Defence ministry official, wife found dead at home

March 31, 2012

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New Delhi, March 31: A deputy director in the defence ministry and his wife, a classical dancer, were found dead in mysterious circumstances at their home in Hudco Place, south Delhi, on Friday afternoon.

The body of Kumar Yashkar, 42, who had studied at the London School of Economics, was found charred near the kitchen while his wife, Archana Sharma, 34, had been strangled with a chunni in the bedroom of the flat. The deaths came to light around 1.45pm. Archana was a Bharatnatyam dancer who regularly performed on stage.

Cops said the house was found locked from inside and did not appear ransacked or looted. They hinted that the deaths could be the result of an altercation between the couple. But family sources said the two were extremely attached to each other and there had to be a "very strong provocation" leading to violence between them.

Blood, soot at murder site

Hours after a defence ministry official and his wife were found dead in their Hudco Place home, police are still scrambling for clues.

The body of Kumar Yashkar was found charred near the kitchen while his wife, Archana Sharma had been strangled with a chunni in the bedroom of the flat. Police said there were some signs of a scuffle and found injury marks on Archana's head. There were blood-spots near the kitchen and soot marks in the flat. A family member said Kumar's job at the Director General of Medical Services in Sena Bhawan, was of a sensitive nature and he never discussed work at home. According to the couple's relatives, none of them had ever seen the couple quarrelling.

Police officially declined to commit on the possible cause of the deaths for now. "We would only be able to ascertain further details after the autopsy and medical reports are released. The bodies have been preserved at AIIMS for postmortem which will be conducted on Saturday," said a senior police officer.

"When we reached the house, the front door was locked from inside so we used the side door of the balcony to enter. We have recorded the statements of family members and are exploring various possibilities. A case of murder against unknown persons has been registered," said P S Kushwaha, additional DCP (south).

According to police, the incident came to light when a refrigerator mechanic came to the couple's flat but no one answered the door. "The mechanic came to our flat enquiring about the couple. We rang the bell and even made calls to them which went unanswered," said a neighbour.

More neighbours gathered and tried to find out whether anyone was inside the flat. "When we called on their cellphone we could hear the ring from inside the house. We realized that something was wrong as there was a burning smell coming from near the exhaust fan and windows were spotted with soot," said Yashkar's next door neighbour.

The fire department received a call 1.35pm and two fire tenders were sent to the spot. In the next few minutes, police were informed as well. "We pulled the door from outside and the latch came off after a few minutes. We could spot one of the bodies from there," said a police officer.

A team of forensic and fingerprint experts were called in to collect evidence. Cops were still investigating till late Friday evening and were not able to confirm the cause behind the tragic incident.


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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
March 7,2020

Palghar, Mar 7: Police have arrested a man for allegedly cheating several shopkeepers in Maharashtra's Thane, Pune and Nashik by making phone calls in a woman's voice, police said on Friday.

The accused, Shashikant Ambekar (42), a resident of Palghar, was arrested in the last week of February, they said.

"He used to note down the phone numbers mentioned on different shops and call the owners in a woman's voice to order some things from them. He would tell them that he had a Rs 2000 currency note and needed change," an official said.

"He would ask the shopkeepers to send smaller denomination notes for exchange. He would wait at the entrance of buildings and when the delivery man arrived, he used to tell that he was there on behalf of the ''caller woman''.

"He would then take the currency notes from the delivery man saying he would get the Rs 2,000 note from the woman. However, he would disappear from the scene," the official said.

Police have seized Rs 1,85,000 from the accused and found that so far he has committed 22 similar crimes in different parts of the state.

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Agencies
January 21,2020

Tengnoupal, Jan 21: A woman IPS officer has alleged that a rifleman of Assam Rifles physically assaulted and molested her at a check post near Moreh town in Manipur's Tengnoupal district, police said on Tuesday.

Based on a written complaint of the IPS officer, an FIR has been registered against rifleman P K Pandey and a summon has been issued to him to appear before the concerned police station, the police said.

Manipur DGP L M Khaute told reporters on Monday, "We have made contacts with the Assam Rifles authorities. A complaint has been lodged by the officer." In her complaint, the IPS officer said that on reaching Khudengtabi check post on Sunday afternoon one of her escorts, who was not in uniform, told the frisking party of Assam Rifles to register their entry.

Despite showing their identity cards, the rifleman allegedly detained them, she said.

"We offered to search ourselves and the vehicle, but he was not interested", she said.

The rifleman began hitting the official vehicle and "misbehaved, humiliated, harassed and assaulted me and my escort personnel," she alleged.

The IPS officer also alleged that the rifleman molested her and when her escorts tried to intervene, he thrashed them.

She further accused the rifleman of making "sexually coloured" remarks against her, using abusive language and even tried to snatch her phone when she tried to call her senior officers.

The issue was brought under control after the matter was reported to the Brigadier of 26th Assam Rifles and the Major of the D-company of 12th AR, police said.

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