Club staffers cash in on Sachin mania, held

S Ahmed Ali | TNN

November 15,2013

    Even as citizens struggled to get a ticket to watch the Master Blaster play for the last time, there were some who decided to cash in on the mad rush.
    The city crime branch on Wednesday arrested three employees of three gymkhanas, including a senior member of Garware Gymkhana, for selling complimentary passes for Rs 25,000 each. After being caught, the accused—senior Garware Gymkhana member Janak Gandhi (51), Bombay Gymkhana staffer Girish Premnath and Islam Gymkhana employee Ajay Jadhav—revealed to the police that some senior club members were involved as well.
    On Wednesday, the property cell of the city police, which had busted the IPL betting racket, received a tip-off on complimentary VIP passes being sold in the black market. Inspector Nandkumar Gopale formed a team comprising assistant inspectors Nitin Patil, Salunke and Dilip Phoolpagare. Posing as cricket enthusiasts, one of them called up Gandhi and asked him if he could arrange for tickets. An unsuspecting Gandhi asked them to meet him outside the gate of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) at Churchgate; no sooner did Gandhi arrive to sell the tickets and quoted the prices than he was picked up.
    During inquiries, Gandhi revealed the names of Premnath and Jadhav whom the police picked up from the gymkhanas they work in. Gandhi told the police that he brought the tickets from Premnath for Rs 15,000 each and Premnath claimed to have paid Jadhav Rs 10,000 for every ticket. he bought from him. The three had already sold 15 t0 20 tickets, said the police, who have recovered six VIP complimentary passes and other tickets from the three. The officers also added that heads may role as the accused had spilt the names of several senior gymkhana members.
    “These are VIP passes, which the MCA gives out to various gymkhanas. They are meant for the members but the accused somehow laid their hands on them and sold them in black market. We will have to confront them with other members of the gymkhanas to corroborate their claims,” said JCP (crime) Himanshu Roy.
    The three have been booked for cheating and criminal breach of trust and will be produce in court on Thursday.

Juhu killer told cops his victim was kidnapped

S Ahmed Ali TNN

November 14,2013

Mumbai: Juhu interior designer Gaurav Baruah (34) tried to mislead police that Vibhuti Sampat (29) was kidnapped and killed. Realizing that she was dead, after he strangled her last Saturday, he sent a text message from her cell phone to her relative stating that she had been kidnapped.
    Unfortunately Gaurav did not know that the relative had discontinued the service a few months back. After dumping and setting Vibhuti’s body on fire, Gaurav sent two messages to her, asking if she had reached home safely.
    The half charred body of woman was found near Customs Colony by two cops in Powai on Sunday. It transpired during investigations that a family from Ghatkopar had lodged a missing person’s complaint of their daughter Vibhuti.
    The Sampats identified the body from her gold bangle. The Powai police registered a case of murder and the crime branch started a parallel probe.
    When the police scrutinized Vibhuti’s call detail records they found she was last in touch with Gaurav. But he told the cops that they had gone to Juhu beach, after which he dropped her to the Andheri flyover, near the railway station.
    Joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy said, “He showed us the message he had sent Vibhuti on Saturday night but the next day, he did not check about her whereabouts. We suspected he was lying.’’ When the police checked Gaurav’s phone records, they found that the tower location was Powai that night. Inspector Milind Khetle said, “He initially denied it but later admitted it happened in a fit of rage. He said he had no intention of killing her.’’
    Gaurav said he had met Vibhuti in 2009. They started going out on weekends but broke off in 2011. Recently, Gaurav who had since married, sent her a message and they once again got close.
    Vibhuti, who worked with a garment firm, came to office at 7 pm and they went for a stroll at Juhu beach but returned in an hour on Saturday. When chatting, he caught her neck and proposed to her, he told the police.
    Gaurav said he strangled her when she rejected his proposal and called him an animal. Realizing that she was dead, he arranged for a carton box, dumped her body into it, went to the third floor flat, had dinner with his family and then returned to office. He carried the box to his car, took a five-litre can of a thinner along and drove to Powai. He poured the thinner on the box, set it on fire and returned home at 1 am, said inspector Vijay Kandalgaonkar.
    Prabhakar Shetty (36) was held for hacking the body of fashion designer Kanta Shetty (31) into pieces in Chembur on October 29.

Pune couple fears honour killing, moves high court

S Ahmed Ali TNN

November 13,2013

Mumbai:A newly married couple from Pune has filed a writ petition before the Bombay high court seeking protection.
    The couple, who is in hiding in Mumbai, claimed that the woman’s father, who is influential and has contacts in high places, will kill them to protect his family’s honour. But her father, who has filed a missing person’s complaint at the Pimpri police station, claimed that she has taken cash and jewllery worth a total Rs 18 lakh.
    The HC has admitted the petition and kept the matter for hearing on November 21.
    While the woman (21), a Hindu, is the daughter of a transporter who has branches across the country, Rajesh Khuslani (22), a Sindhi, is the son of a fruit merchant. According to the petition, they met five years ago while studying in Pune’s Jai Hind College and fell in love. Khuslani and the woman—she requested TOI not to publish her name-—got married at a temple in Nashik on October 30, in the presence of a few friends.
    Khuslani claimed her father filed a missing person’s complaint with the police and alleged that she had taken jewellery and cash. “But I left my home immediately after the wedding and gave an undertaking to my lawyer that I had taken only one set of clothes,” said the woman. She added that they have switched off their phones and taken shelter in a“secluded” place in Mumbai as her father is looking for them.
    When TOI contacted the woman’s father he said he had neither threatened them nor knew of any petition. “What can afather do if his daughter leaves home without intimating him? I have lodged a missing person’s complaint, but she also took jewellery and cash with her.”
    Khuslani also claimed that his wife’s father had openly threatened his father in the Pimpri police station and told him to “fix the situation else he would kill his son”. “Her father has a lot of clout and can influence the police. He can go to any extent…even kill my client in the name of honour. Hence my client has moved the HC,” said advocates Dharini Nagda and S J Khera.
    The woman’s advocate Nilesh Tank said, “She has notarized that she had left home with one set of clothes, but we fear that her father will get them separated by booking her in fake theft case with police help. So, we have made the director general of police and Pune police chief respondents in the case.”
    Senior inspector Devidas Dhige said, “Both are majors and if they have got married, they should come to us and show the marriage certificate and record their statements. We will provide them full protection.”

Relief for 22 cops likely as gangster gets life sentence

S Ahmed Ali TNN

November 6, 2013

Mumbai: Twenty-two policemen who faced suspension for extending favours to Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA) convict Ganesh Shinde alias Gannya and four others heaved a sigh of relief after the five were sentenced to life imprisonment for extortion and kidnapping last week.
    With special MCOCA judge Prithviraj Chavan’s sentence, their suspensions can be revoked in six months. Chavan, however, acquitted one of accused, Ravi Shinde, due to lack of evidence.
    While Gannya was convicted for kidnapping travel agent Satish Nayak, another case in which his gang had kidnapped businessman Narendra Keni is pending trial. This is probably one of the quickest trials and judgments in recent gang-related history.
    “Many Sion, Antop Hill and Matunga residents have heaved a sigh of relief. Nobody dared complain against him. It was hard to collect evidence or get witnesses as he threatened them,” joint commissioner of police (crime) Himanshu Roy said on Tuesday.
    Gannya was arrested in September 2011 after he kidnapped Nayak and extorted Rs 5 lakh from his wife. While on the run, he had fired four rounds at Keni in Sion. The case was transferred to crime branch unit IV, which arrested Gannya and the others and booked them under MCOCA.
    His first victim was an economic offences wing sub-inspector, on lockup duty at the police headquarters, Crawford Market. The officer and two constables were suspended as Gannya was found drunk in the lockup.
    Gannya was sent to judicial custody to Thane in November, where he was again found drunk. After an altercation with inmates, sub-inspector Ramesh Desai was transferred, while four constables were suspended following a probe.
    “He was transferred to Taloja jail but he got himself admitted on medical grounds to MGM hospital in Vashi in February 2012. Investigating officer Sanjay Nikam said, “Four Vashi cops were suspended Gannya hoodwinked them and fled.”
    Gannya was held a week later near the Kurla railway terminal. He revealed during interrogation that his gang and one from Delhi had planned to strike in Mumbai and Delhi. Gannya also planned to help the accused from Delhi flee.
    In June 2012, when five Safdarjung cops were escorting four of the Delhi robbers, they spiked their drinks and fled. Inspector Vinayak Vast said that a police officer and five constables were suspended.
    A few months later, when the Taloja jail authorities were escorting Gannya to the MCOCA court, he was again found drunk. Gannya’s relatives had handed him the liquor at the sessions court. Five constables of the local arms division escorting Gannya were suspended.
CRIMINAL MIND
THE CASES Ganesh Shinde, a habitual offender from Sion Circle, has 17 cases of extortion, assault, robbery and issuing threats. He would extort money from businessmen, hoteliers and builders carrying out redevelopment in the vicinity
SOME OF THE SUSPENDED COPS
    Three policemen, including an officer of EOW at the police headquarters, suspended in 2011 after he was found drunk
    Five policemen of Taloja jail suspended after he was found with liquor
    Four Vashi policemen suspended after he fl ed from MGM hospital
    Five Safdarjung policemen suspended after his fellow inmates spiked their drinks and fl ed
    Five local arms division policemen suspended after he created a ruckus near Imax theatre, while being taken back to Taloja jail
THE VERDICT Special judge
Prithviraj Chavan
sentenced Ganesh Shinde alias Gannya and fi ve associates to life imprisonment on four counts: Sections 386 (extortion), 364 (kidnapping) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and under Section 3(1) (2) of MCOCA for being a dreaded member of an organized gang. Chavan also imposed a fi ne of 5 lakh and directed that 5 lakh be paid as compensation to the complainant, travel agent Satish Nayak WITNESSES 9 Three main ones | Satish Nayak, Jhonny Nissar & Chaitanya Nandu

Non-bailable warrant issued against Sandhya Singh’s son

—S Ahmed Ali

Mumbai: Even as the city crime branch probing the Sandhya Singh murder case issued a nonbailable warrant against her son Raghuveer on Thursday, after he did not turn up despite summons, he moved the Supreme Court seeking anticipatory bail. Last week, the high court had rejected his bail application after the police gave its report in a sealed envelope.
    Crime branch officers said even Sandhya’s husband Jaiprakash Singh did not appear before the unit 6 on Wednesday, despite being served summons. They want to question Singh and conduct scientific tests for which they need his consent.
    Sandhya (50), sister of music composers Jatin-Lalit and actors Vijeta and Sulakshana Pandit, went missing in December 2012. A month later, her skeletal remains were found in a marsh near her Nerul home.