Crime file: AP priest in Minnesota fondles minor, arrested; Man held for theft of women's undergarments and more

[1]

AP priest in Minnesota fondles minor, arrested
Hyderabad/Nellore: A Catholic priest from Andhra Pradesh, Father Leo Koppala, has been arrested in the United States for sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl. Fr Koppala has been serving at the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Blue Earth, Minnesota in the US for nearly four years.
The 47-year-old priest is from Nellore. He is charged with second degree criminal sexual conduct. If convicted, he faces 25 years of imprisonment or a fine of $35,000 or both.
A note from Bishop John M. Quinn of Winona in Minnesota said: “Leo Charles Koppala, a priest of the Nellore diocese in South India, has been placed on administrative leave in accordance with the diocesan policy for the protection of minors. Koppala has been charged with criminal sexual conduct in the second degree involving a minor.”

Fr Leo Koppala
“While on administrative leave, he is not permitted to exercise his public ministry or live on any parish property in the diocese of Winona pending the outcome of the investigation.” According to the criminal complaint, the priest had been invited for supper to a home in Blue Earth on June 7.
Priest ran fundraising programme
Police chief Tom Fletcher, who interviewed Father Leo Koppala, who was arrested for sexually molesting a 12-year-old girl, said, “Koppala admitted that he had supper with the girl and her grandmother. He admitted that when the grandmother was on the phone, he went downstairs to where the girl was. He agreed that he had kissed her on the cheeks and mouth.
He admitted to placing his hand on her chest but did not believe he touched her breasts. Koppala admitted that he told her that they could be ‘free together’ but explained that he meant something different.”
Koppala is running a fundraising programme, Orphan and Poor Children Education, which reportedly helps children in the Nellore and Prakasam district of India. When our Nellore correspondent tried to contact the diocese in Nellore, they were not available for comment.
Next: Drunk driver abuses reporter

Drunk driver abuses reporter
Hyderabad: Beware of the autoricksnaw with registration number AP28V326. You are bound to have a dangerous ride. On July 9, a DC reporter left for home at 8.30 pm, and took the autorickshaw with that number in front of the office.
The driver asked her each question twice, and she put this down to their language barrier. He began driving too fast, and she told him to slow down. At this, he began going ever so slowly, and she had to tell him to drive normally.
When the auto reached liquor shops on the East Marredpally stretch, the driver slowed down and asked for the fare in advance, to buy liquor. When she refused, he  muttered angrily. Then, just before the AOC Gate and near the basti, he stopped the auto near the tree and told her, “Go wherever you want to, now.”
Shocked and also scared, she jumped out of the auto, called her husband who was at home. Her husband told her to walk to the safety of a nearby petrol bunk, and left for the spot immediately.The reporter began walking towards the petrol bunk but the driver began tailing her, screaming that he wanted money for liquor.
It was dark and the shop on that side of the road were closed. On the other side was the Army compound and there was no one outside. Vehicles were whizzing past on the road. Then the driver caught her hand and demanded money, “Give me Rs 50 now!”
Nearby was a man who was trying to start his motorcycle. The reporter freed herself from the driver and approached the biker for help. The man appeared confused. There were three other men seated in a stationary auto who drove away on seeing the commotion.
The motorcycle rider agreed to drop the reporter at the petrol bunk, and she clambered on the vehicle. At this, the auto driver tried to yank away the ignition key of the two-wheeler.
The man gave him Rs 50 and the driver returned the key, which was all twisted. The rider dropped the reporter at Safilguda, from where she reached home. He refused to give her his name or cellphone number.
The reporter went to the police the next day. On Sunday, police said the vehicle was registered at Bowenpally but could not trace either its owner or the driver.
Next: Man held for theft of women's undergarments in Bengaluru

Man held for theft of undergarments
Bengaluru: The 23-year-old Anand had a fetish for women’s undergarments and stole them regularly from the clotheslines in Mallasandra near Peenya.
Neighbours, who were alarmed by the regular theft of their clothes, laid a trap and caught him. The police, during interrogation, also found that he was a cross-dresser and registered a petty case against him. He was let off after a stern warning, the police said.
Anand, a native of Hemavathi in Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh, came to the city in search of livelihood some months ago. He had managed to get a job in a bar at Mallasandra in Peenya. He was staying in a room near the bar. The clothes, especially women’s undergarments, hung to dry on terraces in his neighbourhood houses went missing regularly.
“Initially, even the neighbours neglected. But when it became a regular affair, some of them discussed with each other and were shocked to learn that it was happening in others’ houses as well. They suspected that their clothes were being stolen and decided to catch the thief,” the police said.
“The neighbours waited for the thief the whole night, but he did not strike. The second time they were lucky and found him. But they did not try to catch him to ensure that it was him who was stealing their clothes regularly. Two days later, Anand went to steal clothes again and was caught.” the police said.
“The neighbours brought him to the police station on Saturday morning. Until he was questioned, the fact that he was cross-dresser was not known. When grilled, he confessed that he had fetish for women’s undergarments and enjoyed wearing them. He used to work at the bar till 11.30 pm and stole clothes late in the nights,” the police explained.
“He was made to sit at the police station for a day and a petty case was registered against him. He was released after a stern warning,” the police added.
Next: Unrequited love claims another youth’s life in Chennai

Unrequited love claims another youth’s life
Chennai: Dejected over a failed love affair, A. Naveen Kumar, a 25-year old electrical engineer committed suicide by jumping from the 10th floor of a building in IT corridor in Kandanchavadi on Sunday.
Police suspect that he took the extreme step after a girl, who lived near his house, rejected him. The Taramani police have registered a case and are investigating. The body was sent for a post-mortem.
Naveen Kumar’s suicide is an addition to a string of suicides by software engin­e­­ers over the past few months, all of them due to unrequited love.

A. Naveen Kumar
D. Mercy Sathyarani, 25, a software engineer, ju­mped from the seventh floor of Pola­ris Software Lab Limited (PSLL) in Nava­lur on June 26. D. Shan­mugham, 23, a program analyst with Cogn­izant Technology Solut­ions, jumped from the third floor in Express Avenue mall in Royapettah on June 1.
Jeeva Nair, 23, a software engineer from Bengaluru, set herself ablaze in her boyfriend’s house in Pallikaranai on April 28.
Next: Man killed over land dispute

Man killed over land dispute
Hyderabad: A 70-year old man named Eshwariah was stabbed to death over a land dispute at Banjara Hills on Sunday morning. The victim who sustained injuries on various parts on his body, died on the spot.
The incident happened when he was going to his shop in the early hours. His family suspects that a land dispute could have led to the murder.
However, they did not name anyone as suspects. Eshwariah who has a meat shop in Chintal Basthi is a resident of Sri Ram Nagar colony. He is survived his by wife and children.
Next: Accused of theft, woman sets self ablaze

Accused of theft, woman sets self ablaze
Bengaluru: A 28-year-old woman, an accused in a house theft case, tried to commit suicide by setting herself ablaze in Doddabommasandra in Vidyaranyapura police limits early on Sunday.
The woman, Lakshmi Devi, has been admitted to Victoria Hospital with 60 per cent burns. Her condition is said to be critical.
The police said that Devi was working at a house and her employer on June 15 filed a case accusing her of stealing 20 silk sarees worth Rs 50,000 from the house.
Based on the complaint, the police brought her to the station the next day. After she confessed to stealing the sarees, some policemen took her with them to recover the sarees. But she allegedly escaped from the police.
“The police traced her in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh and brought her back on Saturday. Her parents were asked to come to the station and take her home.
But as no one turned up, she was left at the house of her husband’s uncle. But on Sunday morning, she woke up, doused herself in kerosene and set herself ablaze. She was immediately shifted to Victoria Hospital,” the police said.
“In her statement, she admitted of attempting suicide fearing the consequences. Also, she said that she was upset with her neighbour Lakshmi, to whom she had given eight of the 20 stolen sarees. But when Devi went with the police, Lakshmi denied getting any sarees from Devi,” police said.
DCP (North) Sandeep Patil said that the police had not arrested her as they did not have any concrete evidence against her. “After naming her accused in the case, she confessed to the crime. But the stolen property was not recovered and without the recovery and concrete evidence, we cannot arrest anyone,” he said.
Vidyaranyapuram police inspector B.P. Prasad and sub-inspector Sudarshan Singh were suspended after Devi’s mother complained to the commissioner that the officers had taken her to the police station and had tortured her to give information about her daughter.
Next: Cops nab 2 Haryana arms dealers, weapons seized

Cops nab 2 Haryana arms dealers, weapons seized
Hyderabad: The city police nabbed two inter-state arms dealers from Haryana and seized a huge quantity of arms from them. The two had smuggled country made firearms and bullets to the city from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and sold these to realtors and rowdysheeters.
The police also arrested five realtors who bought weapons from them. Police seized as many as eight country made firearms, 70 live rounds and stolen vehicles from the suspects. The two main suspects are Mohd. Arif, 25, a JCB operator, and his relative Mohd. Zaheed Khan, 25, a truck driver, both from Ozina village, in the Nuhu district of Haryana. They were staying in a rented house at Natarajnagar of Tappachabutra.
Earlier, the two had given the slip to the police after attacking them when the cops were checking vehicles at Langer Houz crossroads. “The two escaped, pushing away police officers who tried to frisk them. The police team chased their Apache bike and stopped them. However, they took out a revolver and a knife, and threatened the police and later fled from the spot,” said police commissioner Anurag Sharma.
The incident occurred on July 6 near MD line under Langer Houz police station. Later, the police started investigations. After a rigorous search in the city, police tracked them to Nawabsab Kunta of Falaknuma. Following interrogation, they revealed that they smuggled arms from UP and Haryana to sell in Hyderabad.
“They bought country made weapons, tapanchas, revolvers and pistols from places in Haryana and UP for low prices, and sold them in the city for a higher price. We tracked down all the buyers and arrested them,” police commissioner Sharma said.
Arif came to the city around four years ago for real estate business, suffered losses, and then switched to arms business. He also formed a gang with five others and stole vehicles from different parts of the city, police said.
Next: Thieves break into jewellery shop, loot five-tola silver

Thieves break into jewellery shop, loot five-tola silver
Hyderabad: Thieves burgled a jewellery shop at Toopran in Medak district on Saturday night and decamped with a laptop and 5 tola silver ornaments. The thieves made an futile bid to break open the safety locks of Mahalaxmi jewellery shop where gold and silver ornaments worth lakhs were kept.
On Saturday night after the day’s sale, the owner kept all the gold and silver ornaments in the safe locker and locked the shop. When he returned to the shop on Sunday and opened the door, he was shocked to see his shop in shambles and the safe lockers twisted out of shape.
The thieves were familiar with the shop layout. SI M. Niranjan Reddy said, “The thieves tried their best but failed to break the lockers, which had all ornaments in it.”Based on a complaint lodged by the owner, a case was registered against the thieves.
The police said that they had recently alerted all jewellers to take precautions in view of the increasing thefts.
Next: Guard jumps on transformer, dies

Guard jumps on transformer, dies
Bengaluru: A 34-year-old man committed suicide by jumping on an electric transformer at Marathahalli near the Air Force employees’ quarters in HAL police limits on Sunday morning.
The reason for the suicide is yet to be ascertained. Ganesh Sharma from Assam, who worked as a private security guard with a private agency, is the deceased.
The police said that Sharma climbed a compound wall attached to the Air Force employees’ quarters and jumped on the high-voltage transformer. He died on the spot. Some passersby, who noticed the incident around 10.30 am, alerted the police.
“Because of the high voltage power, Sharma’s left hand and right leg were torn off his body. We established his identity with the help of an ID card in his pocket.
When we checked with the private security agency, they said that he quit the job a few weeks ago. We are trying to find out where he was staying and the reason behind the extreme step,” the police added. HAL police have registered a case in this connection.