Malayalam actor Sidhique arrested in rape case, released on bail
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 6: Weeks after the Supreme Court granted protection from arrest to veteran Malayalam actor Sidhique in a rape case, he appeared before the investigating agency on Friday when he was formally arrested and then released on bail.
The actor was formally arrested, his medical examination was carried out and then he was released on bail after he was produced before a court here.
He was granted protection from arrest by the apex court on November 19.
Sidhique had moved the top court after the Kerala High Court on September 24 denied him the relief on the ground that in view of the seriousness of the accusations, his custodial interrogation was inevitable for a proper investigation of the crime.
Sidhique, who was booked for offences under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), has claimed in his plea that the complainant has subjected him to a "prolonged campaign of harassment and false accusations" since 2019.
He had resigned from his post as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) following the rape allegations against him by a female actor.
Multiple FIRs were registered against many high-profile personalities in the Malayalam film industry following allegations of sexual harassment against various directors and actors in the wake of the revelations made in the Justice (retired) Hema Committee report.
The committee was formed by the Kerala government after a 2017 actress assault case and it revealed instances of harassment and exploitation of women in the Malayalam film industry.
Following the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation against several actors and directors, the state government announced the establishment of a seven-member Special Investigation Team to probe the charges on August 25.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
