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Journalism of Courage
Two murder accused held
One year after 22-year-old Sonali Gajre was brutally killed by her father8217;s young friends, the Bhayander police arrested two of the three accused on Thursday.
Sonali was alone in her flat at Ramavtar building, Bhayander, on the afternoon of November 17, 1997 when the murder took place. Her body was found in a pool of blood with several stab wounds. Valuables worth over Rs 9,000 were missing.
The duo arrested on Thursday has been identified as Chetan Mahendra 19 and Jung Bahadur Thapa 22, both residents of Nallasopara.
Senior inspector of the Bhayander police station P B Niphade said the two were nabbed following the arrest of one Nishan Panchal 21 from Nallasopara on Wednesday. The police closed in his accomplices after Panchal disclosed to the police the duo8217;s hideout, added Niphade.
The police, after sustained questioning of Ganesh Gajare, Sonali8217;s father, began suspecting Panchal8217;s involvement in the murder, said investigation officer sub-inspector Mahendra Pimpalkar.
Panchal was introduced to Gajare by a fruit vendor in the neighbourhood and became a regular visitor to his house. On November 17 last year the trio barged into the Gajare8217;s residence between 2.30 and 3 pm with plans to rob. Sonali, unaware of their motives, made them tea and was engaged in a conversation when they asked her to part with her jewellery and other valuables. Meanwhile, Panchal went out to keep a watch out for visitors through the approach road. When Sonali refused to give in to their demands, Mahendra gagged her with a pillow, and Thapa repeatedly stabbed her with a gupti till she died, the police revealed.
Credit card frauds
By the year 2000, the amount of money lost through credit card frauds all over the world will be more than one billion dollars. Even though the loss is expected to be less than 0.2 per cent of the total sales, prevention of such crimes were the major point of discussion at a Citibank customer care seminar today.
With the increase in sales of products through the Internet and similar forums, the incidence of electronic crimes is increasing rapidly. Richard Parry, a risk management director of the bank, claimed that most high-tech crimes originate from South East Asia and then spread to other parts of the world. Skimming, one of the most advanced forms of such crimes, has been made possible through the invention of a device which can read data on the magnetic stripe behind a card, record it and then transfer it on to another card, he informed. 8220;The worst part is that the cardholder is oblivious of the crime since he has not lost the card, 8221; he added. Former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Rebeiro called for greater interaction between the banks and police for prevention of these crimes. 8220;White collar crimes are going to be the major headache for the Indian police in the years to come,8221; he added.
Mahendra Kumavat, Joint Director, Central Bureau of Investigation advocated that bank accounts be made compulsory for issue of a card. 8220;Simple measures like making photographs mandatory on every card and installation of an electric data capture machines can bring down the crime rate a great deal,8221; he said.
