Duo arrested in fake Mysore Sandal Soap case has close ties with senior BJP leaders, says Kharge
Bengaluru: Rural Development Minister Priyank Kharge has revealed that two BJP activists, Rakesh Jain and Mahaveer Jain, who were apprehended by the police in connection with the fake Mysore Sandal Soap production unit in Hyderabad, have close ties with senior BJP leaders in Telangana and Karnataka.
Addressing a press conference at the Karnataka Congress office on Queens Road in the city, Kharge stated, "The presence of counterfeit versions of the world-famous Mysore Sandal Soap from Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL) in the market has garnered significant media attention. In early January, Minister for Large and Medium Industries MB Patil received an anonymous call regarding the matter. Patil informed KSDL Managing Director Prashanth. Subsequent investigations revealed that the production unit for the fake Mysore Sandal Soaps is located in Hyderabad."
The minister detailed the investigative process, stating, "Undercover officers visited the unit in Hyderabad, posing as customers with an Rs 25 lakh order. The soap production unit staff accepted the order, and when the officers mentioned visiting the soap factory to collect the order due to its substantial size, the staff provided the address. The investigative team then conducted a raid on the factory, seizing production materials."
Kharge informed reporters that FIRs have been filed against Rakesh Jain and Mahaveer Jain, who are now in police custody. "During questioning, they confessed to being BJP activists associated with Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh," stated the minister.
Expressing suspicion, Kharge suggested that as active party workers, the duo likely had close connections with BJP leaders in Karnataka as well. He also alleged that Rakesh Jain and Mahaveer Jain had been in contact with Manikanth Rathod, the BJP candidate from Chittapur constituency in the last Assembly polls, and Vitthal Naik, son of former BJP MLA Late Valmiki Naik.
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UP man gets life term for electrocuting mentally challenged wife to death in Bareilly
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A local court here has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for murdering his mentally challenged wife by repeatedly electrocuting her while she was tied to a cot, lawyers said on Thursday.
Additional district government counsel Harendra Singh Rathore said Additional Sessions Judge Avinash Kumar Singh on Wednesday convicted Vinod Kumar (45) for killing his wife, Satyavati, in Chaina village of Bareilly district and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on him.
According to the prosecution, he was allegedly frustrated with his wife Satyavati's mental illness and often assaulted her.
Rathore said the prosecution examined nine witnesses to establish the charges against him.
As per court records, on the night of May 1-2, 2022, when Satyavati was asleep, Vinod tied her hands and legs to a cot using ropes and then connected an aluminium cable to an electric board to repeatedly administer electric shocks to her.
"She writhed in pain, but the accused continued to electrocute her until she died," the prosecution said.
The court observed that the murder was carried out in an inhuman manner.
After committing the crime, the accused threw the rope and cable on the roof and left for work at a brick kiln around 2 am to create a false alibi.
He later tried to mislead the police and the victim's family by claiming that Satyavati, whose mental condition was unstable, had accidentally died by suicide after grabbing a live electric wire.
However, the victim's brother, Sanjeev, a resident of Shahjahanpur district, suspected foul play and lodged an FIR under sections 498A (husband subjecting wife to cruelty) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at Nawabganj police station.
During the trial, the prosecution relied on the post-mortem report prepared by Dr Faraz Anwar, who stated that multiple electrocution marks found on different parts of the victim's body could not have been self-inflicted.
The police also recovered the rope and electric wire used in the crime on the accused's identification, officials said.
