Latest news with #Hemant
Hans India
19 hours ago
- Hans India
7 of snatching gang held in Rohini, stolen phones recovered
New Delhi: A gang of snatchers operating in Delhi's Rohini and adjoining areas was busted with the arrest of seven people, including receivers and mediators of stolen items, police said on Monday. The police added that 26 robbed mobile phones, a stolen motorcycle used in crimes, a dismantled two-wheeler, and a laptop used to reprogram devices were recovered from the accused. The breakthrough came following a snatching incident reported on July 10 nearC Bakery in Rohini Sector 6-7, where a woman was targeted by two motorcycle-borne assailants. A case under relevant sections of the BNS was registered, an official said. Two suspects including Pawan alias Lalla (25) and Abhitesh Gautam alias Cheedi (18), both from Karawal Nagar, were arrested. Subsequently, based on their interrogation, a mediator, Hemant alias Hemu (18), was also held, he said. The gang sourced stolen bikes through Vitul (24), who is previously involved in theft cases, and committed snatchings with Diwakar Sharma alias Paltu (25), previously booked for robbery and attempt to murder, he added. The stolen phones were funneled through Hemant to a receiver network. Those subsequently arrested were Atul (19), Vitul's brother, and Babar Malik (34), a phone shop owner in Baghpat, UP. Four iPhones and a laptop used to tamper with IMEIs were recovered. Seventeen cases have been worked out so far. Further probe is underway, the police said.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Drugs trafficked through food delivery-style apps in Delhi; ₹100 cr drugs seized
In one of the biggest international drug busts in recent months, Delhi Police have seized narcotics worth ₹100 crore and arrested five foreign nationals linked to a Nigeria-based cartel that used encrypted apps and food delivery-style drop-offs to push drugs to young consumers in south Delhi. The crackdown began last month when constable Hemant of the crime branch, acting on a specific tipoff, intercepted a suspicious courier parcel from a Moti Nagar facility. (HT Photo) The syndicate, which ran on an encrypted call-centre style network, was led by a Nigerian national identified as Callistus alias Kalis. 'Customers placed orders through encrypted WhatsApp calls to international numbers, deliveries were made by Nigerian nationals living in India, and money was laundered through a hawala-like network that bypassed formal banking channels. It was a complete corporate-style structure,' said Mangesh Kashyap, additional commissioner of police (crime branch). The crackdown began last month when constable Hemant of the crime branch, acting on a specific tipoff, intercepted a suspicious courier parcel from a Moti Nagar facility. Hidden inside packages of Indian suits and shoes was nearly 900 grams of MDMA, meant for export. 'This interception opened the lid on a sprawling international drug network stretching across Australia, the UK, Malaysia, Japan, and New Zealand,' said deputy commissioner of police (crime branch) Harsh Indora. Investigations led police to Kameni Philipp, a 44-year-old Cameroonian national believed to be the India operations head. From his possession, police recovered 2.01kg of high-purity Colombian cocaine, tightly packed in waterproofed brick form. 'Philipp, who had earlier been deported from India, returned using a fake Cameroonian passport arranged by his uncle, Callistus. He had taken over local operations from a man identified as Adore, 53, who was later arrested from Chhatarpur,' Indora said. Police said Philipp revealed how the syndicate operated from Nigeria, issuing instructions to on-ground delivery agents via WhatsApp calls. The couriers — including Koulaie Philipp alias Tall Guy and Kelechi Chikwe alias Victor — wore distinctive clothing such as checked shirts and black helmets, and dropped off consignments at pre-determined locations without ever meeting the buyers. Tall Guy was arrested on June 29. Victor, who entered India illegally in 2011, was arrested on July 10. Police said he rose from street-level peddler to area coordinator, maintained detailed ledgers of drug sales, and managed safe houses where narcotics were stored. From his residence in Kishangarh Village in Delhi, police recovered 185 grams of cocaine, ₹91,500 in cash, forged Aadhaar cards, and notebooks tracing drug sales back to 2019. 'The monthly sales from the Vasant Kunj belt alone fetched them over ₹1 crore,' said a senior police officer, part of the investigation. Victor also led police to another peddler — a namesake — who was subsequently arrested. Police said drug proceeds collected in India were converted into Nigerian currency (Naira) and deposited in overseas accounts. In return, the cartel arranged for equivalent payouts in rupees to relatives of Nigerians living in India, after charging a 3–5% commission. In the past six months alone, transactions worth over 85 crore Naira (approximately ₹76 crore) have been linked to this network. 'This was a completely insulated setup,' Indora said. 'Each person only knew the link before and after them — delivery agents didn't know who they were delivering to or receiving from. That way, even if they were caught, they couldn't compromise the chain.' All five accused are currently in judicial custody. Police said further arrests are likely as the investigation progresses.
News18
21-07-2025
- News18
‘Priyadarshini's Killer Was In Open Jail, How Can He Seek Release?' Hemant Mattoo Speaks To News18
Priyadarshini Mattoo's brother Hemant expressed shock over leniency shown towards convict Santosh Singh, who has benefited from a reduced sentence and an open jail arrangement In a deeply emotional and revealing conversation, Hemant Mattoo, brother of Priyadarshini Mattoo, shared his thoughts on the July 1 Delhi High Court directive to reconsider the rejection of a sentence review plea filed by Santosh Kumar Singh — the man convicted of raping and murdering Priyadarshini in 1996. This isn't the first time the review board has rejected his plea. Hemant expressed his shock and disappointment over the legal leniency shown toward the convict, who has already benefited from a reduced sentence and an open jail arrangement. He strongly questioned the justice system's idea of 'reformation", emphasising the complete absence of remorse or acknowledgment from Singh or his family. Hemant also opened up about the immense personal loss his family suffered due to the crime, saying that 'his father, mother and sister died prematurely" because of the crime committed by Singh. I was stunned and very disappointed. I couldn't believe that he received some leniency. The Supreme Court had already commuted his sentence from the death penalty to life imprisonment. At that time, the impression was that 'life imprisonment" would mean decades in prison. Since then, I have been following the case closely—especially alongside my father until he passed away in 2016. After the 2008 High Court judgment that convicted him, he was in prison. But after a few years, he was shifted to an open jail where he could leave during the day and return in the evening. What is your concern now? My concern is that he hasn't fully served the punishment he was supposed to. Considering the gravity of the crime and his past behaviour, it's very concerning that he is getting leniency. Has he ever reached out? Has he ever shown remorse or contacted us? Did he or his family ever try to apologise? Never. Neither he nor his family has ever approached my parents or me to say even a single word acknowledging our suffering. I don't know what 'reformation" means in the justice system if there's no remorse, no apology, no acknowledgment. What has he done in jail that merits release? The lower court acquitted him, then the High Court convicted him in a strongly worded order, and the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment. Do you think the Indian judicial system helped you get justice? To some extent, yes—until the High Court stage. The High Court took cognisance of the gravity of the case, his pattern of harassment and stalking, and the influence his father had on the police and other departments. The trial court didn't rely on circumstantial evidence and let him go. But the High Court did, and we were satisfied at that point. However, we were disappointed with the lower court earlier and even with the Supreme Court when it commuted his death sentence. Do you think this is a complete judicial process, and should he be given a chance to reform and live in society or you think he would be dangerous for society? I can't predict if he will be dangerous, but I've never met him or spoken to him. What I know is he hasn't served the punishment he was supposed to. He's a manipulative person—he was manipulating the system before the crime, after the crime, and even during the sentence. How many convicts are allowed into open jails? He hasn't even completed his life sentence. The recent order talks about of 'reformation". What's your view? To me, reformation would mean that he or his family would come and acknowledge the pain caused to my family. My parents were alive till 2020. No one came forward. They act as if what happened was justified or irrelevant. There's no remorse. They act like they can bend the system however they want. We've been shown from the beginning that they simply don't care. Hypothetically, if he or his family came and sincerely apologised, would you be able to accept his premature release? I don't think so. This has gone too far. One incident destroyed my family. My father died prematurely. My mother passed away prematurely. My other sister also passed away. Three family members gone because of that one incident. I can never forgive him. He should have been hanged. Can you tell us about the challenges your family faced during this long legal journey? My father was the one who pursued the case. He faced huge challenges with the CBI—one day they would say something encouraging, the next day something disappointing. My father believed Singh's father, then an IPS officer, was influencing the investigation. The CBI's stance kept shifting, probably under pressure. Will you challenge the premature release if it happens? We are already doing that. Through friends and legal acquaintances in Delhi, we are submitting written responses to both the Delhi and Central governments. We are asking them to consider the case background, public sentiment, his dangerous behavioural pattern, and the high risk of repeat offending. He has never shown remorse—he may even come out with a revengeful mindset. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : news18 specials view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: July 21, 2025, 07:00 IST News india 'Priyadarshini's Killer Was In Open Jail, How Can He Seek Release?' Hemant Mattoo Speaks To News18 Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. 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Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Indian Express
‘What signs of reformation has he shown?': Priyadarshini Mattoo's family relives horror of her death as killer seeks freedom
Hemant Mattoo hadn't felt this kind of rage in years. When he read about the Delhi High Court directing that the case for premature release of his sister's killer be considered afresh, it struck like a blow. But anger quickly gave way to disbelief when he saw the reason: the convict had shown an 'element of reformation.' Nearly three decades ago, his sister, Delhi University law student Priyadarshini Mattoo, was killed. She was 25. The accused was a college senior and an IPS officer's son, Santosh Kumar Singh. He had been pursuing her relentlessly in the months leading up to her death. On January 23, 1996, while Priyadarshini was alone at home, Santosh would be seen by a neighbour entering her house in the evening. She would later be found lying under her bed, with a room heater's cord wrapped around her neck — she had been brutally raped and murdered. For Hemant, the decades since her killing have been filled with recurring waves of fury. First, when the district court nearly let Santosh walk free, then when the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment, and again upon learning that he was lodged in an open prison, afforded freedoms unimaginable to the family he destroyed. Speaking to The Indian Express, Hemant, who is settled in Canada, says, 'I want to know what signs of reformation he has shown. Has he apologised to my family? Has he apologised to his own family? He's never even approached us. He still maintains his innocence.' His anger mounts as he speaks further. 'He's been getting the mild side of the stick ever since he committed the crime. It's a joke that the justice system has played with us…' On July 1, the HC had directed the Sentence Review Board (SRB) to consider the case of Santosh's premature release afresh. Holding the SRB's decision to deny Santosh, along with two other prisoners, premature release as suffering from 'material procedural and legal infirmities', the court highlighted several lacunae in the current process undertaken by the board while deciding applications for early release of prisoners. A fresh decision is to be taken within four months. 'She faced months of harassment' Hemant vividly remembers that fateful January day. He was in Kuwait at the time when he got a call around 4 pm. It was from a family friend, who broke the news to him. 'The ground seemed to shift under my feet,' he says. By the time he reached Delhi, almost the entire Kashmiri Pandit community had gathered to pay their condolences. 'They first thought the murder was a militant attack. Then they got to know it was a guy who did it, a college student… Nothing like that had ever happened within our community.' Hemant pauses for a moment before saying, 'Well, apart from the exodus.' It had just been a few years after the Kashmiri Pandits had been forcibly exiled from the valley. The Mattoos had moved from Srinagar to Jammu. After Priyadarshini moved to the Capital to pursue her studies in Law, her father, Chaman Lal Mattoo, took up a job as chairman of a non-profit organisation in Delhi. However, their parents would soon notice how troubled Priyadarshini was in college. She had caught the eye of Santosh, a senior, and he was determined to woo her. In February 1995, he followed her on his bike and stopped her car at a traffic light. Priyadarshini responded by lodging a complaint at the R K Puram police station, where he signed an undertaking that he wouldn't harass her again. Six months later, in August, Santosh followed her home to Vasant Kunj and tried to break into the house. Priyadarshini went to the police. Again, the police made him sign an undertaking. By October, Priyadarshini's parents were aware of the routine harassment she was facing. She and her father approached the Commissioner of Police, seeking protection. She was subsequently assigned a Personal Security Officer (PSO). That same day, she debriefed the Dean of the Faculty of Law about the harassment, who, in turn, called Santosh and requested him to desist. Furious at her resistance, Santosh would attempt to get her expelled from college by accusing her of pursuing two degrees simultaneously. Priyadarshini had to give a detailed explanation to the authorities, reiterating Santosh's ploys of harassment. From then on, his behaviour saw an escalation. In November, he grabbed hold of her arm in college and refused to let go. This time, Priyadarshini filed a complaint and an FIR was registered at Maurice Nagar police station under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty). Santosh was arrested — before being let go on a personal bond, a signed letter promising the police that he'll appear in court when he is summoned. By December 1995, Priyadarshini was a nervous wreck. Hemant, who had come to Delhi for a vacation, recalls that she looked stressed. '… I remember she looked scared and stressed. When I asked her, she brushed it off as exam stress… she never told me anything. Later, when I demanded why I was kept in the dark, my cousins said nobody wanted me to worry…' By January next year, she was gone. The post-mortem report noted 19 injuries and three broken ribs. Santosh had also used his motorcycle helmet to bludgeon her head, a piece of evidence that would become crucial in the High Court case. When the helmet was submitted as evidence, it was damaged — the visor was broken, containing specks of blood. Moreover, Priyadarshini's PSO and the neighbour who saw Santosh entering the house would note in their testimonies that they had seen the same helmet with him, but undamaged and with a visor. During Priyadarshini's last rites, their mother confided in Hemant that they'd approached Santosh's father. 'They had asked him to make his son stop troubling Priya…,' recalls Hemant bitterly. But his father's faith in the judiciary was never shaken. 'He always believed the right thing would be done. He told me, 'We'll do it the right way, we'll take the legal route'… He sent me back to Kuwait as well because he was scared I'd do something stupid,' Hemant says. 'She was a tomboy, funny and fearless' Back in Kuwait, Hemant felt unmoored. 'Those days, I walked around like there was no life in me… She was eight years younger, she was my baby sister,' he says. He recalls Priyadarshini as a funny, gregarious, fearless and tomboyish girl. 'She was an incredible prankster. She would do this thing back when we were in Srinagar. When someone would come to visit our house, she'd tell them that their scooter was in the way and a neighbour had asked us to move it; could she have the keys? She'd then take the vehicle for a joy ride,' Hemant laughs. 'You could never be sad around her; she was always brimming with jokes. She was good at mimicry too — she only had to listen to someone talk once… Back then, she'd pick fights over politics with the boys in Nawabazaar. We used to say, 'We need to find a girl for this girl' because she was so tomboyish…,' he says. If Priyadarshini were still here, Hemant says, she'd probably have moved to the States or Canada after her studies. 'After we left Kashmir, we felt out of place everywhere. We were always looking for a place to settle down and put down our roots. He (Santosh) really took what little we had left,' says Hemant.
Hans India
15-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Names New CEO
The Coca-Cola Company announced today that Hemant Rupani, a veteran business leader with experience across several companies and industries, will join Bangalore-based bottler Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. as CEO, effective Sept. 8. Hemant comes to Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, or HCCB, after a nine-year career with Mondelez International Inc. Hemant currently serves as Mondelez's business unit president for southeast Asia, which includes Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Hemant will succeed the current HCCB CEO Juan Pablo Rodriguez, who is moving to a new opportunity in the Coca-Cola system. Hemant will report to the HCCB board of directors. Hemant is a highly accomplished business leader who has delivered impressive results and driven commercial success over his career. He brings a strong blend of experience in both Indian and multinational organizations. HCCB looks forward to him helping deliver on the bottler's considerable investment in India. Hemant, a native of India, joined Mondelez in 2016 as director of sales for India. He went on to serve as vice president and managing director for Vietnam before being promoted to his current role in 2022. Hemant began his career in 1997 with paint company ICI India Limited. In 1999, he joined PepsiCo in India and, in 2002, moved to Infosys Technologies. In 2004, he returned to PepsiCo, where he spent the next six years. He held roles of increasing responsibility, eventually becoming senior vice president, customer marketing, India Beverages. In 2010, Hemant joined Vodafone and, in 2014, moved to food company Britannia Industries as vice president, sales and business head, breads. Hemant earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Regional Engineering College in Jaipur, India, and an MBA in marketing from the Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi. HCCB is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in India. In December 2024, The Coca-Cola Company announced an agreement for Jubilant Bhartia Group to acquire a 40% stake in Hindustan Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt. Ltd., HCCB's parent company.
