Museum elevator accident probe in final stage, arrests likely soon: Cops

Mateen Hafeez / TNN

TNN | Jun 3, 2019, 08.19 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: Byculla police, probing the death of dentist Dr Arnavaz Havewala (64) in the Bhau Daji Lad museum lift case, said they were in final stages of deciding who was responsible for the mishap on April 28.

Investigators are awaiting a crucial electrical inspector (lift) report, which will clarify whose job it was to maintain the lift. Arrests are likely soon for negligence causing death, said sources.

Dr Havewala, attached to Masina Hospital, suffered multiple fractures and died there on May 9. Her daughter Hera, who was also in the lift and was injured, was also admitted to hospital but later discharged.

Police had registered a case under sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) against unidentified persons. When Havewala died, police added section 304 (negligence causing death) of IPC in the case.

Over two weeks back, police had written to the electrical inspector (lift) who visited the spot. "We are expecting the report this week. We recorded statements of employees of Expert Equipment Pvt Ltd, which maintained the lift till March 2019. The lift should have stopped and not crashed if there was a technical error. The report will tell us whose fault it was," said a senior police officer. Police have recorded statements of around 20 persons in the case.

Police also collected information and took expert opinion on whether installing an unconventional hydraulic lift was feasible at the museum. The lift was installed in the museum in 2005 by Expert Equipment. The agreement for maintenance contract was not renewed. Further, the firm had in 2014 asked the museum authorities to appoint a trained lift operator to handle the lift, said a police officer. During the probe, police also found that the lift had no licence to operate. But Expert Equipment claimed that no licence was needed for unconventional hydraulic lifts. The electrical inspector's report will also cover this aspect.

The Times of India, June 3, 2019

South Bombay residents’ body president conned, raped me: Brazilian teenager

Mateen Hafeez / TNN

 

May 23, 2019, 06.09 AM IST

 

MUMBAI: Cuffe Parade police probing a rape complaint filed by a 19-year-old Brazilian against Cuffe Parade Residents’ Association president Padmakar Nandekar have learnt Nandekar had invited her for dinner to his home and promised to drop her back to Bandra where she currently lives. But he took her to a five-star hotel, instead.

Nandekar, 52, was arrested on Monday on charges of rape. He has been sent to policy custody till May 24.

The survivor is a participant in a year-long youth exchange programme organized by a popular club. She arrived in India in August 2018. “The girl stayed with Nandekar’s family for six months and later moved in with another family in Bandra,” said an officer.

According to the police, on April 15, Nandekar’s wife was out of town when he took the girl for dinner to a five-star hotel near Gateway of India where he allegedly spiked her drink and raped her. The girl has told police she felt dizzy and when she woke up the next morning she found Nandekar in the room. The survivor has told the police she left the hotel and spoke to her mother in Brazil who told her to file a complaint. The girl, along with the Bandra family, then approached Cuffe Parade police. The police took the girl for medical examination and a final report is awaited.

Nandekar’s daughter is on a similar exchange programme in Spain.

A spokesperson said the exchange programme rules are strict and this is the first time such an incident has occurred. “As per guidelines, the exchange student has to return to the host family’s residence by 10 pm. However, since Nandekar had previously hosted the girl, he knew her new host family which is why she was allowed to stay out with him overnight,” he said.

“Nandekar is influential and so the girl’s host family first approached the club, which filed the FIR against him,” the spokesperson stated. The international organisation is likely to suspend his membership.

The Cuffe Parade Residents’ Association has not taken any decision yet on ousting Nandekar.

(With inputs from Bhavani Srinivasan)

The Times of India, May 23, 2019

Man who left home to meet pal 3 weeks ago yet to return

Waqar Mapari

Mateen.Hafeez@timesgroup.com
 

Mumbai: Three weeks after a 21-year-old youth from Navi Mumbai went missing “mysteriously”, his family is clueless of his whereabouts. What has brought a twist to the disappearance of Waqar Mapari, an MBA student, is that his scooter was found near the old Vashi bridge on Friday.

Waqar’s friends and family members have scanned footage of at least 250 CCTV cameras, checked with associates and have even explored the ‘girlfriend’ angle, but they have not found any concrete leads.

Waqar went missing on April 29. He was at home watching a cricket match with his father when he got a call from a friend Sufyan Baig, who had borrowed Waqar’s scooter and had come to return it, said his father Yusuf alias Amir.

“My son went to drop his friend who stays nearby. The CCTV footage shows Waqar returned to our building but left in a hurry after checking his phone. He got on his scooter again and left,” he said. Last Friday, a relativespotted Waqar’s scooter parked near the Vashi bridge.

“But we have no clue as to where my son is,” said Yusuf who lodged a complaint at Nerul police station a day after he went missing. Circumstances in which Waqar left home indicate he was not going too far, said his father. “He was not carrying any money.” Police sub-inspctor P G Ghagare said they are now examining call data records.

The Times of India, May 20, 2019

'Inspector' held for trying to fix trader

Mateen Hafeez / TNN

 

May 12, 2019, 06.28 AM IST

 

MUMBAI: A BKC diamond market trader panicked after he received a call from a person claiming to be an Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) inspector on Thursday evening. The imposter, who has been arrested, told the trader, whose turnover is said to be over Rs 200 crore, that his name cropped up while he was probing a drug case and told him to meet him in Pune.

"He received a call from a mobile number and the caller identified himself as 'inspector Pawar' of ANC. He told the trader that he had caught a person, Faizee, who had named him. He told the trader to meet him at ANC's Kandivli office.

The Times of India, May 12, 2019

64-year-old dentist injured in Mumbai's Bhau Daji Lad lift crash dies

 Mateen Hafeez & Sumitra Deb Roy

TNN | May 10, 2019, 05.37 AM IST

 

MUMBAI: Dr Arnavaz Havewalla, a 64-year-old dentist who met with an accident in a lift at the Bhau Daji Lad Museum on April 28 and suffered multiple fractures, died in Masina Hospital on Thursday. Her daughter, who was also in the lift and sustained injuries, was discharged from hospital.

Havewalla was a dentist with the Masina Hospital.

"The lady was with a relative in the lift when it crashed," Abhinash Kumar, zonal DPC, said. "There was blood clotting in her lungs. She had suffered fractures. "

The police had registered a case under Section 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC. Now they said they would add Section 304 (negligence causing death). They said no arrest had been made yet.

Tasneem Mehta, director at the Bhau Daji Lad Museum, said that on the day of the accident Havewalla and her daughter were using the lift to go from the the first floor to the ground floor.

"The door was not completely closed and the lift went down a few inches. They tried to open the door and pressed keys. During this the emergency brake failed. Our staff also tried to bring the lift back up and pressed the external button. But it did not respond. The lift went 10 ft down and she lost her balance and fell. She sustained fractures. Once she was rescued, our staff took her in an ambulance to the Masina Hospital where she was under special care of doctors for 10 days," she said.

Mehta said Havewalla died of cardiac arrest. She said the death raised questions about the medical care at the hospital. She said the lift was checked by the vendor responsible for maintaining it and it had been functional for 11 years. "It happend due to a mechanical error," she said.

The museum, outside Byculla zoo, is owned by the BMC. There is a tripartite agreement for restoration and care with the Indian National Trust and Jamnala Bajaj Foundation.

The Masina Hospital, in a statement issued late on Thursday, said that Dr Havewalla was brought to the hospital after she had suffered a severe pelvic fracture and injury on heels following a fall from a height.

"She was admitted into the ICU and later shifted to the ward as her condition had stabilised. She was being monitored by an orthopaedic and general physician," the statement said. The hospital said that despite the best possible treatment, she succumbed to her injuries on Thursday.

"She was being treated without surgery. Her condition had improved but it deteriorated later," medical director Vispi Jokhi said. Havewalla was sent back to the ICU before she died in the morning. A source said cause of death was "acute pulmonary thromboembolism following fracture of pelvis and both heels".


The Times of India, May 10, 2019

Chargesheet in Himalaya FOB crash blames negligent auditor

Mateen Hafeez / TNN 

 

May 10, 2019, 05.32 AM IST

 

MUMBAI: The Azad Maidan police, probing the Himalaya foot overbridge collapse that killed seven, filed a 709-page chargesheet against Neeraj Desai, director of the firm that audited the FOB for structural safety, on Thursday.

The chargesheet says Desai, who is in custody, did not carry out the structural audit professionally, and the deck that crashed was not covered during the audit. The concrete pavement of the FOB that runs across D N Road from CSMT collapsed at 7.33pm on March 14, killing six persons. One injured person died later.

Desai, director of D D Desai's Associated Engineering Consultants and Analysts, was negligent during the audit and he knew that the bridge may crash but he didn't inform the BMC, the chargesheet concluded, adding that Desai's firm did not follow the Indian Road Congress manual (for inspection of bridges) during the audit. In its report, Desai's firm mentioned that the condition of the bridge was "good", but the FOB collapsed.

The police said Desai did not ask Geo Dynamics, which was subcontracted the Non Destructive Test (NDT), to carry out tests on the entire bridge. The police have also got permission from BMC to prosecute two of its employees in the case.

On July 4 and 6, 2017, two engineers from the firm (Geo Dynamics) carried out the ultrasonic test, rebound hammer test and carbonisation test at 16 points on the bridge to ascertain its strength. But they were not asked to test the deck, the portion that collapsed.

"Ravi Kiran Vaidya, owner of Geo Dynamics, in his statement before a magistrate has stated his firm was not asked to carry out tests on the deck," said an officer. Besides Vaidya, statements of two eyewitnesses-the owner of a snacks stall and a taxi driver whose cab was severely damaged-have been recorded before a magistrate under section 164 of CrPC, meaning the statements will be treated as evidence during the trial.

While the concrete slab and iron beam have been sent to VJTI for tests, its reports are awaited. "The chargesheet does not contain any forensic report since we have not got it yet. Forensic experts had visited the spot, collected cement, iron and debris samples for analysis. When we get the report, we will attach it with the supplementary chargesheet," added an officer.

The police submitted the chargesheet in the case within 52 days of auditor Desai's arrest. Moreover, they have got permission from BMC to prosecute two of its employees -Anil Patil (53), a suspended civil executive engineer, and Sandeep Kakulte (44), an assistant engineer-in the case."The BMC has sanctioned our application to prosecute the two. We will submit a chargesheet against the two officers soon," said DCP Abhishek Trimukhe.

While Desai is lodged in Taloja jail, Patil and Kakulte are in Arthur Road jail. The fourth accused, Shitlaprasad Kori, a former BMC chief engineer, is in police custody.

Last month, BMC chief engineer Sanjay Darade told the standing committee that civic engineers did not fully study the structural audit report submitted in September last year. The admission came after corporators pointed out that while the report summary said the FOB was in good condition, the detailed conditional assessment mentioned cracks in the parapet/railing, staircase being broken, concrete slabs having been corroded and beams being exposed. It also recommended tests for strength and durability, but none was conducted by BMC.

The police have cited a list of 83 witnesses against Desai, who was contracted by BMC to carry out the structural audit of bridges in south Mumbai for Rs 65 lakh. During the probe, it emerged that Desai had subcontracted NDT to Vadodara's Geo Dynamics. The audit report came almost two years after the contract was given on October 2016. On the report's delay, Desai's lawyer had said in court after his arrest that it occurred due to a delay in obtaining certain testing equipment sought by Desai's firm. "The initial inspection of the FOB was done in December 2016. There was back and forth with the civic body over the report, which added to the delay in its submission."

An official from Geo Dynamics had earlier told TOI, "Our work was limited to the extent of testing some piles and columns of the staircase. We were not associated with the entire job of auditing the structure. It wasn't that the work was sub-contracted to us in anyway."

The Times of India, May 10, 2019

Mumbai: Pellet from shooting practice at maidan almost blinds man

Mateen Hafeez & Malathy Iyer

TNN | Apr 3, 2019, 05.22 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: An illegal shooting practice conducted by a trainer at Azad Maidan left a pedestrian’s vision in his left eye “severely impaired” when a pellet pierced it on February 16.

Ghatkopar resident Manoj (name changed on request), 27, was crossing the maidan to reach CSMT at 12.40 pm when he felt a stinging pain and sat down. Passersby who came to his help pointed out that his eye was bleeding.

Manoj, who works as a peon in a shipping firm in Navi Mumbai, is receiving treatment and is likely to undergo a second retinal repair surgery on Wednesday if his colleagues can raise Rs 2 lakh. Doctors said at the moment he can see only up to 1metre with the injured eye.

The pellet — smaller than a pea at 8mm — came from a shooting camp organised for eight students from a Churchgate college by the Pune-based Indian Military Training Centre. The trainer had put a plastic curtain near the Bombay Gymkhana-end of the maidan, but the pellet pierced it and struck Manoj’s eye on the third and last day of training.

Senior police officials told TOI that shooting training cannot be carried out in the open and must be done in designated ranges. An official of the Maharashtra Rifle Association said: “Even to set up a temporary range in an open area, one needs licence and to ensure the safety of everybody.”

No arrests have been made in the case, which was registered at Azad Maidan police station a week later on February 24, but the Pune training centre’s owner, Advait Deshpande, has been booked (see box). The trainer, a 22-year-old who studies in a Panvel college, has not been booked. He had done an NCC course in his school days. The students have not been named in the FIR.

Deshpande, who was summoned by the police, said his firm is registered and he has been imparting training for “self-defence” for seven years in Pune. This was his first assignment in Mumbai. He would charge Rs 1,500 per student for four sessions.

Manoj’s vision could improve after the second surgery, but doctors said vision rarely returns to normal after retinal tear surgeries. “During the first operation on the day after the incident, we found the pellet ‘lodged’ in his retina,” said Dr S Natrajan of Aditya Jyot Hospital, Wadala. It was repaired using laser, but during a follow-up visit on March 29, doctors found the lower end of the retina was detached.


The Times of India, April 3, 2019

Mumbai: Another BMC engineer held for CSMT FOB crash

Mateen Hafeez & Richa Pinto

TNN | Apr 3, 2019, 05.31 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: Police on Tuesday arrested Anil Patil (53), a suspended civic executive engineer, as part of its probe into the collapse of Himalaya foot overbridge (FOB) on March 14, which killed six persons and injured 31.

This is the second arrest of a civic official in the case. On Monday, police had arrested assistant engineer Sandeep Kakulte (44). Public prosecutor Rajan Suryavanshi, while seeking Kakulte’s custody on Tuesday, told the court that he did not visit the FOB during its repairs, maintenance and while a non-destructive test was conducted in the last five years.

“Patil had to supervise the work but he did not,” said a senior police officer. Patil is the third person to be arrested by Azad Maidan police. Earlier, police had arrested Neraj Kumar Desai (48), director of an audit firm, Prof D D Desai’s Associates Engineering Consultants. The firm had carried out the bridge’s structural audit and reported it was fit. Patil was appointed in the bridges department in September 2014 and worked there till December 2018. He was suspended along with Kakulte on March 15, a day after the bridge crash.

Kakulte, a civil engineer, joined BMC in 2005 as a sub-engineer, and worked in the bridges, traffic and roads department until a separate unit for bridges was formed in 2013. Kakulte, who draws around Rs75,000 a month, told court, “I am handicapped and come to office from Virar. I have been requesting seniors to shift me to some other department, but they didn’t. I don’t even have a lawyer.” The court, while remanding him to police custody, told him to engage a lawyer.

Suryavanshi told court, “Kakulte was responsible for visiting sites during repairs, non-destructive tests and maintenance, monitoring work and submitting a report. But he never visited the site or submitted a report. It was his duty to note down changes the auditor or others involved in the work suggested. As per BMC records, he was not present at any site even once.” The court remanded Kakulte to police custody till April 5.

A day after the crash, a preliminary BMC inquiry report nailed the structural auditor, two civic engineers and the contractor who carried out repairs around 2013. Two retired civic bridges department officers, one of who is a former chief engineer, was named too and a full-fledged departmental inquiry was ordered. Kakulte was placed under immediate suspension as he was supervising repairs of the bridge in 2013-14 and was held responsible. The firm that carried out structural repairs in 2013 had been pulled up as its workmanship was not up to the mark and was issued show-cause notices, while civic staff were blamed for lack of supervision.

The prosecutor said police need to establish if Desai had asked Kakulte to do work related to the bridge which he did not note or if he noted, then where were the documents, since he had not submitted any to his office.


The Times of India, April 3, 2019

Audit co’s owner arrested for Mumbai bridge crash

Mateen Hafeez 

TNN | Mar 19, 2019, 05.20 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: In the first arrest since the Himalaya foot overbridge collapse killed six, Neeraj Desai, owner of the firm that had carried out a structural audit of the FOB and certified it to be in "good condition" in 2018, was held on Monday.

Desai (48) faces charges under Section 304-II of IPC of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which prescribes a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail. The charge was updated on Sunday night from Section 304(A)-negligence causing death, that means a maximum jail term of two years-that was slapped when the FIR was filed on the night of March 14.

TimesView

The arrest of the auditor is a step in the direction of ensuring accountability. But it's just Step One. Responsibility must be fixed with as much alacrity on the BMC officials whose negligence has been highlighted by civic chief Ajoy Mehta himself. And booking junior-level engineers would simply be a half-hearted act. What of those supposed to supervise and monitor their work? Their heads too must roll, and equally stringent charges must be slapped on them.

Desai owns Professor D D Desai's Associates Engineering Consultants, empanelled with the BMC and tasked with auditing 39 bridges and FOBs in south Mumbai in 2016.

"During our initial investigation, we found that experts were involved in the audit and they knew people could lose their lives due to negligence," said zonal DCP Abhishek Trimukhe, pointing out that Desai had personally audited the FOB.

A team from the Azad Maidan police station, probing the FOB collapse on March 14, reached Desai's Andheri (West) residence on Monday morning. They returned empty-handed as he was not at home. The team finally zeroed in on Desai in Sakinaka in the afternoon and picked him up. He will be produced before the Esplanade court on Tuesday.

A day after the FOB collapse, the BMC had conducted a preliminary inquiry and recommended the sternest action against the auditor, which had said in its report that the bridge was in good condition and required minor repairs.

Desai, who holds a masters in structural engineering, had knowledge about the bridge's actual condition, said the police. "We are questioning him. We have spoken to Sanjay Darade, chief engineer (bridges), to understand the functioning, job profile and responsibilities of the auditor, and others. We also got information on who was supposed to maintain the bridge and how it was done," said a senior police officer.

The BMC report on Friday had concluded that negligence and irresponsible nature of the audit led to the collapse of the FOB and loss of human lives. It recommended an FIR against the auditor, de-empanelment with the BMC and informing the state government of the reasons.


(Inputs by Richa Pinto)

The Times of India, March 19, 2019

We will not be influenced by BMC's inquiry report: Police

Mateen Hafeez

 

TNN | Mar 17, 2019, 06.56 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: The Azad Maidan police, investigating the Himalaya bridge collapse that killed six persons, said that it was collecting documents related to the case and that it would not be influenced by the BMC's report. Sources said there was a possibility of the police forming a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the case.

As of now, the police have not issued summons to anyone and will do so once they study the documents they are collecting. "We are conducting an independent inquiry and will not rely upon any other source or findings," said a senior police officer.

A day after the tragedy killed six people outside CSMT, the BMC's preliminary inquiry report had nailed the structural auditor, two civic engineers and a contractor who had carried repairs in 2013. Two retired civic officers from the bridges department too have been named and a full-fledged departmental inquiry has been ordered against them.

A police source said that they have got a copy of the BMC report and are going through it. "No suspect's statement has been recorded yet and no arrest has been made. We are collecting evidences and will take action as per law," said Deven Bharti, joint commissioner of police (law and order). Another officer said that even though they have got the BMC's report, they "will not be influenced by it" and go by their own probe and findings. Cops have recorded statements of over 50 witnesses so far. "We will not summon railway officials as they have nothing to do with the collapse," added the officer.


The Times of India, March 17, 2019

Mumbai: Dumper runs over senior citizen

Mateen Hafeez

TNN | Mar 15, 2019, 09.06 AM IST

 

 

MUMBAI: A senior citizen, who was returning home after attending a religious sermon at Bhendi Bazar, was crushed by a speeding dumper at around 12.30pm on Thursday.

The deceased, Zubaida Patanwala, was rushed to a hospital, but declared brought dead. While the dumper driver managed to escape, some local youths chased him and he was nabbed by the Pydhonie police near Crawford Market.

"We will go through the CCTV footage to establish how exactly the accident took place. It is too early to say whether the dumper driver was drunk," said a police officer.

The Times of India, March 15, 2019

Mumbai man poses as client, escapes with gold worth Rs 52 lakh, held

Mateen Hafeez

Mar 11, 2019, 08.36 AM IST

 

MUMBAI: Pydhonie police on Saturday arrested a 20-year-old man for impersonating as a client to dupe a jewellery shop owner of gold worth Rs 52 lakh. Police are looking for two accused who hatched the conspiracy. The accused, while fleeing with the gold, had locked the victim and his employee in a room.
Police said Moti Mandal, 36, a Mazgaon resident, lodged a complaint stating two men posed as his clients and stole 1,700 gm gold.

Police said Mandal owned a jewellery designing shop near Masjid Bunder. The complainant has stated on January 16, he got a call from one Altaf Shaikh who placed an order for gold chains and bracelets. Shaikh sent unpolished gold to Mandal's unit through an agent, Abir Hussain.

In the last week of February, Shaikh called up Mandal and told him another agent would be dealing with him.

The accused placed another order, but this time he did not hand over any gold. Instead, he said they would first take the gold jewellery and hand over the pure gold later.

Mandal subsequently got a call from Shaikh who asked him to bring the bracelets. Mandal and an employee went to an address given by Shaikh. On reaching there, they were met by two men who took the gold jewellery and left the office saying they would bring the gold to hand over to Mandal.

When they did not return, Mandal tried to open the door and found they had been locked. He and the employee broke the glass window.

Based on call data records, police arrested Asif Shaikh, 20, who had provided his documents to the accused Anwar Shaikh to procure a SIM card.

The Times of India, March 11, 2019

CCTV grab seals fate of club contractor in SoBo murder

GIVEAWAY: The tempo used to transport the unconscious victim

Mateen.Hafeez@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: In an investigation worthy of the screen, the Gamdevi police solved a murder case in which the only clue was the blurred image of a tempo. 

On March 1, an injured man was found unconscious near a ground opposite a posh club in south Mumbai by a civic employee. Police was informed and the person was rushed to Nair Hospital. A case of attempt to murder was registered after a medical report established that he was hammered six times on the skull, forehead and jaws. Despite no identity proof, police solved the case with blurred images of a tempo used to dump the victim. The victim died the day the prime accused was arrested.

Inspector Shashikant Yadav said Balaram Jadhav (51), a mukadam with D ward office, informed them about the man at 6.45am.

 “We luckily found CCTV footage from a nearby residential building,” said Yadav. Investigators said a tempo arrived at 1.25am, two men alighted, one of them dragged something and threw it on the road. The third man, in the front seat, also alighted. A little later, two men left, but Ramesh alias Bobby (59) waited. He dragged the victim to a corner behind a parked school bus, and threw a bloodstained polythene and cardboard into a dustbin, and walked away.

CCTV footage of the tempo showed ‘Amajrit’ written on it, but the other words were blurred. A Gamdevi transporter said it belonged to a person in the transport business, Amarjit Yadav (28). When police summoned him, he admitted to have gone to the spot along with his employee, Mohammed Shareef (32) and a client, Bobby. He claimed Bobby had booked his tempo to transport material from Oriental Club to NSCI in Worli. Amarjit and Shareef were booked for attempted murder and arrested. While examining Bobby’s phone, police found he was in Gujarat. Bobby was a contractor at a club at Wankhede stadium for 14 years. Police took the help of other contractors to call him to the police station.

Soon after he landed up, police got news that the victim, by then identified as Babu, had died on March 3. “Bobby admitted that on February 28 Babu had come to work as a daily wage labourer. Bobby paid him Rs1,500 but he demanded more. They went to Amarjit’s tempo, sat inside and argued as both were drunk. When Babu snatched Bobby’s debit card from his pocket, a furious Bobby took a hammer and clobbered him. He was then dumped by Bobby and two others. Police have kept his body in the mortuary and are trying to locate his relatives.

March 8, 2019 The Times of India

Doctor clicks on link sent by ‘bank’, loses ₹3L

Mateen.Hafeez@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: A 30-year-old man for a private company in Pune was arrested on Saturday for allegedly duping a doctor from Gamdevi of Rs 2.9 lakh last November. 

The accused, Bipin Mahato, who was nabbed from Pune, had called the doctor on November 21 and introduced himself as an executive of a bank with which the doctor maintains an account, said an official from Gamdevi police station. The caller briefed the doctor about the bank’s services and “verified” his (the doctor’s) account number to lend credence that he was an authorised official calling from the bank.

“He told the doctor that he had to authorise the bank’s app that the medico had been using. For this, he said he would send him a link on his cellphone and the doctor only had to click on it and forward it to another number,” said a police source.

As the doctor done that, he received five messages on his phone about Rs 2.9 lakh being transferred from his account, said the source. The doctor was unable to contact the caller after which he lodged a complaint.

The police probe revealed that the money had been trasnferred to the account of one Bipin Mahato from Bettiah in Bihar. The police tracked him down to his workplace in Pune. Mahato is in police custody.

The Times of India, February 11, 2019

Noida youth buys applicant’s details from job portal staffer and dupes her

Mateen.Hafeez@timesgroup.com
 

Mumbai: The Cuffe Parade police have arrested a 29-year-old man who holds a masters degree in computer applications for running a fake call center from Noida and cheating a Mumbai woman who was looking for a job. The accused, along with his gang, duped the woman by promising her a job and making her repeatedly deposit money in various bank accounts. The accused told the police he had bought the woman’s contact information from the employee of a global employment website.

The mastermind, Noida resident Jaideep Shastri, was brought to Mumbai from Delhi on Saturday and arrested. “The complainant, a 25-year-old woman, who is an MCom, was looking for a job. Within days of her registering on a reputed online employment website, she received emails and calls stating she was among 15 people selected for a nationalised bank,” said a source. The complainant told the police a woman, who identified herself as Devrishi Sharma, called her in June 2017 and told her she had been selected. Sharma asked her she needed to deposit a “fee” to proceed with the job offer.

Sharma instructed the victim on several occasions to deposit money in bank accounts, including hers (Sharma’s). After depositing Rs 1.21 lakh, the victim realised she had been duped and approached the Cuffe Parade police and lodged an FIR. The police began probing the case and traced Sharma with the bank account details and mobile number submitted by the victim. She was brought from Delhi in August and arrested.

“During her interrogation, the police learnt about the involvement of others. A man, Vikrant Giri, whose bank account was used in the crime, too was arrested. During investigations, Shastri’s name emerged as the mastermind of the scam,” said a source.

The police despatched a team to Noida and nabbed Shastri. “During interrogation, he said that the employee of a global employment website had sold him the contact details of several people. We are now trying to arrest this person,” said a senior officer.

The Times  of India, October 3, 2018

Man arrested for sending ‘vulgar’ mails to police

Mateen.Hafeez@timesgroup.com

 

Mumbai: A 33-year-old Kalachowkie resident who sent over 200 emails to police demanding action against a woman constable for allegedly verbally abusing him two years ago, has been booked for outraging the modesty of woman as his latest mails contained vulgar words. 

Sachin Chefalkar, who lives opposite Kalachowkie police station, had first sent an email to the police station in 2016 alleging that a woman constable had abused him when he was standing in his fourth floor home balcony. According to sources, when a police team went to meet him, he, however, did not give them further details and instead asked them to refer his email.

He subsequently started sending emails to the police station, the deputy commissioner, the additional commissioner’s office and the city police commissioner. “He would forward the same email with some fresh addition,” said a police source.

Meanwhile, he allegedly abused a policeman some time ago and a non-cognisable complaint was lodged at Kalachowkie police station. The investigators approached the court seeking permission to investigate the complaint. “When we went to his house, he did even not allow his father to speak to us. He just told us that we should go back and check his complaint and take action,” added an officer. A police source said they were fed up with his frequent mails.

Sources said Chefalkar recently sent a few derogatory emails to the police. “Women constables who check emails as Routine Writers’ work, opened his email and were shocked to see the vulgar language used in it. Chefalkar had used abusive words for woman,” a police officer said. Following this, a woman constable lodged an FIR against Chefalkar under sections 509 (outraging the modesty of a woman) and 500 (Punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code. “We have registered an FIR and probing it,” added the officer.

The Times of India, October 1, 2018

Man held for abusing female guard who stalls entry to maternity ward

Mumbai: : Agripada police arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly abusing, threatening a female guard posted outside the maternity ward of BYL Nair Hospital on Sunday evening. Muzammil Dhanas had come from Mumbra for his wife’s delivery. 

Assistant inspector Yasmin Mulla said, “Dhanas’s wife was admitted to the maternity ward. It was doctors’ visiting hours and cleaning was on. The patients’ relatives were told to wait outside. Dhanas, who had gone to get medicines for his wife, returned and wanted to enter the ward.”

When BMC-appointed guard, Meena Raut stopped Dhanas, he got furious and smashed the glass door, police said.

“He abused Raut and the glass pieces caused abrasions on Dhansa and Raut’s faces. He threatened to beat up Raut. By then, other guards and hospital staff gathered and police were called in. We are questioning the accused,” said an officer.

He was booked for outraging the modesty of a woman, creating obstacles in discharging the duty of a government servant and criminal intimidation. He was also booked for mischief causing damage to public property under Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Two years back, guards had been deployed when there were cases of assault on doctors by patients’ relatives.

—Mateen Hafeez

The  Times of India, September 18, 2018

Ex-soldier held for video-calling women, posing in the buff

 

Picture for representational purpose only.

 

 

TNN | Jun 24, 2018, 03:25 IST

 

MUMBAI: A former armyman has been arrested for allegedly sexually harassing women by sending them obscene videos. The accused, C Carls (45), sexually harassed women by often making WhatsApp calls and posing in the buff, said senior inspector of Tardeo police station, Sanjay Surve. carls has been remanded in police custody till June 25. 

bank had lodged a complaint in March about receiving "vulgar videos from an unknown number". The police said that the number, whose SIM card had been activated in Rajasthan, was switched off.

After making some preliminary inquiries, the police learnt that another woman had saved this number as an alternative contact number of Carls, a former armyman, who had promised her a job. That's when the police laid a trap and arrested Carls, said an officer.
 

The Times of India, June 24, 2018

Couple, son kill selves due to daughter's death, poverty

 

Picture for representational purpose only.

 

 

TNN | Jun 23, 2018, 03:30 IST
 

MUMBAI: A couple and their 11-year-old son committed suicide by hanging themselves at their house in Cuffe Parade on Friday afternoon. The police said they had found a long suicide note in the house written by the man, Pravin Patel (40), blaming poverty and depression after the death of their daughter who was cancer-afflicted for taking the extreme step.
Cops said the Pravin, his wife Reena (35), and son Prabhu (11) may have committed suicides two days ago and that it came to light only on Friday after neighbours informed the police about the foul smell emanating from their Machchimarg Nagar house that had been locked for two days.



"The police broke open the room and found the three bodies," said an officer. Cuffe Parade police officials said that according to the suicide note, the Patels lost their three-year-old daughter to cancer some time ago and had been depressed since then. Cops said that the note also says "people who taunt the family". However, the police declined to elaborate on the point.

A source said that Pravin and Reena had got married 13 years ago despite opposition from their families. "The couple worked hard and wanted to give their children good education," the source added. Pravin worked as an electrician and was provided a small room to stay by a decorator for whom he had worked once. "The family was facing financial problems. Locals said that since his daughter's death, Parvin barely stepped out of the area and would always be depressed. Gradually, he started losing clients leading to less work for him. We are probing all the angles. We have not found any foul play," said police.

"We are gong through the suicide note which has named many people who reportedly taunted them and caused stress," added the officer.

The Times of India, June 24, 2018

Week on, 5 historysheeters held for Rs 16 lakh cash van heist in Mankhurd

 

Representative Photo

 

 

Mateen Hafeez | TNN | Updated: Jun 22, 2018, 01:35 IST

 MUMBAI: A week after a gang of robbers stole over Rs 16 lakh from a private cash van on Sion-Panvel Road in Mankhurd, the police arrested five of the accused and recovered Rs 1 lakh from them. A hunt is on for their eight accomplices. All five are historysheeters.
On June 13, four masked men, armed with choppers and firearms, travelling in a car, overtook the cash van belonging to Securitrans (India) Pvt Ltd on Sion-Panvel Road and tied up the three security men. There was no armed guard in the cash van though it was carrying more than Rs 2 crore. The robbers could not break open the lock of a trunk that had Rs 37 lakh, so they fled with the smaller trunk containing over Rs 16 lakh towards Sion, the police said. A female passenger in a passing autorickshaw alerted a police patrol van about the robbery.

DCP Shaji Umap on Thursday said they made the arrests based on intelligence inputs. “We learnt that the private car was with an autorickshaw. We later found that the Alto was stolen from Navi Mumbai and had fake number plates. So, we focused our investigation on the autorickshaw and picked up the driver, who spilled the beans on the robbery and his accomplices,” said Umap.

The cash van had collected money from 28 points before reaching Mankhurd station. “The accused knew the time when the van would reach for cash collection and where it would park as they had made five-six attempts to rob it, but failed. On June 13, they were successful,” said a police officer. The police have, so far, ruled out the involvement of any employee.

The arrested accused—auto driver Sagir alias Pahelwan Shaikh (40), Vijay Thackeray (38), David Laurence (33), Jagdish alias Jaggu Suvarna (49) and Santosh Rajput—have cases of theft, assault, robbery and murder registered against them. During interrogation, the police learnt that Rajput was also wanted in a Gujarat highway robbery case. On October 3, 2017, five armed dacoits, including Rajput, had robbed three employees of the Bhilad RTO of Rs 1.14 crore on national highway 8 in Valsad district. The employees were on to deposit the cash in the bank when the robbers attacked them. Rajput will later be handed over to the Gujarat police, said officials.

The Times of India, June 22, 2018