Indian student charged with family members' triple murder in US
New York, Nov 29: A 23-year-old Indian student has been arrested and charged for allegedly murdering his grandparents and uncle inside a New Jersey condominium, police and US media reports said.
Om Brahmbhatt is accused of shooting Dilipkumar Brahmbhatt, 72, Bindu Brahmbhatt, 72, and Yashkumar Brahmbhatt, 38, the South Plainfield Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
Officers responded to the home on Coppola Drive off New Durham Road in South Plainfield around 9 am on Monday after a neighbour reported hearing shots fired at the Traditions condo complex, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said in a press release.
After arriving, officers found three people two men and a woman who had suffered gunshot wounds.
Married couple Dilipkumar and Bindu Brahmbhatt were found shot to death in the second-floor apartment, police said. Their son, Yashkumar Brahmbhatt, was also found to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.
A suspect was taken into custody for questioning at the scene and later charged. Om was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and second-degree weapon possession. Om, hailing from Gujarat, resided with the victims and was found at the residence when authorities arrived at the scene.
Om had just moved to New Jersey within the past couple of months, sources said and had been living at the condo, NBC New York reported.
He was taken to the Middlesex County Adult Correctional Center pending a pre-trial detention hearing; it wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney and a listed number for him couldn't be found.
According to the complaint, the crime was committed with a handgun Om says he purchased online. Om had a seemingly calm demeanour during Tuesday's court appearance. Police say he was the one who called 911 that morning and when asked about who did it, officials say Om stated, "It might be me".
It was not clear what led up to the shooting. A neighbour told NBC New York that it wasn't the first time police had been called to the condo.
"I didn't really know them, I just know one time the police were there for a domestic violence call," said neighbour Jim Short, who lives upstairs from the unit where the three people were found dead. "Can happen anywhere but it is really creepy, it's right downstairs."
The Traditions apartment complex, home to many young families who emigrated from India, is equipped with dozens of security cameras that neighbours hoped could help police.
"There's cameras all over and there are cameras coming in and out of the complex and every building has cameras outside and inside the breezeway. So hopefully that can help," said another neighbour, Victor Orozco.
An investigation led by the South Plainfield Police Department is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to call town police or the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
An investigation by South Plainfield Detective Thomas Rutter and Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Detective Javier Morillo determined that there was no threat to the public and this was not a random act of violence, according to the prosecutor's office.
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Kannur dental student death: Case registered against loan app operators, parents allege murder
Kannur (PTI): A case has been registered against unidentified loan app operators in connection with the death of a Kannur Dental College student in Anjarakandy, officials said on Monday.
However, the victim’s parents alleged that their son was murdered and held the college faculty responsible for his death.
The Kannur Cyber Police registered the case on Sunday night based on a complaint by an assistant professor of the college.
According to police, Nithin Raj R L, a first-year BDS student, had taken a loan through an online loan app.
After he defaulted on repayment, the app operators allegedly began contacting the assistant professor.
The FIR stated that the accused contacted the woman faculty member via MMS and WhatsApp, threatening her over repayment and attempting to siphon off money illegally.
Sources said that in cases of default, such loan app operators often send messages to all available contacts of the borrower.
Raj (22), a native of Uzhamalackal, Puthukulangara in Thiruvananthapuram district, was found critically injured near the medical college block after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
The family alleged that Raj was subjected to emotional harassment on caste and complexion grounds by two faculty members, following which a case was registered against Dental Anatomy Department Head M K Ram and Associate Professor K T Sangeetha Nambiar for abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Even though notices were issued to both accused to appear for interrogation, they are yet to respond to the police, officials said.
Police officials said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case is also examining whether Raj’s death was linked to threats from the loan app operators.
The cyber case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 308(3) (extortion), along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act (cheating by personation using computer resources).
Police said Raj’s mobile phone will be examined to gather details about the loan app, and a detailed statement will be recorded from the assistant professor who received the threatening messages and calls.
Meanwhile, the SIT has recovered chat details from Raj’s phone, which indicate that he had sought more time to repay the loan.
According to police, Raj had taken a loan of Rs 14,000, and the app operators had demanded immediate repayment of Rs 8,000.
As his family was facing financial difficulties, he had requested a few weeks’ time to settle the dues.
The SIT, led by the Station House Officer of Chakkarakkallu police station, visited Raj’s house on Monday and recorded statements of his parents and sister.
The four-member team also collected digital evidence from them.
The family also met the State Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar and filed a petition seeking a detailed probe into the incident.
Raj’s father Rajan said his son had taken the loan for his mother’s treatment.
“We were repaying it. But recently, the repayment defaulted. If the teacher was aggrieved by the loan app’s calls and my son had done anything wrong, they should have informed us. You can check my phone, there is no call from the college,” he said.
Rajan said he had little hope of getting justice.
“They all killed my son. What justice can I expect? I worked hard for his education. We lost everything,” he said.
He also alleged that even three days after Raj’s death, there had been no communication from the college authorities.
“He was a student of that college. Not even a word from the authorities. Students there, fearing for their future, are not speaking out. At least one student should speak out for us,” he said.
Meanwhile, protests erupted at Kannur Dental College on Monday, with final-year BDS students also joining the agitation.
The college has granted leave to students of other batches following the incident.
Students alleged that the accused faculty member, M K Ram, misbehaved with students by body-shaming and physical assault.
“We were living under severe pressure. Ram was involved in body-shaming. Verbal abuse was frequent. Apart from it, he used to hit students on the head. There were also complaints against him and disciplinary action taken earlier,” a student told reporters.
Political organisations, including KSU of the Congress, SFI and DYFI of the CPI(M), MSF of the IUML and ABVP of the BJP, carried out protest marches.
KSU and SFI activists who entered the college compound were later detained and removed by police.
Kerala SC/ST Commission Chairperson Shekaran Miniyodan visited Raj’s house and interacted with his family.
He said the Commission has registered a case and sought a report from the police.
“We will collect information along with the SIT about the incident. Apart from the preliminary investigation report, we will also examine the postmortem report,” he said.
Similarly, the Kerala Youth Commission has also registered a case and recorded statements of students of the college.
Commission Chairman M Shajar said students have raised serious allegations against M K Ram and that a detailed probe would be conducted with police support.
Earlier, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission had also registered a case and sought a report from the police.
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