Top stories on 21 December in a capsule

All accused in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case stand innocent, says court

Thirteen years after the alleged fake encounter of Gujarat based gangster Sorahbuddin Sheikh, his wife Kausar Bi and colleague Tulsidas Prajapati, a Special CBI court in Mumbai on Friday acquitted all 22 accused on the basis of lack of evidence. Giving the order on his last working day, Judge SJ Sharma apologized to the families of Sohrabuddin and Prajapati for their loss while saying ‘the court goes solely by evidence.’ “210 witnesses were brought but satisfactory evidence didn't come and witnesses turned hostile. No fault of the prosecutor if witnesses don't speak,” Judge Sharma said. Sohrabuddin was killed on November 26, 2005, while Kausar was found dead three days later. Prajapati too was eliminated a year after on December 27 by a joint force of Rajasthan-Gujarat police. Among the accused, 21 of them were junior-level police officers while one was a man in whose house Sheikh and Kausar were detained before their death.

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Journalist involved in sex CD scandal appointed advisor to Chhattisgarh CM

Journalist Vinod Verma who was detained last year for his involvement in an alleged case of extortion and sex video was appointed the advisor to newly elected Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday. Along with Verma, three other people including prominent Hindi journalist Ruchir Garg was also inducted in the board of advisors by the General Administration Department (GAD). Verma was detained from Ghaziabad by police in October 2017 on the complaint of BJP lawmaker Prakash Bajaj. The police had claimed to have seized around 500 CDs and pen drives from Verma’s residence that featured PWD Minister Rajesh Munat in a compromising position.

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1995 Tandoor killer Sushil Sharma released by Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Friday ordered the immediate release of Congress youth leader Sushil Sharma who was convicted for killing his wife Naina Sahni. Sharma, now 56, was serving a life sentence for murdering (shot dead) his wife Naina Sahni over an alleged affair, chopping her body and throwing the parts in a tandoor in a restaurant in 1995. The case was popularly known as the Tandoor murder case in the media and was a landmark case where DNA samples and a second autopsy was used to establish the guilt of the accused. Sharma had told the court he has been in jail for 29 years, including the period of remission, and was entitled to premature release in accordance with Sentence Review Board guidelines.

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Jharkhand court gives life imprisonment to 8 persons in mob lynching case

A court in Jharkhand on Friday ordered life imprisonment to eight people involved in the lynching Mazloom Ansari (32) and Imtiaz Khan (11) – who were lynched to death on March 18, 2016, in a forest in Latehar district. The court of First Class Judicial Magistrate Rishikesh Kumar in Latehar found all the eight accused guilty on Wednesday and the quantum of sentence was announced on Friday. However, one Vinod Prajapati – a local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who was named as the prime accused in one of the three first information reports (FIRs) filed by three eyewitnesses – is still absconding. On March 17, 2016, cow vigilantes had abducted cattle trader Majloom Ansari and schoolboy Imtiaz Khan while they were on their way to a cattle fair in a neighbouring district. They then lynched the two and hanged them from a tree.

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US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis resigns citing differences with Trump

In a big jolt to US President Donald Trump’s administration, Defense Secretary James Mattis on Friday resigned from his post. Mattis’ resignation comes a day after Trump had announced that the US will be relieving its 2,000 troops from the war-torn country of Syria. As per news reports, the move upset Mattis who had always been a firm defender for allies-backed defence initiatives against the ISIS and the NATO, among others. Stating President Trump has the right to have a Defence Secretary whose views are better aligned with his, Mattis  submitted his letter of resignation saying "I believe it is right for me to step down.” Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Trump said, “General Mattis was a great help to me getting allies and other countries to pay their share of military obligations.” Mattis had also strongly worked to resolve the multi-billion S-400 missile defence deal with India.
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