Madikeri: Editor, reporter of newspaper sent to jail, fined for publishing minor rape victim's photo
Madikeri: In a recent judgment, the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Virajpet sentenced the editor and a reporter of the 'Cauvery Times,' a daily newspaper in Kodagu district, to one year of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them. This decision came in response to their violation of the law by publishing the photograph of a minor who was raped and murdered in 2019.
The case dates back to 2019 when a minor was raped and murdered, leading to the registration of a case at the Siddapur Police Station. Subsequently, the accused in the case were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. During the coverage of the case, reporter Vasanth Kumar from the 'Cauvery Times' included a photograph of the victim, a clear violation of the law that prohibits the publication of the identity or photograph of sexual offence victims.
In July 2019, the victim's brother filed a complaint with the Gonikoppa Police, stating that the publication of his sister's photograph in the 'Cauvery Times' had caused significant distress to his family. Sub-Inspector BS Sridhar, who had been the investigating officer in the case, initiated an investigation against both reporter Vasanth Kumar and the editor of the daily, Nanjappa. He submitted the chargesheet to the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Virajpet.
The court heard the case on August 28, 2023, and subsequently sentenced the journalists to one year of imprisonment while also imposing a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them. Additionally, Judge Sujatha ruled that if they failed to pay the fine, an additional three months of imprisonment would be imposed. The Virajpet court granted Nanjappa and Vasanth Kumar conditional bail in light of this judgment.
It is worth noting that reporter Vasanth Kumar had previously been fined Rs 1 lakh by the Junior Civil Court in Virajpet for publishing false news in the newspaper. Moreover, a separate case had been registered against him for utilizing a fake Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) number to publish the daily newspaper.
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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.
