Husband, in-laws held for woman’s death

4th Nov 2012

The husband and in-laws of a 22-year-old woman from Malad were arrested on Friday for setting her ablaze. Heena Shaikh battled for life at Bhagwati Hospital for two days before succumbing to 100% burns on Saturday. But before she died, she told the police about the torture she was subjected to and based on her dying declaration, her husband and his parents have been booked on murder charges. 

Heena got married to an imitation jewellery trader, Altaaf Shaikh (25), in 2010. The couple stayed with Altaaf's parents at Mira Park in Pathanwadi, Malad (E). 

"On Thursday night, Heena told us that fed up with the harassment by her in-laws, who constantly demanded dowry from her parents, she set herself on fire. But on Friday, when her statement was recorded before a special executive magistrate, Heena said her in-laws had torched her in their flat, while her husband stood by and watched," said senior inspector Subhash Dafle. Based on her words, the police took Altaaf and his parents, Lal Mohammad (57) and Rehmeen Bi (54), into custody on the charge of attempt to commit murder. "Around 11am on Saturday, Heena died following which her Friday's statement was treated as a dying declaration and the charges against the accused were enhanced to "murder". They have been booked under section 302 of the IPC," Dafle added. 

Heena's ordeal began soon after her wedding. "Her husband and in-laws started torturing her physically and mentally. They wanted her to fetch money from her parents so that they could expand their jewellery business. They also taunted her for not bringing enough dowry during wedding," said an official. Heena's parents, who stay in Jalna, are of modest means, with her father and brother being truck drivers. During her wedding, Heena's parents paid a dowry of Rs 10,000 but the in-laws later demanded another Rs 50,000 which, they could not afford. 

The Shaikhs' neighbour, Pamela Bagde, told TOI that Heena had confided in a few residents of the housing society about the torture she faced. "We never expected that the Shaikhs would act this way. The family seemed very religious," said Bagde. "At the same time, we used to hear horror stories about Heena. The Shaikhs had bred poultry inside the flat and insisted that Heena did all the cleaning; she was not even allowed to sleep in the bedroom." 

"Around 10.30pm on Thursday, we spotted smoke billowing out of the Shaikhs' kitchen window and presumed that their cylinder had burst. Though the neighbours went to the flat, the family did not open the door for a long time. The residents kept banging on the door, till the Shaikhs finally came out. Inside, it was dark and I found Heena, almost naked and unconscious, in the bathroom. I can't forget the sight. We brought buckets of water to douse the flames. Heena was badly charred. We summoned the Kurar police," Bagde added. 

On Saturday, the Shaikhs were remanded in police custody till November 7.

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Travel body staff, 64 clients duped

3rd Nov 2012

A case of cheating has been registered against the management of a travel agency based in Malad West, after its employees and clients complained they had been duped of lakhs of rupees. The Bangur Nagar police said that 64 clients have come forward so far, complaining of being defrauded of nearly Rs 38 lakh. No arrests have been made. 

The travel agency, Move Holidays, is owned by Karan Vyas and his wife, Akshata. The agency had a 200 sq feet office at Kemp Plaza in Malad. Police have slapped charges of cheating on the Vyas couple as well as the agency's country co-ordinator, Virendra Singh. 

"On October 31, Vyas booked tickets for the night show of a film for 20 of his employees. He also hosted a party for them on October 29. But when the employees reached their workplace on Thursday, they were shocked to find a few laborers emptying the office, packing up furniture and laptops. When the employees called up the Vyas couple and Singh, the trio's cellphones were switched off," said a police official. 

The employees then got in touch with some clients to see if the Vyas couple or Singh had established contact with them. "The clients realized they had been duped as well. 64 clients then approached the police, complaining that the accused had fled with payments made for travel packages," said the official. 

The travel agency, which was started a year ago, lured customers by placing advertisements on their website and in leading newspapers. The agency offered holiday packages to Goa, Kerala, Thailand, Bangkok, Manali and Kashmir at throwaway prices. An employee of the agency told the police that some of them hadn't been given a month's salary, incentives and commission. "The accused-trio is on the run. We have booked them under Section 420 and 34 of IPC and are looking for them," a senior official said.

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Abortion deadline forces Malad woman to take the uneasy call

24th Oct 2012

Lawyer Nima Purohit (32) was on cloud nine when she learnt that she was pregnant with her first child. But her happiness was short-lived. In the 19th week of her pregnancy, the Malad resident learnt that her baby's growth was not normal. With the 20-week limit for medical termination of pregnancy fast approaching, Nima made frantic visits to doctors to ascertain if her baby's abnormality was treatable. Eventually, she underwent an abortion on October 17 and is still wondering if she did the right thing.
Nima conceived the baby after nearly 18 months of marriage and the whole family was eagerly awaiting the baby's arrival. Nima was aware of the importance of timely tests during the progress of the pregnancy and underwent regular examinations. In fact, the tests done in the first trimester of her pregnancy showed that everything was normal.

But when she underwent another round of tests in the 19th week of pregnancy, she was told that her baby had Dandy-Walker Syndrome, a congenital malformation in which there is a partial or complete absence of the part of the brain that is located between the two cerebellar hemispheres. "I was told that my baby may suffer from mental retardation, hypotonia and other balance or motor skills abnormalities. The doctors also said that my baby had cardiac anomaly," said Nima.
Doctors suggested that Nima also undergo an aminocentesis test, in which the foetal DNA is examined for genetic abnormalities. As the clock ticked, Nima took opinions not only from paediatric neurologists in Mumbai, but also from those in the US. She collected as much information as she could to know about her baby's condition. "I accessed information online to know what had gone wrong with this little life growing inside me. I researched and I tried to know the prognosis of children with such issues. Awaiting the opinion during those four days and nights, there was no end to my mental agony. It was too traumatic for my family as well," recalled Nima.
Nima, who had an abortion on October 17, wishes that had there been no deadline for abortion, allowing her to wait for the aminocentesis results that will be available next week. "We haven't received those test results yet and do not know if we made the right decision," said Nima.

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Malad robbery: Cops leave for UP, Bihar

24th Oct 2012

Teams from the Kurar police station have left for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to look for the three helps who looted cash and valuables worth Rs 54.15 lakh from a Malad (E) flat after assaulting a housewife on Sunday.
The victim, Vandana Kapoor, is out of danger. The accused had even made off with the family's pet, a four-month-old dog called Myra.

"The three—Praveen, Santosh and Raju—had been employed with the Kapoors for not more than a month. The family members do not even know their antecedents nor do they have their pictures. The accused have left their cellphones behind. This indicates that the robbery had been planned even before the three took up the job," said the police. We suspect from their accent that they are north Indians.
The CCTV footage from Shuchi Heights, where the victim stays, isn't clear. "We have called experts to get clearer images," cops said. "We weren't keen on hiring Raju. One of our helps had quit as he did not want to work with Raju, who used to drink. We had warned Raju that this will not be tolerated," a family member said.

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UP picnic pact turns awry for 8 Malad kids

26th Oct 2012

When eight children from Malad East found themselves flush with cash, they decided to head for Uttar Pradesh. Little did they know that their anxious parents would approach the police to track them.
On Tuesday, the group finally returned home. The children, aged between 11 to 16 years, are all residents of Santosh Nagar. Some of them attend school, while the rest are dropouts. According to the police, on October 16, the group of eight, including two girls, met in Malad around 5 pm and decided to go on a trip out of town. Each of them agreed to pool in around Rs 250 for the journey and they also decided against informing their parents.
"Some of the boys in the group had played drums for a Ganpati mandal and had been paid handsomely for it. One of the youngsters had been gifted Rs 1,300 by his grandfather to buy a new set of clothes," an officer from the Dindoshi police station said.
According to their plan, the group met near a temple on October 17. They hailed autorickshaws in groups of three and went to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, where they boarded Gorakhpur Express. "Gorakhpur was selected as the holiday destination as one of the youngsters had relatives there. But when the youngsters did not return home that night, their parents got anxious," said the officer.
On October 18, the parents of some children approached the Dindoshi police station and filed a missing complaint. On October 19, the group reached Gorakhpur. Meanwhile, a neighbour who knew about their "holiday plans" informed his parents. The Gorakhpur-based relatives were also taken aback to see such a large group of minors land up at their door without any warning.
"Some of their parents then travelled to Gorakhpur and brought the children back by train," the officer added.

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