Adnan murder: Four acquitted in case linked to Orkut

January 30, 2012

Adnan30Jan

Mumbai, January 30: A Mumbai court has today acquitted four men accused of kidnapping and murdering Mumbai teenager Adnan Patrawala in 2007, who they had allegedly met via social networking site Orkut.


The verdict is being read by the city as a moment of shame for the Mumbai Police, whose lethargic inquiry has belied what experts say was an open-and-shut case.

The court said there was not enough evidence to prove that the arrested men are guilty. A fifth - who is a minor and is being tried separately - is also likely to be declared innocent.

At a press conference today, Adnan's father, Aslam, steered clear of criticizing the police, saying only that he would appeal to a higher court.

"We are satisfied with what the police have done. I don't know what went wrong," he said.

At the court, another father expressed his thanks. "I am relieved that my son is innocent. The way he was trapped anything could have happened to him,'' said Arun Bhatt, whose young son, Ayush, had been in jail for the murder since 2007.

16-year-old Adnan's murder on an August night in 2007 made headlines for many reasons. His alleged killers were young and included two teens. They had befriended the rich Andheri businessman's son on Orkut, hugely popular among teens at the time for social networking. After they kidnapped him, reports on a television channel allegedly triggered panic. And they decided to strangle him.

The court said that forensic and circumstantial evidence was crudely handled by the police so that instead of complimenting each other, the different pieces of information rattled around in a largely incongruous narrative against the accused.

On the evening of August 18, 2007, Adnan took his father's Skoda to meet with his friends at a gaming parlour at a mall in North West Mumbai. The group of five people he was meeting with used to interact with him regularly on Orkut. They had zeroed in on him after scanning the site for other potential victims. According to the police, the men wanted quick money. Some had debts they needed to settle. They drew up a list of people they could kidnap for ransom. Adnan appeared trusting and came from a wealthy family.

The alleged killers, according to the police, offered Adnan a spiked drink and suggested they go for a drive. The next morning, Adnan's father received a call asking for a two-crore ransom. Meanwhile, news of the kidnapping had broken on TV. So Adnan's abductors strangled him, dumped his body in some bushes on Palm Beach Road in Navi Mumbai, and took local trains home.

The only eyewitness produced by the police was the last person to see Adnan live. He said Adnan's dead body was discovered on August 19. Police records list the next day. Cellphone records for some of those accused of the murder did not include the crucial details of three different calls made to Adnan's father for ransom. The court today also said it was hard to believe the eyewitness' claim that the murder ws planned to the last detail in a busy mall.


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Agencies
February 11,2020

Mumbai, Feb 11: A 65-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband over debt and illness in suburban Powai here, police said on Tuesday.

The incident came to light when Sheela Ajit Lad was found dead by her neighbours at Sukh Shanti Co-operative Society at around 9.30 pm on Monday, an official said.

The victim was allegedly killed by her husband Ajit Lad, who hit her on the head with a heavy object, slit her wrists and strangled her to death, he said.

The accused absconded at around 7.30 pm, leaving a note at the crime scene, saying he was going to commit suicide and had killed his wife because he was heavily in debt and she was suffering from an ailment, the official said.

The childless couple lived alone in the apartment, he added.

"On the basis of the note, we have registered a case of murder against Ajit Lad and have launched a manhunt for him. We have not traced him or found his body as he had mentioned suicide in the note," deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Zone X Ankit Goyal said.

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News Network
May 9,2020

Shillong, May 9: The poisonous mushrooms that killed six people at a remote village in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district have been identified as Amanita phalloides, commonly known as the 'Death Cap', a senior official said on Saturday.

Six people, including a 14-year-old girl, of Lamin village along the India-Bangladesh border in Amlarem civil sub-division died after consuming wild mushrooms they collected from a nearby forest late last month.

The wild mushroom has been identified as Amanita phalloides and is hepatotoxic as it directly affects the liver, state Director of Health Services (MI) Dr Aman War told PTI.

He said it has been established after an investigation that the cause of the deaths was the poisonous mushrooms.

At least 18 persons from three families were taken ill after consuming the mushrooms.

The symptoms after consuming the poisonous fungus include vomiting, headache and unconsciousness, the senior doctor said.

Most of those taken ill, including a pregnant woman, have already recovered and gone home. Therefore, people can survive as it depends on the amount of poison that you have consumed. Only one person was unaffected, maybe he did not consume much, he said.

Three people are still undergoing treatment and are recovering. Two of them are at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) and one in Woodland Hospital, Dr War said.

He said the health department can only appeal to the people, especially those in the rural areas, to refrain from eating wild mushrooms, while the horticulture department should take measures to create awareness.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Bhubaneswar, Jul 5: Odisha Police have arrested five persons including groom for gross negligence and violation of COVID-19 guidelines during his marriage procession in Berhampur.

"A case has been registered for violation of COVID-19 guidelines for organising a marriage procession with more than 50 guests in the premises of a hotel. They disregarded the compulsory use of mask and flouted social distancing norms," DIG Central Zone Satyabrata Bhoi said.

The incident happened on July 2.
"The case has been registered at Gopalpur PS under section 188/269/270 IPC, R/W Sec- 3 Epidemic Disease Act, and 34 IPC. Two vehicles used in the procession have also been seized. the arrested persons will be produced in the court," he added.

The District Collector has sealed the hotel for violating the COVID-19 norms.

Following the incident, the Chief Minister's office tweeted: "Odisha is in a crucial phase in the fight against COVID-19, hence, it is very essential that we all obey guidelines and regulations issued by State Government to contain the spread of COVID-19. Violation of the same would lead to strong action." 

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