Odisha: Two held for firing at travel agency office for delay in refund of cancelled railway tickets
Jajpur (PTI): Odisha Police on Friday arrested two persons with criminal backgrounds for allegedly firing at a travel agency office here over a delay in the refund of cancelled railway tickets.
The accused have been identified as Michael Santosh (23) of Purbakot village and Santosh Pradhan (24) of Mundamal village, both in Jajpur district.
Police arrested the duo on Thursday night from the homes of their relatives outside the district, police said.
A pistol used in the firing, four live rounds, a motorcycle, and a mobile phone were seized from their possession.
SP Yashpratap Srimal said the accused have criminal antecedents not only in Odisha but also in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
"They have been booked under relevant sections of the Arms Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Further investigation is underway into their criminal activities," he said.
Micheal had given Rs 8,000 to one Devidutta Panda, owner of the travel agency at Jajpur Road, to book four online railway tickets for Dibrugarh in Assam from Jajpur Road two weeks ago, police said.
Later, Micheal had asked Panda to cancel the tickets and refund the entire amount a day before the journey.
Panda reportedly told him the refund had not yet been credited to his account by railway authorities and asked for more time.
Enraged by the delay, Michael and his associate allegedly arrived at the agency on a motorcycle on Wednesday night and fired at the closed office before fleeing the scene.
No casualties or damage to property were reported.
Based on the complaint of Panda, Jajpur Road police on Thursday registered a case and arrested both the criminals.
"We have arrested the duo under relevant sections of Arms Act and BNS," Srimal said.
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Thane court sentences man to life imprisonment for bludgeoning wife to death
Thane (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Thane district sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his wife, whom he attacked 22 times with a hammer in front of his children, based on the testimony of his 13-year-old daughter.
Principal district and sessions judge S B Agrawal found the accused, Vijay Mishra alias Samir Shaikh, guilty under sections 302 (murder) and 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment and a three-year term to be served concurrently. It also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh for the murder charge and an additional Rs 10,000 for injuring his minor daughter and mother-in-law, who had tried to intervene during the fatal attack.
Additional public prosecutor Rashmi Kshirsagar informed that 11 prosecution witnesses, including the accused's daughter, were examined during the trial.
According to the prosecution, the victim, Zarin Israr Ansari, had been living with her mother, along with her daughter and a six-year-old son, for two years following prolonged domestic violence and disputes.
The accused, who had converted to Islam to marry Zarin 14 years prior, harboured deep resentment over her living separately and suspected her character.
On the afternoon of September 28, 2023, the accused stormed into his mother-in-law's residence in Mumbra with a hammer concealed in a bag, cornered his wife on the mezzanine floor, dragged her down, locked the main door, and repeatedly bludgeoned her.
The court defended the testimony of the victim's 13-year-old daughter, who was an eyewitness and had sustained injuries herself, noting that minor inconsistencies do not degrade the core truth of an innocent child's account:
"...they are not of any significant consequence since it is not expected from such a witness of 10 years of age to have a total photographic memory to be reproduced before the court. But as far as the incident is concerned, evidence of this witness is totally free from any reasonable doubt."
The prosecution had also stated that the accused had locked his family inside and threatened a neighbour by brandishing a "bomb-like thing" and declaring he would blow up the building if anyone intervened.
The victim's brother eventually broke down the latched door, disarmed the accused, and pinned him down until the police arrived.
The post-mortem report revealed that the victim had suffered 22 brutal injuries and had died due to severe head wounds.
