Gurugram: Property dealer arrested for stealing flower pots kept for G20 event, GMDA official sacked
Gurugram, March 1: A 50-year-old property dealer was arrested and a local authority official sacked on Wednesday over the theft of flower pots kept for beautification of the area for a G20 event here, officials said.
Police also recovered 10 stolen flower pots and an SUV, which was used in the crime, from the arrested accused, they said.
An official of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has been sacked after his name was revealed by the arrested accused, GMDA said.
Gurugram police on Tuesday lodged an FIR into the theft of flower pots after a purported video clip of two men stealing them went viral on social media.
The arrested accused, identified as Manmohan, is a resident of Gandhi Nagar area in Gurugram, police said, adding a GMDA official has also come under the scanner as the accused revealed that he had called him at the spot to pick the plants.
"The GMDA official has been identified as Nawab Singh, who is manager in the urban environment division. We will also arrest him soon. The main accused, Manmohan, was let off on police bail after he joined the investigation," DCP (east) Virender Vij said.
Police said the suspect was traced with the help of his vehicle's registration number which was visible in the viral video. The vehicle, a Kia Carnival, which is registered in the name of the accused's wife, has also been seized, they said.
"During interrogation, the accused revealed that Nawab Singh is his friend who had called him at the spot to pick the plants," the DCP said.
A GMDA official said that Nawab Singh was a contractual employee of the authority.
"In view of the incident (flower pots being picked up by a citizen) which has been captured on camera, the concerned staff on duty during the occurrence of the incident has been terminated from his service," said a spokesperson of GMDA.
The complaint in the case was lodged after District Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav took cognisance of a viral tweet and asked the Gurugram police to intervene and investigate the matter.
The incident took place Monday in front of the Ambience mall on the Delhi-Gurugram expressway. The man in the video clip can also be seen putting those pots in the boot of an SUV.
A number of flower pots were set up here ahead of G20 meetings that are scheduled to take place from March 1 to 4.
An FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint by Metropolitan Green Planner, Urban Environment Division of GMDA.
"It has been observed that some passersby/thieves are stealing flower pots placed on the roadside. A video of the theft of flower pots is also going viral on Twitter, in which the registration number of the car used in the theft is HR 20 AY 0006," the FIR said.
However, there is no record of the vehicle bearing registration number HR 20 AY 0006 on the government's 'Vahan' website. Instead, the site shows a Haryana-registered vehicle having number HR 20 AB 0006.
An FIR was registered against unidentified accused under Section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code at DLF Phase 3 police station.
A video of two men in a Luxury car (Kia Carnival) seen allegedly stealing flowerpots arranged for the upcoming G20 summit in Haryana’s Gurugram has gone viral on Social Media. pic.twitter.com/ZoXkGYXpxs
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Badlapur accused Akshay Shinde shot dead: Lawyer of minor girls calls it 'killing of justice'
Mumbai (PTI): The gunning down of Badlapur case accused Akshay Shinde on Monday was the "killing of justice", said Asim Sarode, lawyer for the two minor girls he allegedly sexually assaulted.
Shinde was killed near Mumbra Bypass around 6:15pm when he allegedly snatched the gun of a policeman while he was being ferried in a police vehicle as part of a probe into a case registered on the complaint of his former wife.
After he shot and injured an API, another personnel from the escort team fired at him, and he was declared dead by doctors at a nearby hospital.
"While representing the two minor girls, I noticed it was becoming uncomfortable for the local politics of the Thane district and even for the educational institution where Akshay Shinde was working. Shinde's death in such a manner is killing of justice," Sarode told a regional news channel.
"Now, the case of sexual assault of the two minor girls will get sidelined. The case of these two minor girls was becoming difficult for the educational institute, as it is affiliated with a certain political family. Such a practice would lower the confidence of people in police and the judiciary," he claimed.
Sarode said he will be filing a plea before the Bombay High Court demanding thorough inquiry into the firing incident.
"Shinde's case could have brought up certain aspects that would have been negative politically for the government. I wonder how Shinde could access the gun and how he could unlock it when his hands were tied. This is political murder and is absolutely wrong," he said.
