The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on cab driver Santosh Kumar.

Four years after a harrowing case of child rape was reported in Bengaluru, a sessions court in the city convicted a cab driver for repeatedly raping a 12-year-old girl for months.

The 71st CCH Court convicted Santosh Kumar (29) under section 376 (rape) of the IPC under Sections 3 (penetrative sexual assault) 4 (punishment for penetrative sexual assault), 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 7 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Santosh Kumar was given a 14-year life sentence and a fine of Rs 20,000 was imposed on him by the court.

In August 2014, 12-year-old Anu*, a resident of Bengaluru, experienced severe abdominal pain. Anu had lost her father when she was 6 years old and was living with her mother and younger brother in a small apartment in north-west Bengaluru.

When her mother, an employee at a garment factory, returned home, she was shocked to see her daughter in such pain. Anu was taken to the hospital immediately and the doctors declared that she was pregnant.

That’s when Anu told her mother about the abuse she had been facing at the hands of Santosh Kumar. According to the Peenya police, Santosh Kumar, a tourist taxi cab driver, was Anu’s neighbour.

Ever since her father died, Anu’s mother had taken up multiple jobs to make ends meet. “She couldn’t be at home a lot because of the work. Anu and her brother studied in a nearby government school. Her brother was poor at studies and Santosh used this bit of detail to abuse the girl,” the police said.

Santosh would walk into Anu’s home and scare her younger brother. “He would tell the boy to go into the room and study. He would lock the room door from outside and rape the girl,” the police added.

Santosh threatened to kill Anu’s brother and mother if she ever revealed the truth. After Anu became pregnant, her mother filed a complaint at the Peenya police station. The ACP of Yeshwanthpur began probing the case.

In 2015, Anu gave birth to a baby boy and the investigating officers sent Santosh’s blood samples for a DNA test, which came back positive. The baby, however, died four months later. A charge sheet was filed in December 2015 along with the DNA test results, the preliminary medical report and 15 witnesses.

Tnm

Tension escalates in Kashmir as India intensifies operations, killing a record of 232 rebels so far this year.

Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir – Six rebels were killed in a gunfight in Arampora village of Tral in the southern part of Indian-administered Kashmir as India continues to intensify its operations in the disputed region. 
  
Swayam Prakash Pani, the Kashmir police chief, told Al Jazeera that a search operation was launched in Tral on Saturday morning in which six rebels were killed. 
  
“There was no collateral damage. We continue to urge people not to come near the gunfight sites as they are prohibited places. The operation took place in an open field in the morning,” the official said. 

Another official said that all six rebels were locals and belonged to Ansar ul Gazwatul Hind, an armed Kashmir-based group that claims to be an offshoot of al-Qaeda.

The officials said that one of the rebels was a top commander of the group, who was active in southern Kashmir. 
  
Soon after the encounter, residents in Tral and adjoining areas took to streets to protest the killings.

Authorities suspended mobile internet services acorss the district, saying as all the slain rebels belonged to the villages in southern Kashmir. The officials said that the train services have also been suspended for the day to avoid possible law and order problems. 

“The fighters are from the adjacent villages and thousands of people are on roads to take part in the funeral. For us, it is a daily bloodbath. Every day, we wake up with the news of a death. We just want an end to it, so that we too can breathe,” said Munisa Ismail, 26, a resident of Tral. 

The tension also continues to escalate on the Line of Control (LOC), a demarcation line that divides the two parts of the disputed territory between Indian and Pakistan administered parts.

Civilian casualties

On Friday evening, the Indian authorities claimed that two of its junior commissioned officers were killed in north Kashmir’s Jumgund area of frontier Kupwara in a cross-border attack. 
  
The Indian forces have intensified the operation in Kashmir, killing a record number of 232 rebels so far in the year.

The civilian causalities this year have also been highest in the last nine years. According to a local human rights group, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), 156 civilians have been killed in the violence this year. 
  
Last week, the forces shot dead seven civilians in Sirnoo village of Pulwama after firing on demonstrators following a gunfight in the village in which three rebels of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were killed.

Asmita Basu, Programmes Director of Amnesty International in India termed the civilian killings a “worrying pattern”.

She said that the “security forces are increasingly using indiscriminate and excessive force against civilians”. 
  
Amnesty International has demanded authorities conduct a full and independent investigation into the incident, and those responsible prosecuted in a civilian court of law.

The Indian forces in Kashmir are protected by Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), a law that provides the forces immunity from prosecution. 

Amnesty in a statement said that the “law enforcement officials should distinguish between persons engaging in violence and peaceful demonstrators”. 

The disputed territory, over which India and Pakistan have fought three wars, is currently under the  president’s rule after India dissolved the state assembly last month.  

After the six-month tenure of the governor’s rule expired, the president’s rule was imposed in the region on December 20, which will continue for six months after which fresh elections are likely to be held.

Aljazeera

I Five policemen have been suspended in connection with the custodial death of a taxi driver in Manipur, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said on Friday.

Biren Singh, who also holds the Home charge, while replying to a calling attention motion moved by Congress MLA K. Joykishan, informed the state Assembly that five police commandos have been suspended for the custodial death of Abdul Gaffer. 

He further said that a compensation of Rs 5 lakh shall be paid to the bereaved family. Besides, the government shall provide a suitable job to one of his family members.

According to Gaffer’s widow, at 2.30 a.m. on Thursday, a team of police commandos and personnel of 26 Assam Rifles barged into their house and dragged away her husband without any explanation. Around 10.30 a.m., she was informed of his death. 

Soon after, the news spread and people blocked vehicular traffic in Thoubal district, where the family stayed. They also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister demanding, among others, a judicial inquiry and booking of the accused.

Later, Biren Singh assured the protesters that the cops would be suspended and other demands, including compensation and government job to the family and a magisterial inquiry, would be conceded.

At least 1,528 cases are pending in the Supreme Court in connection with “fake encounters” in Manipur.

 In a shocking incident, a man sliced off the finger of a movie theatre staff after he refused to arrange tickets for the Kannada movie, KGF (Kolar Gold Fields).

The accused is identified Ramesh R(39), a resident of JJ Nagar on Mysuru Road and the victim is Aravind a maintenance staff at Veeresh Theatre for the past 11 years.

It is gathered that on December 17 Ramesh had come to Veeresh Theatre under the influence of alcohol and demanded Aravind to arrange few tickets of KGF so that he could sell them for a higher price on the release date. When Aravind did not agree to the proposal, Ramesh started abusing him verbally and drew a knife out of his pocket and cut Aravind’s left ring finger. 

Meanwhile, other staff at the theatre, who heard screams, rushed to the spot and immediately took Aravind to a nearby hospital.

Police who rushed to the spot, gathered eyewitness accounts and searched for Ramesh in the surrounding areas and nabbed Ramesh. He was booked under attempt to murder, among other sections, produced before the magistrate and remanded to judicial custody.

However, Ramesh during his interrogation said that Aravind and he were old friends and they had a financial dispute. He denied demanding movie tickets from Aravind in the said statement.

PTI

Jamshedpur: An ascetic, associated with a charitable organization, has been arrested for rape attempt on a minor girl in Jharkhand’s East Singhbhum district, a senior police officer said.

The 15-year-old girl, in her complaint, alleged misconduct on the part of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) monk on December 18, he said. She, however, did not give details on the matter, the officer said.

The teenager had recently come here from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh with her brother and sister in-law, Deputy Superintendent of Police Arvind Kumar noted.

The girl had put up at BSS’s Sonari complex with her relatives for 10 days before moving to a rented accommodation at nearby Kalganagar area. In her complaint, she said she had gone to the complex to visit a temple there, he noted. Her brother said that she was rescued from the monk’s bathroom.

The complainant’s brother told police that the girl went missing for several hours on Wednesday. He and his wife then reportedly visited the premises of the BSS and found the girl in the monk’s bathroom, Kumar said quoting the FIR. The accused has been arrested and the girl sent for medical check-up, the deputy SP said.

“We have arrested the accused monk based on the complaint. More details will be available in the case once the medical report arrives,” he said, adding that the Child Welfare Committee, East Singhbum, has also recorded the girl’s statement in connection with the case

PTI

Nasheman News : A 30-year-old man from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu has been arrested for raping a middle-aged British woman and robbing her belongings early on Thursday near the beach village of Palolem, police said.

Superintendent of Police (South Goa) Arvind Gawas said that CCTV footage near the scene of the offence and at the local railway station helped police track down the accused at the Margao railway station, located 35 km from Canacona village.

“The accused has been identified as Ramachandran, 30, and is from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. We arrested him as he was trying to flee from the Margao police station,” Gawas said.

The accused allegedly raped the British national around 4.30 a.m. when she was returning from the Canacona railway station to her guest house near Palolem beach after missing a train. Police have booked the accused for rape as well as robbery.

Police said that the accused first tried to rob her and chased her into nearby fields and then raped her, before fleeing with her bags which contained Rs 20,000 in cash. The victim is a regular visitor to Goa for the last 10 years.

Goa is a popular tourism destination attracting more than seven million tourists every year, half a million being foreign nationals. 

Over the last decade, crimes against foreigners, especially women, has been a cause for concern in Goa, especially after the sexual assault and subsequent death of a British teenager Scarlett Keeling in 2018.

District officials said that the Akshaya Patra Foundation had provided mid-day meals to one of the schools.

Over 100 students of government schools in Ballari and Bagalkot districts and around 25 students of a government primary school in Hagalur village in Ballari fell ill after consuming separate mid-day meals on Thursday.

According to Arun Rangarajan, the Superintendent of  Police of Ballari, several students saw a lizard in the meal, which was reported to the teacher. Soon after the incident was reported, several children in Classes 2, 3 and 4 began to vomit. They were immediately rushed to the local Primary Health Centre where they were treated for food poisoning.

“In Hagalur, the meal was prepared in the school itself. The lizard must have fallen into the sambar pot as it was not closed. All the children are out of danger and safe now,” SP Arun said.

In a similar incident in Bagalkot, over 90 children from classes 4, 5 and 6 of the Chikkamagi Government School fell sick after eating the mid-day meal. According to the Bagalkot District Health Officer Ananth Desai, the children began vomiting and a few of them fell unconscious after eating the mid-day meal on Thursday.

“Initially around 35 children began vomiting and three children fell unconscious. They were rushed to the primary health centre. As more children started falling sick, we had to transfer them to the district hospital (Bagalkot District Government Hospital). In total, 105 children have been treated for food poisoning. They were all discharged from the hospital this morning (Friday),” DHO Ananth Desai said.

Ananth Desai said that the mid-day meal was provided by the Akshaya Patra Foundation to the Chikkamagi School. Akshaya Patra had recently come under the government’s scanner after the state Food Commission had found discrepancies in the quality and quantity of food provided by the NGO.

K’taka Food Commission had stated that Akshaya Patra’s food was bland and monotonous as they did not use onion and garlic in the meals. This had led to children not eating the food. The commission had also noted that Akshaya Patra was not providing an adequate quantity of food as prescribed by the Karnataka government.

On Wednesday, the state food commission had met with representatives of Akshaya Patra in Bengaluru. “Akshaya Patra representatives said that they would find nutritional replacements for onion and garlic. They denied allegations of the food being bland. The government is testing the food quality and taste in every district. Once the test results are out, we will know how to proceed further,” said Krishnamurthy, the Chairman of the Food Commission.

Lucknow,  A Home Guard on patrol was shot dead in Budayun district of Uttar Pradesh early on Friday, police said.

Chatrapal, 36, was patrolling on foot near a petrol pump in Udhaiti along with his platoon commander Rajendra, when he signalled two bikes to stop, Superintendent of Police (Rural) S.P. Singh said.

Instead the four men on the two bikes opened fire at him, killing him on the spot. 

The incident happened near Mangal Bazaar on the Budayun-Bijnore highway around 4.30 a.m. 

A combing operation was underway to nab the unidentified gunmen. Major entry and exit points in the area have been barricaded.

New Delhi, The Union Home Ministry has suspended Gujarat-cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rajnish Rai for his alleged role in “abdicating” his office on November 30 as the Inspector General and Principal of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) training school at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.

The 52-year-old 1992-batch IPS officer, who had arrested D.G. Vanzara and two other IPS officers in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh alleged fake encounter case in 2007, was placed under suspension as per December 17 order passed by the Home Ministry under the provisions of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules. 

He was serving as Inspector General and Principal of the Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism (CIAT) School of the CRPF. 

Rai will have to stay at the CRPF headquarters at Chittoor during the period the order remains in force, and cannot leave the headquarters without the permission of the Director General CRPF, said the Ministry order.

Rai had earlier this year sought voluntary retirement from November 30 after completing 50 years of age under the provisions of the All India Services (Death-Cum-Retirement Benefit) Rules, 1958, but the Centre rejected his request in October.

He moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) in Ahmedabad challenging the rejection. The CAT will be hearing the matter on January 1.

In August 2014, Rai was transferred out of Gujarat as Chief Vigilance Officer of Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) at Jaduguda in Jharkhand. In April 2015, he was transferred to the CRPF office at Shillong.

After his report on suspected fake encounters in the North-East, he was transferred to the CIAT at Chittoor and a “departmental misconduct” charge sheet was served on him, Rai had alleged.

He moved the CAT at Hyderabad against the chargesheet. The tribunal stayed the proceedings against him.

Kolkata, The CBI on Thursday arrested senior journalist Suman Chattopadhyay for allegedly receiving money in his bank accounts from chit fund firm I-Core Group, the agency said.

Chattopadhyay, editor of leading Bengali Daily Ei Samay, was arrested after a day-long questioning at CBI’s office here in connection with a case registered against I-Core Group.

“Investigation has revealed that funds collected illegally by the I-Core Group were allegedly diverted in the accounts of Disha Productions and Media Private Limited (DPMPL) as well as personal account of Suman Chattopadhyay,” Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said.

Chattopadhyay is the Director of DPMPL, the official said, adding the accused will be produced on Friday before a special court in Bhubaneswar in Odisha

“The investigation is continuing,” he added.