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US cops used newborn’s stored DNA to nab father in a 1996 crime

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In a worrisome trend, a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender (OPD) has claimed that the police used blood samples from new-born babies to fund DNA samples and probe crimes committed more than 25 years ago.

The OPD officials learned that the State Police has successfully subpoenaed a newborn blood sample who is now approximately nine years old.

“The reason the State Police subpoenaed the sample was so that it could perform a DNA analysis on the sample and tie the child’s father, who became OPD’s client, to a crime that was committed in 1996,” the lawsuit read.

By serving a subpoena upon the Newborn Screening Laboratory, the State Police allegedly sidestepped its constitutional obligation to develop probable cause and obtain a warrant “so that it could obtain a buccal swab from OPD’s client to perform an analysis of his DNA”.

The suspect then became a client of the OPD, which alerted the office to the techniques used to identify the man.

Every baby born in New Jersey is required by law to be tested for 60 disorders within 48 hours of birth.

Through a simple needle prick to the heel, hospitals, medical facilities, and health care providers collect blood from newborns.

Those blood spot samples are later tested by the Newborn Screening Laboratory, which operated by defendants New Jersey Department of Health, Public Health and Environmental Laboratories.

“These blood spot samples are taken without informed consent by the newborn’s parents or guardians, and, upon information and belief, the samples are stored by Defendants for more than 20 years,” the lawsuit alleged.

In early 2022, OPD learned that at least one law enforcement agency has obtained newborn blood spot samples from the Newborn Screening Laboratory to perform a DNA analysis on the sample as part of a criminal investigation.

The State Police had re-opened an investigation into a “cold case” of sexual assault that had occurred in 1996 and had genetically narrowed the suspects to one of three brothers and their male offspring.

“Because there was not probable cause to obtain search warrants for buccal swabs from those suspects, the State Police instead served a subpoena upon the Newborn Screening Laboratory in or about August 2021 to obtain residual dried blood spot samples that had been collected from a male newborn in or about June 2012,” read the lawsuit.

To ascertain which family member was the suspect, the State Police sought the blood spot sample that was taken from an approximately nine-year-old child when he was a newborn to compare it to the DNA it had collected at the crime scene in 1996.

The lawsuit, filed jointly by the OPD and the non-profit organisation New Jersey Monitor, now seeks to force the state of New Jersey to disclose information on the full extent of the practice.

Maharashtra

Sakri Holi riots: Dhule sessions court acquits ten Muslims including two women in the case, Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra takes legal action against Arshad Madani

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Dhule Sessions Court Additional Sessions Judge Jayshree R. Platte acquitted ten accused, including two women, in the Holi riot case that took place at a place called Sakri near Dhule recently due to the complainant and other government witnesses’ deviation from their previous statements. The court acquitted accused Sumiya Zakir Sheikh, Shabana Farooq Sheikh, Meraj Ibrahim Syed, Nasir Sapro Sheikh, Irfan Sapro Sheikh, Mohiuddin Sheikh, Nisar Naseeb Khan Pathan, Samad Saleem Sheikh, Zakir Sapro Sheikh and Saleem Sheikh of serious charges like attempt to murder. The case of the accused was pursued by the Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra (Arshad Madani) Legal Aid Committee on the request of Jamiat Ulema Dhule. Advocate Ashfaq Sheikh appeared in defense of the accused while Advocate NB Kalal followed the prosecution. On March 18, 2022, communal riots broke out in Sakri on the occasion of Holi, after which the police took unilateral action and registered a case against ten Muslims, including two women, under sections 147, 148, 307, 353, 332, 336, 337, 295 of the Indian Penal Code. The police applied Section 4/25 of the Arms Act on the accused and accused them of assault with weapons. Initially, the case was heard in the Sakri Magistrate Court and then the case was transferred to the Dhule Sessions Court because the police had also applied serious sections like 307/ along with the Arms Act on the accused. During the final hearing, Advocate Ashfaq Sheikh told the court that during the trial, the complainant and his wife did not support the police and deviated from their previous statements. Therefore, the accused should be acquitted from the case.

Additional Sessions Judge Jayshree R. Plate of the Dhule Sessions Court said in his decision that the accused cannot be punished on the basis of deviation from the statements of important witnesses and mere suspicion, therefore all the accused are acquitted from the case. On the instructions of President Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra Maulana Haleemullah Qasmi, Mushtaq Sufi (General Secretary, Dhule District) and his colleagues prosecuted the case.

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Maharashtra

Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh faces threat, complaint filed in Crime Branch after Lawrence Bishnoi’s threat

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Mumbai: Bhojpuri actor Pawan Singh has been threatened by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang not to join Bigg Boss and not to work with Salman Khan, after which Pawan Singh has filed a complaint with the Anti-Money Laundering Squad of the Mumbai Crime Branch here. The police have also started an investigation into Pawan Singh’s case. The Bhojpuri actor received a phone call in which he was threatened with bad consequences including not joining Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss and not working with him. At the same time, the addressee has said that he belongs to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The police have started an investigation in this matter and it is being found out who is the threatening caller and whether he really belongs to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang or is he trying to scare the film industry in the name of Lawrence Bishnoi. Earlier, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang also threatened actor Kapil Sharma not to do a film with Salman Khan and not to invite him to host their program, after which the Mumbai police have arrested Kapil Sharma. Security had also been increased. Now again, Lawrence Bishnoi gang has threatened the Bhojpuri actor with dire consequences. Despite the threat, the Bhojpuri actor has decided to participate in Bigg Boss with Salman Khan, after which his security has been increased. The Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating the matter to see if Lawrence Bishnoi himself gave this threat or not. Efforts have also been made to trace the threat along with its recording.

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Mumbai Press Exclusive News

On the 33rd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, Mumbai’s streets reverberated with chants of “Allahu Akbar.”Peaceful protests and prayers for recovery were offered, with police on alert.

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On the 33rd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition in Mumbai, mosques, streets, and intersections in the city and suburbs echoed with the call to prayer of Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, when the miscreants had demolished the Babri Masjid at 3:45 pm. Muslims believe that the Babri Masjid is a mosque from the throne to the floor and will remain a mosque until the Day of Judgment. Therefore, Muslims observed a black day of protest on December 6. Prayers were also offered for the recovery of the Babri Masjid on this occasion. Raza Academy had announced to observe a black day on the martyrdom of the Babri Masjid and to give collective azans in mosques. On this occasion, Raza Academy organized azan at the intersections of Muslim-majority areas, especially Minaret Masjid and other mosques. On this occasion, the police had made strict security arrangements. Muslim organizations also observed a black day by giving azan and protesting on the martyrdom of the Babri Masjid. Muslims also remembered the grief of the martyrdom of the Babri Masjid by posting statuses related to the Babri Masjid on social media and every Muslim looked sad.

33rd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition; Azans were given in the city on the appeal of Raza Academy. On the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, Raza Academy gave azan in different areas of the city at 3:45 pm. The aim of this initiative is to keep the memory of this historical event fresh and pay tribute to the martyrs of Babri Masjid. Raza Academy gave azan in particular at Khatri Masjid, Bunyan Road, Minare Masjid, Muhammad Ali Road Corner, Bhandi Bazaar, Neer Mandvi Post Office. On this occasion, scholars prayed for the recovery of Babri Masjid and made it clear that Babri Masjid was taken by fraud. Babri Masjid will remain a mosque until the Day of Judgment. The miscreants have tarnished the constitution of the country by demolishing this mosque, which will always remain a fresh wound like injustice. Raza Academy head Saeed Noori said that Black Day is observed on the martyrdom of Babri Masjid. On this day, Raza Academy organizes Azan and peaceful protests are held against this injustice. He said that miscreants targeted the mosque and martyred it while it was protected, but even today its perpetrators are free. The Supreme Court has also accepted that Babri Masjid was not built by demolishing a temple, while miscreants have put a stigma of oppression and injustice on the chest of the country. Every year on the anniversary of Babri Masjid, Raza Academy refreshes its memory by giving Azan. There is a sorrow that will always remain. Mumbai Police had made strict security arrangements on the anniversary of Babri Masjid and an alert was issued in the city.

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