Woman poses as man to loot jewellery of Rs 1.5 crore from relative's house; arrested
Palghar (PTI): A 27-year-old woman disguised as a man to gain entry into the residence of her sister's father-in-law and robbed jewellery of more than Rs 1.5 crore from the house in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Wednesday.
The incident took place at Manickpur in Vasai area on Monday afternoon and the woman was apprehended from Navsari in Gujarat the same night, they said.
The accused, dressed up as a man, came to the house of her sister's 66-year-old father-in-law, who lived alone, under the pretext of wanting to see it for some deal.
After entering the house, the accused took the elderly man to the toilet on the pretext of checking it, locked him inside and fled with 1.4 kg of gold ornaments and 2.3 kg of silver items, collectively valued at Rs 1,50,84,050, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Madan Ballal said.
Based on the victim's complaint, an FIR was registered the same day under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for theft, robbery and wrongful confinement, and the police examined 75 to 80 CCTV footages, he said.
"We came across a footage showing a man carrying the stolen items and placing them somewhere before disappearing from sight, after which a woman collected them," the official said.
Along with technical surveillance and intelligence inputs, the investigators received a tip that a relative of the victim in Gujarat could be involved in the crime.
Acting swiftly, a crime branch team from here, with the assistance of the Navsari police, apprehended the woman, identified as Jyoti Mohan Bhanushali, from Gujarat late Monday night, Ballal said.
"During interrogation, she confessed to hatching the plan herself. Disguised as a man, she visited the house of her sister's father-in-law, knowing he lived alone, and carried out the robbery," the official said.
The police have recovered all the stolen items, he said, adding further probe was on into the case.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
'Sarke Chunar' row: Sanjay Dutt apologises; to sponsor education of 50 tribal girls
New Delhi (PTI): Actor Sanjay Dutt on Monday appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in connection with the controversy over the song 'Sarke Chunar Teri Sarke' and submitted a written apology, expressing regret for any "unintended" harm caused to society.
During the hearing, held under NCW chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, the commission raised concerns over alleged vulgarity and indecent representation of women in the song from the movie "KD The Devil" and questioned issues of intent, awareness and accountability.
The chairperson emphasised whether adequate due diligence was undertaken before participating in content that could be perceived as promoting objectification of women, while also underlining the responsibility of senior and influential public figures in ensuring that their work remains within the bounds of legal and societal standards.
As a corrective measure, Dutt committed to sponsoring the education of 50 tribal girl children as part of efforts towards social welfare and women's empowerment, the NCW said in a statement.
He also assured the commission that his future artist agreements would include mandatory legal due diligence provisions to ensure dignified and appropriate representation of women and children in films and related creative projects.
Actor Nora Fatehi, who was also summoned, could not appear as she is currently abroad and has sought a fresh date for the hearing.
On April 6, other individuals associated with the song, including director Kiran Kumar alias Prem, lyricist Raqueeb Alam and representatives of KVN Production Company Gautam K M and Suprith, appeared before the commission and submitted their apologies.
The NCW underscored that while artistic freedom is important, it must be exercised with responsibility and sensitivity, reiterating the need for accountability in content reaching wide public audiences and reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding the dignity and representation of women.
The Hindi version of the song, released on March 15 on YouTube, drew public ire for its sexually explicit lyrics.
After the outrage, the makers deleted the Hindi version of the song from YouTube, although it was widely played and shared across various platforms.
Fatehi, in a video later, distanced herself from the song, saying she shot the video for the Kannada version and her permission was not taken to use it in the Hindi version. The lyricist, singer and the director also apologised.
The issue was brought up in Lok Sabha during Question Hour by Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Anand Bhadoria last month.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the song was already banned and the government was ready to take action against such vulgarity.
"KD The Devil" is a Kannada film, dubbed in four languages, including Hindi. It will release on April 30. The film features Dhruva Sarja, V Ravichandran, Ramesh Aravind, Shilpa Shetty, and Dutt.
