Kerala: Woman IPS officer goes to Saudi, brings man accused of Minor's rape, back to India
Kerala: Kollam Police Commissioner Merin Joseph, who took charge in June this year, on Sunday left for Riyadh in Saudi Arabia to extradite Sunil Kumar Bhadran (38), a resident Kollam, wanted in a child rape case.
Sunil Kumar, a native of Kollam, was a tile worker in Saudi Arabia. In 2017, while he was holidaying in Kerala, he sexually assaulted his friend’s 13-year old niece for three months.
The victim who belonged to a scheduled caste community, finally revealed her ordeal to her family. She was then shifted to Government Mahila Mandiram rescue home at Karicode in Kollam District.
But by the team police initiated action and issued look out notice notice against Sunil, he had fled to Saudi Arabia. The parental uncle of the victim who introduced Sunil to the family of victim killed himself followed by the victim who killed herself in June 2017.
The case impacted public conscience and people were outraged at the crime and demanded extradition of Sunil from Saudi Arabia. Although the International Investigation Agency of the Kerala Police was following up with the Saudi police on cards with the India-Saudi extradition treaty signed in 2010 by them Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Saudi King Abdullah.
A few days ago, Saudi Police informed their counterparts in Kerala that they had arrested Sunil and can go ahead with extradition. Though most IPS officers would have sent junior officers to secure the man, Merin chose to go herself.
“This was the first time that we would be doing such an extradition. I wanted to learn how it works so that I could, in turn, share the knowledge with my team. There was a lot of paperwork, it involved the CBI and the Interpol too. We also had to make documents to bring him back. This is why I decided to go. I am also passionate about cases involving women and children, and this was a man I believed should be brought back to face trial," news agency The News Minute quoted the officer as saying.
Sunil Kumar’s extradition is now first such extradition of a Indian criminal from Saudi Arabia, nine years after the two countries signed extradition treaties.
Sunil now under the custody of Kerala Police and will be tried as per the law.
Sunil Kumar
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
