The fifth accused arrested in connection with the July 31 telephone operator gangrape case was on Sunday remanded to judicial custody till September 19.
The crime branch told the court that they want to conduct an identification parade of accused Mohammed Ashfaque Sheikh, who was arrested on Saturday from Girgaum Chowpatty. The crime branch also told the court that the telephone operator has identified other four accused, including a juvenile, and prayed for Sheikh’s judicial custody as well. Accepting the crime branch’s plea, the court remanded Sheikh to judicial custody.
The 18-year-old telephone operator was allegedly gangraped at the deserted Shakti Mills compound in Mahalaxmi on July 31 by five men, three of who were also involved in the August 22 photojournalist gangrape case, the police said. The three accused involved in both the cases are Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav, Mohammed Kasim alias kasim Bangali, who are currently in jail. The fourth accused, who is a minor, has already been arrested in this (July 31) case and lodged in the juvenile remand home in south Mumbai’s Dongri area.
On the evening of August 22, a photojournalist was sexually assaulted at the Shakti Mills compound. The police nabbed all five accused in the case within three days. On September 3, the 18-year-old told the police that she too had been gangraped by a group of five men in the Mill premises. on July 31.
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Api mahajan who shot self breathes his last
AGE CORRESPONDENT
Mumbai, Sept. 15
After battling for over 46 days, assistant police inspector Chandrakant Mahajan of Chunabhatti police station in Kurla (east), who had attempted suicide succumbed on Sunday morning. The Chunabhatti police has now registered a case of suicide. Mahajan had taken the extreme step on July 31 by shooting himself with his service pistol inside the police station.
Mahajan had an altercation with his wife the previous morning after which she left their house in Nehru Nagar police colony in Kurla to go to Nashik. The same afternoon, Mahajan was pulled up by his senior over professional reasons. The API then shot himself in his office.
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Sand boa snake rescued from goregaon
Mumbai: A Sand Boa (Do-Mukhi) snake was rescued from a busy road in the Goregaon Aarey Colony by members of the Plant & Animals Welfare Society, (PAWS) Mumbai. This snake was later released into its natural habitat in an undisclosed area after informing the forest department. “We received a call from an animal lover and our team reached the spot and rescued the snake. It was a red Sand Boa, the non–venomous snake. It moves very slowly, hence it was taking time to cross the busy road. It’s a good sign that people stopped the vehicle to save the snake,” said Nisha Kunju, administrator of PAWS, Mumbai.