Latest news with #A1
The Hindu
16 hours ago
- The Hindu
Why is Pollachi sexual assault verdict unique?
The story so far: On May 13, 2025, a Mahila Court in Coimbatore convicted nine men from Pollachi under Section 376D (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code and imposed the maximum punishment of imprisonment for the remainder of their life. The court also awarded a compensation of ₹85 lakh to seven victims, including those who had been subjected to sexual assault repeatedly pursuant a conspiracy hatched by the convicts between October 2016 and February 2019. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the modus operandi of the convicts was to befriend women before abducting and subjecting them to sexual assault. The prosecution had also charged the gang of recording the sexual acts on video and using those clips to threaten and rape the women repeatedly on different occasions. The 658-page judgement delivered by sessions judge R. Nandhini Devi highlights the challenges faced by the prosecution in proving its case in order to secure a conviction. Did Victim 'A' exaggerate the offence committed against her? Victim 'A', a 19-year-old college girl, was the last victim of the convicts before they got arrested in 2019. However, she turned out to be the first to lodge a police complaint on February 24, 2019 leading to the unearthing of their antecedents. According to the prosecution, A1 (28-year-old Rishwanth alias N. Sabarirajan, a civil engineer by profession) had pretended to have fallen in love with the victim, taken her to a place near a poultry farm in a car and abused her sexually by removing her upper garments on February 12, 2019. He also surreptitiously shot half naked pictures of the victim with a mobile phone and used them to threaten her. When she confided about it to her family members after a few days, her elder brother and his friends tracked down the accused as well as his accomplices and found many videos of other women having been subjected to sexual assault by the gang. Therefore, the family decided to lodge a complaint after 12 days since the victim was abused. When victim 'A' deposed before the trial court after six years, she levelled the charge of rape too against A1. However, the CBI Special Public Prosecutor fairly conceded that such an exaggerated claim made by the victim for the first time before the trial court, and not made before any of the four investigating officers or the two judicial magistrates during the course of investigation, need not be given credence. After recording his submission, the court said, it was quite possible that the victim did not want the accused to escape from punishment or imposed with lesser punishment and therefore, she might have chosen to make an exaggerated allegation. Stating that the improved version of the victim could certainly not be accepted by the court, the trial judge said, at the same time, the entire testimony of the victim could not be discarded just because of the exaggerated portion. The principle falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus (false in one thing, false in everything) has no application in Indian courts, she said. 'There is a marked difference between exaggerated version and false version,' the judge observed and added that it was the duty of the court to sift the chaff from the grain in case of exaggerations or contradictions. Ultimately, the trial court convicted A1 for the charge of outraging the modesty of the victim but acquitted A2 (30-year-old financier K. Thirunavukkarasu) and A5 (28-year-old Mani alias R. Manivannan whose car was used for the crime) from the charges levelled against them for having facilitated the offence against this victim. What was the goof up in the charge sheets related to Victim B? Victim 'B' was also a final year college student. She had been brutally gang raped by A1, A2, A3 (29-year-old M. Sathish), A4 (26-year-old T. Vasanthakumar) and A7 (29-year-old Haron alias T. Haronimus Paul) on April 24, 2018 despite being informed that she was menstruating at that point of time. The first charge sheet filed by CBI Inspector Vijayavaishnavi had mentioned the incident to have taken place in April 2018 but the supplementary charge sheet filed by Inspector Pachayammal had mentioned it as November 2018. The SPP told the court the victim had specifically mentioned the occurrence to have taken place only in November 2018 to the second investigating officer but had not mentioned any specific date or month to the first investigating officer. Nevertheless, it was not known as to how the first investigating officer had mentioned the month as April 2018 in the first charge sheet. However, relying upon the forensic report regarding the video shot during the gang rape, the trial court concluded that the offence had taken place only in April and not November 2018. It also stated that the victim might have had confusion in recalling the exact month since semester examinations generally take place during April as well as November. The judge also held that the prosecution had failed to prove the use of a black colour car for abducting the victim since it had been purchased by A1 only on August 11, 2018. Nevertheless, the judge convicted all the five accused for gang rape on the basis of the victim's oral testimony corroborated by the electronic evidence. Why SC/ST Act was not invoked with respect to Victims 'C' and 'E'? According to the prosecution, Victim 'C' was gang raped by A2, A5 and A6 in September 2018 and Victim 'E', a MBA final year student, was raped by A1 and subjected to criminal intimidation by A2 and A5. Since both the victims belonged to a Scheduled Caste, the defence counsel contended that the entire prosecution launched against them would fall to the ground. The counsel pointed out that only an officer in the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or above should investigate cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 and since only officers in the rank of Inspector had investigated the present case, all the charges against the accused must be eschewed. However, rejecting their argument, the trial judge held that the SC/ST Act need not be invoked merely because the victims happened to be from a Scheduled Caste unless there was evidence to prove that the offence had been committed due to caste hatred. How did A6 get convicted for raping Victims 'D' & 'H' though he was not involved in any sexual act? The trial court found A2, A3 and A5 to have subjected Victim 'D', a second year college student, to gang rape in October 2018. A6 had waited outside when the crime was committed and then dropped the victim in a car at Pollachi bus stand. Similarly, when eight of the nine accused mercilessly raped Victim 'H', a teacher at a private school, one after the other, A6 alone had refused to indulge in any sexual act despite being asked to do so by A5. Nevertheless, the trial court convicted A6 too for the charge of gang rape of both the victims since he was a part of the gang. Similarly, the court convicted A2 to A4 too for the charge of gang rape of Victim 'G', a beauty parlour employee, though the sexual act against her had been committed only by A1. The trial judge pointed out that the Supreme Court in its latest judgement delivered on May 2, 2025 in Raju alias Umakant versus State of Madhya Pradesh had held that it was not necessary for all the persons in a gang to have indulged in overt sexual acts to be convicted for gang rape. It was sufficient even if one of them had committed the act in pursuance of the common intention among the gang members. Why didn't Victim 'F' testify in court leading to acquittal of accused? The prosecution's case was that the nine accused had sexually assaulted as many as eight victims in total. However, one of them (Victim F) did not come forward to testify before the court. According to the prosecution, Victim 'F' was abducted and gang raped by A1, A2, A3, and A7. The victim had written a letter to the trial court expressing her inability to depose before the court due to a situation prevailing in her matrimonial home and the continuous medical treatment required for her new born baby. Therefore, left with no option, the CBI had dispensed with her examination before the court. The court acquitted all four accused from the charge of raping her but held that no adverse inference could be drawn against the prosecution and the CBI could not be found to have deliberately withheld the witness especially when it could not convince her to testify despite best efforts. How did the court deal with defence arguments? The defence raised many issues such as non production of the mobile phones of the victims, non collection of CCTV footage to prove abduction from public places, prosecution's failure to secure the clothes worn by the victims at the time of the crime, the non inclination of the victims to undergo medical examination and so on to make a dent in the prosecution case. However, the trial judge rejected all such contentions by observing that in sexual offence cases, the oral evidence of the victims alone was sufficient to convict the accused if such evidence inspires the confidence of the court. 'Our jurisprudential enthusiasm for presumed innocence must be moderated by the pragmatic need to make criminal justice potent and realistic... Proof beyond reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond the shadow of doubt. The law would fail to protect the community if it admitted fanciful possibilities to deflect the court of justice,' the judge observed.
Glasgow Times
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
New Scotland manager acknowledges fan frustration after debut loss
Andreatta, the former Australia assistant who succeeded Pedro Lopez last month, was helpless to prevent Scotland from losing their penultimate Nations League Group A1 match and being relegated. However, the 46-year-old, whose team will now take on the Netherlands in Tilburg on Tuesday evening, stressed that she learned a lot from the outing and will be able to build on the performance. Read more: "What I've taken is a baseline,' she said. "There's one thing to be training and doing what we're doing and players executing what we're asking of them in a training session, and it's another to do it in a match and in a match with that context behind it. "So I think I have a good baseline now to understand where we're at, and some areas of work in order for us to progress to where we want to be.' Andreatta added, "I think you could tell by the fans, there was a frustration, but I think the key part that I take from that is that we had players that took on the information at half-time and made some adjustments to what we were doing and trying to do, and they did that well. (Image: PA Wire) "And then, together with the subs, who were a combination of experienced players and emerging players, they brought on the energy and had a real impact. So while it was frustrating not to get some reward from, that impact and those changes, I know where we are now, and it's given me some ideas, moving forward.' Scotland captain Rachel Corsie, who this week announced she will retire from international football following the meeting with the Netherlands, came on in the second half of the match to win her 155th cap for her country. Read more: Andreatta is confident the Aston Villa player will be fully focused on the team performance in midweek. 'I'm sure there would have been a lot of emotion for her having friends and family there for sure,' she said. 'But what I know about Rachel is she's a real team person and she'll be more hurt for the team that we didn't get the result that we all want. 'I'm sure she'll quickly refocus as the leader and professional that she is and help the team to bounce back because that's what we need to do now.'
The National
21 hours ago
- Sport
- The National
New Scotland manager acknowledges fan frustration after debut loss
Andreatta, the former Australia assistant who succeeded Pedro Lopez last month, was helpless to prevent Scotland from losing their penultimate Nations League Group A1 match and being relegated. However, the 46-year-old, whose team will now take on the Netherlands in Tilburg on Tuesday evening, stressed that she learned a lot from the outing and will be able to build on the performance. Read more: "What I've taken is a baseline,' she said. "There's one thing to be training and doing what we're doing and players executing what we're asking of them in a training session, and it's another to do it in a match and in a match with that context behind it. "So I think I have a good baseline now to understand where we're at, and some areas of work in order for us to progress to where we want to be.' Andreatta added, "I think you could tell by the fans, there was a frustration, but I think the key part that I take from that is that we had players that took on the information at half-time and made some adjustments to what we were doing and trying to do, and they did that well. (Image: PA Wire) "And then, together with the subs, who were a combination of experienced players and emerging players, they brought on the energy and had a real impact. So while it was frustrating not to get some reward from, that impact and those changes, I know where we are now, and it's given me some ideas, moving forward.' Scotland captain Rachel Corsie, who this week announced she will retire from international football following the meeting with the Netherlands, came on in the second half of the match to win her 155th cap for her country. Read more: Andreatta is confident the Aston Villa player will be fully focused on the team performance in midweek. 'I'm sure there would have been a lot of emotion for her having friends and family there for sure,' she said. 'But what I know about Rachel is she's a real team person and she'll be more hurt for the team that we didn't get the result that we all want. 'I'm sure she'll quickly refocus as the leader and professional that she is and help the team to bounce back because that's what we need to do now.'
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Butlin's Big Weekender unveils headliners for seven new dates of 'mayhem'
Butlin's is introducing seven brand-new Big Weekenders in 2025 and 2026 across all three resorts—Bognor Regis, Minehead, and Skegness—and also offering a 20% discount off the adult-only breaks The biggest holiday park party weekend of the year is back and bigger than ever. Butlin's Big Weekenders is an event exclusively for adults that turns the three Butlin's holiday parks into a riot of music and drinking. The event is known for bringing the same kind of chaotic good vibes that Brits typically venture out to Magaluf or Zante in search of. "I went to a Skegness 80s one for my stag do (was 26). The best way I can describe it was freshers week (weekend) for people in their 40s and 50s who didn't go to uni. Just mayhem, really. At one point I was drinking rum and Coke out of a large sock whilst watching a band," one happy customer relayed on Reddit. Another fondly remembered: "I think on the whole we can all agree the crowd is very much the salt of the earth (myself included), however in all the times, I haven't seen even so much as an argument, never mind a fight. The whole setup is brilliant and everyone is just on their best, albeit their most unhinged behaviour. I'm a gay guy and I've been in fancy dress as a woman a couple of times - nothing but good vibes from every single person I met. No homophobia, nothing." Now Butlin's is introducing seven brand-new Big Weekenders in 2025 and 2026 across all three resorts—Bognor Regis, Minehead, and Skegness—and also offering a 20% discount off the adult-only breaks. Many of them are themed and include weekends dedicated to the best electronic or funky 90s soul music and celebrations of the LGBTQ+ community and Mod culture. The Big Weekender features bands and DJs alongside a packed schedule of daytime and evening activities, such as pool parties and pop-up exhibitions. The ticket price includes three nights' accommodation. Here's what's coming up: 2025 Halloweekenders (Bognor Regis, Minehead and Skegness, 3 – 31 October) from £53pp Classic decade-themed Big Weekenders across all three resorts are getting a spooky makeover this October, transforming into Halloweekenders. From £53pp, guests can choose from Ultimate 80s Thriller, 90s Reloaded Fright Nights, Back To The 2000s Y2K Scares or a monster mash-up of all these decades with Replay Time Warp Terror. Headline acts include Chesney Hawkes, Claire Richards and A1. DJ Spoony Presents UNDRGRND (Skegness, 7 – 10 November) from £96pp For the first time, DJ Spoony is heading to Skegness for 72 hours of clubbing heaven with his brand-new multi-genre break UNDRGRND, following the sell-out success of his A House Full of Garage Weekenders. From £96pp, committed clubbers will not only see the garage pioneer himself, but also David Rodigan, Majestic and radio DJs Rickie & Melvin, playing a mash up of R&B and Dancehall, House and Garage, and Jungle and Drum n Bass. Madness House of Fun Weekender (Minehead, 28 November – 1 December) from £205pp Returning to Minehead's Big Weekender line-up in 2025 is the House of Fun Weekender. From £205pp, fans will be treated to an incredible one-night-only performance by Madness, as well as performances from The Specials – Neville Staple, Aleighcia Scott, Janet Kay and over 20 other artists and DJs. There's also a jam-packed schedule of activities throughout the weekend, from diving headfirst into The Nutty Professors Pool Party, breaking a sweat at Reggae Aerobics or shouting 'BINGO' at Bangerz Bingo. 2026 My Generation Weekender (Minehead, 9 – 12 January) from £131pp Minehead will kick0start 2026 with a celebration of Mod culture in the form of the My Generation Weekender. The specially curated weekend for Mod fans will feature bands and DJs from the UK and international Modernist scene, including Ocean Colour Scene, Secret Affairs and The Dualers. Soul Power Weekender (Skegness, 16 – 18 January) from £114pp Celebrate the 'neo-soul' era of the early 90s with the Soul Power Weekender at Skegness. With a fusion of funk, R&B and acid jazz jams, defining artists of the soul scene, such as Trevor Nelson, Craig Charles and The Brand New Heavies, will be taking the stage throughout the weekend. Don't Tell Mama (Bognor Regis, 23 – 26 January) from £113pp The Bognor Regis resort will host a brand-new LGBTQ+ Big Weekender, Don't Tell Mama. The Weekender is dedicated to a community that knows how to party, and they'll be joined by Claire Richards and Louise Redknapp, drag icons Danny Beard and La Voix, plus a whole host of other artists and DJs. Bugged Out! (Bognor Regis, 6 – 9 March) from £133pp The legendary clubbing brand's Weekender boasts a line-up of the best DJs and artists in the electronic music space, including Daniel Avery, Emerald and Helena Hauff. They'll be blasting only the greatest electronic music, with acid house and techno for the energetic crowd and Balearic beats for those chasing a more chilled vibe. Before guests get ready for another unforgettable night, there's pool parties, pub quizzes, fairgrounds and so much more, to ensure the good vibes last all day.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Comparative Analysis Made Easy with Prices in Local Currency, Euros, and USD
Stay ahead with this comprehensive mobile tariff database, offering quarterly updates since 2006 on over 1000 price plans across Europe. Easily compare international mobile pricing with details on operators, costs, allowances, and more, all presented in multiple currencies. Ideal for agencies, operators, and investors. Dublin, May 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Europe Smartphone Tariff Tracker and Analysis" has been added to offering. Pricing is used as one of the key differentiators by mobile operators across the industry. To keep up-to-date with the increased complexity of packages offered is a challenge. The analyst has researched and collated prices for post- and prepaid smartphone price plans across Europe since 2006 and has been updating it every quarter since. Prices presented in local currency, Euros and USD allow for a speedy and like-for-like comparison of the 1000+ price plans covered. Key information collected and provided in the excel spreadsheet include: Name of operator Effective/Verified Date Type of customer (Consumer, Youth, Senior, etc) Type of subscription (Postpaid/Prepaid, Hybrid) Contract term for Postpaid plans(m-t-m, 6, 12, 18, 24 plans) Validity for prepaid plans Name of Plan Cost in local currencies and Euro (inclusive and exclusive of tax) Inclusive allowances such as Voice, IDD, SMS, MMS, Data, roaming VAS, and others with a separate column for each of these) Charges (per min, per SMS, per MMS, per 1 Mbyte of Data Tax rate Comments (these relate to the price plan and provide additional information such as add-on details) In this continuously updated service - every quarter - based on a survey of providers, the database will illustrate how operator marketing strategies create plans to retain loyalty, entice new customers and increase usage and value. The database also highlights key changes announced by operators since the previous update which are easily identifiable as marked in red. Geographical coverage (mobile network operators): Albania Telekom Albania (AMC) Albania ALBtelecom & Eagle Mobile Albania Vodafone Armenia Viva MTS Austria 3 Austria A1 Mobilkom Austria Magenta (prev. T-Mobile) Belarus A1 Belgium BASE Belgium Orange (Mobistar) Belgium Proximus Bulgaria Telenor (Globul) Bulgaria A1 (M-Tel) C. Republic Telefonica O2 C. Republic Vodafone Croatia A1 (prev. VIP) Croatia Telekom (T-Mobile) Cyprus Cyta-Vodafone Cyprus Epic (previously MTN) Denmark Telenor Denmark Telia DK Denmark YouSee (TDC) Denmark 3 Denmark Estonia Telia Finland Elisa (Saunalahti) Finland Telia France Bouygues Telecom France Orange France SFR France Free Mobile Germany O2 Telefonica Germany Telekom (T-Mobile) Germany Vodafone Greece Cosmote Greece Vodafone Greece Wind Hungary Telenor Hungary Vodafone Hungary Telekom (T-Mobile) Iceland Vodafone Iceland Siminn Ireland 3 Ireland Eir (previously Meteor)/Eir sub-brand GoMo Ireland Vodafone Italy WindTre Italy TIM Italy Vodafone Italy Iliad Latvia Bite Lithuania Bite Lithuania Telia (Omnitel) Luxembourg LUXGSM Luxembourg Orange Luxembourg Tango Malta Go Malta Epic (previously Vodafone) Moldova Orange Netherlands KPN Mobile (includes Telfort) Netherlands Telfort Netherlands T-Mobile Netherlands Vodafone Norway Telenor Norway Telia (Netcom) Poland T-Mobile (prev EraGSM) Poland Orange Poland Plus GSM Poland P4 (Play) Portugal NOS (previously Optimus) Portugal Meo (TMN) Portugal Vodafone Romania Telekom Romania Orange Serbia A1 (prev VIP) Serbia Telenor Slovakia Orange Slovakia Telekom Slovenia Telekom (Mobitel) Slovenia A1 Slovenia (Si Mobil) Spain Movistar Spain Orange Spain Vodafone Spain Yoigo Sweden Telenor Sweden TeliaSonera Mobil Sweden Tre Sweden Tele2 Switzerland Salt (previously Orange) Switzerland Sunrise Switzerland Swisscom Switzerland Wingo (Sub-brand Swisscom) Turkey Turkcell United Kingdom 3 UK United Kingdom EE United Kingdom O2 Telefonica United Kingdom Vodafone United Kingdom Virgin Media Key highlights of the database include: Tariff price plans for consumer and business post and prepaid, presented in tabular format, in local currency, Euros and US Dollars allowing for easy comparison Each plan provides details such as the cost and allowances that come with it. All the data is updated quarterly, and changes made are marked in red. Summary report provided with each update commenting on key changes Researched by a multi-lingual team Enquiry service provided by a tariff expert with 24 years of experience in telecoms pricing Subscription includes 4 Updates per annum Summary report with each update FREE Enquiry Service Who should subscribe to this service Government agencies with a need to compare mobile prices across countries Telecommunication operators Software and equipment vendors Consultancies Investors, Venture Capital companies and Financial Institutions For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
