Parbhani school assault: Absconding director couple arrested from Pune hotel
The arrested couple have been identified as 48-year-old Prabhakar Chavan, and his wife Ratnamala (42), both residents of Tuljapurwadi in Vasmat of Hingoli district. The 42-year-old victim, Jagannath Hendge, was allegedly murdered on July-10.
Parbhani superintendent of police Ravindrasingh Pardeshi said: "Since being on the run, the accused couple, in an attempt to evade arrest, kept changing their locations.
We have found that the accused couple were staying at a Pune-based hotel for the past five to six days." Purna SDPO Samadhan Pawar, who is supervising the investigation, said the accused couple were brought to Parbhani and produced before the local court, which awarded them three-day police custody.
The case pertains to the death of a 42-year-old farmer from Ukhald village, who visited a private residential school at Ziro Fata in Parbhani on Thursday to collect his daughter's TC and seek a refund of the fees paid. His daughter, a Std III student, had earlier withdrawn from the hostel due to adjustment issues. During the visit, an argument reportedly broke out between the man and the school management, following which the director and his wife allegedly assaulted him.
The farmer sustained serious injuries in the incident and later died.
One of the accused is a former education committee chairperson of the Hingoli zilla parishad.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
2008 Malegaon blast: After acquittal due to lack of evidence, look back at charges against Pragya Thakur, others
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday acquitted all the seven accused, including former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, in the September 2008 Malegaon blast case in which six persons were killed and nearly 100 were injured. Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur in court in 2018.(HT File) The other five accused were retired army officer Ramesh Shivaji Upadhyay (73), Pune-based businessman Samir Sharad Kulkarni (53), Purohit's close associates Ajay Eknath Rahirkar (56) and Sudhakar Omkarnath Chaturvedi (53), and Sudharkar Dhar Dwivedi, also known as Swami Amrutanand Devtirth (56), a self-proclaimed Shankaracharya, all of whom were arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Special judge AK Lahoti said that the overall evidence doesn't inspire confidence to prove a case against the accused and said the accused persons deserve the benefit of doubt. The blast took place near a mosque in Malegaon, about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008. What probe said, why Pragya Thakur was arrested Around a month after the incident, the state government handed the case over to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which eventually arrested Pragya Thakur, a native of Lahar in the Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh, and two of her alleged accomplices, after finding that a motorcycle used in the blast allegedly belonged to her. The ATS also said the blast was the handiwork of an extreme right-wing group led by Purohit, Upadhyay and Dwivedi. In its charge sheet, the agency claimed that Purohit, who at the time served in the Indian Army's Military Intelligence unit, had in February 2007 formed Abhinav Bharat, an organisation with an intention to convert India into a 'Hindu rashtra named Aryawart' — meaning, a nation only for Hindus. The organisation had allegedly held several meetings across the country in which they discussed increasing 'jihadi' activities by Muslims and expressed strong anti-Muslim sentiments. According to the ATS, in one such meeting held in Bhopal in April 2008, Purohit suggested carrying out a bomb blast in Muslim-dominated Malegaon to take revenge for atrocities committed by Muslims on Hindus. Thakur, according to the ATS, quickly responded by offering to provide people for carrying out the blast, for which RDX was allegedly supplied by Purohit. On January 20, 2009, the ATS arrested 11 people and filed a chargesheet against them and two wanted planters — Ramji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, both associated with Thakur. The agency invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) due to the involvement of Rakesh Dhawde, an accused who was linked to previous blast cases. The agency later also arrested Pravin Takkalaki, an alleged close aide of Purohit, and filed a supplementary charge sheet against him. NIA wanted to exonerate Pragya Thakur in 2016 However, in April 2011, the case was transferred to the NIA, a specialised federal agency established after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack to handle terrorism-related cases with national ramifications. In May 2016, the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet in the case, exonerating Thakur and five other accused, and recommending their discharge from the case. The agency said it found no evidence linking Thakur directly to the blast, adding that the motorcycle registered in her name was in the possession of absconding accused Kalsangra before the attack. The NIA also dropped anti-terror MCOCA charges against all the accused, citing its questionable application by the ATS. It found flaws in the ATS's investigation, describing it as filled with 'lacunae' or gaps. It said that some of the confessions recorded by the state agency, such as that of Chaturvedi's, were likely obtained through torture and were unreliable. Accordingly, the special NIA court in December 2017 dropped MCOCA charges against all the accused, but retained charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The court discharged Kalsangra, Sahu, and Takkalaki from the case, but refused to discharge the remaining seven arrested accused, including Thakur, and two wanted accused. The court refused to discharge Thakur, citing her attendance at meetings where the blast was discussed, such as one in Bhopal in April 2008. While Thakur continued to be on trial, she secured bail in the case and even contested the 2019 general elections on a BJP ticket, winning the Bhopal constituency.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Ransomware groups are blurring the line between cybercrime and ‘hacktivism'
Ransomware is evolving from profit-driven attacks to political tools, targeting countries like India and the US, according to a report by Akamai. These hybrid groups are mixing financial crime with political messaging, blurring the line between them, making it harder for authorities to stop them. India, in particular, is facing rising attacks, highlighting the need for stronger cyber defences. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Cybercriminals are now using ransomware not only to make money but also to spread political propaganda , according to a new report by cybersecurity and cloud computing company its State of the Internet 2025 report, Akamai shows how some ransomware groups are acting more like hacktivists — hackers who attack systems to support a political or social or RaaS groups with hacktivist motivations are using ransom payments to fund campaigns to advance their ideologies.'We are seeing actors like DragonForce and KillSec blend ideology with extortion, turning ransomware into a weapon of disruption rather than just a tool for profit. This fusion of hacktivism and RaaS blurs attribution and complicates response,' Reuben Koh, director of security technology and strategy, Asia-Pacific & Japan, Akamai, told of the biggest hacktivist groups is Malaysia-based DragonForce. The group focuses especially on disrupting systems in India and Israel. It has launched major ransomware attacks across other countries as well, including the UK and the United group, Stormous, has attacked big companies such as soft drink manufacturer Coca-Cola and Barbie doll maker Mattel, and often leaves ransom notes in Arabic. It targets countries seen as unfriendly to Russia or aligned with Western interests, including France, Spain, the US, and there is KillSec, which began its attacks in October 2023. It supports pro-Russian political ideas and mainly targets the government and healthcare sectors. KillSec has shown a particular interest in targeting Asian countries such as India and Bangladesh, as well as other countries, including the United which started as a political hacktivist group in 2024, also began using ransomware to attack critical systems in NATO-aligned (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) countries. It started using ransomware for retaliation against adversaries of Russia or India, and often targets report also cited data from eCrime Threat and Risk Intelligence Services, which shows that Asia was a major target for ransomware attacks. In 2024, India experienced 17 attacks on its financial institutions, surpassing the UK's 16 and Canada's these figures are still far lower than the 151 attacks reported in the US last year.'India's growing geopolitical relevance and digital infrastructure make it a high-value target for hybrid ransomware groups, said Koh. 'This highlights the urgent need for resilient, intelligence-led cyber defences across Indian enterprises and critical infrastructure that can adapt to the ever-changing threat landscape and adversaries.'Since 2022, FBI decryption keys have helped victims in the US avoid over $800 million in ransom payments. Decryption protects sensitive data like financial records and personal information, by keeping it secure yet are banning ransom payments to threat actors, since paying doesn't guarantee data recovery. Meanwhile, cyber insurance providers are incentivising organisations to strengthen security programs and offering their negotiating skills to lower ransomware payments.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Tamil actor ‘Powerstar' Srinivasan held by Delhi Police over ₹5-cr loan fraud
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has arrested Tamil actor and self-styled doctor S Srinivasan, popularly known as Powerstar, in connection with a ₹5-crore loan fraud case, an officer said on Wednesday. Srinivasan, who had been evading trial since 2018 and was declared a 'proclaimed offender' twice, was arrested in Chennai, the Delhi Police said in a statement. According to the statement, the actor allegedly posed as a financier and duped a Delhi-based company of ₹5 crore, promising to secure for it a ₹1,000 crore loan. The money was later found to have been diverted for film production and personal use. "The accused had been absconding for several years and was finally apprehended on July 27 from Vanagaram in Chennai. He has been remanded to judicial custody," Deputy Commissioner of Police (EOW) Ravi Kumar said. According to the complaint, a private firm was allegedly cheated by a group of persons, including Henry Lalremsanga, Deepak Banga, Anil Varshney, and Ramanuja Muvvala, in 2010. "These people claimed to be expert consultants capable of securing high-value funding for hotel and corporate infrastructure projects," said the DCP. They introduced the complainant to S Srinivasan, who introduced himself as the proprietor of a trading company and claimed he could secure the company a ₹1,000 crore loan. As part of the deal, the complainant paid Srinivasan ₹5 crore, ostensibly to purchase adhesive stamps (0.5 per cent of the loan amount), a standard fee in such transactions. However, no loan materialised, and a post-dated cheque of ₹5 crore, issued as security by Srinivasan, bounced due to insufficient funds, police said. During the investigation, the officer said, police found that on December 27, 2010, a sum of ₹5 crore was transferred to the account of the trading company and later moved to accounts controlled by Srinivasan and his wife. Of this money, he withdrew ₹50 lakh and transferred the remaining amount to a joint account, from which a fixed deposit of ₹4 crore was created. Officials said Srinivasan failed to provide any documentation to prove that he had purchased adhesive stamps, which revealed his fraudulent intent. "He was first arrested during the course of investigation but later released on interim bail in 2013 after assuring the court that he would repay ₹10 crore in 15 days. However, he only deposited ₹3.5 lakh and went underground," said the officer. The actor was first declared a proclaimed offender in April 2016. Though re-arrested in March 2017 and granted bail in June the same year, he again absconded, leading to his being declared a PO a second time in November 2018. In their pursuit for him, police zeroed in on his location at Golden Treasure Apartment in Vanagaram in Chennai, and arrested the 64-year-old on July 27. Popularly known as "Powerstar" in the Tamil film industry, Srinivasan has been associated with films as a comedian, producer, and singer. He even projected himself as a politician. He holds a diploma in acupressure from a Chinese university, acquired through distance learning. His passion for cinema led him to establish a trading company in Chennai, through which he allegedly lured businessmen with promises of large bank loans. Srinivasan has acted in several Tamil films. Police said he is also named in six other cases in Chennai for similar offences.
