Ballia (UP): Police have rescued a 16-year-old girl who went missing here over two months ago and arrested a 23-year-old youth who allegedly abducted her and repeatedly raped her, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Nirbhay Sahni, was arrested on Monday and sent to jail, they added.  According to the police, the teenager was allegedly abducted by Sahni on February 18, the police said.  On the missing complaint lodged by the girl's father, a case was registered on February 20 and a team was formed to search the minor, they said.  Additional Superintendent of Police Durga Prasad Tiwari said the police found the girl at the Ballia railway station on Sunday and arrested Sahni the next day.
In a statement to the police, the girl alleged that Sahni had raped her for almost two months after abducting her.  Based on the survivor's statement, the police added Section 376 (3) (rape of girl below 16 years of age) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the relevant section of the POCSO Act in the case, the ASP said.  The police arrested Sahni from Ballia railway station on Monday and sent him to jail.
—PTI

16-year-old girl rescued and abductor arrested after two months of captivity and abuse in Ballia. Authorities intensify actions under POCSO Act.

Missing 16-year-old girl rescued in UP's Ballia; police arrest kidnapper who also raped her

Amritsar: A man allegedly tied his 23-year-old pregnant wife to bed and set her on fire in Bulley Nangal village of Baba Bakala area, police on Sunday said.
Sukhdev Singh burned his wife to death on Friday after a fight with her, they said.  Sukhdev tied his wife Pinky, who was six months pregnant and was expecting twins, to a bed and set her on fire, they said.
By the time police, which was informed by village Sarpanch about the incident, reached the house, the woman had died of burns.  Sukhdev, who had fled after the act, has been arrested and booked for murder, police said.  Sukhdev and Pinki had married around two and half years ago.
—PTI

Shocking crime in Bulley Nangal as man sets pregnant wife on fire after a domestic dispute, resulting in immediate death.

Man sets pregnant wife on fire in Punjab's Amritsar

Thiruvananthapuram: Five people were stabbed during a fight that ensued inside a beer parlour at Kazhakkootam near here last night, police said.
The fight happened shortly after 11:30 pm on Saturday after a gang had an altercation with another group, police added.  Police said as per the initial information, a group of youngsters were planning to celebrate a friend's birthday by cutting a cake but another group tried to interfere.
Also Read: <a href="https://www.thehawk.in/posts/siblings-found-dead-in-delhi-house-mother-injured-father's-body-recovered-from-railway-tracks" target="_self">https://www.thehawk.in/posts/siblings-found-dead-in-delhi-house-mother-injured-father's-body-recovered-from-railway-tracks</a>&nbsp;
Sreekaryam residents Shalu, Sooraj, Vishak, Swaroop and Athul were stabbed and are admitted to the Medical College hospital here.  Police said the condition of one person is serious.  'Three of the accused are in custody. The search is on for the rest of the accused,' police said.
—PTI

Violent clash at a Thiruvananthapuram beer parlour leaves five injured during a birthday party on Saturday night. Police action underway, with suspects held.

Five stabbed during fight inside bar in Kerala

New Delhi: Police on Saturday found an injured woman along with the bodies of her two children in their rented accommodation in East Delhi while her husband was found dead on the railway tracks nearby.
According to police, they received information from a man around 2 pm that his elder brother Shyamji Chaurasia (42), a resident of Shashi Garden in Pandav Nagar, was missing while the house was locked since Friday.  A police team immediately reached the house and found it locked from outside while a foul smell was emanating from inside.
They broke open the lock and found the siblings -- Kartik (15) and Astha (9) -- dead while their mother Shanno (40) was lying unconscious in a room, a police officer said.  Also Read: <a href="https://www.thehawk.in/posts/hubballi-student-murder:-police-arrest-youths-for-social-media-posts-claiming-victim-accused-were-in-a-relationship" target="_self">https://www.thehawk.in/posts/hubballi-student-murder:-police-arrest-youths-for-social-media-posts-claiming-victim-accused-were-in-a-relationship</a>&nbsp;
The woman has multiple injuries and is undergoing treatment, he said.  It was suspected that Shyamji, who ran a tea stall in Mayur Vihar, strangulated his children to death, attacked his wife and then fled, another police official said.  Also Read: <a href="https://www.thehawk.in/posts/road-crash-in-rajasthan-leaves-nine-dead" target="_self">https://www.thehawk.in/posts/road-crash-in-rajasthan-leaves-nine-dead</a>&nbsp;
While the police were investigating the case, they received information that Shyamji's body had been found on the railway tracks near their house.
Shyamji's younger brother told police that he went to the house on Friday evening but found it locked from outside.  On Saturday morning, he visited the house again only to find it still locked and his brother's phone unreachable. In the afternoon, when a foul smell started emanating from the house, he informed the police, officials said.  Police suspect that after attacking his wife and children, Shyamji ended his life on the railway tracks. Further investigation into the case was underway, a police official said.
—PTI

A woman injured, her children found dead in their home, and her husband deceased on nearby railway tracks. Police are investigating.

Siblings found dead in Delhi house, mother injured; father's body recovered from railway tracks

Jaipur: A woman was allegedly paraded half-naked in Rajasthan's Barmer district for having an affair with a married man, police said on Sunday.
A purported video of the incident that took place in Sarwadi village has surfaced on social media platforms.  According to police, the wife and family members of the man had found out about his affair with the woman.  In the video, a woman can be seen dragging the victim, who is half naked, by the hair while she pleads.  Superintendent of Police, Barmer, Kundan Kawaria, said following the registration of a case at the Samdari police station, two women were detained while the victim was undergoing counselling.
—PTI

Disturbing event in Barmer, Rajasthan, where a woman was paraded half-naked over an affair. Police action follows; suspects detained.

Rajasthan woman paraded semi-naked over affair with married man

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday said that it has arrested the perpetrator and the architect behind the explosion at Rameshwaram cafe in Bengaluru. The two key absconders in the Rameswaram Cafe blast case, identified as Adbul Matheen Taha and Mussavir Hussain Shazeb, were traced out to their hide out near Kolkata and were apprehended by the NIA team, officials said.
Mussavir Hussain Shazib is the accused who placed the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at the cafe and Abdul Matheen Taha is the mastermind behind the planning, execution of blast and subsequent evasion from the clutches of law. On early morning hours on Friday, NIA said, its teams were successful in tracing the absconding accused near Kolkata, where they were hiding under false identities. "This pursuit, successfully accomplished by NIA was ably supported by energetic coordinated action and co-operation between NIA, Central Intelligence agencies and State Police agencies of West Bengal, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala police," the NIA said in a statement.  The arrests come days after the anti-terror agency in a bid to bolster its investigation into the case, widened its scope by delving into the social circles and past associations of the accused, including friends in school-time and college. As part of its investigation process, the anti-terror agency had also intensified its efforts in the case by summoning and scrutinizing some acquaintances, including college and school-time friends, of both absconding and arrested accused. NIA said that the individuals from various spheres of the suspects' lives were being called in for questioning to gather crucial evidence and information pertinent to the case. The move was part of the agency's strategy to piece together the puzzle surrounding the alleged activities of the accused. With a focus on tracing the suspects' connections and possible motives, the NIA said, it left no stone unturned in its pursuit of justice. The NIA had also requested "the cooperation of all in arrest of absconding accused persons." As part of investigation into Rameshwaram Cafe blast dated March 1 at ITPL Road in Bengaluru's Whitefield, Bengaluru, the NIA had identified the two key accused person who carried out the IED blast. The two accused are residents of Thirthahalli area in Karnataka's Shivamogga district.  Further, as part of investigation one Muzammil Shareef, a resident of Khalsa in Chikkamagaluru, who extended logistics support to the main accused persons, was arrested on March 26 and was examined in police custody. As part of efforts to locate and arrest the absconding accused persons, the NIA had conducted searches on 18 locations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Earlier on March 29, the NIA also declared rewards of Rs 10 lakh on each of the two key absconders.
—ANI

NIA captures mastermind and perpetrator of Rameshwaram Cafe blast near Kolkata. Delve into investigation updates, arrests, and widening scope.

Rameshwaram cafe blast: NIA arrests mastermind, bomber from Kolkata

Mumbai: The Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested a close aide of the owner of tour and travel company Cox &amp; Kings in connection with a Rs 400-crore fraud case involving Yes Bank, officials said on Friday.
Ajit Menon (67), a British national, was apprehended by a team of Mumbai police at Cochin airport in Kerala after he arrived from London on Tuesday, an official said.  A Look Out Circular had been issued against him, he said.  Menon was brought to Mumbai on Thursday morning and produced in a court, which remanded him in police custody till April 15, the official said.  According to the official, Menon was a close aide of Ajay Peter Kerkar, the owner of Cox and Kings.  Menon came on the EOW radar during the agency’s probe into the Rs 400-crore Yes Bank fraud case, which involved alleged diversion of money after availing a loan from the bank, the official said.  The money disbursed by Yes Bank was not used for the purpose for which they had obtained the loan, the official said.
During the probe, EOW found that Menon, who used to look after the company operations in Europe, had diverted Rs 56 crore to a UK-based company from the loan amount, the official said.  The EOW had in 2021 registered a case against Cox &amp; Kings Financial Services Limited, a sister concern of tour and travel company Cox &amp; Kings, for allegedly duping Yes Bank of Rs 400 crore.  The Cox and Kings Financial Services Limited was into providing foreign exchange business, holiday financing, student loans and other non-banking financial services.  The EOW had named company owner Kerkar, his wife, Menon and other individuals in the FIR, he said.
—PTI

Mumbai EOW detains Cox & Kings aide in Yes Bank Rs 400-cr fraud. Ajit Menon arrested after arriving from London, spotlighting deep financial malpractices.

Mumbai police arrest close aide of Cox & Kings owner in Rs 400-crore bank fraud case

New Delhi: A 20-year-old alleged sharpshooter of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was arrested from the outskirts of Delhi, police said on Thursday.
Satender Kumar, a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district, was involved in a recent firing incident in the city’s Moti Nagar area last month.  On Monday, we got a tip-off about Kumar and apprehended him during a raid, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outernorth) R K Singh said.  He disclosed that he came in touch with one of the gang members of Lawrance Bishnoi-Kala Rana-Kapil Mann gang in September 2023.
"In the last week of March he was directed to reach a designated place in Naraina where he met with another boy who was riding a scooter," said the DCP.  On March 31, they went to a man’s house in Moti Nagar at about 2 pm where the rider fired several rounds and fled, police said.  "After the incident, he was dropped by the rider near Rithala metro station and thereafter he kept changing his locations to evade arrest," the DCP said.
—PTI

Delhi police arrest alleged sharpshooter Satender Kumar connected to Lawrence Bishnoi gang after Moti Nagar firing incident.

Sharpshooter of Lawrence Bishnoi gang held in Delhi

Thane: More than three weeks after a couple allegedly killed their 18-month-old daughter and secretly buried her at a graveyard in Maharashtra's Thane city, the police exhumed her body and arrested the husband-wife duo after an anonymous letter tipped them off about the crime, an official said on Thursday.
The couple - Jahid Sheikh (38) and his 28-year-old wife Noorami - who reside at Mumbra in the city were arrested on Wednesday for the murder that occurred on March 18, he said.
"The police recently received an anonymous letter about the couple killing their child, Labiba, and quietly burying the body in the graveyard. The police launched a probe and detained the couple. Initially, the accused did not cooperate, but later told how they committed the crime. However, they did not reveal the motive behind the killing," senior inspector Anil Shinde of the Mumbra police station said.  "The couple told the police that they killed their daughter on March 18, after then buried the body in a local graveyard. The police then exhumed the decomposed body. The autopsy report confirmed that the child had suffered injuries on her head and other body parts," he added.  A case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) was registered with the police, he said. Inspector (crime) S A Dawne said the couple was produced before a magistrate on Wednesday and remanded in police custody till April 15.
—PTI

Shocking discovery in Thane as police exhume toddler's body after parents' arrest for her murder.

Couple kills, buries minor daughter in graveyard; anonymous tip helps cops catch them weeks later

Pune: A 19-year-old Muslim student of a university in Maharashtra's Pune city has been allegedly beaten up by five unidentified persons who accused him of engaging in 'love jihad', police said on Tuesday.
The incident took place on Sunday afternoon when the male student was accompanying two female students on the campus of the state-run Savitribai Phule Pune University, an official from Chatushringi police station said.  The police have registered a case against unidentified persons and are trying to identify the culprits, he said.  The university authorities said they have set up a committee for a probe into the incident.
'Love jihad' is a term used by right-wing activists and outfits to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage.  The male student, along with the two female friends, was returning after having a meal when four-five unidentified persons on motorbikes approached them on the university campus, the official said.  They started questioning the student and asked him to show his Aadhaar card.  In his complaint, the student alleged that after seeing his name on the identity card, one of the persons asked whether he had come to the university to engage in 'love jihad' and assaulted him and a Hindu male friend who was also present there, the police said.  "We have registered a complaint against unidentified persons under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and efforts are underway to trace them with the help of CCTV footage," the official said.  The complainant is a student of a skill development course in the university, he added.  The university's registrar, Vijay Khare, said they have formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the incident and asked security personnel deployed in the institution to ensure such incidents of students being threatened by anti-social elements do not recur.
—PTI

A Muslim student at Pune University was allegedly attacked over 'love jihad' claims, highlighting urgent issues of campus safety and societal divisions.

Pune university student beaten up over 'love jihad' claim; cops, varsity launch probe

New Delhi: A youth was stabbed to death by two juveniles in north Delhi's Timarpur area after he refused to give them a matchbox for lighting their cigarettes, police said on Sunday.
The police said they have apprehended both the accused teenagers. According to the police, a PCR call was received on Saturday at the Timarpur police station regarding a stabbing incident. "On reaching the spot, a police team found that there was a pool of blood inside of an autorickshaw and around it," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) M K Meena said, adding that the injured person was shifted to Hindu Rao Hospital by then.
Also Read: <a href="https://www.thehawk.in/posts/women-beat-up-guards-at-mahakaleshwar-temple-after-being-stopped-from-shooting-videos" target="_self">https://www.thehawk.in/posts/women-beat-up-guards-at-mahakaleshwar-temple-after-being-stopped-from-shooting-videos</a> On reaching the hospital, the team learnt that the youth was declared brought dead by the doctors, the DCP said. The crime scene was inspected and the statement of an eyewitness was recorded, he added. On checking the CCTV footage of the crime spot, the police zeroed in on the two juveniles and apprehended them on Sunday, Meena said. "A knife used in the commission of the offence has been recovered," he said. On questioning, the duo revealed that one of them had asked the victim to give him a matchbox to light cigarettes but he refused to do so, which led to a verbal spat. As the argument escalated, one of the juveniles attacked the victim with a knife and the duo fled the spot, the DCP said. One of the apprehended juveniles was previously involved in another heinous crime, he said.
—PTI

Youth fatally stabbed by juveniles over a matchbox in Delhi's Timarpur. Both suspects apprehended, with CCTV playing a key role in the investigation.

Refused matchbox to light cigarettes, teens kill youth in north Delhi

Ujjain: Three women security guards were allegedly beaten up by two women and a few others after they stopped them from shooting videos in the prohibited area of Mahakaleshwar Temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, police said on Sunday.
The incident occurred in the premises of the Mahakaleshwar Temple on Saturday, an official said.
Two women, identified as Palak and Pari, and a few other persons allegedly manhandled and thrashed three women guards after they were stopped from shooting video reels in the prohibited area on the temple premises, Mahakal police station in-charge Ajay Verma said.  The guards, Shivani Pushpad, Sandhya Prajapati and Sangeeta Changesia, work for a private security firm, he said.  A case under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (obscene acts in public) and 506 (criminal intimidation) has been registered against the accused, who are residents of Nagda town, the official said.
—PTI

Three female guards attacked at Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Temple for stopping prohibited video shooting.

Women beat up guards at Mahakaleshwar temple after being stopped from shooting videos

New Delhi: The CBI has busted a child trafficking ring in the national capital and rescued two newborns, officials said on Saturday.
On receiving information about the child trafficking ring, officials of the federal probe agency conducted searches at multiple locations in Delhi and Haryana on Friday evening.
During the raid, the two infants were found at a location in Keshavpuram. A woman who sold the infants and the man who bought them have been detained and were being questioned, officials of the probe agency said.  Other suspects of the child trafficking ring were also being interrogated, they added.
—PTI

CBI cracks down on a child trafficking ring in Delhi, rescuing newborns and detaining suspects. 

CBI busts child trafficking ring in Delhi, 2 newborns rescued

Thrissur (Kerala): A migrant worker from Odisha, accused of killing a Travelling Ticket Examiner by allegedly pushing him out of a moving train here has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, Rajanikanta, a native of Ganjam in Odisha, was taken into custody from the nearby Palakkad district soon after the incident last evening and his arrest was recorded today, they said. He was travelling without a ticket on the train, police said.  The incident occurred on a Patna-bound train that originated from Ernakulam.  The victim K Vinod (48), a TTE from Ernakulam, died after he was allegedly pushed out from the moving train.  It is suspected that another train traveling in the opposite direction ran over his body after he was allegedly pushed out by the accused near Velappaya area under the Thrissur Medical College police station limits.  According to the FIR registered today morning, the accused deliberately pushed the on-duty TTE with the intention of killing him.
As Rajanikanta was found traveling without a ticket, the TTE asked him to pay a penalty, which enraged him.  "The TTE was standing near the door, and the accused, with an intention of killing him, pushed him out from behind with his hands," the FIR further said.  The Thrissur Railway police registered the case based on the complaint of a fellow passenger. The accused has been booked under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.  The victim's body has been shifted to the government medical college hospital for postmortem.
—PTI

Migrant worker arrested for the alleged murder of a TTE by pushing him out of a moving train in India, sparking debates on rail safety and legal repercussions.

Migrant worker arrested for TTE's murder on train in Kerala: Police

Noida: A wine shop salesman in Greater Noida was assaulted and shot dead allegedly by three unidentified young men who demanded liquor from him at around 2 am on Sunday but were denied, police said.
The incident took place at the authorised wine shop located at New Haibatpur village under Bisrakh police station area and the deceased has been identified as Hari Om, a native of Amroha district in western Uttar Pradesh, they said.
"Around 2 am, three boys landed up at the shop, which was closed at the time. However, they went to the rear side of the shop and started banging a door there, demanding liquor be sold to them. The rear opens into a small residential locality. The salesman refused their demand which led to a fight between them," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Suniti said.  "Among those boys, one of them had a country-made pistol, which was used to open fire and a bullet hit the salesman after which the trio fled the spot. By then, the colleagues of the salesman gathered there and rushed Hari Om to a hospital where he died during treatment," the DCP said.  Suniti said police officers reached the spot for inspection after being alerted and an investigation has been launched into the case.  "The CCTV footage and other surveillance cameras installed at the location and nearby are being analysed to trace the culprits. We have been able to get hold of some useful information about the accused, which is being developed further," she said.  An FIR is being lodged in the case and further legal proceedings, including the post mortem examination, are being carried out, she added.
—PTI

Tragic shooting of a wine shop salesman in Greater Noida by youths denied liquor, sparking a thorough police investigation.

Wine shop salesman shot dead for refusing liquor after midnight in Greater Noida

Ujjain: A vendor was booked on Sunday in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh after he allegedly insisted that some devotees from Mumbai purchase 'prasad' from his shop and assaulted them, a police official said.
The incident took place in front of Kal Bhairav temple and the vendor has been identified as Raja Bhati, said Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma.
"He insisted the devotees must buy prasad from his shop as their vehicle was parked in front of it. This led to an argument, leaving three devotees and Bhati injured. We will inform the collector about the presence of illegal shops outside the temple," the SP told PTI.  A case was registered under IPC sections for obscenity, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and other offences on the complaint of Mumbai resident Rishi Bhattacharya, said Bhairavgarh police station in charge Jagdish Goyal.
—PTI

Vendor booked for assaulting devotees over prasad purchase at Ujjain's Kal Bhairav Temple. Police to address illegal shop concerns.

Vendor booked for assaulting devotees outside Kal Bhairav temple in Ujjain

Patiala: A 10-year-old girl died of suspected food poisoning after she ate cake on her birthday, following which a case was registered against the owner of the cake shop, police said on Sunday.
According to a police complaint lodged by the girl's mother, the cake was ordered online on March 24 to celebrate her birthday.  Soon after eating the cake, all the family members, including the girl, started vomiting. The girl died the next morning, but the condition of other family members improved, the complaint stated.
Based on the complaint, a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 273 (sale of noxious drink or food) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) has been registered against the shop owner, police said, adding that viscera samples have been sent to a laboratory to ascertain the cause of the death.  A health official said, "The girl's family visited me on Thursday. I told them to lodge a formal complaint with the police and with the health department. Food teams were instructed to visit the house and collect samples of the cake."  Civil Surgeon Raminder Kaur has ordered a probe into the matter.
—PTI

A heartbreaking incident on a birthday leads to a child's death from suspected food poisoning, sparking an investigation and legal action against the cake shop owner.

10-year-old girl dies after eating birthday cake in Punjab, shop owner booked

New Delhi: Three alleged members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) have been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on money-laundering charges, official sources said on Saturday.
Abdul Khader Puttur, Anshad Baddrudin and Firoz K were working as physical trainers for the PFI, the sources said, adding that they were arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).  The arrested accused were produced before a special court here on Saturday.  The agency has accused the three men of 'imparting' weapons training to the PFI cadre and receiving substantial funds from the proscribed organisation for the same.  The PFI was banned under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Centre in September 2022 over its alleged links with terror activities.  The PFI was formed in 2006 in Kerala. It had its headquarters in Delhi.
—PTI

ED arrests three alleged PFI members for money laundering related to weapons training. This follows PFI's ban under UAPA for terror activities in India.

ED arrests 3 members of banned PFI in money laundering case

Palghar: A 22-year-old woman was allegedly strangulated to death by her live-in partner in Palghar district of Maharashtra for insisting to marry him, with the police arresting the accused from West Bengal days later, an official said.
The crime came to light on March 15 after the woman's decomposed body was found in a room that they had rented in Dahanu town of Palghar district, he said on Friday.  The 26-year-old accused, Minazuddin Abdul Ajij Mulla alias Ravindra Reddy, was arrested on March 22 from South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, from where he and the victim hailed, the police official said.
Addressing media on Friday, District Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil said, "The woman, Anisha Barasta Khatun, was found dead on March 15 in a room located in a chawl at Dahanu where she lived with her live-in partner, who was untraceable. The police sent her body for post-mortem and initially registered a case of accidental death."  "However, the autopsy report confirmed that the death was caused by strangulation. After that, it was converted into a case of murder," he said.  Soon, a police team was formed with Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dahanu division) Ankita Kanse leading the investigation, he added.  During the probe, the police found that accused Mulla hailed from West Bengal and adopted the name Ravindra Reddy in order to get a room in Dahanu on rent and pretended that the victim was his wife, another official said.  The crime came to light after the neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from the room and informed the owner. As there was no response from inside the room, the owner opened the door and they found the woman's decomposed body lying inside. They immediately alerted the police, he said.  A team of the Dahanu police station was sent to West Bengal to trace and nab the accused. After seven days of persistent efforts, they apprehended Mulla in the early hours of March 22, he added.  Additional Superintendent of Police Pankaj Shirsat said the accused killed the victim as she kept insisting on marrying him, although he was against the idea.  Following his arrest, a court in Palghar has remanded Mulla in police custody till April 2, he said.
—PTI

A 22-year-old woman in Palghar, Maharashtra, was murdered by her live-in partner following a dispute over marriage. The accused was later arrested in West Bengal.

Man kills live-in partner for insisting to marry him; held from West Bengal

Lucknow: Mukhtar Ansari straddled the worlds of crime and politics in Uttar Pradesh. The gangster-politician was booked in 65 criminal cases ranging from murder to extortion and was elected an MLA five times on the tickets of different political parties.
Ansari, 63, died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Banda on Thursday.  Born into an influential family in 1963, Ansari entered the world of crime to establish himself and his gang in the government contract mafia that was then flourishing in the state.  His tryst with crime began as early as 1978, when Ansari was just 15 years of age. He had his first brush with the law when he was booked for criminal intimidation at Saidpur Police Station of Ghazipur.  Almost a decade later in 1986, by the time he had become a well-known face in the contract mafia circle, another case of murder was lodged against him at Muhammad Police Station of Ghazipur.  Over the next decade, Ansari became a common face of crime with at least 14 more cases under serious charges lodged against him.  His growing criminal graph, however, did not hinder his entry in politics.  Ansari was first elected an MLA in the UP assembly in 1996 on a ticket from Bahujan Samaj Party from Mau. He continued his successful run on the seat as an independent candidate in 2002 and 2007 assembly elections.
In 2012, he launched Qaumi Ekta Dal (QED) and won from Mau again.  He won from Mau again in 2017. In 2022 he vacated the seat for his son Abbas Ansari who won from the seat on the ticket of Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party.  Since 2005, till his death, Ansari had been lodged in different jails of UP and Punjab.  He had 28 criminal cases, including that of murder, and seven cases under the UP's Gangster Act registered against him since 2005.  He had been convicted in eight criminal cases since September 2022 and was facing trial in 21 cases in different courts.  Ansari was awarded life term and a penalty of Rs 2.02 lakh by Varanasi MP/MLA earlier this month in a case of fraudulently obtaining an arms licence around 37 years ago.  This was the eighth case in which he was sentenced in the past 18 months by different courts of UP and the second in which he was awarded a life term.  On December 15, 2023, a Varanasi MP/MLA court sentenced Ansari for five years and six months for giving death threat to Mahavir Prasad Rungta for turning hostile and not pursue a case involving the kidnapping and murder of BJP leader and coal trader Nand Kishore Rungta on January 22, 1997.  On October 27, 2023, a Ghazipur MP/MLA court had awarded him 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and penalty of 5 lakh in a Gangster Act case lodged against him in 2010.
On June 5, 2023, a Varanasi MP/MLA had awarded life imprisonment to Ansari in the case of murder of Awadesh Rai, the elder brother of former Congress MLA and present UP Congress president Ajay Rai.  Awadesh Rai was sprayed with bullets when he and brother Ajay were standing outside their house in the Lahurabir locality of Varanasi on August 3, 1991.  On April 29, 2023, Ghazipur MP/MLA court had sentenced Ansari to 10 years of imprisonment in a case of murder of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai.  The Lucknow bench of Allahabad high court had on September 23, 2022, awarded Ansari five years of rigorous imprisonment in a Gangster Act case registered against him in 1999 at Hazratganj Police Station in Lucknow and imposed a fine on him Rs 50,000.  The Ghazipur MP/MLA court on December 15, 2022, had awarded him 10 years of imprisonment and slapped a penalty of 5 lakh each in two separate cases of Gangster Act lodged against him in 1996 and 2007.  Ansari's first conviction in the last 13 months was awarded by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court.  He was awarded seven years of imprisonment on September 21, 2022, for threatening the jailor of the Lucknow district jail in 2003.  The Uttar Pradesh government had to approach the Supreme Court to bring Ansari back to the state from Ropar jail in Punjab.  Ansari, then a BSP MLA, was lodged in the Ropar jail in January 2019 in connection with an extortion case and remained there for a period of more than two years.  In March 2021, while hearing a plea of the UP government, the SC had directed the Punjab government to hand over Ansari's custody to UP, saying it was being denied on trivial grounds under the guise of medical issues.  The court had also said that a convict or an under-trial prisoner, who disobeys the law of the land, cannot oppose his transfer from one prison to another and the courts are not to be helpless bystanders when the rule of law is being challenged with impunity.  Since 2020, Ansari gang had been under an intense heat from police, which either seized or demolished illegal property worth Rs 608 crore belonging to the gang.  Illegal business, contracts, or tenders worth over Rs 215 crore of the gang was also stopped by the police in this period.
—PTI

Gangster-politician Mukhtar Ansari, known for his extensive criminal record and political influence in Uttar Pradesh, passes away at 63 due to cardiac arrest.

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