Has she committed murder? asks SC, grants anticipatory bail to ex-IAS probationer Puja Khedkar
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New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to former IAS probationer Puja Khedkar, accused of cheating, and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits in the civil services examination.
A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma directed Khedkar to cooperate in the probe.
"What is the grave crime she has committed? She is not a drug lord or a terrorist. She has not committed 302 (murder). She is not an NDPS offender. You should have a system or a software. You complete the investigation. She has lost everything and will not get a job anywhere," the bench observed orally.
"Bearing in mind the facts and circumstances of the case, this is a fit case where the Delhi High Court ought to have granted bail to the petitioner," the bench noted.
The counsel for the Delhi Police vehemently opposed grant of anticipatory bail to Khedkar, saying she was not cooperating in the probe and allegations against her were serious.
Khedkar is accused of misrepresenting information in her application for the 2022 UPSC civil services examination for availing reservation benefits. She has refuted all the allegations against her.
The UPSC initiated a series of actions against Khedkar, including lodging of a criminal case, for availing attempts in the civil services exam by faking her identity. Delhi Police also filed an FIR against her for various offences.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
