1. Fodder Scam: Fate of Lalu, Mishra to Be Decided Today
The fate of former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Jagannath Mishra and 20 others will be decided on Saturday, 23 December, by a special CBI court here in the fodder scam case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of more than Rs 89 lakh from Deoghar Treasury between 1991 and 1994.
Lalu, accompanied by younger son Tejaswi Yadav, arrived here to present himself before the special CBI Judge Shiv Pal Singh.
Besides the two ex-chief ministers, former MP RK Rana, three former IAS officers – Phoolchand Singh, Beck Julius and Mahesh Prasad – are also among the 22 accused in the fodder case.
The other accused in the case include former Bihar minister Vidya Sagar Nishad, and former Public Accounts Committee chairmen Jagdish Sharma and Dhruv Bhagat.
(Source: PTI)
2. 15 Members of Burglars Gang Arrested in Vizag
The Vizag police on Friday, 22 December, nabbed a 15-member gang of burglars, including three women, and recovered 1.66 kg gold and 6 kg silver jewellery from them. With these arrests, police claimed to have solved over 51 cases of burglary or theft – 48 cases registered in the city limits and three in East Godavari district.
The leader of the gang was identified as Chukka Sreenu (43). Sreenu, a resident of Malkapuram area in Vizag city, was involved in over 160 cases, police said.
He was released from prison in 2012 but resumed his criminal activities, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crimes) Shemushi Bajpayee.
Other accused were identified as K Vasu (26), R Nagaraju (40), L Rajasekhar (46); D Suresh (37), M Sudheer Kumar (21); KLV Prasad (24), K Padma (45), K Appalaraju (53); M Lakshmi (40), M Narayanamma (41), D Govind (24); M Santosh Kumar (28), D Venkat (26) and D Siva Kumar (35) – all residents of Vizag city.
The gang targeted locked houses and broke in at night, the DCP said.
(Source: PTI)
3. Wanted Extortionist Arrested in Delhi
A 27-year-old suspected extortionist and robber, carrying a reward of Rs 50,000, was arrested in Delhi. The accused, Hussain Khan, was wanted by the police in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Odisha for his alleged involvement in more than 15 cases of dacoity, robbery, extortion.
Criminal gangs from Mewat and its adjoining areas sneak into Delhi at odd hours to commit crimes, said PS Kushwah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell).
Khan's gang comprises more than 10 members. His gang used to post messages on websites related to sale and purchase of vehicles, he said. They would lure their targets to remote areas and promised to give them vehicles at low prices.
After that, they used to take those persons to mountain areas of Kaman and adjoining areas and keep them as hostage, and demand money for their release from their family members, said the officer.
Khan had been declared a proclaimed offender by a city court and was carrying a reward of Rs 50,000.
(Source: PTI)
4. Four Arrested for Robbery in J&K
The police has arrested four persons for their alleged involvement in two cases of armed robbery, and seized looted property from them in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.
Acting on a complaint filed by two persons – both residents of Singhpora in Baramulla – the police team arrested the four persons identified as Nissar Ahmad Rather alias Chilaikalan, Mohammad Dilawar Dar, Basharat Ahmad Sheikh, and Adil Hussain Khan.
According to the complaint, four armed masked men barged into the houses of two people on the intervening night of 10 and 11 December and allegedly held the family members at ransom.
The complaint further reads that the dacoits tied the members of the family with rope and also allegedly attempted to molest one woman in one of the houses. The dacoits looted jewellery and mobile phones from both the houses.
On the instance of the accused persons, all the looted property, estimated to be worth Rs 11 lakh, has been seized from different places. The weapons used in committing the offences have also been seized.
(Source: PTI)
5. Ryan Murder Accused Should Be Given a Chance at Reformation: NGO
A child rights NGO said that juveniles in conflict with the law should be given a chance at reformation, days after a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) ordered that a 16-year-old student accused of murdering of a junior in a Gurugram school would be tried as an adult.
"We keep on lowering the age and denying juveniles a chance at reformation by trying them as adults. It's not wise to keep on blaming juveniles for crime. It is time to invest in making our juvenile justice system work strongly," NGO Save the Children said in a statement.
It is unfortunate that India is witnessing cases of criminalisation of children, it said.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 lowers the age of juveniles from 18 years to 16 years for heinous crimes such as rape, murder and dacoity-cum- murder, which warrant at least seven years of imprisonment.
(Source: PTI)
6. HC Stays Rs 50 Lakh Fine on Kolkata Company in Coal Scam Case
The Delhi High Court on Friday, 22 December, stayed a trial court order imposing a fine of Rs 50 lakh on a Kolkata-based iron and steel company in connection with a coal scam case. Justice Anu Malhotra put on the hold till 22 January, the next date of hearing, the special CBI court's order to deposit the fine.
The high court's interim order came on the appeal of the company, Vini Iron and Steel Udyog Ltd's (VISUL), which has sought waiver of the costs. The High Court also sought response of the CBI on the company's plea seeking setting aside of the trial court's 16 December order convicting it in the coal scam case.
The company, in its plea, has said that the special court had wrongly found them guilty of the alleged scam.
(Source: PTI)
7. Telangana Man Gets Life Term for Wife's Murder
The Karimnagar Sessions Court sentenced a man to rigorous imprisonment for life for his wife's murder. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 16,000 on Pachikatla Srinivas Goud (38), the accused.
According to the prosecution, on 28 July 2013, Goud, a resident of Akunoor under Saidapur police station limits, killed his wife Padma (32) by setting her on fire following a petty altercation.
Judge P Venkata Lalitha Siva Jyothi convicted Goud after hearing arguments from both sides. Goud was shifted to the Central Prison at Warangal, said police.
(Source: PTI)
8. Class 10 Student Shot by Class 11 Boy
A class 10 girl, who was allegedly shot at in the head by his friend following a heated argument, has succumbed to her injuries.
The girl, who studied at a school in Delhi, was shot at in the head by the boy, a Class 11 student, following a heated argument, the police said. The girl, who was in a coma, died last night, the SSP said.
The boy has been sent to police custody and his father has been detained by the Indirapuram police, Singh said. An FIR for attempt to murder under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code has been converted into the section of murder (302), he said.
A case under the Arms Act has also been registered against the boy's father, the SSP said. The incident took place on Tuesday, 19 December, near Vartalok Society in Vasundhara when the duo were returning home on a Scooty from a coaching centre, the police said.
The boy also shot himself with a licensed pistol of his father, they said.
"Being a minor, the boy will be sent to jail or the Bal Sudhar Grah. It depends on the discretion of court and the subject to confirmation of his age as per documents,” the SSP added.
(Source: PTI)
9. Delhi Woman Raped by Man on Pretext of Job
A man allegedly raped a 19-year-old woman on the pretext of getting her a job, in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area.
The accused, who worked at a local dental clinic, called her to his workplace on Wednesday, 20 December, and allegedly raped her, they said.
She later informed her family members who approached the police, the police said, adding that the accused has been arrested.
(Source: PTI)
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