HC awards life term for two in acid attack case

March 20, 2012

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Bangalore, March 20: In a major relief to an acid attack victim, the High Court on Monday sentenced two persons convicted of the offence to life imprisonment along with imposing a fine of Rs 10,000 each.

The verdict, which came after a span of 10 years, can be seen as justice delivered to Sudesh, a resident of KGF, who was blinded in the acid attack.

The Division Bench comprising Justice K Bhaktavatsala and Justice H S Kempanna, which set aside a trial court order, has not only sentenced the accused Amanullah and Moinuddin to life imprisonment, but has also directed them to pay a sum of Rs one lakh each to the victim.

Sudesh, a diploma student in KGF, was in love with Naheeda, his neighbour.

Although Sudesh’s parents had consented for the marriage as Naheeda’s parents objected to it.

However, Sudesh and Naheeda continued the affair. Being aware of it, Moinuddin, the girl’s brother, threatened Sudesh with dire consequences.

When the couple did not heed his threat, Moinuddin and his friend Amanullah hatched a plan. On May 1, 2002, the two threw nitric acid on Sudesh at a library.

The acid blinded Sudesh in both the eyes. He also suffered severe burns on the face, neck and chest.

On July 3, 2006, the trial court acquitted Moinuddin and Amanullah citing lack of evidence. The court acquitted the accused on the grounds that victim Sudesh, the prime witness in the case, could not reveal the identity of the accused during the medical examination.

When the State appealed before the High Court, Additional State Public Prosecutor (ASPP) N S Sampangiramaiah submitted that the trial court had erred in not considering the evidence. The ASPP highlighted a Supreme Court order which laid down that the victim need not mention the name of the accused in the FIR or even testify before the doctor.

The Division Bench upheld the contention of the State, setting aside the trial court order and observed that the duty of the doctor was not to record any statement but to treat the patients. The Bench said that the victim, being in a state of unbearable pain at the time of the incident, could not possibly be in a position to identify the accused or reveal details and motive of the accused.


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Agencies
May 28,2020

Mumbai, May 28: Twenty four doctors and three others staying in a south Mumbai hotel were rescued after a major fire broke out in the five-storey building, officials said on Thursday.

The BMC has arranged temporary accommodation for emergency and essential service staffers, including doctors and nurses, in various hotels and lodges in the city due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This hotel is one such facility.

The fire broke out at Hotel Fortune near Metro Cinema late Wednesday night and was brought under control after nearly three hours early Thursday, fire brigade officials said.

“The fire spread from the first to the third floor of the hotel, a fire brigade official told PTI. It was a level-2 fire and eight fire engines were rushed to the spot, he added.

The fire was confined to the electric wiring and cables in the electrical duct, false ceiling in the lobby and the common passages on the first, second and third floors of the hotel, he said.

The 24 rescued were resident doctors at a local hospital who were provided temporary accommodation in the hotel, while the three others were guests of the hotel, he said.

The fire broke out at 11 am and wasbrought under control at 1.40 am, the official said. Cooling operation is underway at the hotel, he added.

Five doctors were rescued using fire brigade ladders and breathing apparatus sets, the official said.

The cause of the blaze is not yet known, the fire brigade official said.

On April 21, a major fire broke out in a lodging room of Hotel Ripon near Mumbai Central, which was being used as a quarantine facility by the civic body.

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Agencies
May 6,2020

A man posed as Superintendent of Police (SP), called up a subordinate police official and asked him to get his mobile phone repaired or face the consequences. But, his bluff was later called and the man landed in lockup.

Azamgarh SP Triveni Singh said the 23-year-old youth, Shubham Upadhyay, is the son of a farmer. He was preparing for competitive exams when his phone developed a snag on Saturday. He tried to reach out to local mechanics, but they were unavailable to fix it due to the lockdown.

Upadhyay used a free caller identification app to call up the in-charge of the Kotwali police station, K. K. Gupta, and threatened to shunt him out, if he failed to swiftly get the work done. Gupta grew suspicious and eventually caught the youth.

n his statement to the police, Shubham Upadhyay said, "On Sunday noon, I tried to breach the district borders to reach Lucknow to repair my phone, but since there was heavy police presence and barricading, I returned home. Later, I installed a free caller identification app in my handset and mentioned the name as SP Azamgarh and even uploaded a photo of the cop to appear genuine."

He first called SHO, Kotwali to get the phone repaired and was told the handset would be picked up from the SP office in an hour. Then, he called a businessman to bring his SUV and hand over his mobile to the SHO.

But when Upadhyay called the police again to suggest a separate meeting point, he raised suspicion. When the SHO tried to confirm the venue, Upadhyay got hesitant and said he would send a peon.

"I suddenly realised something was fishy and rang up the public relation officer of SP Azamgarh, who denied any such order from the SP. When the caller's number was scanned, it displayed the name of SP Azamgarh," said SHO Gupta.

A trap was laid and when the SHO reached the venue, he found one Praveen Shukla sitting in the vehicle. Police got the address of the accused from Shukla and reached Upadhyay's home in Bilariya locality and arrested him.

Upadhyay has been booked under IT Act and for threatening a public servant.

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News Network
March 18,2020

Jaipur, Mar 18: Initially buried as per Islamic traditions, an unidentified man's body was exhumed and later cremated after he was found to be a Hindu in Rajasthan's Tonk district, police said.

The family members identified the body of Mahaveer Sahu on Tuesday, a day after the burial, as they stumbled upon photos of the deceased that had circulated on social media.

The man was brought to a government hospital by locals in an unconscious state on March 12 and he died on March 13, according to Purani Tonk police station SHO Shivlal.

The man was said to be a liquor addict and was found unconscious on the road, he added.

The body was kept at the mortuary for three days awaiting identification. Despite efforts to trace the next of kin, the identity could not be ascertained and members of Hindu and Muslim communities were brought in to take a decision, Shivlal said.

The community leaders presumed that he was a Muslim after examining the body and the burial took place as per Islamic funeral traditions on Monday, he added.

Meanwhile, Sahu's family members saw the photo of his body that had circulated on a WhatsAapp group and identified him later that day. They rushed to the hospital and then to the police station in the night where they were informed that the body had been buried.

“The body was exhumed with permission from the sub-divisional magistrate on Tuesday and handed over to the family members after proper identification. Members of the Muslim community led by an Imam were also present and gave in writing that they have no objection,” Shivlal said.

The body was later cremated by his family members.

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