Thieves wearing Santa Claus mask target 14 shops, banks in Gurgaon, decamp with cash

Agencies
January 5, 2019

Gurgaon, Jan 5: Thieves in the millennium city of Gurgaon are employing novel tactics to carry out their business: exploiting the cover of dense fog and wearing Santa Claus mask to avoid being recognised, even through CCTV footage.

On Friday morning, a group of 10 thieves targeted 14 commercial establishments in the Khandasa road area and escaped with cash and valuables worth lakhs of rupees, a police officer said.

They struck 10 shops in a commercial complex at Khandsa road, just 500 metres away from ACP Shivaji Nagar office, and four shops and two banks at old jail complex, not more than 300 metres way from police commissioner office, the police officer said.

They tried to drill a hole in the wall of the UCO Bank and the IndusInd Bank branches there but failed to execute their plans after the residents of adjoining houses woke up due to the noise of the machine.

"We believe that it would be a handy work of probably two gangs which utilised the low visibility to commit crime at two different places," the officer said.

The shop owners got to know about the incident on Friday morning when they came to open shops.

They were shocked to find that locks of their shutters were broken.

"We have lost valuables worth at least Rs 50 lakh. The thieves are more thoughtful in their approach in committing crimes compared to crime prevention efforts of the Gurgaon police. Lack of police patrolling in the area is also a reason for these incidents," alleged Sanjeev Kumar, a shop owner at Khandsa road.

Mohan Lal, the manager of UCO bank at old Jail Complex, said that bike lifting is a common thing in the area but a theft bid in banks is a serious issue.

"Learning lesson from this incident, we will deploy additional private security guards in the night and urge local police to increase patrolling in the area," Lal said.

ACP of city police station Rajiv Kumar said, "We have registered an FIR against two unknown thieves who are caught in one of the CCTV cameras in Khandsa road market. However, their faces are not visible as they were wearing the mask of Santa Claus."

During the investigation, it came to light that thieves used gas-cutter, iron rod to cut shutters and drill machines to make holes in the wall.

The police have not much evidence apart from CCTV footage at one place.

As per the CCTV footage, the two thieves visible in the recording, arrive around 3.30 AM and stayed at least 45 minutes to cut the shutters of shops. They stole cash, laptops, mobile phones, fire fighting equipment and other valuables from different shops in these two places, police said.

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Agencies
January 16,2020

Cuttack, Jan 16: At least 15 passengers were injured as five coaches of the Mumbai-Bhubaneswar Lokmanya Tilak Express derailed and three more were displaced after colliding with a goods train amid heavy fog near Cuttack in Odisha on Thursday, railway officials said.

Railway officials had earlier said that 25 passengers were injured in the incident but later officers who reached the site reported that four passengers were found to have suffered major injuries and 11 had received minor injuries.

Passengers with major injuries have been sent to Cuttack Medical College. All passengers are stated to be out of danger.

Officials said the accident happened when the passenger train hit the guard van of a good train around 7 am between Salagaon and Nergundi stations.

The officials said there was heavy fog at the site but it was not clear what led to the accident. The speedometer of both the trains have been seized for inquiry, East Coast Railway Spokesperson J P Mishra said.

Buses have been arranged for all remaining passengers to move towards their destination.

Cuttack is around 10-12 km away and Bhubaneswar(Terminating station) is 35 km.

The accident disrupted train services in the area.

Five trains have been affected due to the accident where restoration work in underway. These include the Bhubaneswar-Mumbai LTT SF Express, the Puri-Rourkela Express, Dhanbad-Bhubaneshwar Rajyarani Express which have all been diverted via Naraj.

"East Coast Railway acknowledges with deep gratitude help of nearby locals and villagers who have displayed great humanitarian values and come to the rescue of injured passengers," Mishra said.

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News Network
July 17,2020

Patna, Jul 17: A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a security guard at the Covid-19 quarantine center of the Patna Medical College Hospital where she was admitted after being rescued from a railway station, police said on Thursday.

The accused, Mahesh (40), was arrested on Wednesday night after being booked under the POCSO Act and other relevant IPC sections by the Pir Bahore police station, according to Arti Jaiswal, the in-charge of the women's police station here.

“The accused is being sent to jail while the victim will be undergoing medical tests on Thursday, as is the norm for all sexual assault survivors," Jaiswal said.

The girl had run away from her home in Nalanda district more than a week ago and reached Barh railway station on the outskirts of Patna to catch a train for Kolkata where her father is a daily wage-earner, police said.

She was spotted by Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel who informed the child helpline. The child helpline personnel, taking note of the girl’s tender age and her disturbed frame of mind, convinced her not to undertake the journey and brought her to the hospital’s quarantine ward for COVID-19 suspects as a precautionary measure, they said.

On the night of July 8, a few hours after the girl's arrival at the hospital, she was caught hold of by the accused inside the bathroom and allegedly raped. The accused also threatened her with dire consequences if she spilt the beans and, as per the FIR, kept harassing her sexually.

She finally decided to speak up when another girl, carrying a mobile phone, was similarly brought to the hospital by child helpline a couple of days ago. Using the fellow inmate’s phone, she narrated her ordeal to the helpline personnel who informed the police.

“Her Covid-19 test report is negative. After her examination, for the sexual assault, by a six-member medical board is over, she will be sent to a shelter home by the child helpline," Jaiswal said.

Meanwhile, state women’s commission chairperson Dilmani Mishra strongly reacted to the incident and said, “We are waiting for the medical reports of the girl. We will ensure that justice is done in the matter.”

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News Network
June 17,2020

Moradabad, Jun 17: Two children died after they accidentally got locked inside a car while playing in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad, the police said.

Four children, aged between 4 and 7 years, locked themselves inside the car while playing and were found unconscious soon after, the police added.

"All four children were found unconscious in a car and they were taken to the hospital. Two of them died and the other two are undergoing treatment at the hospital," said Amit Kumar Anand, superintendent of police (city) Moradabad.

The children were related to each other, the police said.

The man who owns the car said the children had locked themselves inside. "When we reached, the children were in an unconscious state. Two of the four children died. The incident occurred around 8 am."

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