Meerut hangman ready to carry out execution of Nirbhaya convicts
Lucknow: The hangman at the Meerut prison on Friday indicated that he is ready to carry out the execution in the Tihar Jail of the men convicted of raping and murdering Nirbhaya in 2012. “I am ready to carry out the execution if asked by the jail administration,” Pawan Jallad told PTI on phone, referring to the authorities at the Meerut jail. Amid reports about preparations to hang the four men convicted of the rape and murder, the Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Director General (Prisons) Anand Kumar confirmed that Delhi’s Tihar Jail has sent out a request for hangmen. “The Tihar Jail had asked Uttar Pradesh to provide two hangmen at short notice but since one of them in Lucknow is unwell, the other one in Meerut has been asked to remain prepared,” he said. Jallad, who is about 55-year-old, however, said he is not aware of the identity of the convicts to be hanged but added that as the Nirbhaya case is in the news right now he might be required for those convicted in that. Though he has not yet got any instructions from the Meerut jail administration, he said he is ready to go to Tihar Jail on 24 hours’ notice. (PTI)
Chinese passenger held with gold bars worth Rs 3.6 cr
Mumbai: A Chinese national was apprehended at the Mumbai airport by CISF personnel on Friday for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold bars worth over Rs 3.6 crore, officials said. The passenger, Cong Ling, had landed here as his Beijing-Delhi China Air flight was diverted due to bad weather in the national capital. The traveller, who had a Chinese passport, was apprehended by Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel with 10 gold bars in his hand baggage when he was re-boarding the same flight to Delhi, they said. The gold bars recovered from the passenger weighed 1 kg each, they said. The Chinese national has been handed over to the Customs Department by the CISF personnel along with the gold bars, they said. (PTI)
PNB scam: CBI court refuses to cancel warrant against Choksi
Mumbai: A special court here on Friday refused to cancel a non-bailable warrant issued against fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the alleged Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam. Special CBI judge V C Barde refused to give relief to Choksi after hearing arguments by his lawyers and the Central Bureau of Investigation’s counsel A Limosine. Choksi had moved the court in June 2018 seeking cancellation of the warrant, issued by the court as he did not respond to summons and participate in the probe. Last week, the court had rejected a similar plea made by him, seeking cancellation of a warrant issued in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the PNB scam. In his plea before the CBI court, Choksi claimed that he could not travel to India because of his medical condition and also because he was facing a threat to his life. He never sought to evade probe agencies and had duly responded to all the communication received from them, his lawyers contended. Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi, in connivance with some bank officials, allegedly duped PNB of Rs 14,000 crore by obtaining Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) fraudulently. (PTI)
Two minor girls sexually abused in Jharkhand, one dies
Chatra: Two minor girls were allegedly sexually and physically abused in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, with one of them succumbing to her injuries and the condition of the other being serious, police said on Friday. One person has been arrested over the incident, a police officer said. The incident occurred when two girls, both aged 10, and an eight-year-old boy had gone to Kirigada forest under Piparwar police station limits on Wednesday to collect firewood, he said. However, when the three children did not return till late afternoon, family members and villagers reported the matter to the police, who launched a search for them. The eight-year-old boy was found severely injured due to physical assault and was admitted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi, the officer said. The boy told investigators that the accused had beaten the three children and abducted the two girls deeper into the forest, he said. Upon further search, police found the two girls on Thursday and admitted them to a primary healthcare centre, where one of them was declared dead and the other referred to RIMS, the officer said. “Prima facie, it appears to be a case of sexual abuse and murder,” he said, adding that an FIR has been lodged in this connection. Police is questioning some other suspects in the case, he added. (PTI)