PM's `advisor' gets a royal treatment before getting arrested

Jammu: A resident of Delhi has been arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police for pretending to be an advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and enjoying the hospitality of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board during his visit to the shrine on Monday evening.


Crime file: Man posing as Manmohan Singh's advisor takes cops for a ride


Three women, a driver and two guards accompanying him have also been held. The man, identified as Manmohan Singh of 115-A, Fateh Nagar, New Delhi, was carrying an identity card showing him as Advisor to PM, with Minister of State status.

According to sources, Singh had nearly pulled off the charade, but for his "irrational behaviour" with accompanying policemen on the way to the shrine. After he argued with them on several occasions, the policemen became suspicious and informed senior officials.

After his story was exposed, Singh reportedly told the police that he had been "a political advisor" to Manmohan Singh when he was not the Prime Minister.

Sources said the Jammu and Kashmir Police had got a message on Monday from their Punjab counterparts about "the PM's advisor" driving down to the state. A police team along with vehicles from the Jammu Police Control Room (PCR) was sent to wait for him at Lakhanpur -- the entry point to Jammu and Kashmir from Punjab.


Crime file: Man posing as Manmohan Singh's advisor takes cops for a ride

Singh and the three women arrived late in the evening, and since he reportedly already had a police escort, nobody suspected anything. He was promptly provided a security escort for the drive to Katra, on way to the Vaishno Devi shrine.

When the group reached there, the VIP rooms at the Niharika complex owned by the shrine board were opened for them. After a brief halt of 30 minutes, Singh and his group proceeded towards the shrine, again under police protection. They visited the shrine and returned to Katra town on Tuesday morning.

Still escorted by a police party, they proceeded to Niharika for a brief halt. But by then suspicious senior police officials had swung into action and called up Delhi to check his antecedents. The entire group was rounded up and taken to the police station.

While the police have registered a case against Singh, initial investigations suggest the others may not have known about his claims of being an advisor to the prime minister.

Next page: Indian student shot dead in Connecticut

Crime file

Student from Hyderabad shot dead in US

Washington: An Indian student of software engineering in Stratford University in Connecticut was gunned down by unidentified assailants in a grocery store in a suspected robbery case.

A native of Hyderabad, Arun Kumar Narote, who was working as a part-time clerk at a grocery store in Bridgeport, was shot Monday around 9:30 p.m. (local time). Police are investigating the case.

According to police, two masked men walked in to the Norman Grocery Store Monday night, robbed cash and shot Narote in the head. Though there were no signs of resistance on his part.

Narote was pursuing his masters in software engineering after graduating from the Indira Reddy Memorial Engineering College in Hyderabad.

Telugu Association of North America (TANA) President, Jayaram Komati, has expressed condolences to Narote family.

TANA Secretary, Mohan Nannapaneni, Telugu Association of Connecticut president, Rao Yalamanchili, and others are coordinating with authorities to send the body home.

Next page: Sent back' by civic hospital, woman gives birth on street

Hospital staff saw woman deliver on street, did nothing

Mumbai: A 20-year-old woman delivered on the street outside the BMC's maternity clinic in Mahim on Monday after allegedly being denied admission. The mother and the newborn are now at LTMG Hospital, Sion.

The vendor of a local newspaper, who claims to have assisted in the delivery, said, "Between 3.30 and 4 am, I saw a couple enter the hospital. They came out after a while. The man went somewhere while she waited, clutching at her belly." He said she fainted and started bleeding, and that he and another woman rushed into the hospital but nurses told them the hospital could not handle premature deliveries. By then, the husband had returned and the three of them helped her deliver.

"I saw a nurse looking out of the window. She saw the pain my wife was in but did not come out," said Kishor Gohil, the husband.

Assistant health officer Dr Sajivani Palkar, said, "Some staff said they saw the delivery near the hospital gate and brought the mother and baby inside.

Others gave a contradictory version saying the delivery happened on the way to LTMG Hospital." Local MNS workers agitated at the BMC clinic demanding resignation of the lone doctor on duty. They say an eyewitness called the police. "Only after their arrival did a nurse come down and cut the umbilical cord, on the footpath. The mother and the newborn were carried inside," MNS worker Swanand Kamat said.

The baby was sent to LTMG then, and the mother on Tuesday, they said. Palkar says nobody "told me anything about the umbilical cord being cut on the street." The BMC health office will conduct a probe and the report is expected in 48 hours. The LTMG dean did not comment.

A source at the hospital said, "We did not have to keep the baby in the ICU so it looks the delivery was not very premature..."The newborn is in the regular paediatric ward. The source added because of unassisted delivery, the baby was meconium stained, a complication arising out of foetal distress and the mother suffered unnecessary blood loss.

Dr GT Ambe, BMC executive health officer, said, "We have taken inputs from all sides and will file an official report tomorrow..."

Next page: Day after DU student's murder, protesters go berserk

Brothers who murdered student still at large

New Delhi: A day after Delhi University student Kamal Kumar Rawat was murdered in Sonia Vihar, people from his locality on Tuesday set three houses on fire and ransacked three buildings owned by who they claimed were the accused in the case and their relatives. With the protests threatening to blow up into a caste clash, the police had to call in extra forces and barricade the Sonia Vihar bridge to keep the protesters at bay.

Even as 38 people were arrested for the violence on Tuesday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) S S Yadav said Kamal Kumar's murderers will be caught soon. "We have lodged a case of rioting against 38 people who set the houses on fire," he added.

On Monday, the residents of Sonia Vihar Ablock had blocked traffic protesting against Kamal's murder earlier in the day. Since the police had not yet arrested brothers Bachan Singh Nagar and Pravin Singh Nagar and their accomplice Umesh Singh Nagar, whom the locals claimed were behind the murder, they took to the street again on Tuesday morning.

"We were protesting peacefully when the police started a cane-charge and used tear gas shells to disperse us. This was when the protesters set the houses of the accused on fire," said Ashok Kumar, one of the protesters. The protesters first set the double-storey house of Bachan and Pravin on fire and pelted stones at the structure.

There was no one in the house as the family had fled after the murder. They then went to Umesh's house and broke windowpanes and furniture. There was no one at his house too.

The accused then ransacked and set Bachan's uncle Om Bir 'st house on fire. The house of Satbir, a relative, was also set ablaze.
Police said the protesters also destroyed the motorcycles of some visitors that were parked outside the house. They then pelted the houses of Jai Kishan, another relative, and Bachan's friend Ajay Dogra with stones. "The protesters reportedly stole Rs 50,000 from Dogra's house," said a police officer.

Kamal's father Balan Rawat, who makes electronic items, said: "Yesterday, the locals said they were with us and we must agitate against the crime. But they ran away on seeing the police. Today, they came to me and said the same thing. I went with them to seek justice for my son, but the police beat up the protesters."

Kamal was pursuing BCom through correspondence from Delhi University and was a national level kho-kho player. Kamal's brother Mahesh, a Class XII student, said his brother was picked up by the assailants when he was waiting at the bus stop. The family suspects he could have been murdered because he had a dispute with an auto dealer whom he had given Rs 75,000.

Next page:Retd Colonel arrested for molesting assistant

Editorial assistant molested

New Delhi: A retired Colonel, also a published author, was arrested early last month for molesting an editorial researcher who was assisting him, it is learnt. Col Gopal Purdhani (retd), author of Love stories of War Heroes, was booked under Section 354 of the IPC at the IP Estate police station, after a woman, an editorial researcher at a company in Daryaganj, claimed he molested her in his car. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Jaspal Singh confirmed that Col Purdhani, who stays in Dwarka, has been booked for molestation on the woman's complaint.

The police said the Colonel used to drop her at her residence in Indirapuram in Ghaziabad every day after work. On June 5, on their way to Ghaziabad, the Colonel allegedly started molesting her near the Delhi Police headquarters, the woman said in her complaint. The woman protested and stepped out of the car. The next day she lodged a complaint against the Colonel at the IP Estate police station. The Colonel was arrested soon after and released on bail, said a senior police officer, adding that the two first met at a party.

Next page: Three electrocuted in New Delhi

Fallen wires kill three, among them a 12-yr-old

New Delhi: Apart from the two deaths in Chandni Chowk, three others were electrocuted on Monday after coming in contact with high-tension electric wires.

In Central Delhi's Baljeet Nagar, 12-year-old Amit, who lived in Punjabi Basti, was playing in a park with a friend Naveen around 6 pm when the incident occurred.

Eyewitnesses said Amit came in contact with an electric wire that had fallen off a pole during the storm. "He touched the pole which was in contact with the wire and suffered electric shocks. Naveen was injured while trying to rescue Amit.

Amit's sister Neetu saw the two boys and called for help.

"The main switch across the road was turned off before the children were carried to the neighborhood temple," said Paras, an eyewitness.

The two were rushed to Ganga Ram Hospital. Paras said Amit's condition worsened on the way and he was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the hospital around 7.30 pm. Naveen, doctors said, is still recovering.

Amit's grandmother Shanti Devi alleged this was not the first time such an incident has occurred in the area. "Recently, a cow was electrocuted in the same park after coming in contact with the wires while a child was also injured. Despite this, no action was taken," she said.

In another incident, two unidentified persons were electrocuted in Friends Colony near Mansarovar Park in Northeast Delhi after tripping over naked wires lying on the flooded streets.

The first victim is suspected to have tripped and drowned. The second, police said, was cycling down the lane around 8 pm when he came in contact with the wires. His screams alerted the neighbours, who alleged that power supply was not cut off for more than an hour despite repeated calls to the discom.

Eyewitnesses said as it was dark, and nobody dared to go and rescue the man even after the power supply was turned off. Later, personnel from the Mansarovar Park police station took the bodies away.

Next page: Pulled up by dad for playing cricket, teen immolates self

Boy told not to waste time on cricket, ends life

Ghaziabad: Two teenagers allegedly ended their lives in separate incidents in the city after being reportedly rebuked by their fathers.

In the first incident, Raman Singh, a teenager, allegedly doused himself with kerosene and set himelf on fire after his father, Mahender Singh, asked him not to waste time in playing cricket. The incident occurred on Monday night in Shamnagar area of Hapur in Ghaziabad. Superintendent of Police (Rural), Ghaziabad, M M Baig said: "The teenager allegedly committed suicide after being rebuked by his father about concentrating more on studies instead of playing cricket." Raman was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to severe burn injuries.

In the second incident, 19-year-old BBA student Dharam Mitra Singh allegedly committed suicide in Gopalpuram area of Ghaziabad. Police sources said Dharam's father, Nagender Singh, had told him to desist from drinking alcohol. "His father had told him not to drink liquor as he feared his son was turning into an alcoholic. Unable to take the rebuke, Dharam shot himself with a pistol from point blank range," SP Baig said. Dharam was taken to a hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Cases have been registered in both incidents and the police are investigating the matter further.

Next page :Honour killing Family booked for murder of teen, cousin

Case of murder registered against family

Ghaziabad: In what appears to be another case of honour killing, the family of a 16-year-old girl has been booked for murdering her and her 21-year-old cousin and lover on Saturday. The family was opposed to the match .

A case of murder has been registered against the girl's father and other members of her family. The incident occurred in Gari Madhiya village of Ghaziabad on Saturday, when Ishtiyak Ali had gone to meet his cousin Shabnam. Their bodies were recovered later in the evening. The girl's parents claimed Shabnam was shot by Ishtiyak, who later committed suicide.

The police, however, said Ali's postmortem report suggested he was shot in the head from behind. Superintendent of Police (Rural) M M Baig said: "We are investigating whether this is a case of honour killing," he added.

Ishtiyak's father, Mushtiyak Ali, had alleged in his FIR that his son, who worked as a helper in a shop owned by the girl's family, and Shabnam were shot dead by the girl's parents as they were against the relationship.


Next page: Youth Akali Dal leader shot dead in Chandigarh

Youth Akali Dal leader shot

Chandigarh: Youth Akali Dal leader from Muktsar, Tripat Deep Singh Sekhon, was shot dead in the busy market of Sector 9 on Tuesday. The Chandigarh Police have booked Balwinder Bajaj alias Minkle, a Muktsar resident and former Youth Akali leader for the murder under Section 302 of the IPC. He is yet to be arrested.
Enmity between the deceased and the accused related to a MMS case, involving Bajaj's sister is said to be the motive for the crime.

Around 4.30 pm Sekhon was found lying on the road in Sector 9, writhing in pain. He was shot in the groin. The police was called and a PCR van rushed him to the Sector 16 hospital and from there he was referred to the PGI. He was declared dead on arrival at the PGI.

Police said Sekhon had called his sister Kiranpreet Kaur and told her he had been shot by Balwinder Bajaj. The forty-year-old had come to stay with Kaur, a teacher and a resident of Zirakpur, four days ago.

According to preliminary investigations, Sekhon and his niece Abhir had come to visit his cousin Paramjit Kaur at Sector 7 in the afternoon. At 4.10 pm, Sekhon received a call on his mobile. The caller had asked him to come to the rear of Sector 9 market. There he was shot at by the ac

cused who managed to flee. According to eyewitnesses, he was seen waiting for someone next to his motorcycle.
The police have dispatched a team to Muktsar to apprehend Minkle.
The rivalry and the grudge In February, Sekhon was among the three persons booked in a case of making an obscene MMS of a married woman in Muktsar. The woman in the MMS is the sister of the accused Minkle. Police said Minkle could have held a grudge against Sekhon.

Sekhon was booked along with Gurpal and Kapil, but was given a clean chit as the police found he had only forwarded the MMS which he received from prime accused Gurpal. "We initially booked him in the case, but investigations revealed that Sekhon had received and forwarded the MMS. He was not directly involved in the scandal. Minkle, however, could not forgive Sekhon. The two were also political rivals," said Inder Mohan Singh, SSP, Muktsar, adding that Sekhon was not named in the police chargesheet in the case.

Investigations revealed that accused Minkle was formerly a member of Youth Akali Dal but later resigned owing to his rivalry with Sekhon.


Next page: Wine shop manager shot at, attackers flee despite cop chase

Manager out of danger after shooting incident

Mumbai: The manager of a wine shop at Lalbaug was on Tuesday morning shot at allegedly by two unidentified assailants, who came to the shop on the pretext of buying alcohol. Three rounds were fired at Ajit Panjwani (30) and the attackers fled despite a chase by a police constable. The Bhoiwada police have ruled out robbery as motive, and said Panjwani, who suffered two bullet injuries, is out of danger.

The incident took place between 11.15 am and 11.30 am at London Wines located near the ITC, Grand Maratha in Lalbaug. Police said the shop was targetted on two other occasions this year. In February, around Rs 15,000 was stolen from the shop. A month ago, armed robbers had looted Rs 1.75 lakh. The robbery case is yet to be solved and investigators said they are probing possible links between the incidents.

"As per the statements of Panjwani, he was at the counter when a man came and asked for a bottle of liqour. While he was fetching the bottle, suddenly another man entered and fired three rounds at him. The duo then fled in opposite directions. One of them was spotted by a beat marshall who was coming out of a bank near the shop," said Additional Commissioner of Police, Central, Vineet Agarwal. Police constable Manohar Shendge saw a youth running even as crowd gathered outside the wine shop.

"I heard people shouting about the gunfire and immediately started chasing the youth. However, due to heavy traffic, it was tough to chase him," said Shendge.

The assailant dropped his revolver while fleeing and it was later recovered by the police. Shendge along with locals rushed Panjwani to the KEM Hospital.

"While three rounds were fired, one hit Panjwani's shoulder and the other brushed his hip. He is out of danger.

Prima facie it does not appear as if robbery was the motive. We are investigating if someone has any vendetta against either the owner of the shop or Panjwani," said senior inspector Vikram Patil of the Bhoiwada police station. Meanwhile, Gulab Kukreja, the owner's son, was at KEM Hospital to look after Panjwani.

"We have been running this shop for the past 10 years. No untoward incident was reported till last year. After the theft and robbery, this is the third such incident and is of more serious in nature. I'm concerned about my employees' safety," said Kukreja whose elderly father is in hospital after suffering brain haemorrhage. Prem Miskin, a member of the Maharashtra Wine Merchants Association, claimed that for the past few months attacks on wine shops have increased considerably.



Source: The Indian Express/IANS