New Delhi, Sep 28: The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of recent cases of rape and sexual assault reported in Delhi-NCR, including the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl at a park near Delhi’s Kalkaji Mandir and the alleged sexual assault of a minor inside a moving sleeper bus.

A Bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran expressed concern over the recurring incidents of sexual offences in the National Capital Region and directed the apex court registry to register a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) on the issue and list it for hearing.

The Justice Pardiwala-led Bench observed that the incidents, considered alongside other recent reports of sexual offences across Delhi-NCR, raised serious concerns regarding the functioning of law-enforcement and public administrative authorities responsible for ensuring public safety.

The Supreme Court stressed that the right to live with dignity and without fear of violence forms an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

It further observed that public spaces, including parks, roads, buses, metro stations, subways and footbridges, cannot be allowed to become high-risk zones because of inadequate lighting, surveillance, patrolling or other preventable administrative deficiencies.

The top court called for a measurable response from the authorities and stressed the need to fix accountability on those entrusted with the prevention of crime, maintenance of public order and protection of vulnerable persons.

The Supreme Court’s intervention comes amid a series of sexual offences reported in Delhi and the adjoining National Capital Region in recent weeks.

In the latest incident that triggered concern, a 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three men posing as policemen at a park near Kalkaji Mandir in Delhi.

According to police, the girl had gone to Kalkaji Mandir with a male friend on September 22 and later entered a nearby park. The three accused allegedly approached them, claimed to be police personnel, threatened them and took their mobile phones.

The survivor later told police that two of the men took her towards an isolated part of the park, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted. She also alleged that one of the accused, identified as Asif, displayed a firearm while threatening her.

Following a PCR call, police reached the spot. Asif was subsequently apprehended after an encounter and sustained a gunshot injury. Efforts to trace the other two accused were underway.

The Supreme Court’s suo moto proceedings also cover the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl inside a moving sleeper bus in the Greater Noida-Delhi region.

The incident, reported in August, involved a girl from Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri who had travelled towards Noida and later boarded a sleeper bus after missing her stop.

The driver and conductor of the bus allegedly sexually assaulted her and later abandoned her near Kashmere Gate in Delhi.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and issued notices to the Police Commissioners of Delhi and Gautam Buddha Nagar and the Superintendent of Police, Mainpuri, seeking reports on the investigation and compensation, if any, provided to the survivor.

Police arrested the driver and conductor and seized the sleeper bus for forensic examination. Investigators also collected CCTV footage along the route to establish the movement of the vehicle and the sequence of events.

Srinagar, Sep 27: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Kashmir of J&K Crime Branch said on Sunday it has arrested a long-absconding accused in a multi-crore fraud case.

A statement said that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Kashmir, Crime Branch, J&K, has arrested an accused person, Soom Nath Koul, son of Kalash Nath Koul, Resident of 22-Lotus Tower, Bangalore North, Karnataka, presently residing at Janipur, Jammu, in compliance with the orders of the Court of the Sub-Judge, Srinagar.

A special team of this investigation agency was constituted to execute the orders passed by the Court. The team, after sustained efforts and following due procedure, succeeded in tracing and apprehending the accused. The accused had remained absconding for several years.

During this period, ‘Hue and Cry Notices’ were issued and published from time to time to trace and identify the accused. Despite sustained efforts to locate him, the accused allegedly continued to evade detection and was reportedly using different identities.

The accused is involved in many cases registered with the Crime Branch, Kashmir. A total of five cases have been registered against him, pertaining to allegations of cheating, forgery and land-related fraud involving migrant properties through fake Powers of Attorney and agreements to sell.

In one of the cases, a chargesheet was filed against the accused in absentia under Section 512 CrPC. During the course of investigation, it emerged that the accused allegedly induced individuals to purchase land by representing himself under different identities, including Soom Nath Koul, Brij Nath Bhat, Mohan Lal Dhar and Hadi Nath Dhar, and cheated them in connection with land transactions.

The investigation has further revealed allegations of fraud involving crores of rupees, committed in connivance with other accused persons. Pertinently, during the course of the investigation, one Ghulam Mohi-Ud-Din Dar, son of Abdul Khaliq Dar, resident of Jawalapora, Samson, Budgam, was arrested last week.

He was found to be involved in the same case. The arrest of Soom Nath Koul, alias Brij Nath Bhat, alias Hadi Nath Dhar, alias Mohan Lal Dhar, forms part of the ongoing investigation into the above-mentioned cases.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain the complete extent of the alleged financial fraud, the land transactions involved, and the role of other persons allegedly connected with the offences.

“The general public is advised to remain vigilant against economic fraudsters and report any such incidents directly to SSP EOW Srinagar (Crime Branch J&K), Abdul Waheed Shah. If you have been a victim of economic fraud, you may also send your complaint to the official email: sspeow-kmr@jkpolice.gov.in”, the statement said.

New Delhi, Sep 26: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested the main accused in a 2020 murder case registered at Jahangir Puri Police Station, who had been absconding for nearly six years and frequently changed his places of stay to evade arrest, officials said on Saturday.

The accused, identified as Md. Sheikh Shabbir, 35, was arrested from Kanjhawala on September 25 under Operation Kavach, launched by the Delhi Police to identify and apprehend hardcore and long-absconding criminals involved in heinous offences.

According to the Crime Branch, the team of Inspector Pankaj Thakran of NR-1 was actively working to trace absconding accused involved in murder and dacoity cases. During the operation, Constable Ankush developed specific information regarding Shabbir’s whereabouts and learnt that he was hiding in Kanjhawala Gaon.

The information was subsequently corroborated through field verification and technical surveillance. A raiding team comprising SI Bhagyashri, ASI Anil, ASI Sumit, ASI Ajay and Constable Ankush, led by Inspector Pankaj Thakran, was constituted under the supervision of ACP Ashok Sharma.

On September 25, the team conducted a coordinated raid in the Kanjhawala area and successfully apprehended Shabbir, who had been evading arrest for approximately six years.

The accused was wanted in connection with the murder of Siraj Ali, 35, who was working at his meat shop at Jhuggi No. G-636 in Jahangir Puri on April 29, 2020.

According to the police, an argument broke out between Siraj Ali and Shah Alam, son of Sheikh Jahoor, over the price of meat. The dispute escalated into a physical assault. Shah Alam, along with his associates Md. Sheikh Shabbir, Siraj, Salim, Jahoor and Shakil, allegedly assaulted Siraj Ali with iron rods and wooden sticks.

The victim sustained serious injuries and subsequently succumbed to them.

Following the incident, FIR No. 231/2020 dated April 29, 2020, was registered at Jahangir Puri Police Station under Sections 302, 323 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

While the other accused persons were arrested during the investigation, Shabbir managed to evade arrest and remained absconding. The police said he frequently changed his places of residence to avoid detection.

Shabbir, a resident of Jahangir Puri, studied up to Class 12 and was working as a scrap dealer in the Kanjhawala area. Police said he had reportedly fallen into bad company during his early teenage years and was also addicted to alcohol.

He was previously involved in two cases registered at Mangol Puri and K.N. Katju Marg police stations under various sections of the IPC.