Twelve killed in foiled Brazil bank assaults
Rio De Janeiro, Dec 8 : Twelve people -- including five hostages -- were killed in northeast Brazil on Friday after police foiled a gang of armed robbers staging simultaneous pre-dawn assaults on two banks in the town of Milagres, officials said.
The five dead hostages were members of the same family and included two children, the local mayor, Lielson Landim, told the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper. They had been returning from a nearby airport when some of the robbers seized them.
The secretary for security in the state of Ceara, Andre Costa, said in a statement that an investigation was being carried out to identify those killed and the circumstances of their deaths. Costa did not say whose bullets killed the hostages.
Landim had earlier said that, based on initial information, he understood that "the criminals killed the hostages and the police killed the criminals."
Two suspects were arrested, according to Costa's office. "A heavily armed group arrived in the town in the early hours and went to the centre of town, where they tried to commit the crime. There was an exchange of fire between the suspects and police," it said.
It said six gang members were killed and "another six people died from gunshots." The identity of the 12th victim was not immediately clear. Various weapons and explosives as well as three vehicles used in the bank assaults were recovered.
The gang had launched simultaneous assaults on two banks on the same street in Milagres -- population 28,000 -- shortly after 2:00 am (0400 GMT).
According to the G1 news website, the robbers had blocked a street with a truck and stopped the car carrying the family, which included relatives who had just arrived on a flight from Sao Paulo to celebrate Christmas with them. G1 reported that the robbers "executed" the hostages when police turned up. It said some of the gang managed to escape.
"I've never seen anything like it. I stayed inside my home, cowering and afraid," a local resident, Mendonca de Santa Helena, told media.
"I heard people yelling and crying. It was horrible." Shaken by the violence, the municipality of Milagres suspended most of its activities on Friday and asked residents to stay at home "until order is restored."
Brazil is one of the most violent countries in the world, suffering nearly 64,000 murders last year -- a homicide rate of 30.8 per 100,000 inhabitants that is three times higher than the level the United Nations considers to be endemic violence.
On January 1, a far-right politician promising a relentless crackdown on crime, Jair Bolsonaro, will become Brazil's new president following his election in October.
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Crime scene recreated in rape-murder case of IRS officer's daughter; potency test conducted
New Delhi (PTI): Crime scene recreation was carried out by investigators on Saturday at the southeast Delhi residence where the 22-year-old daughter of a senior IRS officer was allegedly raped and murdered on April 22, police sources said.
The investigators are working to piece together the exact sequence of events and have conducted a detailed mapping of the crime scene.
They are also collecting "minute-to-minute" information regarding the accused, starting from Alwar, where he allegedly committed a rape, to the Delhi crime, the police sources said.
An iPhone stolen from the victim in Delhi has been recovered from a park, while a potency test of the accused has been conducted as part of the rape investigation, they said.
"Crime and forensic teams recreated the sequence of events inside the house for over two hours to establish how the crime unfolded. Every single minute detail has been recreated," the source said.
Access to the house was cordoned off, with a heavy police presence in and around the premises during the exercise.
The 22-year-old woman, an engineering graduate and UPSC aspirant, was fatally attacked at her residence in southeast Delhi's Kailash Hills locality on Wednesday morning.
Rahul Meena, who had been a domestic help at the residence but was fired over financial misconduct, used his familiarity with the house layout and access points to enter the flat.
Citing the investigation, sources said Meena was addicted to online betting and card games such as "teen patti" and had lost over Rs 7 lakh in the last few months, which drove him to frequently borrow money to sustain the habit.
He had been spending his money on prostitution and used to watch porn videos on his mobile phone, besides gambling, they said.
He allegedly went to the rooftop study room where the woman was studying, attacked her with a heavy object, raped her and dragged her downstairs to use her fingers to open a biometric locker and steal cash.
The autopsy confirmed strangulation as the cause of death and found multiple injuries, including a nasal bone fracture, indicating a struggle.
"He fled after changing clothes and slippers, and reached Palam Railway Station to catch a train to Rewari in Haryana. When he failed to catch the train, he booked a hotel in Dwarka, from where he was arrested. More than Rs 1 lakh in cash and stolen jewellery were recovered from his possession," a police officer said.
As part of the probe, the police took the accused to Palam railway station, where he had first gone after the crime, and will also take him to the Dwarka hotel where he stayed briefly before being arrested, sources said.
Investigations have also revealed that Meena was known for aggressive behaviour in his native village in Rajasthan and
"During the inquiry, we came to know that Meena and his father were known in their village for their aggressive behaviour. Our team is there. They are told that his father is an alcoholic and Meena is addicted to online games," a police source said.
Sources said a detailed psychological assessment of the accused will be carried out to evaluate his mental state and behavioural patterns, noting that he has exhibited psychopathic tendencies and a history of violent conduct.
He returned to his native village after being sacked and told his parents that he had left the job, the police source said.
"He never told his parents that he was sacked," the source said.
A senior police officer who interrogated Meena told PTI that he is remorseless and told investigators that the murder "just happened" in a fit of rage.
He told the police, "Agar didi paise de deti to aisa nahi hota" (if didi (the victim) had given the money, this would not have happened), the officer said.
"Chori karne ka afsos nahi par marna nahi chaiye tha, ho gaya (I don't regret committing the theft, but I shouldn't have killed her. It just happened)," Meena told interrogators, according to the officer.
The sources said the accused displayed a strangely calm demeanour after his arrest. "During questioning, he was quite casual. He acted as if everything was normal. Usually, when a person commits a heinous murder, they would display some anxiety, anger, restlessness or remorse. Meena was very casual," said a source.
He said the accused did not react much and only repeated that he wanted money to clear his debts. "We asked him if he regrets what he has done. Meena replied that the family was like god to him, but he wanted money," the source said.
The psychological analysis of the accused will involve clinical evaluation by experts to assess aggression levels, emotional responses and personality traits, including indicators linked to disorders such as anti-social personality disorder, sources said.
Investigators are probing whether the crime was premeditated, with officials saying Meena's psychological profiling will help understand his mental state and reconstruct events.
Meanwhile, family members of the accused are now being questioned as part of the investigation to gather further information about his background and movements prior to the crime.
The police said the accused's custody will end on Monday, and he will be produced again before the court.
"We will request the court to extend his police remand by four days as we need to collect minute-to-minute details of the accused, starting from Alwar crime to Delhi crime," a police source said.
The accused had raped a friend's wife in Rajgarh before heading to Delhi, according to investigators.
