Retired IRS officer Kamlesh Argal booked for conspiracy to abduct and kill another ex-IRS officer Kakkar

Retired IRS officer Kamlesh Argal is on the run from police.

Argal, who belongs to Damoh (MP), is  absconding after his name came up in plan of kidnapping and murder of his former batchmate.

This shocking disclosure came after the police registered a case against Argal and began a hunt for him.


The former chief commissioner of income tax CCIT Bhopal circle Argal conspired to kidnap and murder a retired IRS officer Ashok Kakkar.

Argal was possessed with the idea to such an extent that he gave 'supari' (contract) to criminals who were brought and even given training for the operation.

But police came to know about abduction plan and foiled it. Thane police arrested the three criminals hired for the crime.

Argal and Kakkar were earlier friends but fell out after a monitory dispute. Argal started his firm after retirement while Kakkar joined corporate sector in Mumbai.

Argal and his accomplices wanted to recover Rs 60 crore that was given to Kakkar earlier.

But this is a unique crime as it shows how officers of elite Indian Revenue Services (IRS) are involved in huge financial deals, post-retirement, and are even prepared to commit heinous crimes over the deals.

[News screenshot courtesy Dainik Bhaskar, Hindi newspaper]

Jaypee cement company MD Sunny Gaur booked for murder, court issues arrest warrant against him

Sunny Gaur, the managing director (MD) of Jaiprakash Associates Limited, which is commonly known as Jaypee group, has been charged with murder.

Gaur and his associates Rajneesh Gaud, KP Sharma, Ramesh Gupta, Ajay Singh Rana, Shiv Shankar Chaubey, DP Rawat, Sanjay Kumar Singh and Raghunandan have been booked for murder.

The Rewa district court has now issued non-bailable arrest warrant against all these seven persons. The case dates back to September 22, 2007 when agitating farmers were shot at the gate of JP cement factory in Rewa.


In the protest, Raghvendra Singh, was killed and 50 others were injured. But no case of murder was registered. The FIR had nine names but instead two security personnel were made accused in the case. The CID inquiry also brought no result as the case was closed.

Later the public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in Jabalpur high court. It led to directions given to Rewa court to take cognisance. The Communist party and other local leaders have been alleging that the Jaypee group has the support and protection of the ruling BJP government.

The court has now booked all accused for murder. The accused Sunny Gaur and all others named in case have a non-bailable arrest warrant issued against them. The case assumes importance as it shows lack of interest on part of police in taking action against culprits.

Shehla Masood murder case solved but questions remain on conspiracy, politicians' nexus with criminals & investigation

Shehla Masood

First the CBI said that Zahida Parvez, an interior designer, had planned RTI activist Shehla Masood's murder and hired contract killers for shooting Shehla in front of her house in Koh-e-Fiza in Bhopal.

But the CBI didn't reveal much about the motive. It hinted that Zahida was obsessed with BJP's Bhopal MLA Dhruv Narayan Singh, a philanderer, who had many more girl friends, and is known to be a socialite in the high circles in capital.

Was Zahida upset that Dhruv was getting close to Shehla also? She got in touch with 'supari' killers through Bhopal-based man Saqib alias Shakib Danger. Two or three people rode the motorcycle on August 16 and one of them had fired just a single gunshot that killed Shehla.

But the identity of the killers remains a mystery. The name of Kanpur's Shanu Olanga was doing rounds first. Irfan and Salim were the other names. Later it was said Shanu Olanga was murdered because one after the other all the sharp-shooters involved in the case were being targeted.

Investigators then hinted that Shanu was not the shooter at all. Irfan was arrested but where was Salim? Irfan agreed that it was not Shanu but he himself had fired the gunshot. So CBI was unable to extract information from Irfan even after many days of custody.

Then police arrested Tabish. Names like Kasid, Raees Banarasi, Mamavind and others also are now doing rounds. Polygraph test revealed a lot about Dhruv Narayan Singh and his relations. For the police, the biggest challenge is to recover the weapon used in the crime.

Even after keeping the accused in custody, and interrogating them for weeks, it seems that the agency has not able to piece together the story. There are lot of grey areas in the versions. CBI and UP STF that played an important role in cracking case, have their own versions.

Will the high and mighty be exposed and the replies of the persons on whom polygraph was conducted brought in public domain or again it will be hushed up? One hopes that the CBI breaks its silence soon and comes up with a convincing motive and the entire turn of events that led to one of the most mysterious of murders in India.

MLA's nephew accused of rape, court sends him to jail

BJP MLA Yashpal Singh Sisodia's nephew Dharmendra who was accused of raping a girl in Mandsaur has finally been arrested.

Dharmendra who was absconding for months, surrendered in the court. The rape accused was sent to the jail on judicial custody.

The girl had alleged that she was raped but after her complaint, the police had slapped three separate criminal cases on her. She was falsely implicated and harassed under pressure but after media reports regarding the administration's efforts to harass the rape victim, the local police were forced to change track. Dharmendra Sisodia is now in jail.

Murder mystery: BJP corporator arrested in Sunil Joshi case

The murder case of former RSS functionary Sunil Joshi is getting more murkier as a local BJP leader who is corporator in Dewas municipal corporation has been arrested.

The corporator Ramcharan Patel who represents ward number 44 was arrested for concealing evidences. The Udyog Nagar police station officers said that there were adequate evidences agaisnt Patel as he was the first person to reach the spot after Joshi was shot dead.

He had picked up Joshi's mobile phone which was later allegedly tampered and went missing. The Sunil Joshi murder case has assumed significant importance.

The police had closed the case in 2009 but reopened it after NIA and ATS began conducting the investigation. The Udyog Nagar police said that Joshi was killed by his companions as he bossed over them

But it is suspected that Joshi was killed as he knew too much. It was not just Joshi but his accomplice Ram Prakash Kalota who was also found murdered later. Kaloda's brother Jagdish says that he is now getting death threats. This is the reason that the case is now being investigated on priority.

Not just Kalota, more persons either got murdered or were missing. Investigation in all the cases of Saffron terrorist acts involving Malegaon, Modasa, Ajmer Dargah, Samjhauta Express and Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid blast have to Joshi.

The investigation has taken agencies to several persons in Indore, Dewas, Ujjain, Shajapur, Pithampur, Mhow and Depalpur.

Sunil Joshi murder case: Reluctant police moves, State government cautious

Sunil Joshi

The murder of RSS pracharak Sunil Joshi has once again come back to haunt Madhya Pradesh police and the Sangh Parivar as almost all the invetigation cases including Ajmer Dargah, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express blast in which Saffron groups are found involved lead the police to Joshi's murder.

Joshi, 45, who was considered a leading Hindutva idealogue in Malwa region, was shot dead in Dewas on December 29, 2007. The Madhya Pradesh police had stopped investigation when they found that leaders of BJP and Sangh Parivar may get exposed in the probe.

It was an inside job. There are various theories. The first linked to Congress leader Pyar Singh Ninama, who had cut Joshi's 'choti' (tuft of hair) publicly in Mhow. Joshi had left Mhow and shifted to Dewas where he lived with four RSS workers in a house.

Later Ninama was murdered. Later Ninama's son was also killed. Following the tribal leader's killing, Joshi was shot dead and three bullets pumped in his body. There was theory that he was bragging about his role in organising the terrorist attacks and this scared others who feared that he would expose them also.

Shrikant Purohit had allegedly said that it was Joshi who had been behind the Samjhauta Express bomb strike. But police closed the case and the investigation including the last calls made on his cell phone, his roommates and other evidences was buried.

Hindi Newspaper Dainik Bhaskar's report

Joshi's uncle Madan Mohan Modi and family members has openly said that it was his companions who had killed him. He said that the police were aware of the case but were not pursuing the matter for reasons known to them only.

But in 2010, when NIA and ATS teams of Rajasthan and other states again focused on Hindutva groups like Abhinav Bharat and Jai Vande Mataram after the arrest of Aseemanand, to solve the Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Dargah blast cases, MP police were forced to reopen the investigation.

Newspaper reports suggest that it was during the Kumbh Mela at Ujjain that Swami Aseemanand had planned to bring the militant Hindutva groups together to avenge Islamic terrorism by targeting Muslim places of worship.

It is also believed that Joshi's closeness with Pragya Thakur, who is in jail for Malegoan blast, led to the killing. She had given her bike to Joshi and it was used in planting bomb in Muslim-dominated Malegaon. Now role of a BJP leader and other Sangh workers has also been found. The MP police are in a tough situation.

If it solves the case, persons linked to Sangh Parivar would be caught. If it doesn't, then central agencies and Rajasthan ATS can claim success. In this scenerio, the police have begun fresh investigations but are unsure how to move ahead.

Police quiz Ajmer blast accused in Bhopal Ijtima bombs case

The police are interrogating the links of Harshad Solanki, an accused in terrorist attack on Ajmer Sharif shrine, with the attempt to plant bombs at Bhopal's Islamic congregation.

For two years bombs were planted at Ijtima, the biggest Muslim congregation, in Bhopal. The bombs were diffused due to alertness of local youths in 2002.

The next year the bomb was found on way to Ijtima venue at Ghasipura near Eintkhedi in outskirts of Bhopal but due to technical flaw it failed to explode.

The police had earlier also got clues that former RSS activist Sunil Joshi and absconding terror accused Ramji Kalsangra were involved in planting the bombs.

Joshi was murdered before it is believed that he had begun bragging about his module's involvement in blasts in Ajmer and Mecca Masjid at Hyderabad. After Joshi's co-accused were arrested by Rajasthan ATS, MP police have also brought Harshad Solanki to Dewas to interrogate him. MP ATS is also interrogating accused in Ijtima case that remains unsolved.

Ijtima is the biggest congregation of Muslims in India and a million persons attend it every year. Sources said that there are orders to policemen to go slow in these cases as links of more right-wing militants may be disclosed. The People's Samachar newspaper published this news in December 2010.

Damoh woman dies in Varanasi blast

A woman from Madhya Pradesh who was injured in the blast at Varanasi has died, taking the death toll to the terror strike, to two.

Phoolvati, also known as Phoolmani, 60, belonged to Damoh district of the state. She was present at the 'ghat' when the bomb blast occurred. She was among the three persons belonging to the state who were injured in the blast.

A child had died earlier. Phoolvati's condition was serious and she succumbed to injuries in the hospital. She had gone to the City to see the ancient town. Her son studied in an educational institution in Varanasi, policemen said.

Nearly 40 persons were injured when the bomb planted by terrorists had gone off in Uttar Pradess' Varanasi earlier this week. Some other injured persons are undergoing treatment but none of them is in a critical state now.

Babbar Khalsa militant caught in Madhya Pradesh

Criminals, underworld gangsters and terrorists are making Madhya Pradesh a place of hiding. This was proved again when a Babbar Khalsa terrorist was arrested in the state.

Gurmeet Singh, a Sikh militant who has links with Babbar Khalsa, was caught when he was living in Shivpuri. He was concealing himself and living as a driver here. Rajasthan's Anti-Terrorism Squad tracked him down in MP.

Here he had told his name as Amar Singh. He has robbery cases in Rajasthan and was in Bikaner jail. He was on parole but escaped and went into hiding. Gurmeet, 50, was located in Padora in Kolaras and is being taken back to Jaipur. Hindu, Muslim terrorists including SIMI and Abhinav Bharat members have been arrested in MP earlier.

BJP MLA's kin in rape row: Girl reaches CM House for justice

Another BJP leader is in the midst of controversy after his nephew was booked for raping a girl recently. The victim was allegedly abducted and raped. The MLA Yashpal Singh Sisodia represents Mandsaur in the Assembly.

The girl has alleged that Sisodia's nephew Dharmendra raped her after abduction. Her complaint was registered but later administration didn't act. Dharmendra moves freely and was not arrested. She reached Bhopal to get justice and meet Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

But here she didn't get an opportunity to even present her case. When she reached CM House, the policemen forcibly took her away. There was no women police personnel when she was whisked away. After media persons flashes the news, she was released in a hurry.

This incident again shows that power-drunk relatives of ministers and legislators care little about the law. Poor victims in small towns and villages don't have a voice and there complaints aren't taken seriously in Bhopal also.

Another MMS scandal in Madhya Pradesh

Another MMS scandal has hit Madhya Pradesh. On this occasion, it is Mandla district where the despicable crime occurred.

A minor girl was gang raped and one of the youths made a video clip, which was circulated among friends and others. Of the six youths named in the case, one is said to be son of a police official while another is a deputy collector's son.

Three accused have been arrested while the rest are absconding. Local police have said that tough action will be taken on the culprits. Many similar cases have been reported from different cities in state in the last few months.

Communal riot in Ratlam: Curfew imposed in City

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Communal tension gripped Ratlam town in Madhya Pradesh after anti-social elements threw cowdung at a place of worship.

Angry mob resorted to violence and soon tension spread several parts of the City. Over two dozen houses were attacked and vehicles were torched. The police force has been deployed in sensitive areas of the town but arson and violence was reported.

Cowdung was thrown just when the place of worship was getting a whitewash. Despite policemen firing in the air, the situation could not be controlled. The Rapid Action Force was also sent to the troubled areas. Home Minister Umashankar Gupta is planning to visit the City. Police have recovered arms and ammunitions and taken nearly 100 persons in custody.

Later reports suggested that the policemen committed gross human rights violation and used excessive force against innocent people including women and children. Hundreds of citizens were detained and illegally kept in custody.

The role of police has come under severe criticism. So much that section of people termed it as not a Hindu-Muslim communal riot but policemen committing atrocities. In news reports, the Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr Mayank Jain, who was head of Ratlam police, said that police didn't use excessive force.

But the truth is that police highhandedness is stamped on the streets of Ratlam. It was Khaki terror that was witnessed in Ratlam. Mercifully, a vast majority of the Hindus and Muslims remained calm. Ratlam has a reputation of being an island of peace.

Due to this restraint, the situation didn't worsen, at least, in terms of casualties. One hopes that proper inquiries would be conducted and the role of the Ratlam police officials and policemen who beat up women and went on rampage in houses, would be probed.

Woman raped, paraded naked in Dhar

A married woman was raped and later paraded naked in Manawar in Dhar district. Manawar is the constituency of Minister for Woman and Child Welfare Ranjana Baghel.


This incident occurred in Bhagyapura on Thursday evening. The victim is a woman belonging to Bhil tribe. Her former husband Sitaram and nearly two dozen other persons stormed into her house. She was raped and later taken around the village, naked.

Due to marital discord, panchayat had got her divorce from her first husband Sitaram and asked her not to marry in Bhagyapura again. But she married Mansharam of the same village. This had angered Sitaram and other villagers who decided to exact revenge.

When the culprits reached her home, Mansharam was not in house as he had taken his father to Singhana for treatment. In their absence, the lone woman was an easy prey. She was raped. Later the accused stripped her, beat her and made her walk naked in Mujaldapura, Solyapura, Semalyapura villages.
 
Senior officials reached and heavy force deployed. The victim has been given police protection. The local police have registered a case against the two dozen persons involved in the abominable act.

Minister's son, kin booked for murder

The son of Health minister Anoop Mishra has been booked in the case of murder of Bhikam Kushwaha who was killed in Bel village near Gwalior.

Mishra's son Ashwini has been charged with murder. The minister's son Abhay, Ajay, cousin Deepak Vajpayee and brother-in-law Yogesh Sharma have also been booked in the case. The complaint was made by the deceased's brother.

The dispute was over the land near IPS college. One person was killed and four injured when the clash took a bloody turn. Ashwini and others fired at villagers. The land was given on lease for college. But the pathway to the village also fell under this land and this was cause of dispute.

The villagers had protested earlier also. On June 23 and 24, boundary wall was being constructed for college and villagers were asked to leave village, vacating their homes. The JCB machines had reached Belgaon and Vajpayee told villagers to leave their houses else they would face the consequences. Anup Mishra owns the IPS college.

Comunal riot in Obaidullaganj in MP

Cufew was imposed in Obaidullaganj town in Madhya Pradesh after two groups had a clash during a marriage function.

One person was shot dead while many persons were injured. Later angry members of one community torched the houses and shops of members of the other community.

The police vehicles were attacked. The situation was tense in the town and senior officers were camping at the place.

A youth was killed while municipal council president Tufan Singh was injured in the violence. Earlier prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC were issued but later curfew was imposed and shoot at sight orders were issued also. Obaidullaganj falls in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. The town is located just 30 km away from the state capital Bhopal.

Blackmailer policemen force girls to commit suicide

Two girls, both sisters, committed suicide as they were blackmailed by two policemen who had forcibly shot an obscene MMS of one of the girls and were threatening the girls' family.

This incident occurred in Chhatarpur. The elder sister and her boyfriend were caught by policemen who forcibly took her away and made an obscene video clip of the girl. The policemen Kanhaiyalal and Arvind Patel blackmailed her.

When the family complained to SP PS Bisht, the policemen were suspended. But they kept threatening the family. Other policemen also went to the sisters' residence and threatened them. Unable to bear this harassment, they consumed poison.

They were taken to Jhansi for treatment but both died. Senior police officials and Women's commission members have left for Chhatarpur for inquiry. The two policemen who were posted with Orchha Road police station have been booked.

BJP defends ex-minister arrested in murder case

Former revenue minister and BJP leader Kamal Patel was arrested for destroying evidence in a murder case in which his son is an accused. The CBI arrested him and Patel is now in judicial remand in jail.

But the patry is backing the tainted leader from Harda, who has courted controversies in the past also. Patel was arrested in connection with Durgesh Jat murder case.

Jat, a teenager, had disappeared on March 5, 2008 after a shootout between Kamal Patel's son Sudeep and local Congress leader Rajendra Patel at the latter's farmhouse in Harda.

Durgesh's father Ramvilas Jat had approached court. Then the Jabalpur High Court asked CBI for inquiry. Patel was charged with section 304, 204 and 120 (B). The CBI hasn't succeeded in tracing the body of Duresh Jat.

But the BJP has come in support. Kailash Vijayvargiya who is already facing corruption charges has said that CBI is acting at the behest of Centre. State BJP chief Prabhat Jha is also unfazed over the charges. BJP workers and BJYM activists staged demonstration to protest the action on Patel.

The court has refused to grant him bail and he is lodged in the Indore jail. Kamal Patel is also accused of involvement in an attack on activist Shamim Modi in Harda. She had contested the election against her in the past.

Shiv Sena leader rapes, burns Christian girl

A 20-year-old Christian woman was kept confined, raped and later burnt by a Shiv Sena leader in Barwani, an incident that has stunned the residents of this town.

The victim teaches at a school in Para in Barwani. On February 5, the local Shiv Sena leader abducted her from Bus Stand and took the girl to his residence. He raped the girl and later set her afire after pouring kerosene on the girl.

The girl has suffered 70% burns and her condition is critical, say doctors. Amit Dubey was earlier convener of the district unit of Shiv Sena. Police inspector VK Sisodia said Dubey has been arrested for rape and burning the girl.

Girl related to Bhaiya Raja's family murdered in Bhopal

A 20-year-old girl Vasundhara Bundela alias Nishi was murdered in Bhopal. Her body was found near Misrod.

Bundela was relative of ex-MLA Ashok Vir Vikram Singh 'Bhaiya Raja', who is a fedual chieftain from Chhatarpur. His wife Asha Rani is a BJP legislator from Bijawar. Nishi studied in INIFD, Bhopal and lived in a private hostel in MP Nagar.

She was shot with a pistol in the head. The police are secretive about the high-profile murder, that bears similarity to Princy Jain's killing in Bhopal earlier this year.

Police suspect that it could be a case of one-sided love and don't rule out other possiblities like land dispute or inter-family conflicts. Police have raided the influential political family's home in Kolar Road and their ancestral house in Bijawar (Chhatarpur).