Siblings, couple killed in Mangalore-Mumbai bus crash

Bengaluru, Jun 22: The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of Bengaluru Police has obtained the custody of an associate of gangster Ravi Pujari and is questioning him about his role in several cases against the gangster, the police said on Monday.

According to the police, Khan is convicted in the case related to the murder of a builder named Subba Rao in the year 2017. The accused has been identified as Yousuf Bacha Khan.

"Continuing the investigation of Ravi Poojary, CCB had obtained custody of Yousuf Bacha Khan, who is associate of Pujari. Khan was convicted in the Subba Rao murder case. He is being questioned about his role in other cases," Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Patil said.

The CCB had recently filed two charge sheets against gangster Ravi Pujari in Shabnam developers double murder case and an extortion case.

Pujari, who was wanted in several cases including ones related to heinous crimes like murder and extortion, was extradited to Bengaluru earlier this year from Senegal.

The gangster, who parted ways with underworld don Chhota Rajan, had jumped bail after he was arrested in Senegal in 2019 and had escaped to South Africa, where he was involved in drug trafficking and extortion.

According to sources in the Indian intelligence, Ravi Pujari was hiding under the false identity of Anthony Fernandes, a Burkina Faso passport holder, in a remote village in South Africa.

Bengaluru, Feb 14: A 31 -year-old Bhojpuri dancer and another girl were rescued from human traffickers after the former alerted city police on landing at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Tuesday. They were to be received by a woman named Preethi at the airport.

The dancer had been told she was supposed to perform a few stage shows in the city, which has a significant Bhojpuri-speaking population. But when she realised she is likely to be pushed into flesh trade, she raised an alarm.

The woman, Radha (name changed), is a mother of four children and the lone breadwinner of the family. A few months ago, Radha came in contact with a woman named Soniya in New Delhi during a dance performance. Last month, Soniya got in touch with Radha and offered to pay Rs 40,000 per month if she performed in Bengaluru.

Radha agreed and was sent to Bengaluru from Chandigarh along with the other girl. During the journey, she learnt she was supposed to do more than just perform on stage. A shocked Radha informed the Central Industrial Security Force personnel manning KIA that she feared being pushed into prostitution. KIA police were informed and the women were rescued. Preethi was arrested.

Bidar, Jan 31: In a disturbing development, the police have arrested two women – a schoolteacher and mother of two students – in connection with staging a play against the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens at a prestigious school in Karnataka’s Bidar.

The arrested have been identified as Farida Begum, headmistress of Shaheen Urdu Medium Primary School, and Navida, the mother of a student who played a role in the play.

The development comes days after police filed a sedition case against the management of Shaheen School following a complaint lodged by the ABVP claiming that play contained objectionable dialogues against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The drama was performed during an annual function of the school on January 21.

Bidar SP Sreedhara T confirmed the arrest of Farida Begum and Navida, and said the accused were remanded to judicial custody on Thursday.

Sreedhara said that based on the complaint by one Neelesh Rakshal, the police filed an FIR under sedition charges, initially against the headmistress and management of the school on Saturday. He said that the police have questioned about 50 people, including the members of the management committee of Shaheen Urdu Medium Primary School, staff of the school, audience, parents and students. Based on the statements and evidence, the headmistress and the parent have been arrested.

The SP said that as per the statements and evidence collected, they came to know that the headmistress played a major role in organising the controversial play. The students practised the drama for a week and the headmistress knew about its script containing controversial dialogues against the Prime Minister and senior BJP leaders.

Considering this, she has been booked for creating communal disharmony and abetting sections. The SP said that when a dialogue of slapping the Prime Minister was said on the stage, Navida gave her chappals to the child, to be used while saying the dialogue. She has been arrested for abetting.

Expressing shock over sedition case and arrests, Dr Abdul Qadeer, the chairman of Shaheen Group of Institutions, said that the school management would fight out legally.

About Shaheen Group

Founded by Dr Abdul Qadeer, Shaheen Group has spread its wings through nine states of India and runs 43 institutions and related units. It has also been running a unique course for Huffaz named as ‘Hifz Ul Quran Plus’ in which Huffaz are prepared to appear and excel in competitive exams (NEET-JEE(IIT)).

According to Dr Qadeer, Shaheen’s mission is to engage, educate and empower wards, equipping them with strengths to enter the world of opportunities through free education across various domains in state- owned academic centers of excellence.

The group also runs coaching centers for medical and engineering entrance examinations. So far 1,200 students from the Shaheen Group of institutions got seats in government medical colleges, he said.

‘Hifz Ul Quran Plus’ course was for huffaz between 12 and 17 years. A four-year integrated course is conducted for Huffaz-E-Karam for getting students modern education. By pursuing this course and by appearing in competitive exams (NEET-IIT JEE), Huffaz will be able to get admission into MBBS, BE, & MBA, he said.