History sheeter shot dead in TN by police
Chennai (PTI): 'Seizing' Raja, a proclaimed offender who was arrested from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, was shot dead here on Monday after he attempted to flee from custody by opening fire on them, police said.
When the accused was taken to a location on the outskirts of the city to recover weapons hidden by him, he tried to escape and shot at the police team.
A police officer fired at him in self-defence and he succumbed to his injuries, a senior official said.
Responding to the incident, Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram said the encounters are a reflection of bad policing.
Many years ago, while working for a loan recovery agent, N Raja (51) used to 'seize' vehicles of defaulters and hence, he came to be known as 'seizing' Raja and later became infamous for his 'involvement' in criminal offences, police sources said.
"In the initial two places where he led the police, there were no weapons and in the third place, there was a country-made pistol. While pretending to hand over it, he fired twice at an inspector and luckily, it missed the target and hit the vehicle." Another inspector, who was on the spot, fired at the accused for self-defence.
Raja, having sustained injuries, fainted, and he was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, the police official told reporters here.
Raja, who has a total of 39 serious criminal cases against him, including six for murder, has been jailed eight times under the Goondas Act. A history sheeter, there are more than 10 warrants pending against him and he is a proclaimed offender.
Special police teams were formed to nab him and based on a tip-off, they arrested him on September 22 from his hideout at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. He was handed over by the special teams to Velachery police inspector on September 23 morning and he was taken to Akkarai (East Coast Road) for recovery of weapons.
The body of the accused has been sent to Government Royapettah Hospital for autopsy.
Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, in a post on X said: "Encounter killings is a reflection of bad & inefficient policing. This is vigilante justice & has no place in a rule of law system."
On Sunday, a video clip, purportedly of Raja's wife expressing apprehensions over the safety of her husband in police custody was shared on social media.
Politicial commentator Sumanth Raman in a social media post said: "Police "encounters" represent a failure of the criminal justice system."
Starting from July this year, this is the third encounter death in Chennai. On July 5, BSP state chief K Armstrong was hacked to death. Thiruvengadam, a key accused in the Armstrong murder case and a history sheeter 'Kakkathoppu' Balaji died in police encounters.
On July 8, senior IPS officer A Arun took over as Chennai police commissioner. Tamil Nadu's principal opposition AIADMK had for long targeted the ruling DMK over its handling of the law and order situation.
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.
Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
