Crime
Pirate attack: Kin of kidnapped Indian sailor in distress, prays for safe return
Family members of the missing Indian sailor Pankaj Kumar believed to be kidnapped by sea pirates from the ship MV Tampen anchored in West African nation Gabon are distressed.
Pankaj Kumar, aged 30, hailing from the Gurdaspur district in Punjab was the Second Engineer of MV Tampen.
“Only last year he got married. We are all distressed a lot. There is no information about his whereabouts in Gabon. The shipping company officials are saying that my brother is missing and beyond that there is no information,” Sandeep Kumar, the younger brother of sailor Pankaj Kumar, told IANS over phone.
According to Sandeep Kumar, the family consists of younger sister, their parents and wife of Pankaj Kumar.
“We have sent an email to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We are yet to hear anything from his office,” Sandeep Kumar added.
He said requests have been made to the shipping company the Mumbai based Proactive Shipping Management to do the needful to trace his elder brother.
According to him, aerial search operations were carried out by Gabon authorities on Monday and after that it was stopped.
The ship, with 17 Indian crew, was sailing from Cameroon to the UAE when it developed some propulsion problems and was anchored just two kilometres away from Gabon’s Owendo anchorage when pirates boarded the ship on Sunday morning.
While the pirates threw Pankaj Kumar overboard, they also shot and injured Cook Sunil Ghosh and Chief Officer Naurial Vikas who were later admitted to a local hospital.
“Ghosh (from West Bengal) is doing fine in the hospital. Family members-wife and others- had spoken to him. There is no information about his discharge from the hospital,” a relative told IANS.
“All the sailors on the ship are distressed and would want to come back home,” Nithin Suresh Kuttipravan, a friend of one of the sailors Deepak Udayaraj told IANS.
Kuttipravan is reaching out to various official agencies so that the Indian sailors are brought back at the earliest.
“An official of the Indian Embassy in Congo is trying to reach out to the sailors. The ship captain is under a lot of stress and is answering the officials from the Gabon government,” Kuttipravan said.
He said as per the information from the sailors on board of MV Tampen, the ship’s satellite phone was not working for the past one month.
“They were communicating using email. Now they are using Whatsapp using their Indian SIM cards. We have requested the Indian Embassy to provide the sailors local SIM cards so that they can stay in touch with their family members,” Kuttipravan added.
The Honorary Consulate of India in Gabon is John Rupchandani.
According to Kuttipravan, all the sailors are ready to sign off and reach India at the earliest.
“It seems the shipping company wants the sailors to sail to Dubai after setting right the ship,” he said.
“As per my information, the pirates wanted to kidnap about three/four sailors. While resisting the kidnap attempt, the pirates had shot two Indian sailors,” Kuttipravan said.
According to him, the ship was sailing at a speed of four knots powered by one propulsion and the ship dropped anchor just two kilometres away from Gabon’s Owendo anchorage.
The ship is owned by Prince Marine Transport Service Pvt Ltd, Mumbai and the sailors were provided by Proactive Ship Management.
The ship sailing from Cameroon to the UAE has been facing technical problems enroute. Both its propulsion systems had stopped several times.
The vessel was diverted to Owendo for repairs as it was the nearest port.
On Sunday, six pirates attacked the ship and kidnapped Pankaj Kumar and shot two sailors.
“The marine and local police in Gabon are questioning three persons who had boarded the ship two days before the attack. We hope to know some information about the attackers and the missing crew today (Wednesday),” Captain Sunil Kumar, Security Officer of Proactive Ship Management, told IANS on Wednesday.
“One garbage cleaner and two technicians had boarded the ship as per the information conveyed to us by our agent there,” he had said.
Officials of Prince Marine Transport and Proactive Ship Management were not available for an update when contacted by Mumbaipress.
Crime
Another Class 12 student found dead in Delhi; suicide suspected

Just days after a Class 12 student died after allegedly immolating herself in East Delhi, another student died by suspected suicide at her residence in Delhi’s Bharat Nagar area, police said on Tuesday.
The body of the Class 12 student was found at her home with a scarf tied around her neck, under the Bharat Nagar police station area. According to the investigators, a preliminary probe suggests it is a case of suicide.
The Bharat Nagar police have taken custody of the body and initiated an investigation into the matter.
Police said that some chat messages have surfaced during the initial probe, indicating that the girl had been under distress.
However, the case is being investigated from all possible angles.
The incident comes days after a Class 12 student died after allegedly pouring an inflammable substance on herself and setting herself on fire at Sarvodaya Bal/Balika Vidyalaya in East Delhi’s Krishna Nagar area.
The recovery of the student’s charred body at Sarvodaya Bal/Balika Vidyalaya triggered panic among teachers and students on the school premises, prompting the authorities to initiate an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.
Officials said certain suspicious items were reportedly found in the student’s school bag. However, the nature of these items had not been officially confirmed at the time of filing the report.
According to officials, a Police Control Room (PCR) call reporting a fire incident was received from the school located in the Krishna Nagar area of Delhi’s Shahdara district.
“Upon receipt of the information, police staff from PS Krishna Nagar promptly reached the spot, where an approximately 18-year-old female student of Class 12th was found in a burnt condition behind the school guard room,” officials said.
They further stated that some materials were recovered during the initial proceedings at the scene and from the deceased student’s school bag. These items are being examined as part of the investigation.
The police said a Crime Team of the Delhi Police was called to the school to inspect the scene, examine the circumstances and collect relevant evidence that could help establish the sequence of events leading to the incident.
“The circumstances leading to the incident are being examined, and further enquiry is in progress,” the police said.
Crime
Mumbai Police invokes MCOCA against all accused in Tiger Shroff firing case

The Mumbai Police on Tuesday invoked stringent sections of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against all the accused arrested in connection with the firing incident involving Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff.
An official statement said that provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999 have been invoked in DCB CID CR No. 143/26, registered on 19/10/26 u/Ss 109(1), 3(5) of BNS r/w sections 3, 25 of Arms Act; with permission of the competent authority under Section 23(1)(a) of the said Act dated 27/10/26.
Accordingly, Sections 3(1)(ii), 3(2) and 3(4) of MCOCA have been added to the case against all accused.
A case against the accused was registered by the Mumbai Police on October 19 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act.
Subsequently, the approval to invoke the MCOCA was granted on October 27. Police said that the investigation in the case has been expedited considering the organised crime background linked to it.
Further investigation into the case is currently underway.
Earlier, the Mumbai Crime Branch established the alleged motive behind the firing incident involving Tiger Shroff, stating that the attack was carried out with the objectives of extorting money, establishing the gang’s dominance and creating fear among the public.
According to the Crime Branch’s investigation, the accused allegedly involved in the firing incident have links to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The police have alleged that the gang targeted Tiger Shroff as part of an attempt to strengthen its influence, intimidate people and secure financial gains through extortion.
The Mumbai Crime Branch has stated that the accused were allegedly operating as active members of an organised crime syndicate.
Investigators believe that the attack was not an isolated act but part of a planned criminal conspiracy intended to achieve financial benefits, assert the gang’s dominance and spread terror within society.
The accused carried out the attack using illegal and lethal weapons as part of a pre-planned conspiracy targeting the star.
The investigation has also revealed that the alleged conspiracy was coordinated through an inter-state network involving several locations, including Delhi and Mumbai.
Crime
Maha Cyber arrests one in 4.97 lakh online share market investment fraud case

One person has been arrested by Maharashtra Cyber in connection with a Rs 4.97 lakh online share market investment fraud case, officials said on Tuesday.
The complaint was filed by 42-year-old Kalyan, who was allegedly induced to invest money through an online trading application after being approached through a social media advertisement and a WhatsApp group operating under the name “Breakthrough Communication”, according to the officials.
As per the complaint, the fraud took place between August 25 and September 23, when Kalyan came across a social media advertisement referring to Susquehanna International Group and subsequently joined a WhatsApp group.
“A person using the name ‘Shikha Sharma’ allegedly contacted the complainant, provided investment-related guidance, and encouraged him to invest in the share market through a trading application. Believing the representations to be genuine, the complainant transferred a total amount of 4.97 lakh into eight different bank accounts,” officials said.
After suspecting financial fraud, Kalyan reported the matter through the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 on September 27.
Subsequently, an FIR was registered at the Nodal Cyber Police Station, Maharashtra Cyber, under Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), read with Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
Officials said that following this, Maharashtra Cyber initiated an investigation to trace the financial transactions and identify the persons involved in facilitating the fraud.
“During the investigation, the police examined the banking trail and the movement of the defrauded funds across multiple accounts. The investigation revealed that the money had moved through various bank accounts,” they added.
According to officials, further inquiry indicated that the funds received in an account belonging to Nikhil Kamble were allegedly withdrawn in cash and handed over to the arrested accused, Mohammed Ali Kapadia, through an intermediary arrangement.
Mohammed Ali Kapadia (23) appeared before the investigating officer on October 26. During questioning, his alleged role in receiving and disposing of cash linked to the fraudulent transactions came under investigation. He was subsequently arrested in connection with the case, officials said.
They added that the investigation further indicates that the accused may have acted in coordination with other persons to facilitate the withdrawal of money generated through cyber fraud.
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