Sanjay Dutt's lawyer loses son, wife and mother in Mumbai house collapse

June 12, 2013

Mumbai, Jun 12: Faraaz Merchant, the 12-year-old son of noted criminal lawyer Rizwan Merchant, made several calls to his father's cellphone while still buried under the rubble of the six-storey Altaf Manzil building in Mahim that collapsed Monday evening.

The two, however, could not speak to each other. Soon after midnight, Faraaz stopped responding to calls, a family member told The Indian Express. At around 11 am Tuesday, his mangled body was recovered.

"My son was so cold. I held him in my arms, he stayed immobile," said Merchant, 54, known for having defended actor Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Merchant's wife Asifa and mother Tahera were among the nine others who died.

Two caged parrots which the family kept as pets were removed safely.

While a part of Altaf Manzil, the Merchant family's home for over three decades, was reduced to rubble, another part stood intact. Marble flooring, white paint and a dining space were visible from outside.

Barring Merchant, the rest of the family had just returned from a trip to Turkey on Monday morning. Merchant, his eldest son Faiz, also a lawyer, and daughter Fiza, were in his office in South Mumbai, when he received a call, a little after 8:30 pm, from neighbours informing him about the collapse.

"Merchant rushed home, and remained at the spot, hoping for a miracle. The family lived on the first floor, where the impact was the worst," said Farhana Shah, an associate lawyer.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Kochi, Jun 27: The Kerala government on Friday submitted an application in a local court requesting to stop the prosecution of ivory possession case against Malayalam film actor Mohanlal.

In the application for withdrawal of prosecution, the government has requested the court to stop the prosecution "immediately for the interest of justice".

''The legality of the possession of two elephant tusks by Mohanlal was accepted by the competent authority under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 by issuing him a certificate of ownership. The possession and custody of the elephant tusks thus become legal after the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW) issued him the certificate," the state government said.

"Further conduct of the criminal trial may go against the good faith amongst the parties as far as the certificate of ownership issued to Mohanlal is concerned. One cannot go back from that ownership certificate and it was stopped from contradicting, deny or declare to be false the previous statement made by the actor in the court," it added.

"The government should not be allowed to revert from its promises in order to keep the faith of the people and in the interest of good governance," the government further said.

The case was registered by the forest department in 2012. The state government submitted the application in Kuruppampady Judicial Magistrate Court, which will hear the matter on July 24.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Nalgonda,  Jul 5: Bollywood filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has been booked in connection with his upcoming film 'Murder' which is based on Pranay Kumar's murder in Nalgonda district.

Ram Gopal Varma was booked following Nalgonda court's directive on a petition filed by father of a man who was killed in an alleged honour killing incident in Miryalaguda in 2018.

"We have booked filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma following a court order for his upcoming movie 'Murder', which is based on sensational caste-based Pranay Kumar's murder that occurred in Miryalguda, Nalgonda District in September 2018, " Police said.

On June 21, the filmmaker has released the poster of 'Murder', based on a true story.
Police said, "Pranay's father Balaswamy has filed a petition in Nalgonda Court stating that the film will affect the on-going trial of Pranay's murder case and the film should be stalled."

"We've registered a case under relevant section of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act and taken up investigation."

"The court has ordered Nalgonda police to register a case against the film director Ram Gopal Varma and the producer," added the police.

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News Network
January 2,2020

Jan 2: A young filmmaker was allegedly assaulted by an acquaintance during an argument over CAA-NRC in neighbouring Salt Lake City, police said on Wednesday.

The police have arrested the accused following a complaint by the filmmaker.

According to a senior police officer, the argument over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) began following a social media post by the filmmaker.

The accused allegedly went to the house of the filmmaker on Monday night and picked up an argument, which led to a scuffle.

"During the scuffle, the accused attacked the filmmaker with a knife," the senior police officer said, adding that the accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

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