Indian-origin serial rapist8217;s case sets precedent in UK

The 37-year-old had been cleared of four offences last year but was tried again after being arrested for new attacks.

This is the first time that fresh charges secured permission for a new trial and the UKs Crown Prosecution Service CPS believes it could help other victims in future. Prosecutors found that the way Khatkar attacked women after his acquittal was similar to allegations he had previously faced. A court had cleared Khatkar of repeatedly raping and sexually assaulting a woman in December 2011,but six weeks later he attacked six other women in one night,raping two of them. A 2005 change to double jeopardy laws enabled a retrial after an acquittal if new and compelling evidence emerged.

The principal legal adviser at the CPS said Khatkars case was a really significant development that demonstrated the importance of circumstantial evidence.

Man pleads guilty to selling stolen Indian artworks

New York: A man has pleaded guilty for his role in coordinating a large-scale conspiracy to sell stolen Indian antiquities worth tens of millions of dollars and assisting a disgraced Indian-origin art dealer,Subhash Kapoor,in the sale of stolen artwork to museums across the world. Aaron Freedman worked at the gallery that served as a front for the sale of stolen Buddhist and Hindu statues. PTI