SC: Put police stations under CCTV watch

Jul 25 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)

SC: Put police stations under CCTV watch

TNN





The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre and states to put all police stations and interrogation rooms under CCTV watch to help prevent custody torture. Judges T S Thakur and R Banumathi also directed that at least two women constables be posted in police stations. The bench also told Delhi, Arunachal, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland to form human rights panels.





Cop suspended for delay in filing FIR in brutal Malad road rage case. `Staff Shortage' Cited; Police Chief Calls `Approach Unacceptable' In yet another twist in the Malad road rage incident, the duty officer who handled the case, an assistan police inspector, was sus pended on Saturday for “le thargic approach“ shown in registering an FIR, said po lice sources. They further said that it was the police who delayed filing of an FIR and not the victim as was report ed earlier.

Jul 19 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)

Cop suspended for delay in filing FIR in brutal Malad road rage case

V Narayan

Mumbai:





`Staff Shortage' Cited; Police Chief Calls `Approach Unacceptable'

In yet another twist in the Malad road rage incident, the duty officer who handled the case, an assistan police inspector, was sus pended on Saturday for “le thargic approach“ shown in registering an FIR, said po lice sources. They further said that it was the police who delayed filing of an FIR and not the victim as was report ed earlier.Cops at the police station allegedly informed the victim, Irwin Cardozo (29), who was punched and sustained deep gashes on his face, neck and head with a paper-cutter on the night of July 14, tha they were “short-staffed as several of their personne had gone to raid two bars“ The FIR was registered the next evening, by which time the accused went into hiding.
Sources said Mumbai po lice commissioner Rakesh Maria has asked Malad police to prepare a detailed repor on the case and that it should reach his table by Monday Maria told TOI: “Such an ap proach in a criminal offence is unacceptable and intolera ble. It is a serious offence and the cops should have immedi ately arrested the accused in stead of waiting for the victim to lodge an FIR. A complaint has to be regis tered immediately in such a serious criminal offence rather than delaying it. Ac tion has been initiated in the case.“ TOI has also learn that some cops allegedly checked with Cardozo when he was in hospital whether he wanted to “settle“ the case.The victim, though, remained firm in his decision to file a complaint.

The FIR mentions names of two of the accused, though the victim said there was a third person involved. The third unidentified person es caped after the incident.
Cops did not arrest the two accused--Mihika Wadhone and her friend Siddharth Yadav, both aged 21-when they were taken to Malad police station. At that hour, cops just noted down their addresses, instead of making them undergo medical tests. Cardozo had alleged that they seemed to be drunk.
Besides, the cops reportedly asked the victim whether he wanted “strong sections against the accused or a case of drunk driving“.
TOI made several attempts to contact the victim and his family on Saturday , but there was no response.
Vikram Deshmane, deputy commissioner of police (Zone XI), reportedly personally visited the victim at his Malad residence on Saturday and took notes on the assault.Deshmane assured the victim's family that Indian Penal Code Section 307 (attempt to murder) will be added in the FIR along with the other charges applied under Section 326 (causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), 504 (intentional insult) and 34 (common intention).
The assault occurred on the main road near Orlem Church, 15 minutes after the victim left a fitness centre in Malad (West). Cardozo called his friends and family who in turn called the police.
Sources said the cops also told the victim where the accused were likely to have fled and that they would be caught easily . It is 96 hours since the assurance and the accused--none of whom have a criminal background --are still at large, said a friend of the victim.
Deshmane said he has initiated an inquiry to find the reason for the delay in filing an FIR and why the accused were let off.
“The case is being probed on a priority basis and the team has been formed to track down the accused. They will be nabbed soon. Such an incident should not have taken place. Proper action will be taken and the accused will be punished. We have recorded statements of the victim and his friends who caught the accused,“ he said.
“The cops sent summons to Wadhone to be present on July 15 but she along with Yadav went into hiding,“ said a source close to the victim's family .
Irwin and his family did not delay filing of the complaint, said his friends and relatives. “A cop came to the hospital to take the victim's signature on the FIR where he once again checked whether he was interested in settling the matter. But the victim asked the cops to file it,“ said sources close to the victim's family .
The DCP refused to comment on the settlement allegation and said a probe and inquiry are on.
TIMES VIEW:
Cops have not covered themselves in glory in this case. The most glaring indicator of their inefficiency is the fact the two accused have been at large 96 hours after the crime. It appears it is the same problem--the eagerness to broker deals rather than go for the accused--that is at play again.

14 die after drinking hooch in Malwani

Jun 19 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)

14 die after drinking hooch in Malwani

Nitasha Natu, Sumitra Deb Roy & Ahmed Ali

Mumbai: TNN





At least 14 people died on Thursday and over 20 are admitted in hospital, many in a critical condition, after consuming spurious liquor in Malwani's Gaondevi area.The crime branch picked up two suspected hooch smugglers late on Thursday . Shankar and Raju Langda allegedly brought it from Virar-Vasai by train and sold it in pouches of 250ml costing Rs 20 to 30 each. Laxmi alias Akka, a middle-aged woman, is absconding. Cops suspect methanol poisoning in the adulterated liquor proved fatal.
Residents of Laxmi Nagar slums who had the liquor on Wednesday night woke up with complaints ranging from breathlessness to acute burning sensation and were rushed to Kandivli's Shatabdi Hospital on Thursday . But most could not even make it there. Hospital medical su perintendent Dr Krishna Pimple said six persons have died in the hospital; two on the way and four on admission.Till late on Thursday , the flow of patients to the hospital had not stopped. The deaths triggered panic, leading to more people rushing in.
CM Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a probe. The Malwani police have registered a case under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 328 (administering dangerous substance) and 34 of the IPC.
In the last major hooch tragedy in the city , 87 persons had died and 285 had to be admitted to hospital after having methanol-laced hooch in Vikhroli and Mahalaxmi on December 23, 2004.
The Malwani victims are largely a mix of auto drivers, construction workers and small-time employees mostly from Gulbarga in Karnataka.At the slum, Sonu Kanojia was distraught. Her older son Dinesh, 38, was dead and younger son Kamlesh, 36, was in hospital. The siblings woke up with a severe burning sensation in the stomach on Thursday . In the next couple of hours, Dinesh's symptoms grew worse; he vomited several times.Kamlesh, who also started experiencing discomfort, rushed his brother to hospital and needed to be admitted himself. Dinesh succumbed soon, while Kamlesh is fighting for life in ICU.
“It seemed like their bodies were on fire. They were seething in pain and rolling on the floor,“ said Kamlesh's wife Anita. Dinesh's wife was inconsolable as he was the breadwinner for the family and is survived by four daughters and a son.
The family of autorickshaw driver Munna Shaikh, related to Langda, is numb with shock.“We don't know what went wrong. My father started vomiting on Thursday and died,“ said Shaikh's daughter Ameena, who has two siblings.
Both the families claimed the brothers and Shaikh had bought liquor from Langda. After police chief Rakesh Maria transferred the case to the crime branch, fingers were being pointed at the Malwani police. Sources said they had either turned a blind eye to the bootleggers or may not have taken them seriously .
State excise commissioner Shamsunder Shinde and joint commissioner of police (law and order) Deven Bharti reached the slum on Thursday night to take stock of the situation. The police have sent samples of the liquor to the forensic science laboratory .
Despite continuous raids, bootleggers manage to find se cret or abandoned places to manufacture the spurious liquor, complained Shinde. “Often they smuggle the liquor from outside the city and adulterate it to double its quantity . They may have mixed some deadly methanol or spirit which acts as poison,“ he added. Excise officials said in Maharashtra, 33 crore litres of country liquor is consumed every year and only 20% of it is made illegally.





Vigilantism reaches police's door in Malad - History-sheeters put cops under the watch with CCTV cameras

Sep 24 2014 : Mirror (Mumbai)

Nazia Sayed TWEETS @sayednaaz





While cops feign ignorance, duo claims corrupt policemen need to be watched over

Two history-sheeters have installed high-definition surveillance cameras around the Malad, Bangur Nagar and Malvani police stations with the aim of keeping an eye on the cops.While five cameras surround the compound that houses the first two police stations, two cameras are placed outside the Malvani police station. The cameras are part of 34 that cover a total of roughly 100 housing societies, beat chowkies, hospitals and schools around Evershine Nagar in Malad, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Bangur Nagar police.
As per law, one needs police permission to install surveillance cameras in the city. The brains behind the idea are Nevada Putman and Jamil Merchant, two history-sheeters who claim to have turned a new leaf and become social activists. While the duo made no bones about why the cameras are there, senior police officers from the region sought to skirt the issue, saying they were not aware of the cameras. The Bangur Nagar Senior Inspector, however, told Mirror that the cameras will be removed after Navratri is over.
But Putman insisted the main purpose of the cameras was to keep an eye on the local police.“These cops are always against me,“ said Putman, 42. “The main purpose of these cameras is to keep an eye on them. They extort money from shopkeepers and others and also indulge in moral policing. If they have this feeling in mind that a Big Brother is watching them, they will not harass the public or frame any innocent person unnecessarily.“
He then added the cameras were also for the security of the people of Evershine Nagar. Asked about his criminal past, Putman said: “It is true that I had cases against me earlier. But I never indulged in big crimes like murder or terrorism. Now I am serving the people. After the cameras were installed, criminal activity in this area has reduced. And we have no problem providing footage to the police if they request us.“
Speaking to Mirror at his “control room“ from where he and his men monitor the footage, Putman said if the police are clean, they should not be worried about the cameras.
“Why should I hand over control to cops?“ he asked. “I have spent nearly Rs 20 lakh on these cameras and only I own them.“
While Putman admitted he installed the cameras eight months ago, the police maintained they were unaware the cameras and that they only found out about them during the recent Ganeshotsav.
Bangur Nagar Senior Police Inspector Gyaneshwar Jawalkar said: “We have not given permission to anyone to install cameras in the area.We came to know about it only recently. We are busy with Navratri security. Once the festival is over, I will personally see to it that the cameras are removed.“
Additional Commissioner of Police (north) Kishore Jadhav said: “I am unaware of any such thing in Bangurnagar or Malvani. I will get the information from the police stations and look into it.“

BEST driver by day, Ramzan prayer leader by night

Mohammed Wajihuddin TNN 

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/07/30&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00205&ViewMode=HTML

    When we meet Mohammed Ayub Ansari, who is resting at a Malad mosque in the afternoon, he looks alarmed. “Why do you want to interview me? I am an ordinary person, I don’t want publicity,” says Ansari, a Muslim who spends a lot of time during Ramzan in penance and prayers. 
    Hardly anyone who travels on the bus he drives knows it, but Ansari turns into an imam in the night during Ramzan. He might have ferried thousands to their destinations as a BEST bus driver since 1992; as a hafiz (one who has memorised the Quran) and imam, he has led countless Muslims at Tarawih prayers. A special congregational prayer exclusively performed in Ramzan, Tarawih is led by a hafiz who recites verses from the holy book. 
    Ansari stands out not because he is a hafiz (he is one among millions across the world) but because, despite not being associated with the teaching profession or preaching, as most hafizs are, Ansari (48) remembers the Quran he memorised when he was ten. “Many hafizs forget the Quran once they enter business or a profession not related to education. But I recite the verses for two hours every day and remember all of it,” he says. 
    Son of an auto driver and a school dropout, Ansari says he learnt driving after he completed his hafiz course. Brilliant children do it within two years; he did it in three. Like his father, Ansari too drove an auto for a couple of years before he applied for a driver’s job in BEST. “The call letter came after eight years. I had forgotten I had applied,” he chuckles. 
    Ansari’s day begins at 4.05am, when he steers bus number 273 out of the BEST depot at Malvani and drives toward Malad station. He makes several rounds between Malvani depot and Malad station, signing off at 11.40 am. He then reaches his BEST-allotted quarter in Malvani, has a bath and, putting on a kurta-pyjama and a skullcap, goes to the mosque in Malvani’s Muslim ghetto opposite the bus depot. Ramzan sees him practise the Quran’s recitations intensively during the day as part of preparations for the one-hourlong session in the night. Ansari leads the Tarawih prayer, after the usual night prayer is over, at the same mosque. 
    Although hafizs are much in demand during Ramzan and many of them get paid handsomely, Ansari claims he does the work voluntarily. “I have never demanded or accepted any remuneration for leading Tarawih. Charging fees for recitations of the holy text is forbidden,” he says.

Mohammed Ayub Ansari had the Quran memorised when he was ten

Man held for kidnapping, pushing teen into flesh trade

Express news service : Wed Apr 03 2013, 01:06 hrs

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/man-held-for-kidnapping-pushing-teen-into-flesh-trade/1096814/

Police have arrested a man for allegedly kidnapping a 15-year-old Andheri girl and forcing her into prostitution. They are looking for his accompliace and a couple.

DN Nagar police said Mohammad Bashir Sheikh (24) kidnapped the girl from near her residence in Juhu Galli on March 21. He allegedly took her in a rickshaw to Marve Road in Malvani.

The girl did not suspect anything as Sheikh was known to her. Her father, a labourer, approached police the next day and lodged a missing complaint.

Sheikh took the girl to the residence of Imran Warsi and his wife Alvira and sold her to them. Imran allegedly later raped her. "We are verifying the sequence and are relying on the statement of the arrested accused," said senior inspector Vijay Bhoite.

The next day, the girl was abandoned near the residence of her relative in Malvani.

Monday, she narrated the ordeal to her parents, who immediately approached police.

Bhoite said, "We have registered a case of kidnapping under IPC sections 363 and 366A and under section 5 of Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. Imran Warsi and his wife are on the run."

"We are on the lookout for a man who was with Sheikh when he picked up the girl. Sheikh was produced in court Tuesday and remanded in police custody," another officer said.

BE POLITE, DECENT TO PUBLIC, SAYS TOP COP

BE POLITE, DECENT TO PUBLIC, SAYS TOP COP

VINAY DALVI http://epaper2.mid-day.com/showtext.aspx?boxid=13159550&parentid=196073&issuedate=30032013&edd123=mumbai

In a recent notification to all staffers of Mumbai police, Commissioner Dr Satyapal Singh has requested them to be more sensitive towards the problems of citizens MUMBAI’S Commissioner of Police, Dr Satyapal Singh issued a notification yesterday asking all personnel to behave decently and be more attentive to the problems of the general public. In the announcement, which was made following the Vidhan Bhavan assault case, the police chief also proposed a personality development programme for the staff. The issue gained momentum after the suspended MLAs alleged that API Sachin Suryavanshi misbehaved with them. However, sources claim that Suryavanshi’s behaviour was a response to abusive language used by MLA Kshitij Thakur. “ There are a lot of people who might approach us with complaints that even God may find difficult to solve, but we should be able to guide them and give them solutions that are best to our ability, such as approaching the court etc,” the circular said. The commissioner has also suggested personality development courses for the policemen. “ The staff will benefit by this course as it would teach them important life skills such as how to talk to people in a sensitive manner. We are thinking of approaching management institutes like Welingkar’s and Symbiosis to conduct the courses,” said a source. Apart from the above mentioned suggestions, the commissioner has also asked all police stations to celebrate birthdays of staff by cutting a cake, presenting a bouquet and even writing their names on a board so that others can wish them too.

Police chief orders probe in death of ‘robber’ in custody

 Police chief orders probe in death of ‘robber’ in custody

 

Express news service : Mon Mar 18 2013, 02:23 hrs

Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh has ordered Crime Branch, Unit XI to probe the alleged in-custody death of a robber in Malwani Police Station on March 5. Javed Hyder Ali, 35, was thrashed by the employees and owner of a dye manufacturing unit and handed over to police. However, the next morning, police said they tried to wake him up but he did not respond. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Injured man made to wait at police station, dies

Express news service : Tue Mar 26 2013, 03:07 hrs

 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/injured-man-made-to-wait-at-police-station-dies/1093474/
 
Sayyed Gazi Sheikh (65) died allegedly after he was made to sit at a police station with untreated injuries sustained in a fight with neighbours in Malwani Sunday night.
Police have still not registered a complaint of murder, saying they are awaiting post-mortem report.
His family claimed Sheikh was asked to report to the police station in an injured state after his neighbours made allegations of assault.
His daughter Tanvar (25) said Sheikh was in their Malwani home when neighbours barged in demanding a passageway.
"The family of Yaseen Shaikh has built an illegal house on mangroves just behind ours. They have been demanding a passageway through our house but my father did not agree," said Tanvar.
She said at 9 pm Sunday, Yaseen, his wife Yasmin and son Sameer barged into their house and beat up her father with rods, after which he approached police.
"The officers registered an NC and asked my father to go for an examination of his head injuries.
"When he returned, Yasmin went to the police station and alleged my father attacked her with a blade. My father was in hospital at the time. At 1 am, police called my father, registered a cross-complaint and made him sit in the police station for two hours. When he returned home at 3 am, he collapsed. We rushed him to hospital where he was declared dead," Tanvar said.
She said her father died due to police negligence. "My father had head injuries. In that condition he was made to wait at the police station." Jaywant Hargude, ACP (Malwani), said: "We are conducting inquiries and if police negligence is proved, we will take action against officers concerned."

Youth’s body fished out from mangroves

Youth’s body fished out from mangrovesYouth’s body fished out from mangroves
Mar 19, 2013 | Age Correspondent | Mumbai

 http://www.asianage.com/mumbai/youth-s-body-fished-out-mangroves-593

The Malwani police is investigating the murder case of a youngster whose body was found on Monday morning in Malad (west). The body was pulled out from the mangroves and efforts are on to identify it.
According to an investigating official from the Malwani police station, the murder came to light when locals of a Malwani church alerted the police control room. The body was lying in the mangroves below a nullah near Marve Beach on Marve Road.
“We received a phone call at around 10.45 am after which a police van was rushed to the spot,” said a police official. The body has been sent for an autopsy to Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali (west).
“There are injury marks on the body and the throat has been slit. Based on the nature of injuries, we have registered a case of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Malwani police station,” informed Jaywant Hargude, assistant commissioner of police, Malwani division.
The deceased is aged between 20 to 25 years. He is dressed in a T-shirt and trousers. The police believes that he may be a local, but there are no clues yet. “He does not have a cellphone or an identity card. We could not find anything on his body that could ascertain his identity,” Mr Hargude said.