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RG Kar rape-murder case: Court to pronounce verdict tomorrow

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Kolkata, Jan 17: The crucial verdict on the rape and murder of a woman doctor of state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata will be delivered at a special court in the city on Saturday.

Civic volunteer Sanjay Roy is the “sole prime accused” in the rape and murder crime.

Any observations of the judge of the special court, besides pronouncing the conviction of Roy, will throw any light on the aspect of much-talked-about aspect of tampering and altering the evidence during the initial phase of investigation carried by Kolkata Police before the case was handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the Calcutta High Court.

The CBI during the entire phase of the investigation filed just one charge sheet in the case where it identified Roy as the “sole prime accused” in the rape and murder crime.

Roy was initially arrested by the Kolkata Police just a day after the body of the victim doctor was recovered from a seminar hall of R.G. Kar premises in the morning of August 2024.

Although the CBI arrested the former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal on charges of tampering and altering the evidence, both were granted “default bail” later by the same special court since the CBI failed to file supplementary charge sheet against them within 90 days from the date of their arrest.

The process of framing charges against Roy at the special court was completed on November 4, 2024, and, henceforth, the trial process started on November 11.

The entire trial process was conducted in camera and within the closed courtroom. During the trial process, the statements of a total of 50 witnesses were recorded, which included the parents of the victim, investigating officials of both CBI and Kolkata Police, forensic experts and some doctors and colleagues of the victim at R.G. Kar.

In the initial days after the recovery of the body and during the investigation by CBI, first, the entire West Bengal and subsequently the entire country witnessed a unity of the representatives from the medical fraternity, civil society and common people in hitting the streets demanding justice for the victim referred by protesters as ‘Abhaya (the fearless). Gradually, protests were reported from other parts of the globe by the associations of Non-Resident Indians settled there.

The theory and suspicions of tampering with the evidence gained grounds on midnight of August 14 last year, when a group of anti-socials vandalized the emergency department of R.G. Kar, at a time when lakhs of people assembled on the streets in different pockets of the state at midnight protesting and demanding justice for Abhaya. The event of vandalism diverted the entire media attention from the spontaneous protests.

Crime

Blaze kills woman in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala; 10-day infant among 6 injured

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Mumbai, April 26: A woman was killed and six people, including a 10-day-old infant, were injured in a fire in an high-rise building in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala in Andheri (West), early on Saturday, said the Mumbai Fire Brigade.

Abhina Kartik Sanjanvalia, 34, died on the way to Cooper Hospital. Her family member Kartik Sanjanvalia, 40, is undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation, said an official.

Five fire tenders fought the blaze, which started at around 2.40 am in Broke Land Building near Ashok Academy Lane, and restricted it to room number 104 on the first floor before extinguishing it at 5.30 a.m, said an official.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade suspect that the fire in the eight floor building was sparked by an electric short circuit. However, the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed.

The blaze burnt down furniture, mattresses, clothes, split and window air-conditioners and electrical installations in the flat on the first floor, said an official.

The other injured residents taken to Kokilaben Hospital were identified as 10-day-old baby boy Pradumna Gupta, Rihan, 3, Daya Gupta, 21, Aparna Gupta, 41 and Polam Gupta, 40.

The incident revived painful memories of another fire incident in a 15-storey building in Lokhandwala last October which claimed the lives of three people, including a visually impaired citizen.

Soon after the fire in Riya Palace building, a 37-year-old building at Cross Road Number 4 of Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri, there were demands for opening a fire station on a plot allotted for the purpose in the area three decades ago.

The October 2024 blaze that broke out on the 10th floor of the building started around 8 am and was doused around 9 p.m. The victims were identified as Kanta Soni, 74, Chandraprakash Soni, 74, and Pelubeta, 42.

In another fire incident on Saturday in Maharashtra, a plywood godown was gutted in Thane district. The fire started around 3.30 a.m, in a three-storey building in Rahnal village in Bhiwandi and four fire tenders continued to battle the flames for hours.

A firefighter of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) got a fracture in his leg during the operation to douse the blaze.

An official said due to a huge pile of plywood the blaze had posed a challenge to fire-fighters.

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Crime

Tahawwur Rana denies role in Mumbai terror attack during interrogation (Ld)

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Mumbai, April 26: Tahawwur Rana, the Pakistani-Canadian national accused of involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, has denied any role in the conspiracy during his interrogation by the Mumbai Crime Branch.

According to senior officials, Rana, who is currently in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Delhi, was questioned for over eight hours by a team of Mumbai Police officers.

During the interrogation, Rana distanced himself from the attacks that claimed over 166 lives and injured hundreds on November 26, 2008.

Rana reportedly told investigators that he had “no connection whatsoever” with the planning or execution of the attack.

He also claimed that his childhood friend and co-accused, David Coleman Headley, was solely responsible for the reconnaissance and planning aspects.

Headley, who turned approver in the case, had earlier admitted to conducting recce missions across India, including in Mumbai, on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

During questioning, Rana said that apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he had also travelled to Kerala.

When asked about the purpose of his visit to Kerala, he claimed he had gone there to meet a known acquaintance and had provided the individual’s name and address to the agency.

Following this, sources said a team from the Mumbai Crime Branch may soon travel to Kerala to verify his claims and question the said person.

Officials revealed that Rana was largely uncooperative during the interrogation and frequently gave evasive answers.

He also cited memory lapses, stating that he was unable to recall specific details related to the attack that occurred over 17 years ago.

The interrogation is part of an ongoing probe by the NIA into the extensive three-year groundwork carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) prior to the Mumbai terror attacks.

Rana is also being questioned about his alleged links to several individuals whose names surfaced in intercepted communications, including Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed, Sajid Majid, Ilyas Kashmiri, and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — all of whom are believed to have played crucial roles in the 26/11 conspiracy.

Rana, a former officer of the Pakistan Army’s Medical Corps, was extradited to India from the United States recently to face justice in the Mumbai attack case.

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Crime

‘Rise against your govt, army for encouraging terrorism,’ Sunni cleric’s appeal to Pakistanis

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Lucknow, April 24: In a strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, senior Sunni cleric and Imam of Aishbagh Eidgah, Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali, on Thursday called on the people of Pakistan to rise against their government and military for facilitating acts of terror on Indian soil.

The remarks come after 26 people, most of them tourists, were gunned down in a brutal targeted terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam on Tuesday.

The Resistance Front, a Pakistan-based terror outfit and offshoot of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba, is suspected to be behind the massacre.

Speaking to Media, Firangi Mahali said, “The people of Pakistan should understand that no one will support such activities. They should raise their voices against their own government and army, which are encouraging these acts of terrorism.”

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a series of stringent measures in response to the attack.

These include the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, closure of the Attari-Wagah border, cancellation of the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) for Pakistani nationals, expulsion of Pakistan’s military attaches from New Delhi and a reduction in diplomatic staff at both High Commissions.

Calling these actions “necessary and timely,” Firangi Mahali stated, “The horrific incident of terrorism in Pahalgam has been condemned in the harshest terms. This tragic event has shaken the entire country. The steps taken by the Government of India — whether on the water agreement, diplomatic expulsions, or visa cancellations — are absolutely appropriate.”

Appealing for national unity, he urged political parties to come together on a single platform in support of the government’s decisions.

“This is not the time for political division. All parties must stand united so that a positive image of national solidarity is conveyed internationally,” he said.

The cleric also warned against communalising the tragedy. “My appeal to fellow Indians is not to view this terror incident through a religious lens. No religion condones violence or terrorism,” he said.

“Some of the posts circulating on social media are sending out a very negative message. In this hour of crisis, every Indian — regardless of religion or political affiliation — must stand together,” he added.

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