May 11
VIETNAM:
Vietnam arrests oil refinery officials as investigation into banking graft case
widens----Officials from a PetroVietnam subsidiary allegedly accepted $840,000
in excessive interest payments from OceanBank.
Police in Vietnam arrested two oil officials on Thursday for allegedly
accepting illegal deposit interest payments from the scandal-hit OceanBank.
Nguyen Hoai Giang, 50, chairman of Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Co.
(BSR), and the company's chief accountant Pham Xuan Quang, 38, are facing
charges of abuse of power to appropriate property, according to the Ministry of
Public Security.
BSR is a subsidiary of the state-owned oil giant PetroVietnam and the operator
of Vietnam's first oil refinery Dung Quat.
Their arrests are part of the 2nd phase of the investigation into banking
violations at OceanBank. Last month, the investigation also netted BSR's deputy
general director, Vu Manh Tung, 44.
In addition to the refining subsidiary, Vietsovpetro (VSP), a joint venture
between PetroVietnam and Russia's Zarubezhneft, and PetroVietnam Exploration
Production Corporation (PVEP) are also under investigation.
According to the investigation, OceanBank paid its major customers over
VND1.576 trillion ($69.4 million) in excessive interest payments between 2010
and November 2014 under policies set by former board chairman Ha Van Tham, with
BSR receiving over VND19 billion ($840,000).
OceanBank then colluded with BSR, VSP and PVEP to wipe the payments from their
books, investigators said.
At a trial that wrapped up last September, Tham was sentenced to life
imprisonment after being held mainly responsible for offering deposit rates
above those set by the central bank to various customers, resulting in major
losses. He claimed it was part of a strategy to attract funds and keep the
business afloat, but his argument was dismissed.
Nguyen Xuan Son, the bank's former general director and former board chairman
of PetroVietnam, received the death penalty for appropriating VND246 billion
from the bank in excessive interest payments.
An appeal court in Hanoi last week rejected Tham and Son's appeals but said it
would ask the Supreme Court to commute their sentences.
The 2nd phase of investigation into OceanBank is among the major cases the
Communist Party and the government are "determined" to pursuit and bring to
court, according to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who is
spearheading Vietnam's anti-corruption campaign.
Trong, 74, has described the sweeping campaign as being at an "all-time high,"
and has urged authorities to keep up the momentum.
(source: vnexpress.net)
BANGLADESH:
Bangladesh to oppose gay rights and abolishment of death penalty at UN
Bangladesh will take a strong stance against gay rights and the abolishment of
the death penalty at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council.
Last February, Bangladesh presented its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the
UN Human Rights Council. The review highlighted the country's human rights
achievements and challenges from 2013-2017. The hearing of the UPR will be held
on May 14.
The team representing Bangladesh will be led by Law Minister Anisul Huq. During
the review Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Ukraine will be present as rapporteurs.
Regarding the matter, an official said: "Bangladesh does not believe in
following popular doctrine. We sheltered the Rohingyas purely on human rights
basis. This is a big challenge. Our human rights record is excellent.
"There are allegations against our country regarding human rights. We are ready
to answer their questions.
"It is true that we have limitations. Every country has its limitations; the
other countries want to know if we are trying to overcome it to the best of our
ability."
Bangladesh first submitted a UPR in 2009. The latest UPR was submitted in 2013.
At the hearing of the 2013 UPR, several nations made 196 suggestions to
Bangladesh and the country accepted 191 of them. The remaining 5 were regarding
gay rights and the abolishment of the death penalty; Bangladesh did not take
those suggestions.
The official also said: "37 countries of the world do not support gay rights
and Bangladesh is one of them. Our society is not ready for this yet."
According to the latest report, between the years 2013-2017, several lower
courts gave the execution orders to 1,119 criminals. However, the High Court
stayed the execution of 130 people. Only 17 people were hanged in those 5
years.
At the hearing, the government of Bangladesh will have to answer to questions
about issues such as women's rights, freedom of speech, police brutality, and
extrajudicial killings.
(source: Dhaka Tribune)
IRAQ:
Iraq puts Belgian IS jihadist on trial
An Iraqi court on Thursday began the trial of a Belgian Islamic State group
jihadist who threatened attacks against the West in propaganda videos. Tarik
Jadaoun - known by his nom de guerre Abu Hamza al-Beljiki - pleaded "not
guilty" to charges including carrying out attacks on Iraqi troops that could
see him handed the death penalty.
Born in 1988, Jadaoun - who was captured in ex-IS bastion Mosul in August -
appeared before the Baghdad court dressed in a beige prison uniform with a
shaved head and bushy moustache.
"I was not a fighter, I was in charge of a group of IS nurses. I took care of
everybody," he told the court. "I got lost and I appeal to your kindness."
Jadaoun, who has Moroccan roots, said he was forced by "one of the top IS
commanders" to appear in videos threatening attacks against Belgium and France.
The footage saw Jadaoun earn the moniker "the new Abaaoud", after his
compatriot Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the organisers of November 2015 attacks
in Paris.
Earlier, investigators alleged Jadaoun was in charge of the "cubs of the
caliphate" - about 60 children aged 8 to 13 who received intensive fitness and
weapons training.
There was no mention of those accusations at the court session on Thursday.
The judge postponed the next hearing until May 22, with a judicial source
putting the delay down to a lack of diplomatic representation for the accused.
Belgium does not have an embassy in Iraq, but the source said the foreign
ministry in Baghdad had sent a letter to representatives from the country.
In total, Iraqi courts have sentenced to death more than 300 people, including
dozens of foreigners, for belonging to IS, judicial sources said last month.
Since January, some 100 foreign nationals have been sentenced to death in
Baghdad and around 185 to life in prison, officials said.
Thousands of foreign fighters from across the world flocked to the black banner
of the jihadists as the group seized swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014.
Their self-declared "caliphate" has since been reduced to a rump territory of
desert in the east of war-torn Syria.
The fate of those who survived ferocious onslaughts by various forces against
IS has been a major headache for their home governments, which are often
against seeing them return.
(source: nation.com.pk)
IRAN:
Iran's Dark Times Are Brought to Light
A new investigative report was released by Amnesty International on Monday. It
looks at the ways that signs of mass graves of political prisoners who were
executed in Iran in 1988 are being wiped out.
The report states, "Today, it is still not known exactly how many prisoners
were extra-judicially executed in 1988, although minimum estimates are between
4,000 and 5,000."
AP reports, "International rights groups estimate as many as 5,000 people were
executed, while the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq puts the number at 30,000."
Mass graves have been gradually leveled to escape any possible future
accountability, report adds, "The account identifies 7 suspected or confirmed
mass grave sites that have faced destruction between 2003 and 2017. They are
located in or near Behesht Reza cemetery in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province;
Behesht Abad cemetery in Ahvaz, Khuzestan province; Vadieh Rahmat cemetery in
Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province; Golestan Javid cemetery in Khavaran; Tazeh
Abad cemetery in Rasht, Gilan province; the Baha'i cemetery in Qorveh,
Kurdistan province; and the grounds of the former premises of the Revolutionary
Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province."
A 1990 Amnesty report stated, "Some who appeared were asked to identify
themselves. Those who responded 'mujahedeen' were sent to their deaths, while
others were questioned about their willingness to 'clear minefields for the
army of the Islamic Republic'."
AI called for an enquiry commission to probe the officials of the "Death
Commission", as it was known among former Iranian political prisoners, many of
whom, according to the AI report, still hold offices in the Iranian regime. The
report added that no Iranian official has been investigated or brought to
justice.
2 high profile examples are Ebrahim Raisi a challenger to Hassan Rouhani in
last year's presidential election and now the custodian of the wealthiest Imam
Reza Foundation in Mashhad, and Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, Iran's Justice Minister
in Rouhani's 1st cabinet. Rouhani also chose Alireza Avii, another member of
the Death Commission to head the Justice Ministry in his 2nd cabinet.
The Death Commission oversaw the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in the
summer of 1988, who were mostly members and supporters of the opposition
People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK). Raisi and Pour-Mohammadi
were 2 of the 4 members of the Death Commission.
Reportedly, Khomeini issued a fatwa, a religious decree, authorizing the
massacre that occurred in the summer of 1988. The Commission allegedly handed
down some 30,000 death sentences. Courts lasted an average of 3 minutes. Some
of the political prisoners who survived the slaughter have written or spoken of
their ordeals.
The judges asked only one question, "Do you still believe in Mojahedin?"
Gruesome accounts of survivors, especially female prisoners, often leave the
listeners in shock.
An audio tape that was published on his website by Ayatollah Hossein-Ali
Montazeri???s son in August 2016 brought much of this into the light. Montazeri
objected to the mass executions in 1988. He spent the rest of his life under
house arrest and died in 2009. Montazeri can be heard on the audio tape telling
a meeting of the Death Commission that they are responsible for a crime against
humanity. "The greatest crime committed during the reign of the Islamic
Republic, for which history will condemn us, has been committed by you. Your
names will in the future be etched in the annals of history as criminals," he
said.
(source: NCR-Iran)
MAURITANIA:
AU rights body urges Mauritania 'review' blasphemy law----African Commission on
Human and Peoples' Rights calls on Mauritanian government to review draft law
that applies death penalty for blasphemy.
The African Union's human rights body has called on Mauritania to "review" a
draft law that applies the death penalty for blasphemy as global outrage grows
over the imprisonment of a young blogger.
Cheikh Ould Mohamed Ould Mkheitir has been detained for more than 4 years
despite his death penalty being downgraded to a 2-year sentence in November.
The decision by an appeals court to spare Mkheitir's life, which caused clashes
and outrage in the conservative Muslim nation, came after he repented for
charges of insulting the Prophet Muhammad in a blog post.
Later in November the government moved to harden up religious laws so that
showing repentance for blasphemy and apostasy could no longer prevent the death
penalty.
But the text of the bill has not yet been promulgated by President Mohamed Ould
Abdel Aziz, without official explanation.
The head of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Soyata Maiga,
called on the government to reconsider the bill in the capital Nouakchott on
Wednesday.
"The African commission uses the occasion of its current session in Mauritania
to urge the highest authorities to review this legislation," she said.
"This review must be done in accordance with the guidelines and efforts of the
African commission's working group on the death penalty and extrajudicial
killings in Africa."
The African Union-backed group, whose decisions are not binding, advocates for
the death penalty to be abolished.
Mauritanian authorities have not commented on Mkheitir's fate since November.
Some 20 NGOs have since asked the country's authorities to end the "secrecy"
and guarantee the safety of the blogger, who is in his thirties.
The case contributed to Mauritania falling 17 spots in Reporters Without
Borders' 2018 World Press Freedom Index, the biggest drop of any African
nation.
The death sentence has not been applied in Mauritania since 1987.
(source: middle-east-online.com)
KENYA:
Kenya to fast-track laws to make wildlife killing capital offense
Kenya will fast-track laws to make wildlife poaching a capital offense as part
of the country's bid to conserve flora and fauna, a senior government official
said late Thursday.
Najib Balala, the Minister for Tourism and Wildlife, said that once the laws
are enacted, the offenders of the wildlife crimes will face the death penalty
in accordance with the laws of the land.
"We have in place the Wildlife Conservation Act that was enacted in 2013 and
which fetches offenders a life sentence or a fine of 200,000 U.S. dollars.
However, this has not been deterrence enough to curb poaching, hence the
proposed stiffer sentence," Balala remarked during the official launch of the
northern white rhino commemorative stamps at Ol Pejeta Conservancy located in
Laikipia County on the slopes of Mount Kenya.
The initiative to issue a set of stamps to celebrate the northern white rhino
was instigated by the Postal Corporation of Kenya in honor of "Sudan", the
remaining male northern white rhino that died on March 19 after suffering from
age-related health issues and from a series of infections.
Richard Vigne, the CEO of Ol Pejeta Conservancy that was home to Sudan, said
the tragic story of the northern rhino will be captured forever as a signal to
the world. He added that whilst Kenya remains a global leader in conservation,
there are nonetheless many species across the planet that face a similar
plight.
Vigne said that once Sudan's condition worsened significantly and he was unable
to stand up, and obviously suffered a great deal, the decision to euthanize the
mammoth was made by his veterinary team. This left Najin and Fatu as the two
remaining northern white rhinos on the planet.
"Despite the extremely low numbers remaining, Ol Pejeta and Kenya Wildlife
Service are working closely with the scientific community to try to recover
this species from imminent extinction," Vigne noted, adding that the only way
this can be done is through in vitro fertilization (IVF).
The conservationist said that because scientific practice has never ever been
done in rhinos before, it will require the removal of eggs from the ovaries of
the 2 remaining females to be fertilized using semen stored from males over the
last few years to create viable mature embryos for storage in liquid nitrogen.
Once this has been achieved, a technique to reintroduce the embryos into
surrogate southern female, because the 2 are infertile, with the aim of
achieving pure bred northern white pregnancies.
"This effort will cost a huge amount of money, but is a noble effort to reverse
at least one of the wrongs that mankind has wreaked upon other species that
inhabit this planet with us," Vigne stated.
Patrick Omondi, the Director of Research in the Ministry of Tourism and
Wildlife, said plans were underway to build a wildlife conservation museum that
will feature wildlife icons, adding that the remains of Sudan will be displayed
in a national conservation museum.
(source: Xinhua)
SUDAN:
Death sentence for raped teenager is an intolerable cruelty
A Sudanese court's sentencing today of a 19-year-old woman to death for killing
her rapist husband in self-defence highlights the failure of the authorities to
tackle child marriage, forced marriage and marital rape, Amnesty International
said today.
Noura Hussein Hamad has been held in the Omdurman Women's Prison since May
2017, and was today handed the death sentence for killing the man her father
forced her to marry when she was 16 years old.
"Noura Hussein life-long wish was to become a teacher but she ended up being
forced to marry an abusive man who raped and brutalized her. Now she has been
slapped with a death sentence by a court which refused to recognize the
existence of rape within marriage. Noura Hussein is a victim and the sentence
against her is an intolerable act of cruelty,' said Seif Magango, Amnesty
International's Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the
Great Lakes.
"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and
to apply it to a rape victim only highlights the failure of the Sudanese
authorities to acknowledge the violence she endured. The Sudanese authorities
must quash this grossly unfair sentence and ensure that Noura gets a fair
retrial that takes into account her mitigating circumstances."
Noura Hussein was married against her will to Abdulrahman Mohamed Hammad at the
age of 16. The 1st marriage ceremony involved the signing a marriage contract
between her father and Abdulrahman. The 2nd part of the marriage ceremony took
place in April 2017, when she was forced to move into Abdulrahman's home upon
having completed high school. When she refused to consummate the marriage,
Abdulrahman invited 2 of his brothers and a male cousin to help him rape her.
Sudanese law allows children over the age of 10 to marry.
On 2 May 2017, the three men held Noura Hussein down while Abdulrahman raped
her. The next morning he tried to rape her again but she managed to escape to
the kitchen where she grabbed a knife. In the ensuing scuffle, Abdulrahman
sustained fatal knife wounds.
Noura then fled to her family home, but her father handed her over to the
police, who opened a case against her. A medical examination report from the
fight with Abdulrahman indicated she had sustained injuries including a bite
and scratches.
At her trial in July 2017, the judge applied an outdated law which did not
recognize marital rape. Noura Hussein was charged under the Criminal Act (1991)
and found guilty of intentional murder on April 19, 2018 at the Central
Criminal Court of Omdurman.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception
regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or
other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to
carry out the execution. As of today, 106 countries have abolished the death
penalty for all crimes and more than 2/3 of the world's countries are
abolitionist in law or practice.
(source: Amnesty International USA)
****************
Amnesty slams death penalty for raped Sudanese teenager
Rights group Amnesty International on Thursday slammed a Sudanese court's
sentencing of a teenager to death for killing her rapist husband in
self-defence.
19-year-old, Noura Hussein Hammad was handed a death sentence by a Sudanese
court for killing the man her father forced her to marry, the rights group said
in a statement.
"Noura Hussein is a victim and the sentence against her is an intolerable act
of cruelty," Amnesty International's deputy regional director Seif Magango said
in the statement.
"The Sudanese authorities must quash this grossly unfair sentence and ensure
that Noura gets a fair retrial that takes into account her mitigating
circumstances."
Hammad was married against her wish to Abdulrahman Hammad at the age of 16,
with the 1st marriage ceremony involving the signing of a marriage contract
between her father and her husband, Amnesty International said.
In April 2017 the 2nd part of the marriage ceremony took place when she was
forced to move to her husband's home after completing high school.
Sudanese law allows children over the age of 10 to marry. When she refused to
consumate the marriage, her husband invited 2 of his brothers and a male cousin
to help him rape her, the rights group said.
"On 2 May 2017, the 3 men held Noura Hussein down while Abdulrahman raped her,"
Amnesty International said.
"The next morning he tried to rape her again but she managed to escape to the
kitchen where she grabbed a knife. In the ensuing scuffle, Abdulrahman
sustained fatal knife wounds."
Hussein fled to her family home after the incident but her father handed her to
the police, Amnesty International said.
During her trial in July 2017, the court found her guilty of "intentional
murder" after applying an outdated law that does not recognise marital rape, it
added.
"The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and
to apply it to a victim only highlights the failure of the Sudanese authorities
to acknowledge the violence she endured," Magango said.
Hammad, whose dream had been to become a teacher, has been held in a women's
prison since May 2017.
In recent years, women and children's rights activists have increasingly
campaigned against forced marriages of girls and marriage of underage girls, a
widespread phenomenon in Sudan given that Sudanese law allows children over the
age of 10 to marry.
(source: The Express Tribune)
*****************
Teenager who killed husband after he raped her is sentenced to death in
Sudan----Activists in last-ditch effort to save 19-year-old condemned to death
for stabbing the man she was forced to marry as he assaulted her
A 19-year-old Sudanese woman has been condemned to death by a court in Omdurman
for stabbing to death the husband to whom she was forcibly married, who she
says raped her with assistance of his family.
The death penalty for Noura Hussein was confirmed by a judge on Thursday after
her husband's family rejected the possibility of financial compensation and
instead asked for her to be executed.
The case has attracted widespread attention on social media, where a campaign
Justice for Noura has been trending on Twitter.
Her legal team now has 15 days to appeal the sentence.
After her initial sentence, Hussein told supporters: "It was a shocking moment
when the judge convicted me with murder. I knew then that I [would] be
executed, leaving my dreams unfulfilled."
The case, which once again highlights the issue of forced marriage and marital
rape in a number of countries, is striking for its shocking details.
Married by her family at 16, Noura fled to take refuge at an aunt's house for 3
years before she was tricked into returning home by her own family, who then
handed her over to her husband's family.
According to her supporters - including the activist group Equality Now, which
is backing a petition organised on her behalf - Hussein had been with her
husband for 6 days when he raped her with the assistance of his brother, a
relative, and a witness, who held her down.
"She would not have sex with the man," Sarah ElHasan, an activist supporting
Hussein's case, told al-Jazeera. "He recruited some of his cousins and brought
them [to his] home where they held her down while her husband raped her."
When he attempted to rape her again the following day, she stabbed her husband
to death before going to her own parents, who handed her over to police.
Muawya Khidir, a member of Hussein's defence team, told local media that the
death penalty was not appropriate since Hussein was defending herself at the
time of the killing and was mentally and psychologically disturbed as a result
of rape.
One supporter, who attended the hearing, posted details on Twitter: "They
allowed us to enter the courtroom and I got to sit in the front with a
colleague of mine. We waited at least 20 minutes until the judge came and
[asked] Noura to enter. Noura was alone [and] no one from her family came with
her.
"There was a good amount of supporters that were on her side. They reintroduced
the case and so the judge eventually asked the rapist's family what they want
to happen. The judge also did mention that they should forgive her. But the
family chose execution.
"When I left the court house the rapist's family were clapping with joy and had
smug looks on their faces - I was disgusted."
Following confirmation of the sentence on Thursday, Equality Now, which has
taken up Noura's case, said it would be writing to the Sudanese president, Omar
al-Bashir, to ask for clemency.
"We are also calling on people around the world to sign the change.org petition
in support of Noura," said Tara Carey of Equality Now.
"Noura is not a criminal, she is a victim - and should be treated as such. In
other countries, victims of rape and domestic violence like Noura would be
provided services to ensure that they overcome the trauma of their experiences.
"Criminalisation of Noura for defending herself from assault and, in
particular, a death sentence, would violate her rights under the Sudanese
constitution and international law.
"Noura has been subjected to both physical and mental abuse by her family and
husband, and this is a violation of Articles 14 (protection of children) and 15
(no marriage without free and full consent) of the constitution.
"The constitution further provides that the 'state shall protect women from
injustice and promote gender equality', and that 'all persons are equal before
the law and are entitled, without discrimination, to the equal protection of
the law.'"
(source: The Guardian)
PAKISTAN:
Peshawar High Court suspends death sentence of military court convict
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday suspended the death sentence handed
to a man convicted for terrorism by a military court.
The army's media wing last week announced that Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar
Javed Bajwa had ratified the death sentences of 11 militants, including 1
identified as Burhanuddin. He was among 3 convicts sentenced to death for an
attack on a civilian funeral service in Mardan, which resulted in the killing
of 30 people, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPA Mohmind, and left 100 others
wounded.
The father of 31-year-old Burhanuddin, Umer Daraz Khan, challenged the military
court's sentence through his lawyer Ziaur Rehman Tajik.
Tajik told a 2-judge PHC bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and
Justice Afsar Shah that Bajaur Agency native Burhanuddin had been arrested on
Jan 16, 2017, for his involvement in a bomb blast.
He claimed that Burhanuddin was mentally unfit and had been undergoing
treatment before and throughout the duration of his custody.
Tajik said the family had been unaware of Burhanuddin's location and were
informed of his sentencing through the media.
The petitioner wondered how a mentally disabled person could be involved in
terrorism and awarded capital punishment, adding that the convict had not been
given the opportunity of a fair trial.
Tajik added that the suspect's family claimed the man was innocent and not
involved in any terrorist activity.
The bench accepted the family's plea and suspended the military court's
sentence, asking the federal government and concerned departments to submit a
report and record on the matter in the PHC and fixed May 15 as the date of the
next hearing.
(source: dawn.com)
INDIA:
Prosecution seeks death for Thapa murder convicts
The prosecution in the 2012 murder of aspiring actress Meenakshi Thapa, on
Thursday demanded capital punishment for the 2 case convicts - Amit Jaiswal, a
lawyer-cum-junior artist and his girlfriend and junior artist, Priti Sunrin.
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam on Thursday argued before sessions judge
S.G. Shette that there were around 16 aggravating circumstances that put this
case in the category of "rarest of rare" and hence, the convicts should be
awarded the death sentence.
According to the arguments made by advocate Nikam, the accused committed the
murder in a pre-planned manner and demanded ransom from Ms Thapa's family after
killing her. "It was a brutal murder and the accused did not show any signs of
remorse nor was there any possibility of their reformation," he said.
Advocate Nikam said that considering that they were a threat to the society,
the court should award them capital punishment.
Jaiswal and Sunrin have been convicted of killing Ms Thapa, who appeared in a
few films including Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine. The defence lawyer on the
other hand claimed that the case did not fall under the category of "rarest of
rare" and that the court should show leniency to the convicts while awarding
the sentence.
After hearing the arguments, judge Shette said that he would pronounce the
quantum of punishment for both convicts on Friday. Since they have been
convicted in a murder case, the court can award them either a death sentence or
life imprisonment.
(source: The Asian Age)
******************
Man gets death for killing 2 children----Was in live-in relationship with
victims' mother
Ropar District and Sessions Judge BS Sandhu on Thursday awarded death penalty
to a 28-year-old man for killing 2 children.
Convict Ashok Kumar alias Pintu, a native of Baveta village in Ghaziabad
district of Uttar Pradesh, had killed 2 brothers Manav (10) and Shivam (6) on
September 25 last year.
He was in a live-in relationship with Rajni, the mother of the children, at
Uchha Khera mohalla of Ropar town. Both victims were students of Sanatan Dharam
Secondary School at Ropar.
Rajni had informed the police that her children had left home for school in the
morning on September 25, but they did not reach the school. So, a case of
kidnapping was registered.
Prosecution lawyer Mohit Dhupar said that Rajni had got married 3 times in the
past. Her first 2 husbands had died and she got a separation from her 3rd
husband. The children were from her 2nd and 3rd marriages.
Following the separation from her 3rd husband, she started living with Pintu,
who was putting pressure on her to have his children. As Rajni did not want
more children, she refused, said Dhupar.
On September 25 last year, he took a motorcycle of one of his friends and took
the children near Sutlej river at Katli village.
There, Pintu threw them into ditches filled with water. During the search for
the children, Pintu - in an attempt to misguide the police - even tried to
implicate some Manoj, who had been stalking Rajni in the past.
But a neighbour had spotted him with the children near Katli village. Later,
Pintu's phone location was also found to be at that spot. Following these, the
police nabbed him and recovered the bodies on September 28.
(source: tribuneindia.com)
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