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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 8:56:24 pm

Man gets death for minor’s rape, murder

Mumbai | Nashik: A Nashik Special Fast Track Court has awarded the death sentence to a 25-year old man who was convicted last week for luring a 4-year-old girl with a chocolate, kidnapping, raping and murdering her, here on Friday. Terming the case as the ‘rarest of rare’ crimes, the Special Judge K. D. Paldewar – who had found Vijay Sanjay Khairnar guilty of kidnap, sexual assault and murdering the child on Sep. 30 but reserved the verdict after the final arguments on Oct. 7 – pronounced the...

Man gets death for minor’s rape, murder

Mumbai | Nashik: A Nashik Special Fast Track Court has awarded the death sentence to a 25-year old man who was convicted last week for luring a 4-year-old girl with a chocolate, kidnapping, raping and murdering her, here on Friday. Terming the case as the ‘rarest of rare’ crimes, the Special Judge K. D. Paldewar – who had found Vijay Sanjay Khairnar guilty of kidnap, sexual assault and murdering the child on Sep. 30 but reserved the verdict after the final arguments on Oct. 7 – pronounced the capital punishment today. He also slapped a fine of Rs 10 lakhs as compensation to the victim’s family, hailing from Dongrale village before a packed courtroom where the villagers, the victim’s family and others were present. Emerging from the courtroom after the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the media that “the Court had considered the gravity of the crime and the circumstantial evidence establishing Khairnar’s involvement” while deciding the sentence. The Court did not take into account the convict’s poverty – he was a daily wager – or illiteracy as grounds for leniency, added the ace criminal lawyer. It was on Nov. 16, 2025 in Dongrale village of Malegaon taluka when Khairnar lured the little girl on the promise of giving her a chocolate and took her to a desolate spot to carry out his devious plans. Betraying the trust of the child who used to call him ‘dada’ (elder brother) due to their acquaintance, Khairnar sexually assaulted her, killed her and abandoned her before decamping from there. A few hours later, the child’s body was found dumped in a nullah and the police were summoned. As details of the gruesome crime tumbled out and spread, it ignited widespread public outrage all over the state. The police swung into action, formed several probe teams and managed to track down Khairnar from his hideout within a few hours. Considering the sensitivity of the crime, the strong emotions plus the mass furore it created, the state government assigned the case to a fast-track court, assigned Nikam as the SPP and the matter was heard speedily. The SPP aggressively led the prosecution, arguing in the court that in view of the gravity of the crime, the circumstances leading to it and other aspects, it warranted the severest punishment – death – for Khairnar, irrespective of his age or financial status. The Dongrale villagers stood in solidarity with the victim’s family and they raised a chorus for quick investigations, an expeditious trial and slapping the death penalty on the convict to serve as a strong deterrent to potential offenders. As per the Indian law, the trial court’s verdict will now go to the Bombay High Court for confirmation. Political leaders from different parties hailed the court verdict and said “justice has finally been done to the victim’s family”.

Dynastic Soap Opera

Correspondent
Dec 3, 2024
3 min read
Philippines

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco (left) receives an impeachment complaint filed on Monday against Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte. Pic: AP/PTI


When a sitting vice-president publicly threatens the life of the president, even the Philippines’ chaotic political landscape seems to reach a new level of disarray. But in this archipelago, political rivalries and melodrama are hardly novelties.


Vice-President Sara Duterte’s recent remarks on Facebook were as shocking as they were incendiary. She claimed to have hired assassins to kill President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. Just last month, she revealed her wish to decapitate the president, dig up his father’s remains from the Heroes’ Cemetery, and toss them into the sea. The vehemence of her language is impossible to ignore, though Duterte now claims that her words were hyperbolic and without intent. Yet the damage to the already fragile alliance between the two political dynasties is undeniable.


This public spat between the vice-president and president traces its roots to a political union forged in 2022, not out of affection, but out of necessity. The Marcos-Duterte alliance, dubbed UniTeam, was a marriage of convenience. Both candidates were heirs to powerful presidential legacies—Sara Duterte, daughter of the populist strongman Rodrigo Duterte, and Bongbong Marcos, son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Their joint bid capitalized on regional and familial loyalties, pulling together disparate political forces. The duo won by a landslide, but the vice-presidency, which Duterte assumed, is largely ceremonial, with few levers of power. When Marcos allotted her the education portfolio instead of the defence ministry, it was a clear sign of mistrust. The differences between them were soon magnified by stark contrasts in policy, especially on China and the controversial war on drugs.


For decades, the Duterte and Marcos families have loomed large in Filipino politics, both with their share of scandals and dynastic ambitions. Rodrigo Duterte, now former president, pursued a foreign policy that embraced China, despite Beijing’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea, and led a brutal anti-narcotics campaign that resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings. In stark contrast, Marcos has taken a more confrontational approach to China, asserting Philippine sovereignty in contested waters, and distancing himself from his predecessor’s war on drugs. As Marcos has sought to distance his administration from the Duterte legacy, his relationship with Sara has soured.


The friction reached a new peak when a congressional investigation was launched into Sara Duterte’s use of confidential funds allocated to her office, and when she resigned from her role as education secretary in July. Since then, her rhetoric has grown more strident.


Sara Duterte is no stranger to controversy. As mayor of Davao City, she gained notoriety for physically confronting a court official. Her brashness mirrors her father’s bombastic style—Rodrigo Duterte once famously insulted the Pope and boasted about his past killings. The apple has not fallen far from the tree. Like her father, Sara is known for her toughness, her defiant personality and an unflinching desire to retain power.


For Marcos, however, the stakes are even greater. His family’s quest for rehabilitation after the 1986 People Power Revolution (when the Marcoses were ousted by a popular uprising) remains central to his presidency. He is intent on crafting a legacy of legitimacy and respectability, aiming to influence the choice of his successor in 2028. The intense rivalry with the Dutertes may, however, undercut his efforts. Sara Duterte’s strength in the south, coupled with her robust support from overseas Filipino workers, makes her a formidable political force.


While the possibility of Sara’s impeachment remains, the political risks for Marcos are immense. A politically charged impeachment would require significant support in the Senate. For now, it seems that the Philippines’ political theater will continue to unfold in spectacular fashion, with the two powerful families locked in a rivalry that may define the country’s future.

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