ED raids Hyderabad locations in Telangana sheep scam; loss may exceed Rs 1,000 crore
At least eight locations in the city related to the beneficiaries and alleged middlemen involved in the scam apart from that of G Kalyan, OSD to former BRS minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadav, are being searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
The probe stems from some state police FIRs.
Sources said the ED has found that though the proceeds of crime stated in the FIRs was only Rs 2.1 crore, a CAG report has pegged the loss to the state government into crores of rupees.
The CAG audit report for period ended March-2021 found several "irregularities" in the implementation of the flagship Sheep Rearing Development Scheme (SRDS) like non-maintenance of beneficiary wise details, improper record of invoices pertaining to transportation invoices and payments, payments against invoices containing fake/ passenger vehicles/ non-transport vehicle registration numbers, duplicate tags allotted to sheep units etc., the sources said.
Allegations related to to sheep units allotted to dead/non-existent persons are also being probed by the ED.
The CAG audit report is limited to only seven districts (out of the 33 in Telangana) wherein estimated loss to the state government is pegged at Rs 253.93 crore, the ED found.
However, on a proportionate basis for all the 33 districts in Telangana, the loss is likely to exceed Rs 1,000 crore, the sources said.
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India Today
3 minutes ago
- India Today
Court clears ex-officer who resisted RSS chief's arrest in another case
Former Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer Mehboob Mujawar, who had earlier claimed he was instructed by senior officers to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast but refused due to lack of evidence, has been acquitted in a separate criminal along with his wife Nilofar and associate Uttam Navgire, was facing charges of criminal intimidation, unlawful assembly and trespassing. The case was registered in April 2009, about six months after the Malegaon has consistently maintained that the case was filed in retaliation for his refusal to carry out what he called an "illegal order." The complaint was filed by Nazeer A. Hanif Karigar, who alleged that on April 14, 2009, Mujawar and others entered his shop in Solapur, threatened him and claimed ownership of the prosecution stated that Mujawar, identifying himself as an ATS officer, allegedly pointed a revolver at a witness, used abusive language and said he could 'do an encounter' on anyone. The accused reportedly refused to vacate the property, asserting it had been purchased for Rs 80 case dragged on for over a decade. In 2016, Mujawar filed an application seeking speedy trial, stating that the ongoing proceedings had caused him to miss out on a promotion to Deputy Superintendent of Police in 2012 and that further delays would impact his retirement his application, he also linked the case to high-profile individuals named in the Malegaon blast investigation, including Sandeep Dange, Ramji Kalsangra, Col. Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya, and referenced the alleged involvement of 600 kg of a sworn statement to the court, Mujawar reiterated that he had been asked to arrest Mohan Bhagwat, a claim that was later cited by an accused in the Malegaon case in a Mumbai court to support allegations of a wider conspiracy and custodial torture by investigating the Solapur Magistrate court did not consider these submissions in deciding the case against Mujawar. Chief Judicial Magistrate K.P. Jain-Desarda acquitted all three accused, citing lack of court noted that the complainant had since moved to Canada and could not be examined despite being summoned. Other prosecution witnesses failed to support the allegations or lacked witness, Gulam Hussain Kasimsaheb Shaikh, testified that Mujawar had pointed a gun and issued threats, but the court found his testimony insufficient on its weapon was recovered during the investigation, and key documentary evidence, such as a police commissioner's prohibition order, was excluded due to lack of proper certification.'In the absence of the complainant's testimony and supporting evidence, the benefit of doubt must go to the accused,' the court observed. All three accused were acquitted on January 27, 2020.- Ends
Deccan Herald
3 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Trapped by tradition: Why dowry still kills in India
Chennai: Rithanya's marriage to Kavin Kumar in Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur on April 11 was a grand celebration, with the bride's family spending lavishly to make it a memorable businessman father, R G Annadurai, 'gifted' 300 sovereigns of gold and an expensive Sports Utility Vehicle worth Rs 70 lakh, among other things, to his daughter and son-in-law, a real estate businessman, hoping she would lead a happy and comfortable life in her new less than three months, on June 22, the 27-year-old yoga instructor and entrepreneur returned to her parents' home, reporting dowry harassment by her husband and in-laws. In her words, they were demanding more gold and had even insisted that a business be set up for the groom. She was also subjected to mental and physical days later, on June 28, Rithanya left home, ostensibly to visit a temple, only to return as a lifeless body. She died by suicide after sending a series of voice messages to her father, expressing her inability to continue living with her husband and in-laws.'Appa, I am sorry. I do not want anybody to save me this time. For the past three months, I believed my husband would change his attitude, but I have lost all hope. They are criminals, and I do not wish to live with him (Kavin). Neither can I choose another life,' Rithanya told her father in her last words. Rithanya's suicide and her audio messages sent shockwaves through India. Kavin Kumar, his father Eswaramurthy, and mother Chitradevi were arrested soon after. .Man, mother-in-law booked for dowry death in Bengaluru.'We told our daughter to wait for three months to assess the situation and take a call. If we had known she was in deep distress, we would have stood by her. I chose Kavin only because my enquiries said he was a disciplined boy, and I thought he would keep her happy. But I didn't know I would lose her,' Annadurai said. Hundreds of miles away, in Bavdhan, in Maharashtra's Pune district, 26-year-old Vaishnavi, a graduate, died by suicide in May this year. She left behind a 10-month-old Women and Child Rights and Welfare Committee, headed by BJP MLA Monica Rajale, concluded that the family had accepted vehicles, gold, silver articles, and cash as after, her father-in-law, Rajendra Hagawane, was expelled from the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and four of his family members, including his son and wife, were arrested. Vaishnavi's parents alleged that her in-laws demanded an additional Rs 2 crore to purchase land, despite having already taken 595 grams of gold, silver, and an SUV.'She was repeatedly tortured for dowry,' Vaishnavi's father, Anil Kaspate, said. Rithanya and Vaishnavi, both educated and independent, came from different castes, states, and backgrounds. Yet, they were united by a common thread — the menace of dowry, a regressive tradition that continues to devastate the lives of women, even as India makes strides in areas such as education and women's stories of these women reflect a much wider and persistent problem. Official data shows a marginal decline in reported dowry death cases — with an average of 7,000 cases reported each year between 2017 and 2022, compared to around 8,000 annually between 2012 and activists believe these numbers barely scratch the surface, as many families choose not to report cases due to fear, shame, or pressure from the in-laws.A deeper look into the data reveals further gaps. Police file chargesheets in only about 60% of these cases annually, while the rest remain stalled due to reasons ranging from lack of evidence and fabricated complaints to informal settlements between families. Even when cases do reach the courts, only a small percentage end in convictions. Many families, already grappling with grief and social stigma, opt for settlements during prolonged legal battles, unable to cope with the delays, expenses, and emotional much as 80% of dowry deaths between 2017 and 2022 were recorded in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Haryana, West Bengal, and Odisha. The remaining came from Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, considered relatively more developed socio-economically than their northern and Vaishnavi's parents did not see their children's weddings as mere events but as grand celebrations, caving to the demands of the grooms and their families in the fervent hope that their girls would lead comfortable lives. The modern marriage market has become highly commercial, with dowries and material exchanges being central to arranging alliances, particularly post-liberalisation in 1991. Activists say it is no longer just about traditional dowry but broader economic bargaining and the pursuit of family status, with women from every section of society falling victim to this menace. In a research paper on dowry deaths, published by the Cureus Journal of Medical Science in 2024, a study conducted between April 2021 and March 2022 at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, concluded that a considerable proportion of women among suspected dowry-related fatalities were in the age range of 16 to 26 years.'A significant portion of these incidents occurred either at the residence of the in-laws or the husband's domicile, with the in-laws and the husbands themselves being identified as the primary perpetrators in most scenarios, where they either directly caused the death or coerced the victim into taking her own life,' the study noted. Education not a barrierEducation and professional qualifications are not factors that, without fail, would serve as barriers against dowry harassment. The situation varies from state to state. In states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, it is often educated women who are driven to take the extreme step of ending their lives. Activists say that men with revered jobs and good educational qualifications and job status may place greater dowry demands on the women's families. 'The shift towards women earning and managing wealth also places them at the centre of family economic advancement. This increases the pressure to conform to material expectations within a marriage. Family relationships are increasingly defined by these kinds of economic exchanges, rather than affection or mutual support,' said S Anandhi, former professor of gender, caste, and identity politics at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai. Karnataka-based women's rights activist Geetha Menon confirms that high-earning women often suffer dowry harassment silently, even if they look 'financially independent' at the outset. 'The primary reason for such harassment to continue is that these women do not have the privilege of returning to their parents due to societal pressures. This, coupled with the financial burden on them and their parents, forces many to endure abuse,' Menon said. Parents are often reluctant to welcome their daughters back home after separation, largely due to societal pressures. The stigma is even greater if there are unmarried sons or daughters in the family. Patriarchal beliefs, such as Oruvanukku Oruthi, a Tamil phrase that translates to 'One man, one woman', which are deeply tied to notions of female chastity and virginity, further compel women to suffer in silence. Even in Rithanya's case, her father, in profound grief, said he was proud that his daughter upheld the principle of Oruvanukku Oruthi. Legal interventionsProfessor Anandhi said dowry practices are not merely isolated criminal acts but symptoms of a larger systemic problem in which women are commodified, and marriage relationships are governed primarily by economic the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, has enabled women to approach courts, the retired professor said that legal interventions have not sufficiently eradicated the practice or its associated harms.'The concept of dowry no longer sufficiently captures the scale and complexity of these transactions, which have expanded into a pervasive commercialisation of social and gender relations,' Anandhi Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 has been amended only twice, in 1984 and in 1986, to introduce stricter penalties. However, activists argue that the law is now outdated and must be revised to reflect contemporary realities. With the rise of online matrimonial platforms and the growing commercialisation of marriage, dowry demands have taken new and complex forms, often disguised as gifts or expectations tied to a groom's education, profession, or policy Women's rights activist and senior advocate Sudha Ramalingam explained that the law is only one way of addressing dowry harassment. 'Laws are often respected only when they are enforced. In practice, the enforcement is weak. The law criminalises both giving and receiving dowry, but in reality, prosecution rarely targets those who give dowry, which diminishes the law's impact. This selective enforcement ends up victimising women, rather than protecting them,' she conviction rate for dowry harassment is at an abysmal 4%, said Lad Kumari Jain, former chairperson of the Rajasthan State Women's Commission.'The victim had to go back to the in-laws and face the same treatment and often failed to get custody of their children until the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, came into effect,' she said. Only 1% of the survivors are able to claim compensation. The endless legal system, the role of public prosecutors, and the current method of fighting cases at the institutional level make victims feel abandoned, she Menon said what started as gifts for the comfort of girls as they move into their new families has now transformed into an opportunity to display wealth, with parents of both the bride and the groom taking pride in giving and receiving exchanges may also enhance pressure on women to stay, explained Hassan-based activist Roopa Hassan. 'Girls' parents, most often, force the girls to adjust to their husbands and in-laws, despite facing mental, physical, and financial harassment, because the parents have spent beyond their capacity to get them married,' Roopa norms Sherin Bosko, who headed the 181 Women Helpline in Tamil Nadu, has seen firsthand how deeply entrenched ideas of family honour silence women facing dowry-related abuse.'From a young age, girls are conditioned to believe that they must tolerate everything to protect the family's reputation. This pressure is especially strong in middle and upper-middle-class households, where even the woman's family may believe funding the man's business is their duty,' she notes that upper and middle classes view material transfers as status enhancements, while women in poorer families, unable to afford a substantial dowry, experience other forms of gendered abuse, often linked to control over women's income.'In poorer families, women face patriarchal control over women's wages and opportunities -- a form of economic domination,' she networksBosko described her experience of receiving a call from a young woman while heading the women's helpline to illustrate how family support can empower women to leave abusive relationships.'After crying her eyes out, the caller said she wanted her husband and in-laws to be jailed for dowry harassment. She said her family gave a huge dowry, and they felt it was her duty to adjust and not return home,' Bosko the woman's affliction, Bosko, while keeping the victim on the line, contacted her father and confronted him: Did he want his daughter alive or dead? Bosko told the father that he could rescue his daughter with government support, or he could approach the government to prosecute the offenders after losing her. 'The father broke down and, ultimately, saved her. If parents or relatives stand up for the girl, she gains confidence. Silence from the bride's family also amounts to abetment of suicide. Society should normalise women living alone or embracing a new life so that they don't think of extreme steps,' Bosko Hassan said that as long as girls are not allowed to establish their own identities, the menace of dowry will not be eradicated.'Our education system should teach boys and girls that marriage is not a trade, where you buy women for your needs. Girls should be taught to take a stand that they will not marry a man who demands dowry,' says calls for amendments to the Dowry Harassment Act to regulate the marriage market and curb material transactions, besides a sustained campaign against dowry by the media and civil society.'Real change requires more than legal enforcement — it demands a shift in societal attitudes, family cultures, and collective awareness,' Anandhi added. Advocate Ramalingam echoed this sentiment, pointing out that the glamourisation of extravagant weddings in popular media has normalised dowry and excessive spending. 'Society's acceptance of dowry sustains these crimes,' she said. 'Real progress will only come when there is a collective shift in mindset.'She went further to argue that passive observers also bear responsibility. 'All those present at such weddings should be considered as abetting the crime. Look at the abolition of Sati. It was not the law alone that ended it, but sustained social and cultural pressure. Likewise, laws against dowry need to be backed by a strong cultural transformation where these practices are seen as dishonourable and unacceptable,' the lawyer such shifts are beginning to emerge. In Maharashtra, after a series of dowry-related deaths, the Maratha community, which makes up about 33% of the state's nearly 13-14 crore population, publicly denounced the practice. In a rare collective stand, community leaders called for an end to both dowry harassment and lavish wedding issued a set of voluntary guidelines that included not giving expensive gifts, cutting down on wedding expenses, conducting ceremonies on time, and avoiding speeches during the event, a quiet but significant attempt to break away from harmful traditions.(With inputs from Pavan Kumar H in Hubballi, Mrityunjay Bose in Mumbai, and Rakhee Roytalukdar in Jaipur)
Time of India
32 minutes ago
- Time of India
K'taka ex-MP Prajwal gets life term for raping domestic help
. BENGALURU: Former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna was sentenced to life imprisonment Saturday after being found guilty of repeatedly raping a 47-year-old domestic worker, the first of three rape cases filed against him. The 34-year-old grandson of former PM HD Deve Gowda, once seen as a rising political star, became the first former MP in Karnataka to get life term as a convicted rapist. Special court judge Santosh Gajanan Bhat delivered the sentence in a packed courtroom, a day after Prajwal was convicted under eight sections of IPC. Two of those - IPC 376(2)(k) and 376(2)(n) - triggered a life sentence for rape by a person in a position of control and for repeated rape of a woman. Prajwal stood still, wearing a striped light blue shirt with a vermilion-sandal mark on his forehead. As the sentence was read out, he broke down. "Sir, I'm a mechanical engineer, I have passed all my exams on merit," the former Hassan parliamentarian said. "I bow to the court, but I request a lesser sentence." You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru The court fined Prajwal Rs 11.6 lakh, Rs 11.25 lakh of which is to be paid as compensation to the survivor. Earlier in the day, additional special public prosecutor BN Jagadish urged the court to impose the harshest punishment. "The accused was an MP when he committed the offence. He raped an illiterate woman earning just Rs 10,000 a month. He blackmailed her, made obscene videos, and is facing similar charges in other cases," he said. "She even contemplated suicide." Special prosecutor Ashok Nayak added: "He's a crorepati, elected to serve the public. Instead, he ruined a woman's life. The fine must be heavy so that she gets justice." The case followed an FIR in April last year against Prajwal. The woman alleged sexual abuse when she worked in Prajwal's household between 2019 and 2022. The survivor alleged Prajwal exploited her over months, filmed her without consent, and used them to blackmail her. The woman alleged sleaze videos of Prajwal surfaced during 2024 LS election campaign, and her husband began suspecting her. Prajwal was arrested in June. His conviction put his family under intense scrutiny as his father HD Revanna, a former MLA, mother Bhavani, and brother Suraj, a surgeon-turned-politician, also face serious allegations. SIT chief BK Singh praised the survivor's courage. 'She stood like a rock. The defence tried every possible way to derail the proceedings,' he said. SIT faced challenges in gathering evidence since the crime occurred nearly four years before the survivor filed her complaint. 'Despite the time gap, her testimony proved crucial,' Singh said. Prajwal's counsel Nalini Mayegowda, alleged political conspiracy. 'Why did the woman come forward only just before the elections, despite SIT inviting complaints earlier? Is this not politically timed to ensure his defeat?' she said, pleading for leniency based on his age, character, and political record. . Prajwal addressed the court saying, 'If I raped her, why didn't she tell her sister who worked on our farm? She never came forward until the videos went viral. Now they say I've raped multiple women — but no one filed complaints voluntarily.' Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
