Today's crime file opens with the case of an American woman who was raped and robbed at knife point in Hyderabad. In yet another case of honour killing, a woman was grievously injured while her lover was hacked to death in Tamil Nadu. A spate of robberies rocked the residents of Delhi. Two illegal Bangladeshi girls were rescued from a brothel in Pune. Read on.
Hyderabad: A 30-year-old American woman working with the Clinton Foundation was allegedly raped at knife point in a posh area of Hyderabad early Wednesday morning.
The woman told the police that at around 4 am, an unidentified man broke into her Banjara Hills penthouse and raped her at knife point. She tried to call the watchman but he was missing. She lodged a complaint with Banjara Hills police station at 8 am.
"She said an unidentified person broke into her house while she was asleep. When she woke up and saw him, he attacked her, pinned her down and tried to tie her hands. When she started shouting, he gagged her and threatened her with the knife and sexually assaulted her," Banjara Hills SHO H Sudarshan said.
The incident has shocked the police and public as Banjara Hills is the address of Hyderabad's elite -- N Chandrababu Naidu, Mohammed Azharuddin, P Gopichand and Sania Mirza are among those who reside here. Several foreigners working in top IT companies and corporates also live in Banjara Hills.
The woman was living alone in the penthouse since October 2009. Banjara Hills Police said the penthouse could be reached by a staircase on the outside. Sniffer dogs could not trace the scent beyond the main road, indicating that the attacker may have come in a vehicle. "So far we have not got any concrete leads on who might have attacked her. She is at present taking treatment at a private hospital.
Based on the description given by the woman, we have prepared sketches and a massive manhunt has been launched," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone) Stephen Ravindra said. The police suspect involvement of a watchman who left sometime back The police initially said that the woman had also claimed that her attacker robbed her of American and Indian currency amounting to Rs 5 lakh. However, the loss of valuables or cash has not been mentioned in the FIR.
Ravindra said they were only investigating the sexual assault angle and that the woman later denied that she was robbed too.
The assault on a foreigner living in the city prompted Commissioner of Police A K Khan to pay a visit to the victim. He is personally monitoring the investigation.
Next page: Honour killing in Tamil Nadu: One killed
Honour killing in TN: Woman attacked, lover killed
Chennai: In an incident of honour killing, the father, brother and uncle of a woman killed her lover with whom she had eloped a few days after she was married off to a man of her parents' choice. The family members also attacked the woman who is now recuperating at a hospital in Madurai.
Mekala, a 20-year-old woman from Kattikkulam village near Manamadurai in Sivagangai district, had run away from her husband's home on June 11 -- just 10 days after her marriage - to live with Sivakumar, 24, an autodriver from a neighbouring village.
The family members, however, tracked the couple to neighbouring Pudukkottai district. "Her father Vijayan and others found out where they were staying and spoke to them. They perhaps convinced the couple to consider returning to their village," said a district police official.
On Sunday night, while they were on their way to their village, Vijayan, her elder brother Prabakaran and uncle Manikandan waylaid them in a field.
According to sources, Sivakumar was brutally hacked with sickles and other weapons and died on the spot. The girl too suffered grievous injuries. Sources added that nobody from Mekala's family or village has visited her at the government general hospital in Madurai.
"Unlike the cases in the past where one of the parties could be from a lower community, both the girl and the boy belonged to the same caste of Servai," said the official. The police have arrested Mekala's father Vijayan, 50, and uncle Manikandan, 30, while her brother Prabakaran, 24, surrendered in the court on Wednesday. They have been charged for murder and criminal assault.
Next page: Engineer dies during robbery bid in Delhi
Robbers run riot, techie among 2 killed
New Delhi: The Capital witnessed four robberies in the past 24 hours in which two persons were killed and another critically injured. The police are clueless about the assailants in all the four incidents.
The first robbery was reported from Janakpuri Pocket II on Tuesday night when a 29-year-old software engineer was killed by unidentified assailants as he was returning home after dinner at his sister's house in the same locality. Vivek Kumar, who works for a software firm in Noida, had become a father just last month.
"Vivek used to come to his sister's house for dinner as his wife had not come back from her parents' home after her delivery. He left at about 11.30 pm. It seems he was accosted by some people soon after," said a senior police officer. A passerby rushed Vivek to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
"Robbery was the motive as his purse is missing. He was hit by a sharp weapon. We are trying to find the assailants," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sharad Aggarwal. "We are looking for eyewitnesses who can give us a description of the assailants," said an other officer.
Wednesday also saw three other daring robberies. In one incident, 42-year-old Ram Prakash, who had come to the city from Jind to buy jewellery, was shot at the railway station just as he alighted the train at 2 pm.
Prakash, who works for a jeweller, was surrounded by four persons who asked him to hand over his bag. When Prakash refused, one of the accused stabbed him four times, said an eyewitness. "When Prakash still refused to part with the bag, he was shot in the abdomen with a countrymade pistol," said a police officer.
The assailants then fled with the bag which had jewellery and cash in it.
Officials said people who were standing there did not react as the accused were armed. Prakash was taken to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital where he was declared brought dead.
In another incident, Kuldeep (30), who works as a collection agent for a travel agency, was attacked by three robbers at the Ajmeri Gate crossing. The assailants shot Kuldeep, but as they were trying to flee with his bag, Head Constable Sadhu, who was passing through the area, tried to stop the robbers. The robbers shot at the constable, but missed. The constable too returned fire, but the robbers escaped. Kuldeep has been admitted to B L Kapoor Hospital in a critical condition.
In the last incident, at 3.30 pm, five men barged into a Anand Vihar home and held nine people hostage as they robbed them of cash and jewellery. Dr Chandra Shekhar Gupta, wife Lolita, his two daughter-in-laws, son Vikas and four grandchildren were at home.
"The men had covered their faces and were armed with pistols and iron rods," said the police, adding that the robbers, however, did not hurt anyone.
Next page: Two Bangladeshi immigrants rescued from brothel
Sisters rescued from brothel, two arrested
Pune: The Faraskhana police on Tuesday arrested two illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from a brothel in Budhwar Peth for forcing two sisters into prostitution.One of them is a minor.
The police arrested Reshma Barek Haldar (27) and Kamrul Rashid Mulla (26) for forcing the two sisters from Bangladesh into flesh trade. One of the sisters is 21 and other is 17.
Investigating officer, police sub-inspector Venkat Gangalwad said the duo was arrested from third floor of Janata Building in Budhwar Peth and they were rescued from the same place.
Both of them had been promised lucrative jobs and were trafficked to Pune from Balgladesh a few days ago.
Gangalwad said, "We had received a complaint about Mulla from a girl who was rescued from the same area on May 19. "Both the arrested persons do not have legal document for their stay in India. The duo has also been booked under Section 14 of Foreign Citizens Act 1946 along with Sections, 344, 363, 366 of Indian Penal Code.
