Crime
Sasikala’s nephew quizzed in Kodanad heist and murder case
In a major development in the Kodanad murder and heist case of April 2017, V.K. Sasikala’s nephew and Managing Director of Jaya news channel Vivek Jayaraman has been quizzed by the Nilgiris police, sources said on Thursday.
The DMK government had reopened the case.
He was questioned on Wednesday by a special police team from 1.40 p.m. till 5 p.m. in presence of his advocate.
This is the first time, a person close to Sasikala’s family is being questioned in the case. Highly placed sources in Nilgiris police told IANS that Vivek Jayaraman was questioned after the manager of Kodanad estate Natarajan during his questioning had said that Vivek was looking after the affairs of the estate since the incident of heist and murder.
Kodanad estate, a 900-acre property in the Nilgiris district, belonged to late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and her aide V.K. Sasikala. This was the summer home of the former Chief Minister.
On April 23, 2017, after the passing away of Jayalalithaa and Sasikala behind the bars at Bengaluru in a disproportionate asset case, robbers barged into the estate bungalow and murdered a security guard Om Bahadhur and grievously injured another, Krishna Thapa.
The prosecution case was that a group of people led by the former driver of Jayalalithaa, C . Kanagaraj, along with 11 other men, entered the bungalow on April 23, 2017 at 10.30 pm and attacked the security guards in which Krishna Thapa was injured and Om Bahadhur killed.
It was alleged that Kanagaraj had told another gang member K.V. Sayan from Kerala that Rs 200 crore was stashed in the estate bungalow but the gang could get only 10 expensive watches and a crystal rhino that was worth Rs 42,000.
Five days after the heist, Kanagaraj who hails from former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s village, died in an accident. The same day, a lorry rammed into the car in which K.V. Sayan and his family were travelling at Palakkad in Kerala killing his wife and daughter while Sayan escaped with minor injuries.
The Computer operator of the estate, Dhinesh Kumar was found hanging at his residence on July 3, 2017 months after the heist and murder at the Kodanad bungalow.
After the DMK government assumed office, the case was reopened and 81 people were quizzed and three accused, Deepu, Santhosh Swami and M.S. Satheeshan had filed a petition before the Madras High Court to question Sasikala in the case.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, had during the run-up to the 2021 Assembly elections publicly stated that the Kodanad estate case would be reopened and the real perpetrators of the crime booked.
The AIADMK had after the case being reopened retorted that the DMK government was trying to settle scores with the party using the Kodanad estate case and was trying to frame former Chief Minister, Edappadi K Palaniswami in the case.
Crime
Rave party serving liquor in dry-state Gujarat raided; 15 detained

Ahmedabad, Oct 25: Police raided a rave party in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, leading to the detention of 15 people who were consuming alcohol in the dry state.
The Bopal Police acted after receiving a tip-off about the party at Zephyr Farmhouse near Shilaj, where both liquor and drugs were reportedly being used.
Upon reaching the venue, police found 15 individuals, including 13 foreign nationals from Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya, and other African countries, alongside two Indians, intoxicated.
Investigations revealed that the organisers had printed special passes for the party, advertising “unlimited alcohol”, showing the scale and planning behind the event.
All 15 attendees have been detained, a case has been registered, and further inquiries are underway to identify the main organisers, the farmhouse owner, and the source of the liquor in a state where alcohol is banned.
Gujarat has maintained a strict prohibition on alcohol since 1960 under the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949, which bans the sale, consumption, and manufacture of liquor across the state.
The law applies to all forms of alcoholic beverages, including Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), country-made liquor, and spirits. Exceptions exist only for medicinal, industrial, and export purposes, subject to government permission. Violations of the Act carry severe penalties, including imprisonment, fines, and seizure of property involved in the illegal trade.
Despite Gujarat’s strict prohibition laws, the illegal liquor trade remains a significant issue.
In 2024, authorities seized approximately 82 lakh bottles of liquor valued at Rs 144 crore across the state. Ahmedabad alone accounted for over 4.38 lakh bottles, with 2,139 cases involving IMFL and 7,796 cases related to country-made liquor. Notably, the State Monitoring Cell (SMC) registered 455 cases, confiscating liquor worth Rs 22.5 crore and total items valued at nearly Rs 52 crore.
In a significant operation, the SMC seized over 8,500 bottles of foreign-made liquor worth Rs 1.19 crore in Chotila taluka, Surendranagar.
Additionally, in a mid-sea raid off Una, Rajkot, authorities intercepted a boat carrying liquor worth Rs 25 lakh.
These seizures reflect ongoing efforts to combat the illegal liquor trade, which often involves smuggling from neighbouring states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Crime
Police arrest accused Prashant Bankar in Maharashtra doctor’s suicide case

New Delhi, Oct 25: Police in Maharashtra’s Satara district arrested one accused on Saturday in connection with the death of a female doctor who allegedly committed suicide after being repeatedly raped by a police officer and being pressurised by an MP to falsify medical reports of accused in cases.
According to officials, the arrested person has been identified as Prashant Bankar, the son of the doctor’s landlord whose name was mentioned in her four-page suicide note.
The deceased doctor, a native of Beed district, was posted as a medical officer at a government hospital in Phaltan, Satara. On Thursday night, she was found hanging in a hotel room under mysterious circumstances. Shockingly, she had written a suicide note on her palm, naming Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane and Prashant Bankar, accusing the police officer of rape and Prashant of mental harassment.
After Prashant’s arrest, police said he will be produced before the court and his custody will be sought for further investigation. Meanwhile, Sub-Inspector Badane has been suspended, and a detailed enquiry is underway. Both accused have been booked at the Phaltan Police Station. Satara SP Tushar Doshi confirmed that the rape allegations and Prashant’s role are being thoroughly investigated.
The female doctor who allegedly committed suicide left behind a detailed four-page suicide note apart from the inked note on the palm of her hand, stating that a police officer raped her four times and exerted pressure on her to issue fake fitness certificates for accused persons in police cases. It has now emerged in her note that she was allegedly under pressure not only from police officials but also from a Member of Parliament (MP) and his personal assistants.
The woman doctor, who worked as a medical officer at the Phaltan sub-district hospital, wrote on her palm that she had been raped four times by Sub-Inspector Gopal Badane and subjected to mental and physical abuse for over five months.
Originally from Beed district, the doctor had been working at the hospital for 23 months.
Gopal Badane is a police officer, while Prashant Bankar is the son of the landlord in the house where the doctor lived.
She had complained 21 times to various authorities, but no action was taken against her tormentors.
Recounting a particular instance in her note, the doctor said she had refused to issue a certificate and two personal assistants of an MP had come to the hospital and made her speak to him over the phone. She stated in her note that during that conversation, the MP had threatened her indirectly.
Her cousin also made similar allegations about the doctor being made to falsify medical certificates.
Crime
Satara Doctor Suicide: Resident Doctors Hold ‘Black Ribbon’ Protest At Mumbai’s KEM Hospital, Say ‘May Close Routine OPDs If…’

Mumbai, October 25: The resident doctors at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital on October 25 are holding black ribbon protest over the allege rape and suicide of a 28-year-old woman doctor in Maharashtra’s Satara district. The doctor, hailing from Beed district and posted at a government hospital, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan of Satara district on Thursday night
In the suicide note written on the victims’ palm, she had alleged that sub-inspector Gopal Badane raped her on multiple occasions, while Prashant Bankar, a software engineer, mentally harassed her.
Calling the incident a heinous act, a resident doctor told media that currently any kind of OPD or emergency services have not been stopped, but if our demands are not met, then we may escalate our protest. “The accused have fled; they should be arrested as soon as possible. We are holding a black ribbon protest here to protest against it,” Dr Sameer said.
Resident doctors under the banner of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), staged protests at KEM Hospital.
A first-year resident Dr. Samya said that although the POSH Act was implemented in 2013, its enforcement remains weak, and the lack of proper implementation has led to the current situation. Adding further, she told the agency, “We want action to be taken in this matter as quickly as possible so that justice is delivered quickly… Currently, we are protesting to spread awareness; all our OPD and emergency services are working. However, if our demands are not met, then we will escalate our protest”
Another resident doctor holding the black ribbon protest said, “We have made some demands in response to the incident, and we hope they will be met as soon as possible.”
More than 8,000 resident doctors across the state participated in the protest, demanding justice and a thorough investigation into the case by either the CID or a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The police have detained Prashant Bankar, one of the two men the doctor had named in the suicide note written on her palm. According to the police, sub-inspector Badane was suspended from service after his name came up during the probe.
In her letter, she wrote that Badne and other police officials had repeatedly pressured her to issue fake fitness certificates for accused persons in criminal cases, many of whom were never medically examined.
Not just this, in one particularly disturbing instance, she said that two personal assistants of a Member of Parliament barged into her hospital, forced her to speak to the MP over the phone, and was also threatened when she refused to comply.
“They used to make me sign certificates without seeing the accused. When I refused, they threatened my job and safety,” the letter alleged.
The doctor, who was nearing the end of her mandatory rural bond service and planned to pursue post-graduation, had also complained to senior police officials, including the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of Police. However, her family claimed that no action was taken despite multiple complaints.
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