Mastervk posted a story on our news tab about two children in Punjab who were punished with a merciless (and illegal) beating; they had been accused of stealing a VIP’s purse.

Sachin is nine and his sister Bindia just five. But their tender age didn’t stop Punjab police from thrashing them mercilessly after they were caught allegedly stealing the purse of Canadian member of parliament Ruby Dhalla on a visit to Pohid village near here.

The kids begged and pleaded for mercy but the cops didn’t relent; they kept raining blows on them. The two were later bundled and taken into custody. The police action wasn’t just inhuman but a brazen violation of the law meant to deal with underage offenders. For, under Juvenile Justice Act, the kids should have been produced before a magistrate who, depending on the evidence against them, could have referred them to a juvenile home. [TOI]

I hope the children are okay. I think the reaction of the police who were part of Dhalla’s entourage was excessive. If anyone deserves a thrashing, it’s these young people (who are Canadian, incidentally) instead. Part of me is concerned about whether little Sachin and Bindia even did what they are being trotted out and accused of, or if they’re just being scapegoated.

Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla, whose parents were born in the Punjab region, is on a two-week tour of India with other parliamentarians. Her purse was grabbed while she was touring the town of Pohir on Monday, but was retrieved by police a half-hour later. [canoe]

Indian Express says that the purloined purse was pilfered from an NRI who was accompanying Dhalla, and not Dhalla herself. Initially, from the first few articles I read, the MP from Brampton—Springdale seemed tepid in her response to the abuse meted out on her behalf, but the same article which clarified whose bag was actually taken contained this quote:

“I think children make mistakes and they should be taught with love. They should be given love and respect. I will take a look at the whole matter,” she said, when asked if she would ask the police to withdraw the FIR that had been lodged against the kids in the case. [IE]

I hope she does. I also hope that I’m forgiven for not being able to get this song out of my head, from the moment I read this tip on… Continue reading →

Time for more details about Anu Solanki, the young woman who freaked out thousands of us, when we feared the worst had happened to her, while she was actually absconding with a platonic friend. She’s getting off lucky…for now:

Cook County authorities will not bring criminal charges against Anu Solanki, the Des Plaines-area woman who disappeared from Cook County forest preserve property last week, officials said Monday…

“Between us and the sheriff’s [office], we’ve agreed there aren’t appropriate criminal charges in the case,” said First Assistant State’s Attorney Robery Milan. [Sun Times]

She did not file a false police report. That is why she is off the hook.

In case you forgot the particulars, Anu Solanki disappeared after leaving work to immerse a statue of Ganapati in a river with a very powerful current. They found her car running, with no sign of her. This inspired a frantic search for her, which included divers:

The four-day search for Solanki involved several police departments. Chief Richard Waszak of the Cook County Forest Preserves said they had a minimum of 40 people working around the clock during the investigation.

The cost of the search was estimated conservatively at $250,000, Waszak said. [WBBM]

The possibility of suing Solanki to reclaim wasted money is still on the table; we’ll try to keep you posted. Now that the actual news is out of the way, let’s hear about the other person in her marriage: Dignesh, her humiliated husband.

A man whose wife seemingly vanished near a suburban Chicago river only to be found days later with another man across the country said he noticed romantic text messages he didn’t send on his wife’s cell phone two days after they were married a little more than a year ago.

But the man, Dignesh Solanki, said he believed his wife, 24-year-old Anu Solanki, would be faithful to him.

“I gave her a chance because she promised me she would be 100 percent faithful,” Solanki told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I completely trusted her. I would never have run away with another girl. I would have tried to work it out.”…[AP]

Note, he’s not vindictive (I think some of us would indulge our lesser impulses if we were in his place, “i.e. hell yeah, press charges!”)

Solanki’s husband, Dignesh Solanki, said Monday he was satisfied with the decision not to pursue charges against his wife.

“That’s fine,” Solanki said. “She just left. This is not a crime.” [Sun Times]

Anu Solanki maintains that it was never her intent to deceive people, and one article described her as being “embarrassed” by what she ended up causing. Continue reading →

On Saturday, Subhash Chander went to the door of his daughter and son-in-law’s apartment, poured gas outside of it, and dropped his lighter. Inside, 22-year old Monika Rani, 36-year old Rajesh Arora and their three-year old son Vansh were sleeping. Monika was five months pregnant with this monster’s next grandchild.

All three perished of smoke/soot inhalation and carbon-monoxide poisoning.

Their charred bodies were recovered later; little Vansh was found in the hallway, I wonder if he woke up, scared from the blaze and ran for her. Three innocent people, dead. Several dozen more, most of whom were new immigrants from India, homeless, but thankfully, alive. And for what?

A cultural slight?

Arora was from a “lower caste” than Subhash Chander, whose actions obviously bring glory to his lofty peers. Chander did not approve of his son-in-law and there are conflicting reports of Arora marrying without the man’s permission. Even if such things are true, incinerating three innocent people while selfishly, thoughtlessly threatening the lives of so many others takes a special kind of psychopath.

Subhash Chander, 57, told police that he resented the couple for what he considered a “cultural slight” — that his daughter Monika Rani, 22, had married a man from a lower caste and done so without his consent, according to a court document.

Chander and his son-in-law had a strained relationship throughout his marriage to Rani, which lasted a little more than three years, said First Assistant Cook County State’s Atty. Robert Milan.

“Apparently there’s been trouble going on between the two of them for years,” Milan said. “It’s pretty clear from the defendant’s own statements and other evidence that we have that he did not like his son-in-law at all.”

Chander was charged Monday night with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of intentional homicide of an unborn child and one count of aggravated arson. Judge Martin E. McDonough ordered him held without bail Tuesday during a hearing in Markham. [Chicago Tribune]

Chander’s story is that there was a shoving match with his son-in-law, while he was holding a container of gas. Some of it “splashed” around inadvertently and then…

Chander told police that he became “upset and angry” and pulled a lighter from his pocket and set the carpet on fire, according to a court record. [Chicago Tribune]

Because that explanation somehow makes this situation better? Is setting fire to a carpet a harmless way to register your discontent? Beyond that stupidity, there is this curious fact: Continue reading →