rocked the state in the early 1990s.

The accused, Seema Mohan Gavit, 39, and Renuka Kiran Shinde, 45, were arrested by Maharashtra Police in 1996 and have so far spent around 25 years under the shadow of the hangman’s noose, at the Yerawada Central Jail, Pune.

Another prime accused and their mother, Anjana, who was also arrested and charged in the case, passed away in 1998 during the pendency of the trial.

A division bench of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Sarang Kotwal commuted the death penalty, rapping the delays by the government authorities in taking a decision on the mercy pleas of the two.

In 2001, the half-sisters were convicted and awarded the death penalty by the Kolhapur Sessions Court for the stunning kidnappings of 13 children and killing 5 of them brutally.

The death sentence was confirmed by the Bombay High Court in 2004 and then the Supreme Court in 2006.

The sisters had earlier filed mercy pleas before the Governor in 2008 that were declined in August 2013, and later to the President, which was rejected in July 2014, even as people from the USA Japan, Canada, and India appealed to the President for commuting the death verdict, saying that execution of women is extremely rare.

After the rejection of their appeals from both the Governor and the President, they moved the Bombay High Court.

The matter was taken up urgently on August 19, 2014, as the two sisters awaited the gallows that day.

The Public Prosecutor issued telephonic instructions to the YCJ Jail Superintendent Yogesh Desai to stop the hangings till their pleas were heard and the matter came up on the board the following day.

The petitioners contended that the government machinery did not adhere to the rules that required utmost expediency and resorted to a “most casual approach” resulting in a delay of nearly 8 years, which the division bench upheld.

The sisters contended, through their lawyer Aniket Vagal, that the delay was attributable to the executive including the Governor and the Maharashtra Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the President, which was denied by the Centre’s lawyer Sandesh Patil.

The judges noted that from the date of the sisters submitting their mercy plea on September 1, 2006 till it was finally disposed of on July 30, 2014, it took 7 years, 10 months and 15 days.

Justice Jamdar and Justice Kotwal also observed how the chronology showed that there was “nothing but the movement of files, delay, and casual approach demonstrated at each stage” and the state government moved “as if it was a routine file, perhaps even slower than that”, at each stage “officers exhibited utter casualness”.

The court also frowned at how, in the period between 2006-2014, modern electronic communication facilities, email, courier, transportation were easily available to all government officers, and termed as “abhorrent” the movement of files/papers in such a crucial matter within the state or the city after gaps of 15 days, month, six months or up to one year.

It also commented on how the matter was circulated before the court only by the petitioner-sisters in 2021 and not by the government since 2016, and the manner in which the two convicts were kept isolated in the ‘Death Convict Yard’ which has an ominous connotation, and was described as “brooding horror of hanging, daunting the prisoner in the condemned cell” by the late Justice Krishna Iyer.

However, the evidence on record shows the kids were brutally murdered, showing the “depravity” of the two convict-sisters which was “heinous and beyond words to condemn”, the bench said, ordering “life imprisonment is till the life of the convict” unless the competent authority decides otherwise, though the (convicts) were beyond reform for society.

The court also cancelled the unexecuted death warrants against the two sisters and disposed of the petition.

Crime

CBI books CGST officer Ratiram Meena for amassing disproportionate assets

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Jaipur, Nov 1: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Department Assistant Commissioner, Ratiram Meena, on charges of possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

According to officials, Meena had declared assets worth Rs 51.73 lakh as of August 2018. However, by August 2025, his wealth had increased to over Rs 4.08 crore, marking an eightfold rise in just seven years.

The CBI revealed that Meena served in CGST offices in Jaipur and Ahmedabad during this period. The investigation found that he allegedly acquired illegal assets worth Rs 2.54 crore, which is nearly 100 per cent more than his known income.

CBI sources said Meena allegedly operated several firms, LLPs, and companies under the names of his wife and son, which were used to divert and conceal illegal funds. Raids were conducted at multiple locations, including Jaipur, Ankleshwar (Gujarat), and Ahmedabad, leading to the recovery of gold and silver jewellery worth approximately Rs 35 lakh. Investigators also found that Meena and his family owned multiple immovable properties across Rajasthan, along with luxury vehicles such as a Porsche and a Jeep Compass.

Two bank lockers in the names of family members were also discovered, and the CBI is currently examining their contents. The case surfaced after the disproportionate asset-to-income ratio of the officer failed to be justified during a routine assessment. As per legal provisions, if a government officer possesses assets significantly exceeding their known income without a legitimate explanation, it is considered a case of illegal acquisition of wealth.

The CBI has launched a detailed investigation into Meena’s financial transactions, company records, locker contents, vehicle purchases, and property documents to trace the origin of the illicit assets.

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Crime

Navi Mumbai: 2 Sentenced To Life Imprisonment In 2020 Rabale MIDC Murder Case

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Navi Mumbai: The Additional District and Sessions Judge at Belapur has sentenced two accused to life imprisonment in connection with a 2020 murder case that occurred under the jurisdiction of the Rabale MIDC police station. The convicts have been identified as Jisat alias Jisan Siddiqui and Lakshmi Rupesh Waghe.

Investigation revealed that Lakshmi Waghe was in an illicit relationship with Jisan, and together they conspired to murder her husband, Rupesh Waghe, who had become an obstacle in their affair.

Lakshmi Waghe, a resident of the Rabale MIDC area, was living with Jisan Siddiqui, with whom she shared an extramarital relationship. Frequent quarrels over this issue led to Lakshmi and her husband living separately. In January 2020, Rupesh visited his wife’s house to meet their daughter and discovered that she was living with Jisan. Angered, he confronted Lakshmi, which enraged both her and Jisan. The duo first assaulted him with fists and kicks, after which Lakshmi attacked Rupesh on the head and limbs with an iron sickle. Jisan then threw a cement block at Rupesh, attempting to kill him.

Rupesh sustained severe injuries and was admitted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for treatment, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. Following the incident, the Rabale MIDC police registered a case against Lakshmi Waghe and her lover Jisan alias Jisan Siddiqui under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Sections 4 and 25 of the Arms Act, and arrested both the accused.

Then Police Inspector Anil Patil investigated the case and submitted the charge sheet to the Belapur Sessions Court. The trial was conducted in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge P. A. Sane. During the hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Yogendra Patil presented strong arguments and credible witness evidence, which the court accepted. On October 28, the court convicted both accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment, along with a fine of Rs 500 each, and in default, one month of simple imprisonment.

Senior Police Inspector Sunil Waghmare and Crime PI Kalpana Jadhav supervised the case. Police Sub-Inspector Ghodke (paravi officer), Court Constable S.N. Kamble, Rajesh Salgar, and Police Constable S.T. Shinde played key roles in ensuring the conviction through their dedicated efforts.

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Crime

Navi Mumbai: 70-Year-Old NRI From London Arrested For Raping & Molesting 10-Year-Old Girl

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Navi Mumbai: A 70-year-old NRI from London, who enjoys a pension of 4000 pounds by the US government post retirement as a taxi driver there, has been arrested by the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Navi Mumbai along with a lady whose 10-year-old daughter was frequently raped and molested by the NRI.

According to police, the NRI used to buy them monthly groceries and helped them rent out a house against a heavy deposit, due to which the mother used to force her daughter to stay with the accused man during his every visit to India. He was arrested after an early morning raid at his house at Taloja on Friday.

The arrested accused has been identified as Farooq Allauddin Shaikh (70), originally from Puducherry but currently residing in London with his family. Two years ago, Shaikh had purchased a flat in Sector 20, Taloja, and would visit every few months for a few days. Shaikh is settled in the US with his wife and three children- all married. His two daughters work with a solicitor in the US, while his son, who got married recently, is settled in Bangkok. “One of his daughters also has a 10-year-old daughter, and the victim whom we rescued is also a 10-year-old girl,” a police officer who is a part of the investigation said.

While he had also visited India in the month of August for a few days, this time, he came on October 25. And after coming, he purchased groceries for the house of the victim. As per the investigations till now, the accused had started sexually abusing the victim along with another 15-year-old girl known to the victim, around two years back. He had helped the family of the 10-year-old to procure a house on rent against a deposit of Rs 2.5 lakh.

The AHTU received information from a reliable source regarding the sexual abuse that had happened with the girl in his flat, following which the team decided to raid the flat. “We got to know that the girl was sent to his flat on Monday and Tuesday.

On Wednesday, she celebrated her birthday at his flat and on Thursday night again, the mother dropped the child off at his flat. She was supposed to come pick up the child at 7 am when she brings breakfast for the accused, and hence we had to raid the flat before that, and we planned the raid at 5 am,” the officer added. Senior Police Inspector Prithviraj Ghorpade, Assistant Police Inspector Yogesh Deshmukh, and officers Nilam Pawar and Sarita Gude raided Shaikh’s flat on Thursday morning and rescued the child.

The police found four sex toys and Viagra pills in his cupboard, and one sex toy on the dressing table. They also found bottles of liquor, which the victim claimed that she was made to drink every time he abused her. The accused had become acquainted with the victim’s mother, who worked as a domestic help in the building and started offering monetary ‘helps’ in return for having her daughter at his flat. Whenever Shaikh visited India, the woman would send her 10-year-old daughter to his flat under the pretext of playing, police said.

“Both, the mother and the man, have been produced before the court and remanded to police custody till November 4,” senior police inspector Pravin Bhagat from Taloja police station said. The child has now been handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Both the accused have been booked under Section of BNS and POCSO.

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