Cabinet nod for death penalty for raping children below 12
New Delhi, April 21: The Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday approved an ordinance on the death penalty for those convicted of raping children below the age of 12.
The decision came a day after the Ministry of Women and Child Development told the Supreme Court that it was proposing the death penalty for those convicted of raping children.
The Ministry had told the apex court that the government was "sensitive to the plight of young children" brutally abused in the most horrific manner, and proposed to amend the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act by introducing the death penalty to the convicts of child rapes.
The Cabinet move came in the backdrop of nationwide outrage over the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, and other instances in different parts of the country including a nine-year-old girl in Surat.
The POCSO Act was formulated in order to effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children.
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8 cyber crooks held for investment fraud racket, police say Rs 4 crore routed via mule accounts
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted an inter-state investment fraud racket operated by a handler based in Cambodia, an official said on Sunday.
Police have arrested eight people following raids conducted across Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi and claimed to have uncovered Rs 4 crore which was routed into mule accounts within just 14 days, he said.
The arrests were made after a 42-year-old woman from Vasant Kunj was cheated of Rs 15.58 lakh on the pretext of high-return stock market investments, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said.
"WhatsApp numbers used to contact victims were being operated from Cambodia, while Indian associates facilitated the opening and operation of mule accounts on a commission basis," the DCP said.
Those arrested have been identified as Vanapatla Sunil Kumar (43), Sakinala Shankar (61), Manoj Yadav (38), Sandeep Singh (30), Aditya Pratap Singh (23), Rahul (30), Sheru (38) and Sompal (34).
"We have recovered 10 high-end mobile phones and 13 SIM cards from the accused, which were allegedly used to operate multiple mule bank accounts, transfer cheated money and communicate with handlers abroad," the DCP said.
According to police, an e-FIR was registered on November 7, last year, after the complainant reported being lured through WhatsApp messages offering expert guidance in stock trading with assured returns.
"She was persuaded to transfer Rs 15.58 lakh to various accounts controlled by the fraudsters. A team traced the money trail using technical surveillance and digital forensics. Investigators identified Sunil Kumar, a resident of Telangana, as a key supplier of mule bank accounts.
"He allegedly opened a fake firm in Keesara and arranged a current account in a private bank for routing cyber fraud proceeds," the official added.
During interrogation, Kumar disclosed the involvement of Sakinala Shankar and Manoj Yadav. Subsequent raids led to the arrest of Yadav from Sant Kabir Nagar, followed by Sandeep Singh from Banaras, who managed account operations in Lucknow, police said.
Further surveillance resulted in the arrest of Aditya Pratap Singh from Kota in Rajasthan. Singh allegedly arranged mule accounts across India and shared their access with foreign handlers through social media.
The cheated funds were then layered through multiple Indian bank accounts, including those operated by Sompal and Rahul, to obscure the money trail before being supplied to handlers abroad, said the officer.
Sompal, an MBA graduate who earlier ran a software company, allegedly provided his corporate account for bulk transactions after his business became non-operational.
Police said 51 cybercrime complaints were linked to his account alone, while a total of 63 complaints were found connected to the network.
