Crime National
Palghar Sadhus Lynching Case: Maharashtra Govt ready to hand case to CBI
In a major development the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra Government has expressed its willingness to handover the Palghar Sadhus lynching case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, it has said that it “is ready and willing to hand over the investigation to the CBI and would have no objection to the same.” It is interesting to note that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) Government led by Uddhav Thackeray had denied a similar request during its tenure saying that two charge sheets had been filed and action was taken against the cops.
What happened in Palghar?
On the night of April 16, 2020, two Hindu sadhus were brutally lynched to death by a frenzied mob of more than 100 people in Plaghar, even as a posse of police remained mute onlookers. This was validated in videos that were shared online by many sources which showed the cops literally handing over the frail sadhus to face the mob on their own. Hence the demand for a CBI enquiry grew louder.
However, the then MVA Government refused and instead just filed a charge sheet that said the attack on the sadhus was a result of rumours/fake WhatsApp messages that told villagers that child lifters were moving around in the area and that they need to be vigilant. The sadhus were suspected of being kidnappers and hence attacked.
However, with many accused still on the run and no detailed enquiry into the matter, there has been a lot of speculation on the motivation for the attack thus eluding justice to the slain sadhus. The CBI probe should hopefully bring closure to this tragic incident.
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Rahul Gandhi
Surat Court, on Thursday, awarded two-year jail term to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case for his ‘all thieves have Modi surname’ remark. The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged ‘how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?’ remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
The Court also imposed a fine of ₹15,000 after finding him guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation). However, he secured a bail in the same case.
Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Verma heard the final arguments regarding Gandhi’s 2019 remark, “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi have Modi in their names.” Gandhi’s counsel Kirit Panwala said, “We will today send a message to Rahul Gandhi to remain present on March 23 in Surat district court. Most probably, he would be present in the court. We will get confirmation on Saturday.”
Gandhi made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
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Rahul Gandhi
Surat Court held Congress MP Rahul Gandhi guilty in a defamation case for his ‘all thieves have Modi surname’ remark. The case was filed against Gandhi for his alleged ‘how come all the thieves have Modi as the common surname?’ remarks on a complaint lodged by BJP MLA and former Gujarat minister Purnesh Modi.
Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Verma heard the final arguments regarding Gandhi’s 2019 remark, “Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi have Modi in their names.” Gandhi’s counsel Kirit Panwala said, “We will today send a message to Rahul Gandhi to remain present on March 23 in Surat district court. Most probably, he would be present in the court. We will get confirmation on Saturday.”
Gandhi had last appeared before the Surat court in the case, filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500 (dealing with defamation), in October 2021 to record his statement. Gandhi made the alleged remarks while addressing a rally at Kolar in Karnataka ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
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Crime
6 die in major high-speed car accident with 13 on board at Samruddhi Mahamarg after driver falls asleep
The condition of the car post accident on Samruddhi Mahamarg
Six people including a 12-year-old girl, four women and one man traveling in a high speed car on Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway (Lonar taluka of Buldhana district) died in a tragic crash on Sunday morning after the car driver Suresh Bharat Barve (35) fell asleep and lost control of the vehicle.
However, seven other passengers in the car including four small children along with the driver were rushed to Aurangabad for medical attention. Cops said the 13 people in the car were headed to Shengaon from Aurangabad.
Sandeep Pise, an eye witness, claimed had the ambulance arrived on time, several lives could have been saved. He told told mid-day, “I was working in my field around 7.55 am on Sunday when I heard a loud thud. I could tell that a major accident had occurred so I immediately rushed to the spot along with others working in the field. I saw women and children scattered on the busy road while a few of them were in a semi-conscious condition and the others were writhing in pain.
He added, “The accident took place near Shivni Pisa village, which is between two toll plazas, Mehkar Fardapur and Dusarbid, on the expressway. Both the toll plazas are around 15 km away, and an ambulance could have easily reached within 10 minutes. But it arrived after 45 minutes.”
“The only person inside the car was the driver, who later struggled to get out of the vehicle and started running here and there on the highway. Later the driver also fainted on the road. We called our relatives and friends from a nearby village. Around 100 people gathered in no time and we tried to call the authorities for immediate help,” he added.
“When a local police team reached the spot, they started to shoo us away when we requested them to rush the severely injured people to a nearby hospital. But the cops started to shout at us and they waited for the arrival of the ambulance that came after 45 minutes. Had the ambulance come a little early, at least a few lives could have been saved,” he added.
The Samruddhi Mahamarg, also known as Nagpur-Mumbai Super Communication Expressway, is open to traffic between Shirdi and Nagpur.
The deceased have been identified as Janhavi Suresh Barve, 11; Hausabai Bharat Barve, 75; Shraddha Suresh Barve, 28; Kiran Rajendra Bodade, 28; Bhagyashree Kiran Bodade, 25; and Pramila Rajendra Bodade, 52. Those rushed to the hospital, besides Suresh, are Namrata Ravindra Barve, 32; Rudra Ravindra Barve, 12; Yash Ravindra Barve, 10; Saumya Ravindra Barve, 4; Jatin Suresh Barve, 4; Vaishnavi Sunil Gaikwad, 19.
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