Man held for employing missing minor

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The Nagpada police arrested a 52-year-old video parlour owner for employing a minor who was missing from his hometown in Uttar Pradesh since the last five months.

The accused, Naseeruddin Shaikh, was arrested for wrongful restraint, unlawfully employing a minor and criminal intimidation. He was produced before the Mazgaon court and released on bail. Cops said the minor went missing in August last year from Uttar Pradesh. “I looked for him everywhere, but in vain,” the boy’s mother told the Nagpada police. A missing complaint was registered with the UP police.

“On February 22, I received a call from one of my neighbours that my son was in Mumbai. I came to the city with my elder son. We are unfamiliar with areas in Mumbai and sought the help of local social workers and politicians,” the boy’s mother told cops. She added, “When we went to the video parlour, Shaikh did not allow us to take him back. He demanded that Rs 70,000 be paid to him before we take our son back. We then approached the police here.”

The police raided the video parlour and arrested Shaikh. “We have to find out whether the boy was kidnapped or came to Mumbai on his own. Our probe is on. We have sent the child to the Dongri juvenile remand home,” said an officer from the Nagpada police. Cops are questioning Shaikh regarding his demand for money.


The Times of India, February 29, 2012

Malegaon blast ’08: Samjhauta suspect held

Lokesh Sharma

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested suspected RSS worker Lokesh Sharma, an accused in the Samjhauta Express blast, in connection with the 2008 Malegaon explosion that killed seven.

Sharma, who was arrested on Sunday, was first held in 2011 and booked for his alleged role in the Ajmer dargah blast and later in the Samjhauta train blast case.

His name cropped up while the police began interrogating other accused arrested in the Samjhauta train blast case that had resulted in the deaths of around 70 people, mostly Pakistanis.

“He was produced before the court and remanded in police custody till March 9. We cannot disclose about his role in the blast at this juncture,” said special public prosecutor Rohini Salian.

The Times of India, February 28, 2012

2 octroi agents held for 5 crore fraud

Mateen Hafeez I TNN

Mumbai: The economic offences wing (EOW) arrested two octroi clearing agents for printing fake receipts and duping the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation of Rs 4.98 crore. The police are likely to arrest two more persons in the case.

Assistant inspector Suresh Kadam said the arrests were made after superintendent (octroi) Suresh Gawde lodged a complaint. The accused, Rajankumar Shashi Shankar Mishra (24) and Nitu Nityanand Pujari (29), are Std VIII dropouts. “We seized a printer, scanner, and rubber stamps from the accused,” said Kadam.

Five bank accounts of the accused have been frozen. The accused are in this business for the last five years, said the police. The accused’s alleged mentor, Umesh Nair, was arrested by the Navghar police last week in a similar case. “We will take Nair into custody soon,” said an officer.

According to the complaint, HCL Infosys Ltd. had sent electronic goods and computer hardware from Bhiwandi to Mumbai. “The contract for transporting goods was given to two companies, which appointed Mishra, Pujari and their associates as clearing agents,” said Kadam.

“The octroi receipts were submitted to HCL. The company officials were shocked when they received a notice from the BMC for non-payment of octroi. The octroi receipts submitted to the firm were fake,” Kadam added.

Last week, the Thane police arrested another member of this group and seized bogus octroi receipts of Mulund and Dahisar check nakas, fake octroi forms, rubber stamps, demand drafts and copies of visiting cards of several civic officials. The racket mastermind has been identified as Gorakhnath Pawar (32), who was arrested on February 2.


The Times of India, February 27, 2012

SpeakAsia laundered 700 crore with help from UAE firm: Cops

Mateen Hafeez TNN Mumbai: Police are probing the role of an international firm in the SpeakAsia scam. They said a link had been established between Seven Rings International, a UAEbasedfirm, and the multi-level marketing company being investigated for fraud. Sources said that the economic offences wing (EOW) found evidence to prove the nexus. “SpeakAsia officebearers have been denying links with Seven Rings International, but we have got documentary evidence,” said a police officer. Asourcesaid Seven Rings entered into an agreement with SpeakAsia Pte (Singapore) and Haren Ventures Pvt Ltd. “Seven Rings offered to act as a publisher for SpeakAsia surveys but on the condition that they get 60% profit while SpeakAsia got 40%. Seven Rings said it had a wider reach and the agreement would be beneficial to SpeakAsia. They promised to publish an electronic magazine (e-zine) too,” said the source. EOW arrested 10 persons allegedly associated with SpeakAsia last year following complaints from investors that they had been cheated. The investors had said that they had been sold web subscriptions for Rs11,000 each, and in return for filling survey forms for multinational firms, had been promised annual payments of Rs52,000. But the money, they said, had not been paid. The police arehunting for SpeakAsia’s Indian head, Manojkumar Sharma and its global chief Haren Kaur. “SpeakAsia entered into the agreement in February 2011 to avoid tax agencies. “While Elia De Prisco signed papers on behalf of Seven Rings, Sharma signed them for SpeakAsia,” said the source. Prisco is said to be an Italian who organizes business lectures and seminars across the world. The police suspect that Sharma is behind the Brazilian firmMister Colibri (mistercolibri.com and colibrimakemoney.com), which operates on the same model as SpeakAsia and lists Sharma as its largest investor. The police suspect that over Rs700 crore was laundered from India with help from Seven Rings. Investigators said AdMatrix, another company, was involved in SpeakAsia’s operations. Colibri promises investors large annual returns for watching advertisements on a video-sharing web site and EOW found that it was using the same backend codes as AdMatrix. The Times of India, February 27, 2012

Police chief to act after getting court order

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: City police commissioner Arup Patnaik on Thursday said he would wait till he gets a copy of the Bombay high court order before deciding the further course of action on probing the disproportionate assets case against former city Congress chief Kripashankar Singh. The court on Wednesday directed Patnaik to register an FIR against Singh for “criminal misconduct” under the Prevention of Corruption Act, attach the Singhs’ movable and immovable properties, personally investigate the case and submit a status report on April 19.

“The high court has directed us to probe the case,” said Patnaik. “I have read about it in the newspapers and watched on TV channels. However, I am yet to get a copy of the court order. I will decide a plan of action after going through the order.” The police chief added that since it was a court matter, commenting without reading the order wouldn’t be proper. The FIR could be registered at the Colaba police station as the HC comes under its jurisdiction. However, the appointment of investigating officers would have to be decided by the police chief.

The court passed the order while hearing a 2010 Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that alleges that Singh and his family have amassed disproportionate assets worth hundreds of crores of rupees. Patnaik refused to comment on the pattern the investigation could take. “It’s too early to say anything,” he added.

It is learnt that Patnaik may form a team of handpicked officers to probe the case. Officers who have worked with the Economic Offences Wing and the Anti-Corruption Bureau may get a place in the police chief ’s probe team. Sources said that seasoned officers could be part of the investigation and keep Patnaik informed about each and every action since he would be the highest investigating authority.

The HC directed that the PIL’s memo be treated as an FIR. The court asked the police chief to investigate the criminal case against Singh, his wife Malti Devi, son Narendra Kumar Singh, daughter-in-law Ankita Singh, daughter Sunita Singh and son-in-law Vijay Pratap Singh and submit a report by April 19. The high court ordered the attachment of about 15 immovable properties, estimated in the PIL to be worth Rs 320 crore, owned by the Singh family.


The Times of India, February 24, 2012

DRAMA QUEEN SCALES NEW HEIGHTS

Six Months After Trying A Similar Stunt In Thane, Woman Climbs Hoarding In Byculla And Threatens To Jump Off. Fire Officials Bring Her Down After 2 1/2 Hrs

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

On Wednesday m o r n i n g , there was high drama near Byculla bridge after a woman climbed up a hoarding by the side of the road and threatened to jump to her death.

Fire brigade officials managed to bring Sapna Pareira (46), a Vile Parle resident, to safety after two and a half hours. This is not the first time Pareira has threatened to publicly commit suicide. On September 26, 2011, she climbed a mobile tower near Thane central jail to highlight her poor financial condition and to meet a relative lodged in Thane jail. She had made similar threats three times before as well.

HIGH DRAMA: On Wednesday, Pareira chose a hoarding next to the railway tracks as her protest site. Two school-going boys were the first to spot her climbing the iron supports of the hoarding and raised the alarm. Within minutes, the fire brigade rescue team reached the spot, followed by police personnel and a few mediapersons. Initially, she was around 30ft above the ground, but seeing the fire brigade personnel trying to get closer, she climbed higher and perched near the top of the hoarding.

‘NEED 20 LAKH FOR SURGERY’: Pareira started yelling that she has a 11-year-old daughter who is blind. “I need Rs 20 lakh from the Prime Minister’s relief fund for my daughter’s eye operation. I have spoken to a US-based doctor and need the money for surgery,” she told the police.

MORNING MAYHEM:
When the police personnel tried to negotiate with her, Pareira started abusing them. “I don’t want to listen to you,” she said, leaning on the iron pole. “Go back from here. I want to die,” she threatened. Traffic began to crawl as a crowd gathered to watch the drama. Some spectators began shooting the incident with their mobile cameras. A BEST bus driver, who was trying to figure out what was happening, hit a biker. The biker fell on the road, but escaped unhurt. Additional police personnel were deployed near the spot. Fire brigade officers brought a net to catch Pareira in case she jumped.

TRICKY RESCUE: Finally, a private TV channel’s reporter and cameraman were sent in a crane to negotiate. Pareira tried to hit them with an iron rod. While the journalists engaged her in conversation, a group of fire officials climbed the hoarding and overpowered Pareira. They put her into the crane and brought her down.

She was later taken to JJ Hospital. Pareira could be arrested for attempting to commit suicide and threatening a member of the public. No case has been registered as yet.

The Times of India, February 22, 2012

Father arrested for son’s kidnap

The three-year-old boy, Kalpak, was rescued from Malwani

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai: The city crime branch on Tuesday arrested a 30-year-old man and his first wife for kidnapping the former’s three-year-old son for ransom. The boy was rescued from Malwani nearly two months after hewent missing.

The accused, Naresh Janardhan Ingale,toldthe police thathewantedtoteachhissecondwife, Swati, a lesson.He accused her of “troubling him over domesticissues”.

Ingale, a DTP operator in a software firm, is a resident of of Indira Nagar near Juhu Tara Road, Santa Cruz. His son, Kalpak, went missing on December 25 last year. Ingale went to the Santa Cruz police tolodge a complaint a daylater. The missing person complaint was converted into a kidnapping case after Ingale claimed tohave got a ransom call.

Ingale said the caller, who identified herself as Yashika Singh,toldhim thatshewould give him information about his son, but would have to be paid Rs 5 lakh for that. Since then, Ingale visited the police station every day.

Then, the caller contacted Swati and asked her to cough up Rs 2 lakh. She also warned that Kalpak would be killed if the money was not paid.

The crime branch then began a parallel probe. “We learnt that a young boy had been seen with a Malwani woman. The police raidedthewoman’s house andfoundKalpakthere. Thewoman,identified asNaziya Shaikh aliasNaziya Shahid Khan (25), was arrested,” said Himanshu Roy, crime branch chief.Itwas,however, notclear if she was the same woman
whohadcalledup asYashika.

Naziya said Ingale had broughttheboy toher on December 25.Basedon her statement, Ingalewas arrested;he reportedly confessed to having plotted the kidnapping. “Naziya is Ingale’s first wife. He married her in 2005 as ShahidKhan.Ingale told us that his current wife Swati, whom he married in 2008, would often fight with him. So,hewantedtoteachher alesson,” saidinvestigating officer Sagar Shivalkar.

The Times of India, February 22, 2012