Indian IT manager in US convicted of sexually assaulting sleeping woman on flight

Agencies
August 18, 2018

Washington, Aug 18: A 35-year-old Indian IT manager has been convicted of sexually assaulting a sleeping woman aboard a Detroit-bound flight in the US, media reports said on Friday. Prabhu Ramamoorthy, who worked for an IT company for over two years, will be sentenced on December 12 by US District Judge Terrence Berg, The Detroit News reported.

Ramamoorthy faces up to life in prison. If released, he will be deported to India.

The verdict came seven months after he assaulted the 22-year-old woman during a Spirit Airlines flight from Las Vegas while his wife sat in the next seat, the report said.

A federal jury in Michigan's largest city Detroit convicted Ramamoorthy, who lived in Rochester Hills city, of sexually assaulting the woman.

Following a five-day trial, the jury deliberated for less than four hours before convicting Ramamoorthy, it said. "We will not tolerate the behaviour of anyone who takes advantage of victims who are in a vulnerable position, and we are glad the jury agreed," US Attorney Matthew Schneider said in a statement. "We appreciate the victim in this case for her courage to speak out," Schneider said.

The woman said she was sitting in a window seat next to Ramamoorthy, whose wife was in the aisle seat. The victim said that she fell asleep and woke up to discover a hand in her pants and noticed that her pants were unbuttoned and her shirt untied. When she woke up, the man stopped, and the woman alerted a flight attendant, the report said.

Ramamoorthy initially told investigators that he was in a deep sleep and did not do anything, it said.

Later, he told an FBI agent he "might have" undone the woman's bra and cupped her breast, according to court records, the report added.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Bengaluru, May 21:Tragedy struck an elderly migrant worker who was looking forward to joining his family as he died on reaching a nearby railway station to board a Shramik Special train to his home state Madhya Pradesh, police said on Thursday.

The 69-year old man, who worked in a coffee estate in Chikkamagaluru, collapsed and died soon after getting down from a state-run KSRTC bus that brought him and others to the Chikkabanavara Railway station on Wednesday.

According to police, fellow labourers said he had been ailing for quite some time.

The cause of his death would be known only after a post-mortem, police added.

Karnataka government has been sending back thousands of migrant workers stranded in the state due to the COVID-19 lockdown by arranging the special trains.

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News Network
May 1,2020

Lucknow, May 1: Six members of a family were allegedly hacked to death by another family member over a property dispute in Gudauli village in the Banthra area on the outskirts of the city on Thursday, police said.

The accused, Ajay Singh (26), went to the local police station after committing the crime and surrendered, they added.

Singh allegedly had a heated argument with the family members over a property and attacked them with a sharp-edged weapon, the police said.

The accused allegedly killed his mother, father, elder brother, his wife and two children -- a son and a daughter -- they added.

The victims were identified as Amar (60), Ramsakhi (55), Arun (40), Ramdulari (35), Saurabh (7) and Sarika (2).

When asked, Commissioner of Police Sujeet Pandey said six members of a family were killed and the accused surrendered before the police.

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Agencies
January 6,2020

New Delhi, Jan 6: A blind student who is pursuing research in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was also attacked by the mob that perpetrated violence in the University yesterday.

"I thought that the mob which came yesterday would disperse after raising a few slogans but they indulged in violence. They were targeting ABVP students. They beat me with sticks and rods. When I went to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, I came to know that there are many other injured students there," Surya Prakash, the blind student pursuing research in the University told ANI.

"I talked to my family members. They are really worried about the situation here. I qualified in the National Eligibility Test (NET) last year but I want to study and hence I am continuing research in JNU. How can we do anything in this atmosphere of fear? I am receiving calls from anonymous numbers threatening me not to come in front of the media. They are saying that as I am blind, I would become the face of this case," he added.

Another PhD student, Santosh Bhagat recounted his experience.

"In the evening at around 7 pm, many masked men entered the hostel. They had rods and sticks in their hands. We tried to go out but the attackers had entered the premises by then. I locked my room from inside but the attackers broke the door and entered my room and attacked me. They pushed me from the first floor and I fell down and sustained an injury. Later, I took shelter at one of the Professor's flat. Later, I was taken to the AIIMS Trauma Cantre," Bhagat said.

On Sunday evening, more than 30 students of the university, including JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh, were injured and were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre after a masked mob entered the JNU and attacked them and professors with sticks and rods.

The JNU administration and political leaders, cutting across political lines, condemned the attack on students and urged the police to take action against the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, the situation remained tense but peaceful outside JNU on Monday morning as the university guards maintained a strict vigil at the gate, checking I-cards of all those entering the university.

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