(Judgment) No 498-A after Foreign Divorce - an abuse of the process of criminal law another misuse of 498a 406

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH

1. Criminal Misc. No. 37932-M of 2006
Partap Singh and another
Petitioners
Versus
State of Punjab and another
Respondents
2. Criminal Misc. No. 49931-M of 2006
Gurnam Singh
Petitioner
Versus
State of Punjab and another
Respondents
3. Criminal Misc. No. 59336-M of 2006
Gurdit Singh and another
Petitioners
Versus
State of Punjab and another
Respondents

Date of decision: 4th October, 2010

CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA

Present: Mr. Tarunvir Vashist, Advocate for Mr. Rajesh Gupta, Advocate for the petitioners. Ms. Sudeepti Sharma, DAG Punjab,
for the State.
None for respondent No.2.

KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA, J. (ORAL)

By this common order, three petitions viz. (1) Criminal Misc. No.37932-M of 2006 preferred by Partap Singh-father-in-law and Kulwant Kaur-mother-in-law (2) Criminal Misc. No.49931-M of 2006 preferred by Criminal Misc. Nos. 37932-M; 49931-M and 59336-M of 2006 2 Gurnam Singh-brother of the husband and (3) Criminal Misc. No.59336-M of 2006 filed by Gurdit Singh-elder brother of father-in-law and Tejinder Singh-husband shall be decided together.

FIR in these cases was lodged by Kulwinder Kaur, who was a citizen of United Kingdom. As per the FIR, she was resident of 7, Scribers Lane, Har Green Birmingham B-280 NY. The marriage of complainant-Kulwinder Kaur was solemnized with Tejinder Singh at Ludhiana on 8th May, 2004. It is not disputed that for solemnizing the marriage, complainant-Kulwinder Kaur came to India only one month before her marriage and thereafter she left for United Kingdom. Thereafter, immigration of her husband-Tejinder Singh was sponsored and he also left for United Kingdom on 24th October, 2004. Counsel for the petitioners has referred to the divorce proceedings (Annexures P-10 to P-14) between the husband and wife initiated and concluded in the Uxbridge County Court and has stated that all property and entrustment disputes between the parties have been resolved by the Matrimonial County Court while granting divorce. The matter has been investigated by the Ludhiana police. It is stated that the only allegation against the petitioners is that the dowry articles were entrusted to them in India and during the stay of complainant-Kulwinder Kaur in India, her husband and his relations had misbehaved with the complainant and had demanded a car. It is stated in the report under Section 173 Cr.P.C. (Annexure P-9) that Tejinder Singh reached United Kingdom on 24th October, 2004 and resided there with his father-in-law. On 24th February, 2005, he is stated to have left the house for an unknown place. For search of Tejinder Singh, the complainant- Kulwinder Kaur and her father came to India and a Panchayat was called, where on 17th August, 2005, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and uncle-in-law of the complainant had demanded dowry articles. The Criminal Misc. Nos. 37932-M; 49931-M and 59336-M of 2006 3 police after enquiry, had deleted the offence punishable under Sections 364 and 382 IPC, however they came to a conclusion that offence punishable under Sections 406, 498-A and 323 IPC was made out against the accused.

This is one of those typical cases, where after the marriage, bride and bridegroom have gone abroad. The wife is a citizen of United Kingdom. She had facilitated immigration of her husband, who had married a Non-Resident-Indian wife only for the purposes of his settlement in a foreign country. Having reached abroad, he deserted his wife and had obtained a divorce. The hurt of a Non-Resident-Indian wife that she has been used as a conduit for immigration, can be well understood. In this context, the allegations in the FIR have been examined. This Court cannot become oblivious of the fact that the husband and wife, after obtaining divorce, parted their ways and are residing happily in United Kingdom. The property and entrustment of the articles was a subject matter before the Uxbridge County Court, which has granted divorce. A similar controversy was examined by Hon'ble the Apex Court in 'Harmanpreet Singh Ahluwalia and others v. State of Punjab and others' (2009) 7 Supreme Court Cases 712, wherein it was held as under:

"32. Furthermore, the larger part of offence, if any, has been committed only in Canada. Why the father of Respondent 3 had to come from Canada to Jalandhar to lodge an FIR is difficult to comprehend. Respondent 3 and the first informant do not say that the inquiry report submitted by the Superintendent of Police on the representation made by Appellant 2 was incorrect. It has also not been stated that as to on what material, the chargesheet had been submitted. we, in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case, have absolutely no doubt in our mind that the allegations contained in the FIR had been made with an ulterior motive to harass Criminal Misc. Nos. 37932-M; 49931-M and 59336-M of 2006 4 the appellants. Continuance of the criminal proceeding against them would, therefore, amount to abuse of process of the Court."

Admittedly, Tejinder Singh had left the house in United Kingdom, thereafter, as to why the complainant-Kulwinder Kaur and her father came to India in search of Tejinder Singh and then they met the relations of husband where they made a demand of dowry articles? This is something which this Court cannot comprehend. This kind of allegations are not only unnatural, improbable and unconvincing but have been coined only as an abuse of the process of criminal law. It is another case where provisions of Sections 406 and 498-A IPC have been misused. The very fact that complainant aggrieved wife had stayed in India for less than one month and husband cohabited with complainant wife for a period of about six months i.e. from October 2004 to February 2005 in United Kingdom and thereafter, obtained divorce from County Court in United Kingdom settling all disputes is sufficient to hold that proceedings in the present case should be quashed. Hence, the above said three petitions are hereby accepted and the impugned FIR along with all subsequent proceedings is quashed. 

[KANWALJIT SINGH AHLUWALIA]

JUDGE

October 4, 2010

http://www.indiankanoon.org/doc/1318745/

Marital stress drives more men to suicide than women

Mumbai: Has the equation in the war of the sexes changed
Strange
it may sound,but the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) figures
released by a city-based mens rights advocacy group shows that the
number of married men ending their lives is far more than their female
counterparts. And the group claims that the men to women suicide ratio of
65:35 indicates that it is the men can now don the tag of the oppressed
sex.
The data was revealed on the World Mens Day by the Indian
Family Foundation,a global movement started by the families of Indian
men facing abuse in the hands of their wives.According to the figures
mentioned in the report in 2008,57,639 married men across the country
killed themselves,compared to 30,224 married women.Every nine minutes,an
Indian husband commits suicide.Men contribute to 92 % taxes but face
100% ignorance, an organization member said.
The organization pointed
out that most of the men who ended their lives were often ridiculed as
being weak and irresponsible and denied any support or counselling. No
one believes that men can be victims of domestic violence.But a survey
shows that in the past 12 years,1,70,000 married men have committed
suicide,as they could no longer bear the domestic strife, Zaveri added.
The
organization blames the phenomenon on the fact that the world has
turned a deaf ear to all the complaints coming from men.There is no
limit to the expectations from a man.The unaddressed domestic abuse and
family disputes are taking a huge toll on married men.No one shares
their pain and there is no social support system for these distressed
men, an organization member said.In spite of the suicide of the doctor
from Lucknow who left behind a suicide note accusing his wife and
in-laws of cruelty,no action has been taken by the police.
The group
is now urging the government to start a ministry for men and also a
National Commission for Men on the lines of the ones that exist for
women.If there can be a government organization for women,children and
even animals,we deserve to have one as well, Zaveri said.


Source: TNN

HC orders contempt case against man

Nov 1, 2010

The Delhi High Court has initiated contempt proceedings against the father of a Germany-based woman for backing out from a mutual consent divorce agreement in exchange of Rs 12 lakh. In March 2010, the woman had moved the Delhi High Court against her husband, charging him with domestic violence.

Her Delhi-based father filed a case of domestic violence and dowry demand against his bed-ridden daughter's husband.

Later, she agreed for a mutual-consent divorce for Rs 12 lakh.
Sunny and Sheila (names changed) married in 2002 in Delhi. During her stay in Germany, Sheila developed multiple sclerosis.

In 2008, she filed cases in Germany against her husband.
At present, the couple lives separately in Germany.

Prabhjit Jauhar, counsel for Sunny, in his petition said: "Sheila registered false complainants with the German court. Later German investigative authorities found that those complaints were false."
Jauhar told the court that Sheila was not summoned, as the German court noted she was suffering from an acute disease.

In March 2010, Sheila, through her father, informed the Delhi High Court's Mediation Conciliation Centre, that a divorce by mutual consent should be agreed upon for a sum of R12 lakh. She also gave her consent to quash the FIR against her husband.

However on November 1, Sheila's father said he was not willing to comply with the terms of agreement signed in March.

"It is a clear breach of undertaking given to the court and amounts to contempt," Jauhar submitted in court.
Justice GS Sistani said: "Respondent (father of the woman) has willfully violated the terms of settlement agreed upon. Issue notice to show cause, as to why contempt proceedings should be not initiated."
Sunny, in his petition, alleged that he has already deposited R12 lakh with the registry department of the High Court in March 2010.

The court has directed Sheila's father to be personally present in court on the next date of hearing.

Source HST

Woman to face trial for lodging false rape case: Delhi high court

Nov 16, 2010

The Delhi high court today refused to quash a false criminal case of rape lodged by a Delhi police woman employee against a man to ensure that she faces prosecution later for falsely implicating him.
"If a prosecutrix makes false statement of an offence punishable with minimum period of 7 years imprisonment, she must be made to face the consequence of registering a false FIR against an innocent person," said Justice Shiv Narayan Dhingra, dismissing a petition by a Delhi-based property dealer Karan for quashing of the FIR against him.

Justice Dhingra dismissed the petition despite his plea that the woman has admitted to making false accusations against him early this year and they have reached an out-of-court settlement of the issue.
"I consider that an offence under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code being punishable with minimum sentence of seven years cannot be looked at so lightly," Justice Dhingra said.

"The prosecutrix cannot be allowed to turn around and say that she made a false statement and that now she has compromised the matter," he added, refusing to quash the FIR, and leaving it to the trial court to acquit the man and initiate prosecution against the woman instead on charges of perjury.
"The court cannot allow quashing of such FIR when neither the prosecutrix is being punished for making false statement nor the accused is brought to book for the offence of rape," he said.

Source DNA

Four in 10 say marriage is becoming obsolete

Nov 18, 2010

WASHINGTON – Is marriage becoming obsolete?
As families gather for Thanksgiving this year, nearly one in three American children is living with a parent who is divorced, separated or never-married. More people are accepting the view that wedding bells aren't needed to have a family.

A study by the Pew Research Center, in association with Time magazine, highlights rapidly changing notions of the American family. And the Census Bureau, too, is planning to incorporate broader definitions of family when measuring poverty, a shift caused partly by recent jumps in unmarried couples living together.
About 29 percent of children under 18 now live with a parent or parents who are unwed or no longer married, a fivefold increase from 1960, according to the Pew report being released Thursday. Broken down further, about 15 percent have parents who are divorced or separated and 14 percent who were never married. Within those two groups, a sizable chunk — 6 percent — have parents who are live-in couples who opted to raise kids together without getting married.

Indeed, about 39 percent of Americans said marriage was becoming obsolete. And that sentiment follows U.S. census data released in September that showed marriages hit an all-time low of 52 percent for adults 18 and over.

In 1978, just 28 percent believed marriage was becoming obsolete.

When asked what constitutes a family, the vast majority of Americans agree that a married couple, with or without children, fits that description. But four of five surveyed pointed also to an unmarried, opposite-sex couple with children or a single parent. Three of 5 people said a same-sex couple with children was a family.
"Marriage is still very important in this country, but it doesn't dominate family life like it used to," said Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology and public policy at Johns Hopkins University. "Now there are several ways to have a successful family life, and more people accept them."

The broadening views of family are expected to have an impact at Thanksgiving. About nine in 10 Americans say they will share a Thanksgiving meal next week with family, sitting at a table with 12 people on average. About one-fourth of respondents said there will be 20 or more family members.

"More Americans are living in these new families, so it seems safe to assume that there will be more of them around the Thanksgiving dinner table," said Paul Taylor, executive vice president of the Pew Research Center.
The changing views of family are being driven largely by young adults 18-29, who are more likely than older generations to have an unmarried or divorced parent or have friends who do. Young adults also tend to have more liberal attitudes when it comes to spousal roles and living together before marriage, the survey found.

 But economic factors, too, are playing a role. The Census Bureau recently reported that opposite-sex unmarried couples living together jumped 13 percent this year to 7.5 million. It was a sharp one-year increase that analysts largely attributed to people unwilling to make long-term marriage commitments in the face of persistent unemployment

Beginning next year, the Census Bureau will publish new, supplemental poverty figures that move away from the traditional concept of family as a husband and wife with two children. It will broaden the definition to include unmarried couples, such as same-sex partners, as well as foster children who are not related by blood or adoption.

Officials say such a move will reduce the number of families and children who are considered poor based on the new supplemental measure, which will be used as a guide for federal and state agencies to set anti-poverty policies. That's because two unmarried partners who live together with children and work are currently not counted by census as a single "family" with higher pooled incomes, but are officially defined as two separate units — one being a single parent and child, the other a single person — who aren't sharing household resources.

"People are rethinking what family means," Cherlin said. "Given the growth, I think we need to accept cohabitation relationships as a basis for some of the fringe benefits offered to families, such as health insurance."

Still, the study indicates that marriage isn't going to disappear anytime soon. Despite a growing view that marriage may not be necessary, 67 percent of Americans were upbeat about the future of marriage and family. That's higher than their optimism for the nation's educational system (50 percent), economy (46 percent) or its morals and ethics (41 percent).

And about half of all currently unmarried adults, 46 percent, say they want to get married. Among those unmarried who are living with a partner, the share rises to 64 percent.
Other findings:

_About 34 percent of Americans called the growing variety of family living arrangements good for society, while 32 percent said it didn't make a difference and 29 percent said it was troubling.
_About 44 percent of people say they have lived with a partner without being married; for 30-to-49-year-olds, that share rose to 57 percent. In most cases, those couples said they considered cohabitation as a step toward marriage.

_About 62 percent say that the best marriage is one where the husband and wife both work and both take care of the household and children. That's up from 48 percent who held that view in 1977.
The Pew study was based on interviews with 2,691 adults by cell phone or landline from Oct. 1-21. The survey has a total margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, larger for subgroups. Pew also analyzed 2008 census data, and used surveys conducted by Time magazine to identify trends from earlier decades.

Source: Yahoo News

Recession slams workers' pay (US)

Feminists will still have to complain women earn less, how else can they get attention, they are like little babies always crying and whining! They are not Feminazi's Fascists for nothing, they have a ploy, plotting there next move.

Men's wages are falling faster than women's, Economic Policy Institute says

SAN FRANCISCO - Wage growth among middle- and low-income U.S. workers has been shaky, at best, for a decade, but in the last three years it collapsed, with wages growing at less than half the rate they had in the period right before the recession, and some workers' pay decreasing, according to a new analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.

Median weekly earnings for full-time workers 25 and older grew at a rate of 0.5% in the year ending in the second quarter, down from 1.3% in 2009, 3.4% in 2008 and 4.3% in 2007, according to the EPI report, which measured year-over-year changes in growth from second quarter to second quarter. The figures are not adjusted for inflation. EPI is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that focuses on low- and middle-income workers.

Reuters

Men have lost more ground as U.S. wage growth has contracted than women, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

But some workers actually lost ground, with men's paychecks, in particular, hit hard. Men's median wages fell 1.3% in the year ending in the second quarter, down from a growth rate of 5.3% in the comparable period ending in mid-2008, the first year of the recession. Women's wage growth dropped to 3.7% from 5.2% over the same period. The data looked at adults 25 and older.
The median weekly wage for a man 25 or older was $861 in the second quarter. For a woman in that age group, the median wage was $704, according to EPI.
Men who didn't have a high-school diploma saw median wages drop 3.6%, but men with a bachelor's degree didn't fare much better, with a decline of 3.1%. Men with high-school diplomas had wage growth of zero, as did men with advanced degrees.
Women without a high-school diploma lost ground too, with median pay falling 2.6%, while wages for women with just a high-school diploma dropped 1.5%.
But women college graduates drew pay hikes. Those with a B.A. saw median wages grow 4.3%, and those with advanced degrees got a 0.8% pay boost.
EPI did not adjust wage-growth rates for inflation in part because inflation has been volatile since the recession started, mainly due to steeply fluctuating energy prices. Energy prices rose more than 19% in 2008's second quarter, compared with prices a year earlier, then fell 26% in the same period in 2009, then rose almost 12% in 2010, EPI said.
When adjusted for inflation, various measures of wage growth land in the zero-to-negative-1.4% range in 2010, EPI said. See the full EPI report.
"That's what we will see going forward, as we continue with persistent high unemployment," said Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist at EPI. "We will continue to see real [inflation-adjusted] wages just hovering around zero or negative."

Disconnect between productivity and income

But median income has been falling for a while, EPI said.

Double-dip avoidance

A growing number of commentators expect the current U.S. slowdown to translate into a double-dip recession. But if, as many of them believe, the U.S. is repeating Japan's so-called lost decade, a more likely situation involves stubbornly slow growth.

Even as workers' productivity grew 11% from 2002 through 2007, income was losing ground. The inflation-adjusted median income for working-age households dropped to $58,718 in 2007, down from $60,804 in 2000, according to EPI. Unlike measures of weekly wages, income includes investment income and other sources.
Economic models tend to assume that rising productivity will lead to rising wages, Shierholz said. The assumption, she said, has been that "productivity -- that's the amount of goods and services the average worker produces in an hour -- as that goes up, wages will rise in lockstep, so workers reap the gains of their increased productivity," she said.
But that had changed as far back as the mid-1970s, Shierholz said. "We started to see this break. Productivity kept rising, [but] wages really flattened off," she said. "Essentially it's an inequality story. You can talk about productivity as being a measure of the growth of the riches of the country. If it's not going to the typical worker ... it's going to the top."

Fast-growing jobs are low paid

Another problem for future prospects for pay growth: Of the five fastest-growing occupations between 2006 and 2009, four of them paid less than the median wage, according to a separate EPI analysis.
Food preparers and servers, home health aides, warehouse stock clerks, medical assistants and registered nurses find themselves in the five fastest-growing occupations, according to EPI's analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of those, though, only registered nurses make more than $15.95 an hour, which was the median wage in May 2009. The median wage for a registered nurse is $30.65 an hour.
Food prep and serving jobs pay a median $8.28 per hour, home health aides collect $9.85 an hour, warehouse stock clerks earn $10.08 an hour, and medical assistants $13.77 per hour.
For food-prep and food-service workers, the median wage of $8.28 per hour translates into an annual salary of $16,560, based on working a typical year of 2,000 hours.

Source: MW

 

Paycheck-fairness bill fails in Senate (US)

Paycheck Fairness bill fails in Senate, read previous posting, Stop Feminists' Job Killing Legislation (US).

Looks like the Senate listened to the people and killed the bill. 

Bill to fight wage discrimination based on sex fails to garner votes

WASHINGTON -- A bill aimed at stamping out wage discrimination based on workers’ sex failed Wednesday because too few senators voted to move forward with the legislation.

The Paycheck Fairness Act needed 60 votes to move forward, and captured only 58. No Republicans voted in favor of moving forward with the bill, and one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, voted against the motion.

Medicare changes are coming

If you're a Medicare beneficiary, you have from now until Dec. 31 to switch your health and drug coverage if you find a plan you like better. MarketWatch's Kristen Gerencher details some of the plan changes that go into effect in 2011.

The bill would have amended the Equal Pay Act by limiting employers’ basis for defending differential wages, when responding to charges of sex-based wage discrimination, to reasons such as differences in workers’ experience or training.
President Barack Obama supported the bill, and said Wednesday after the vote that his administration will “continue to fight” for equal pay.
“As we emerge from one of the worst recessions in history, this bill would ensure that American women and their families aren’t bringing home smaller paychecks because of discrimination,” Obama said. “It also helps businesses that pay equal wages as they struggle to compete against discriminatory competition. But a partisan minority of senators blocked this common sense law.”
The vote came in the first week lawmakers reconvened since the midterm elections. With support for the bill falling broadly along partisan lines, the bill now faces steep odds of moving forward. In January, Republicans take control of the House of Representatives.

Women earn less on average

The bill’s supporters said stronger laws are needed to erase the persistent earnings gap between men and women, while critics said the bill could hurt businesses and workers.
In 2009, women who were full-time workers earned median weekly wages or salary of $657, compared with $819 for men, according to the U.S. Labor Department. That is, women’s median weekly earnings were about 80% of men’s. However, it’s unclear how much of that gap is attributable to sexism. Read more: Men losing more ground than women in U.S. pay slide.
Portia Wu, vice president at National Partnership for Women & Families, an advocacy group, said the law should encourage people to do the right thing. “For truly bad actors we do think there has to be some strong deterrent,” Wu said.
Also, there is the everyday, practical concern of families paying their bills, she said. “The wage gap is really hurting families’ economic security and having equal pay means more money in people’s pockets to afford things,” she said.
Business advocates said the Paycheck Fairness Act would have hurt firms by increasing possible damages against them and limiting their ability to defend legitimate pay differences.
Lawrence Lorber, who represents employers as a partner with the law firm Proskauer, said the Paycheck Fairness Act could lead to more rigid pay practices.
“Some women may get pay increases, but what is going to happen is inevitably you will move toward a very rigid civil-service-like pay system, and there won’t be any opportunity for significant merit-based raises,” Lorber said. “What you will have to do is assure that when you give increases you don’t wind up with some sort of a pay differential, and you do that by not giving pay increases or by creating superficial promotions.”
Wage discrimination based on workers’ sex is already illegal. The Paycheck Fairness Act would have amplified current laws with steps such as:

• Amending the Equal Pay Act to limit the defense that employers can use to respond to charges of wage discrimination based on sex. Reasons that employers could cite would be restricted to “bona fide” factors such as a difference between employees’ education, training or experience. Employers would also have to demonstrate that the factor is job related and consistent with business necessity.
  
• Allowing the class for class-action suits in wage-discrimination cases under the Equal Pay Act to be created by an opt-out policy. Currently if employees bring an action under the Equal Pay Act they have to opt in.
  
• Requiring the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to collect pay information data on the sex, race and national origin or employees to enforce federal laws that prohibit pay discrimination.
  
• Providing for uncapped punitive and compensatory damages against employers.

 Source: MW

First striker's advantage- A live saving option

If we leave our inhibitions and only go by survivalinstincts- we will strike first(when we are under threat of a false case by the wife's side), but alas we are prisoners of our ownshackles(inhibitions, emotions, etc.).

Its not easy to strike first- my family did not strike first since wealso thought "How can a girl's family ruin the girl's marriage byfiling false cases on husband&family". That too when the girls own relative(who knew their mentality too well, and could see the falsecases coming) actually hinted us to strike first, but at that point we never thought it was actually a life saving hint.But after experiencing these things for the last 5 years personallyand through others cases, I really believe that striking first is one of the most fruitful actions, if the situation and capability of the victim warrants it.

I have seen this strategy winning hands down in 2cases which I know closely.Now what else do we want other than the clarity of mind!. When one issure that its a war looming over, one has to break the shackles ofemotions and fight single-mindedly- for the WIN. Of course there areother ways of peace, try them if they apply to your situation.

I just felt that its time for this strategy to become open(let all pre-498a try it), what better way to introduce it in yahoo group. But the tragedy is that even then very less number of people will trythis sure-shot strategy(because of fear, forgiveness, wait&watchpropensity, etc.). At the same time shrewd guys from the oppositecamp will take note. Its always a trade-off isn't it, like life.

I am of the belief that we should flood the courts with firststrikes, this should not remain a phone line secret anymore. This kind of extremism is now warranted since normal defence is not working(will yield only years of painful defence). Last but not the least:this is not a secret for legally aware persons, for them its thefirst option :) . So let there be fire-works, we need all pre-498aguys to think on this lines, fire at will.All helplines to take note too. If in pre-498a, let them strike first.

So I would recommend a counter offensive stretegy, if a first strike is suitable in case of any pre-498a case(using IPC 503, 389, , 341, etc as the case may be. Refer Indian Penal Code sections at : http://www.vakilno1.com/bareacts/IndianPenalCode/indianpenalcode.htm )

regards
Gokul

Source: BOK

Woman, lover on run after murder of her would-be fiance

Nov 17, 2010


The Paddhari police in Rajkot district are looking for a woman and her married paramour for allegedly murdering a youth with whom she was supposed to get engaged on November 17. 

Sarifa Abba, a Wankaner resident, and her lover Janak, allegedly stabbed to death Firoz Shiekh, a truck driver from Dhandhuka in Ahmedabad district, and later set the body ablaze near Paddhari on November 10. Sarifa, who was last seen with victim, later staged a kidnapping drama of her would-be fiancé. However, her call record details gave away her involvement, police said. 

“We have initiated procedure to arrest Sarifa and Janak,” said police.
On November 11, the police found an unidentified charred body in the outskirts of Paddhari. On November 12, Salim Sheikh registered a complaint with police that his son Firoz had gone missing from Rajkot. While he could not identify the body as it was completely charred, the DNA report now available proved it was Firoz. 

During preliminary investigation, Sarifa maintained Firoz was kidnapped from Aji Dam in Rajkot on November 10. She told the police they had gone to Rajkot to shop. 

Firoz was expected to return to his aunt’s home in Rajkot on November 10. When he didn’t, the family tried to contact him on his cellphone, which was found to be switched off. 

Meanwhile, Sarifa maintained that two unidentified persons who had come in a car had abducted Firoz and that she was clueless about his whereabouts. 

But her call details reportedly revealed she was in constant touch with one Janak, a Rajkot resident. The police also found out it was Janak who had taken the couple to Aji Dam. Janak and Sarifa reportedly have been in love for five years. Fearing that engagement would mean the end of their relationship, they decided to kill Firoz. 

The police investigation revealed that Firoz was stabbed 12 times in a car somewhere on the highway. Later, the body was burnt outside Paddhari.

Source: IndianEx 

Woman hatched plot to kill in-laws for Rs 15 crore flat

Nov 17, 2010

MUMBAI: The lure of a flat in upscale Pedder Road proved irresistible to Rupal Gandhi, who plotted to kill her mother-and sister-in-law, investigators said after arresting the 44-year-old on Tuesday. While Rupal's 78-year-old mother-in-law was grievously hurt in the attack, carried out by the family's servant, her sister-in-law succumbed to her injuries.

Rupal wanted her mother-in-law's 2BHK flat, valued around Rs 15 crore, said a police officer. While the victims stayed on the first floor, Rupal and her husband Deepak (52), who have a 16-year-old son, lived on the third floor of the same building.

Rupal hatched the conspiracy and then blackmailed her domestic help, Ramchandra Gomane (23), forcing him to agree to carry out the murders. It was decided that he would kill the two women when Rupal went out partying with her husband on Sunday evening.

This was revealed when the Gamdevi police interrogated Gomane and discovered that Rupal had plotted the killing. The murder was discovered when Rupal and her husband Deepak returned from a family gathering.

Deepak found the outer safety door of his mother's flat on the first floor of Sunita Apartment in Sonmarg Housing Cooperative Society on Pedder Road locked, but the inner door was open. He rang the bell, but didn't get a response and used a duplicate key to enter. He found his 60-year-old unmarried sister, Ila Gandhi, and mother Champa, lying on the floor, their bodies covered with scratches and bruises.

Deepak called the police and rushed the two to Breach Candy Hospital, where Ila was pronounced dead. Champa was admitted to the ICU. Later, as Rupal helped her husband wrap up the hospital formalities, nobody suspected that she was behind the crime, an officer said.

DCP Anil Kumbhare said Gomane had worked with the Gandhis for the last seven years. Six months ago, he borrowed Rs 30,000 from Rupal for his wedding in Chiplun, Ratnagiri. He returned Rs 7,000 but failed to pay the remainder, said Kumbhare, adding that Gomane earned Rs 4,000 monthly. Last month, he went to Chiplun and did not return. Rupal called him and threatened to lodge a case against him with the police for not repaying the loan and told him to return immediately, Kumbhare added.

Gomane rejoined duty and promised that he would make the balance payment soon. On November 11, while her husband had gone to work, Rupal called Gomane and blackmailed him. She said she could waive his loan if he killed her mother- and sister-in-law. She promised to pay Rs 5,000 once the plot was executed, and gave him Rs 5,000 in advance, an officer added. She also instructed him not to use any weapon.

Around 3 pm on Sunday, Rupal and Deepak left for the party. At 4 pm, Gomane entered the flat after Ila opened the door. He kicked and punched her and later strangulated her. When her mother Champa came out of the bedroom, Gomane hit her and she fell to the floor, unconscious. Gomane thought Champa was also dead and left the place, an officer said.

Around 5pm, Gomane is learned to have made a call to Rupal's cellphone that the work was done. She returned from the party around 11.30 pm, when her husband discovered the body. Police have seized the instrument as evidence.

To avoid suspicion, Gomane did not leave the building. Police said Rupal even cooperated with them when she was asked to furnish details of her employees.

"We have arrested Gomane on charges of murder and attempt to murder and the court has remanded him in 10-day police custody," said senior inspector Sanjeev Diwadkar. On Tuesday night, Rupal was also arrested for murder and attempt to murder. Neither Gomane nor Rupal was booked for criminal conspiracy.

Source: TOI