12 cases to watch out for in 2019: MeToo rape charges, BBlunt staffer murder

The year gone by has been a roller coaster ride that saw many issues coming to the forefront and seeing the light of the day. Here are some of the biggest cases of 2018 that will be heading for a trial in 2019. 

Updated On: 2019-01-03 08:00 PM IST

Tanushree Vs Nana Patekar
In September 2018, in an interview with a TV channel, Bollywood actress Tanushree Dutta accused veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexual misconduct during the shooting of Horn OK Pleassss in 2008. Nana denied the allegations and said he was falsely accused of sexual harassment. Later, Tanushree Tanushree filed an FIR with the Oshiwara police station against Nana Patekar, director Rakesh Sarang, producer Sami Siddiqui and choreographer Ganesh Acharya under Section 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Oshiwara police will be probing the molestation case and will record the statements of a few witnesses. Tanushree has returned to her home in the US and said that the MeToo movement is far bigger than one individual.

Child Rapist
Rehan Qureshi, the paedophile who is accused of raping and molesting 16 children was arrested from Mira Road by Navi Mumbai Police in September 2018. During a search of his house, the cops also found a bail receipt from 2015, when he was first arrested in a molestation case. The trial in the child rapist case is set to begin early this year as the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch has filed two charge sheets against paedophile Rehan at the Thane Sessions Court. Rehan is currently under police custody.

Alok Nath Vs Vinta Nanda:
Amidst the ongoing #MeToo movement, veteran writer-producer Vinita Nanda on October 17, accused actor Alok Nath of raping her 19 years ago. The Mumbai Police registered a rape case against Alok Nath under section 376 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). Alok Nath's wife Ashu filed a criminal defamation case against Nanda in the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court in Andheri after the FIR against Nath was registered. In early December, the Oshiwara police station claimed that Alok Nath was untraceable. However, the veteran actor applied for anticipatory bail in the matter, which the session court in Dindoshi rejected 

Sanatan Sanstha case:
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATSS) raided a house in Nalasopara near Mumbai in August and recovered 20 crude bombs, several country-made pistols with magazines, country guns, airguns, pistol barrels, partially-made pistols, trigger mechanism, number plates of vehicles, a chopper, hard disks, pen drives etc. Subsequently, 12 persons were arrested in the case and the ATSS alleged role of various Hindu organisations in the Palghar arms haul case and the subsequent unveiling of a terror plot targeting several cities and rationalists in the state.

Sheena Bora murder case:
Sheena Bora, 24, was allegedly killed by her mother Indrani Mukerjea with the help of others in a car in April 2012. However, the incident came to light in August 2015 after Mukerjea's then driver Shyamvar Rai, who was arrested by police for possessing a firearm, disclosed it. A trial in the sensational Sheena Bora murder case, where Indrani Mukerjea and her husband Peter Mukerjea are the prime accused, is at the stage of examination of witnesses, said Sudeep Pasbola, counsel for Indrani. Earlier in December 2018, Peter Mukerjea, in his fourth bail application in November 2018, had denied his involvement in the crime. The bail plea was opposed by CBI in the Mumbai Court.

Indrani and Peter filed a petition for divorce by mutual consent. The couple filed the petition in the Bandra family court.

PNB scam:
The Punjab National Bank (PNB) detected a multi-crore scam, wherein Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi had allegedly cheated the bank to the tune of Rs 114 billion, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank. Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi were charge-sheeted both by CBI and Enforcement Directorate in the Punjab National Bank fraud case. Both of them left India before criminal cases were lodged against them. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in October 2018, seized cut and polished diamonds worth Rs 218.46 crore in the PNB scam belonging to Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and others. Later, on December 13, 2018, the Interpol issued a Red Corner notice against absconding billionaire Mehul Choksi. While Nirav was declared proclaimed absconder under Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which made it difficult for him to secure an anticipatory bail

Kirti Vyas murder:
In what has been termed as a sensational Mumbai crime case, Kirti Vyas (28), a finance manager at BBlunt salon in Andheri was reported missing by her family on March 16, 2018. After major investigations, Kirti Vyas's co-workers Siddhesh Tamhankar and Khushi Sahjwani were arrested later on by the police and have been charged with murder and kidnapping. Surprisingly, the cops have still not been able to find the victim's body and the case rests mainly on traces of blood found in Sahjwani's car, CCTV footage and Call Detail Records (CDR) of the accused.

Hema Upadhyay murder:
Artist Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Haresh Bhambani were killed on 11 December 2015, reportedly over a financial dispute. Hema's husband and artist Chintan Upadhyay, who is lodged in Thane Central Jail, is currently facing a trial for the murder of his ex-wife Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani. In July 2017, Chintan had filed a discharge application before the Dindoshi Sessions court. Later, in September 2017, Chintan moved an application requesting the judge or a magistrate to visit and inspect the place where his ex-wife Hema and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani were allegedly murdered.

Godman rapes a woman on the pretext of curing her of infertility:
A 45-year-old self-styled godman was arrested for allegedly raping a 37-year-old housewife repeatedly for two months under the pretext of curing her of infertility. The housewife was desperate to conceive and approached the godman, who assured her of motherhood by performing various kinds of 'poojas' along with her at his home. The accused invited the woman to his residence on the pretext of performing pooja and he offered her holy water which was spiked. After she lost her consciousness, the self-styled godman raped her. He sexually assaulted the married woman on several occasions. Later the godman threatened to ruin the survivor's life by methods of witchcraft if she revealed the incident to anyone. However, she gathered the courage and registered a complaint with the police. The self-styled godman was arrested from his residence in Virar.

Woman assaults minor inside an elevator:
In November 2018, a 42-year-old woman was arrested for brutally assaulting a four-year-old girl inside an elevator in Mankhurd. The horrifying incident was captured on CCTV camera installed inside the lift. According to the police, the accused and the victim live in the same building. The Trombay police booked the woman under Section 394 of Indian Penal Code(voluntarily causing hurt while committing robbery). The cops said that the accused wanted to steal gold earrings, the child was wearing. However, the family of the child have alleged that Shaikh wanted to kill the girl and she should be charged with attempt to murder. The CCTV footage shows Shaikh closing the elevator door before she starts hitting and kicking four-year-old Janhavi mercilessly for few minutes. She then sits on the child and begins to murmur something. Neighbours who heard Janhavi's cries tried to rescue her but Shaikh was not letting anyone enter the lift. The terrifying ordeal was finally over for Janhavi after Shaikh was forcibly dragged out of the lift.

56-year-old pushed on tracks:
On 21 April 2018, a 56-year-old steel broker was pushed on the tracks from platform number 3 at Mulund station, allegedly by a woman because he accidentally bumped into her. The victim was run over by an Asangaon train. According to eyewitnesses, the victim accidentally bumped into the woman and he immediately apologised, but the woman along with another commuter started pushing him. When the latter tried to defend himself, the woman pushed him again, as a result, he lost his balance and fell on the tracks, and an oncoming Asangaon local crushed him to death. The Kurla GRP began the probe by circulating the CCTV footage to all station personnel, canteen employees, and RPF and GRP men for identification of the culprits. Soon the cops were able to get an identification and arrested the woman from her residence in Chembur. They also tracked down her accomplice in the incident, her cousin, and arrested him.

(A collage of the incident)

3 dead in a well collapse during Puja in Vile Parle:
On 2 October 2018, two women and a child died and seven others were badly injured after the concrete slab covering a well in Jui bungalow, Vile Parle, collapsed, plummeting the 20-odd women sitting on it inside. The incident happened during an annual puja that was being performed at the well. The local police along with the fire brigade rushed to the spot. The iron grill covering the well on which the group was sitting and performing the puja rituals gave way and fifteen of them fell into the well. While 11 were rescued, 3 died. One of the deceased was a child. The case is still under investigation.

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