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Pune Drug Case: Smuggler Lalit Patil To Remain In Police Custody Till October 27, Orders Mumbai Court

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Mumbai: The Andheri court has extended the police custody of drug manufacturer and trafficker Lalit Patil and three other accused until October 27. The Sakinaka police arrested them for allegedly operating a Mephedrone (MD) manufacturing unit in Nashik. Patil was arrested in Bangalore on October 17 and subsequently presented in the Andheri court a day later.

On Sunday morning, the police took Patil to a drug unit in his hometown of Shindewadi in Nashik to gather information. High levels of secrecy were maintained for the visit; even the local Nashik police were unaware.

Patil, a known figure in the trade of narcotics, hails from Nashik and allegedly used proceeds from sales to purchase gold and multiple properties. The police are gathering information on his assets and also want to unravel the extent of his operation and key players. Patil’s accomplices Sachin Wagh, Shivaji Shinde and Rohit Choudhary will also be questioned extensively.

Police To Probe In Hawala Angle

Wagh is said to have admitted to destroying a huge cache of drugs as per Patil’s instructions. The police want to ascertain if there is a hawala racket involved. They also intend to confront Patil with his brother Bhushan, who allegedly paid the rent for the Nashik unit to its owner using Gpay.

Meanwhile, Pune MLA Ravindra Dhangekar has alleged that there may be plans to kill Patil in an encounter. At a media interaction, Dhangekar claimed there is a delay in probe as cops and politicians are involved. He urged that the case be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department for an impartial inquiry. “Surprisingly, the Dean of Sassoon General Hospital has neither been named as an accused nor arrested,” he said.

Crime

Bengal Governor hints at taking up RG Kar case with Amit Shah

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Kolkata, Jan 31: West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose might take up the complaints of the parents of the victim in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case regarding the entire line of investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with the office of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

A statement issued from the office of the Governor on Friday hinted at this.

The statement comes a day after the victim’s parents, on Thursday evening, went to Raj Bhavan in Kolkata and had a long meeting with the Governor.

“The parents expressed their plight and requested justice. They requested the Hon’ble Governor to present their petition to the Hon’ble President and Hon’ble Union Home Minister, to whom they have already submitted their petition. The Hon’ble Governor assured to take necessary action,” read the statement issued from the Governor’s office in the morning.

As per the statement, the Governor also assured the victim’s parents that they were not alone in this grief and that justice in the matter would be done.

The indication from the office of the Governor comes just a day after the state president of BJP in West Bengal and the Union Minister of State Sukanta Majumdar, on Thursday, gave a somewhat similar assurance on the matter.

Majumdar, on Thursday afternoon, went to the residence of the victim’s parents and had a long meeting with them.

During the meeting, the victim’s parents claimed to have explained to Majumdar why they were unhappy with the entire investigation by the CBI. They also explained why they are against the death penalty for the sole convict in the case, Sanjay Roy.

The victim’s parents reportedly highlighted the observations made by a special court in Kolkata on the lapses in investigation by the central agency.

Confirming this, Majumdar told media persons that the victim’s parents had pointed out certain observations by the special court.

Majumdar also said the victim’s parents had complaints against one particular investigating officer.

“They have updated me on the matter and I assured them of communicating their grievances to the appropriate authorities,” Majumdar said.

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Crime

RG Kar financial case: Calcutta HC nixes Sandip Ghosh’s plea for more time before framing of charges

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Kolkata, Jan 31: The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected the plea of the former principal of R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, seeking additional time before the process of framing of charges against him starts in connection with the financial irregularities in the institute.

On January 28, Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to complete the process of charge-framing in the case by February 6 following which the trial could start.

However, on Friday, Ghosh’s counsel filed a petition at the same single-judge bench seeking additional time before the beginning of the trial process.

However, Justice Ghosh rejected the petition and observed that there had been a systematic delay in the beginning of the trial process in the matter.

Justice Ghosh also observed that despite CBI filing a chargesheet in November last year, there had been a delay in the beginning of the trial process.

Initially, the process of framing a charge against Ghosh could not be started because of the non-availability of a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the state government, which is mandatory for charge-framing and the beginning of the trial process against any state government employee.

However, on January 28, the CBI counsel informed Justice Ghosh’s bench that finally they secured the NOC from the state government, which cleared the decks for completing the process of charge framing and the beginning of the trial process.

Thereafter, Justice Ghosh directed CBI to complete the process of charge framing by February 6.

Besides CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also conducting a parallel probe in the case of financial irregularities at R. G. Kar.

While CBI started its investigation following an order by the Calcutta High Court, ED made a suo motu entry to investigate the money laundering angle after filing an enforcement case information report (ECIR).

Altogether five persons, including Ghosh, his assistant-cum- bodyguard Afsar Alir, private contractors Biplab Sinha and Suman Hazra and a junior doctor Ashish Pandey, have been named by CBI in its chargesheet. All of them are in judicial custody now.

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Crime

Mumbai: Crime Branch To Probe Financial Dealings Of DK Rao In Hotel Extortion Case

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch is set to investigate the financial transactions of D.K. Rao, a close aide of gangster Chhota Rajan, for allegedly accepting money from other accused in exchange for mediating in a hotel extortion case.

Additionally, WhatsApp voice notes found on the mobile phone of arrested accused Abubakar Siddiqui are being examined, and forensic analysis of voice samples from D.K. Rao and other accused will be conducted. Senior officials have confirmed the development.

The Crime Branch had arrested D.K. Rao (53), Abubakar Abdullah Siddiqui (37), Imran Kaleem Shaikh (31), Riyaz Kaleem Shaikh (40), Asif Sattan Khan alias Saif Darbar (36), Javed Jalaluddin Khan (35), and Hanif Ismail Naik alias Annu Bhai (53) on January 23 for allegedly demanding ₹2.5 crore extortion from a 74-year-old hotelier.

A case has been registered against them under Various sections of BNS, D.K. Rao, a known enforcer for Chhota Rajan, has a criminal record with 42 serious cases including extortion, murder, kidnapping, and robbery.

Investigators suspect that D.K. Rao was financially compensated by the accused for facilitating the extortion attempt. To verify this, the Crime Branch will scrutinize his financial transactions.

Moreover, WhatsApp voice notes recovered from Abubakar Siddiqui’s mobile suggest discussions between the accused regarding the takeover of the hotel. To establish evidence, the voice samples of D.K. Rao and other accused will be collected and matched with the voice recordings found in the case.

The entire conspiracy was orchestrated to illegally seize the hotel of the senior businessman. D.K. Rao allegedly issued death threats to the complainant and demanded ₹2.5 crore in extortion. The Crime Branch is conducting further investigations to gather more evidence in the case. All accused again remanded Police custody till February 1.

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