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Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Woman's murder: Hubby, partner hired killers to eliminate her
Indore: Five persons, including husband and his female partner, were arrested on Thursday for murder of a 28-year-old woman in Kanadia village. The couple had hired contract killers to eliminate the woman. ACP Kundan Mandloi said that the incident had taken place on Aug 14. The police received information about suspicious death of a woman identified as Rani, wife of Ishwar Sonagara, a resident of Kanadia. A preliminary inquiry revealed a gunshot injury in her head, prompting police to register a case under various sections of BNS against unidentified accused. A special investigation team was subsequently formed to probe the case Investigations revealed that Rani was married to Ishwar since 2014, and the couple had two children. While their marriage remained stable for the first few years, differences cropped up particularly after Ishwar started having a relationship with another woman, identified as Toshika. According to statements given by Rani's maternal family, the relationship between husband and wife was strained for years, and Ishwar and Toshika were plotting to eliminate her. Acting on this lead, police scanned CCTV footage and relied on technical evidence to zero in on the suspects. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like London: People Born 1945-1975 Could Be Eligible For This British Seniors Read More Undo After sustained efforts, officers arrested five persons— Ishwar Sonagara (34), his partner Toshika (32), Aman Mimrot (23), Mohammad Samad (24), and Muzaffar Khan (33). The accused confessed to the crime, admitting that Ishwar and Toshika had hired the others to execute the murder for monetary gain. During the operation, police seized two country-made pistols, two live cartridges, a car, a motorcycle, and five mobile phones. The investigation confirmed that the killing was planned for over a month, with Ishwar and Toshika paying the shooters to carry out the assassination in a premeditated manner. Officials said the arrests were made through swift and coordinated action by the Kanadia police team, led by station in-charge Saharsh Yadav with support of several officers and the cyber cell. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Indian Express
9 hours ago
- Indian Express
Congress & SP pushed country into crisis, served only their families: UP CM Yogi Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday that the Congress and the Samajwadi Party pushed the country into an identity crisis after centuries of exploitation by the Mughals and British, and that the two never worked for inclusive development, serving only their own families. Speaking at the inauguration of a cement plant in Etah, Adityanath claimed that the district once synonymous with crime and mafia rule has now transformed into a hub of investment and industry. 'Eight-nine years ago, Etah was known for land encroachments, and the poor had no voice. Today, it is known for law and order, power generation and industrial growth,' he said. The Chief Minister said the nearby Jawaharpur thermal power plant generates 1,500 MW power, while Shree Cement's unit worth Rs 750 crore has created 500 direct jobs and more than 3,000 indirect employment opportunities. 'This investment is not only about jobs but also about strengthening of trade, transport and distribution networks — the real foundation of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat. There was a time when even a commodity like cement was rationed and would be available only through connections, making house construction extremely difficult,' he said. 'How could development take place with such an intent and policies?' he asked. India, which was 11th in the world economy in 2014 due to the policies of the Congress and SP, has now risen to 4th place under PM Modi and is set to become the third-largest economy within two years, he claimed. Uttar Pradesh too, he said, has risen from the seventh-largest state economy in 2017 to the second-largest today, the CM added. He credited this economic turnaround to strict action against the mafia and rioters, which restored investors' confidence. 'UP has received investment proposals worth Rs 45 lakh crore, out of which Rs 15 lakh crore have already been executed, creating employment for 60 lakh youth,' he said. He added that 60,244 youth, including many from Etah, were recruited into the police force without any discrimination. Under the Mukhyamantri Yuva Yojana, 70,000 young entrepreneurs received interest- and guarantee-free loans to set up enterprises. The Chief Minister noted that 'bells and ghungroos' of Etah's Jalesar remain an integral part of worship and musical performances. The state is preparing a roadmap for Viksit Bharat by linking this cultural heritage with modern development, he said, adding: 'In the Legislative Assembly and Council, a 24-hour discussion was held on key sectors, and experts will now visit every district to train youth and prepare district-level roadmaps with public participation.' The state, he said, will honour every promise made under the industrial policy.
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First Post
10 hours ago
- First Post
The real-life story behind Hulu's new mini-series ‘The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox'
If true-crime dramas interest you, try Hulu's new mini-series, 'The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox'. It brings to life the shocking tale of American student Amanda Knox, who was wrongfully convicted for the murder of her housemate Meredith Kercher in Italy Amanda Knox went from being a kid in Seattle to being convicted for a brutal murder in Italy and gaining the world's attention. Now, there's a mini-series on her on Hulu. File image/Reuters In November 2007, American student Amanda Knox made headlines around the world when she was arrested and put on trial for allegedly killing her roommate in Italy. Now, nearly two decades later, she making headlines again, but this time, it's for Hulu's limited series The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox. The eight-episode series, starring Grace Van Patten as Knox, which dropped on August 20 has created significant buzz around the world. After all, the story that inspires the series was the perfect tabloid story — beautiful young American; a brutal murder in a picturesque Italian town and tales of sex games and occult rituals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But who exactly is Amanda Knox? What was the case against her? The life of Amanda Knox Knox was born in America's Seattle in 1987 to parents — mother Edda Mellas, a math teacher from Germany, and father Curt Knox, a finance executive at Macy's. At the age of 20, then studying in the University of Washington, she applied to spend an academic year abroad, opting for the picturesque Italian college town of Perugia. She soon makes her way to Perugia and rents a room in a cottage along with three other roommates, including Meredith Kercher, a British exchange student from the University of Leeds. Shortly after she reached Italy, Knox met Italian Raffaele Sollecito at a classical music concert, and they started dating. The 23-year-old Italian computer engineering student's apartment was a short walk from the girls' flat. On November 1, however, a chain of events occurred that changed Knox's life irreversibly. Her roommate, Kercher, was found dead in her bedroom in the apartment that they shared. According to the Italian police, her body was partially clothed, with her throat cut. She was stabbed multiple times and was sexually assaulted. The Italian police escort Amanda Knox after she was arrested for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher, her flatmate in Italy. File image/AFP When the Italian authorities questioned Knox, she revealed to them that she had the spent the night at her boyfriend's house and when she returned, she found the home door ajar and drops of blood on the bathroom mat. Following this, the Italian police took her in for interrogation. In a January 2025 report for The Atlantic, she described the questioning as 'the most terrifying experience of my life'. 'I was 20 years old, and was questioned for more than 53 hours over a five-day period in a language I was only just learning to speak. The night of Meredith's murder, I had stayed with Raffaele Sollecito, a young man I'd just started dating. But no matter how many times I said that, the police refused to believe me,' she wrote. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD She reveals in that same essay that as a result of sleep deprivation and the lies she was fed by the police, she signed papers that claimed that she was in the house when Kercher was stabbed. She even confessed that it was Patrick Lumumba, who owned the bar where Knox worked part-time, killed Kercher. 'I recanted only a few hours later, but it didn't matter,' Knox wrote. 'I was coerced into signing the statements and then charged with criminal slander for doing so. (The police, who did not record the interrogation as they were supposed to, deny that I was hit or pressured into making these statements.)' Arrest and trial of Amanda Knox On November 6, 2007, Knox, Sollecito and Lumumba were arrested. However, Lumumba was released two weeks later after customers at his bar proved he had been serving drinks that night. But Knox and Sollecito were charged with murder and went on trial. In the initial trial spanning from January to December 2009, prosecutors claimed Knox and her boyfriend murdered Kercher because she wouldn't participate in a group sex game. Lead prosecutor Giuliano Mignini said, 'Amanda had the chance to retaliate against a girl who was serious and quiet. She had harboured hatred for Meredith, and that was the time when it could explode. The time had come to take revenge on that smug girl.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In December 2009, US student Amanda Knox, was found guilty of killing British student Meredith Kercher in 2007 and sent to prison for 26 years. Knox's then-boyfriend and co-defendant Raffaele Sollecito was also found guilty and imprisoned for 25 years. File image/AFP At the end of the trial, both of them were found guilty with Knox receiving a 26-year prison sentence. Both served four years in an Italian prison before being found innocent in 2011 by an eight-member jury. Following this, Knox returned to the US. But her legal woes were far from over. In March 2013, a retrial was ordered after prosecutors appealed that crucial DNA evidence had been left out, and the case was sent back to an appeals court in Florence. And a year later, she and Sollecito were convicted again of Kercher's murder. Knox remained in the US and was sentenced in absentia to 28-and-a-half years in prison, while Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years. In 2015, Knox's and Sollecito's murder convictions were once again overturned by Italy's highest court in a retrial. In a statement, Knox said: 'I am tremendously relieved and grateful for the decision of the Supreme Court of Italy. The knowledge of my innocence has given me strength in the darkest times of this ordeal.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Amanda Knox talks to the press surrounded by family outside her mother's home in Seattle after Italy's top court annulled her conviction for the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher. File image/Reuters Media trial of 'Foxy Knoxy' While Knox was embroiled in one legal battle after another, it was not her only suffering. As she faced court, she also faced a media trial, which depicted her in very poor light. She was often referred to as 'Foxy Knoxy' with the media painting her as some femme fatale. Journalists scoured her online profiles to dig up anything on her; they even dug up a picture of her posing with a vintage machine gun at a museum that she had uploaded to her Myspace page. Many tabloids and news media outlets villified Amanda Knox during the course of her trial. She was referred to as Foxy Knoxy and made to look like some femme fatale. Image Courtesy: X They portrayed her as promiscuous woman motivated by extreme thrills and sexual conquests. The media ran photos of the couple kissing outside the house while they waited for the police to arrive. They even ran headlines such as 'Orgy of death; Amanda was a drugged up tart'. Even CCTV screenshots of her and Sollecito buying lingerie were published across newspapers and news channels in Italy. After her final exoneration, Knox recalled the sensationalism around her case, saying, 'It was impossible for me to have a fair trial,' adding that in the eyes of many she had become 'the dirty, psychopathic, man-eating Foxy Knoxy'. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US' Amanda Knox with her husband Christopher Robinson (L) at the courthouse in Florence. File image/AFP Knox's path to redemption Today, Knox lives in the US with her husband, Christopher Robinson, and their children — daughter Eureka Muse Knox-Robinson and son Echo. She has written two memoirs on her experiences, 2013's Waiting to Be Heard and 2025's Free: My Search for Meaning. There's also been a Netflix documentary titled Amanda Knox and a docuseries she hosts, talking to women about being publicly shamed. And now comes the Hulu series, _The Twisted Tale of Amanda Kno_x where she is the producer. According to her website, she advocates for wrongfully incarcerated people and is involved with multiple organisations fighting for criminal justice reform. With inputs from agencies
