The source explained that, very often, the accused is from the same locality as the victim but the victim knows him just by his first name. “Unfortunately, this is not sufficient to establish the identity of the accused,” he said.

SIT officials believe that almost all the victims who have been missing since 2002 can now, under law, be presumed to be dead. The law says that any person who has been missing for seven years should be declared as dead.

One certainty: Those missing since 2002 have been declared dead

It is now seven years since a train compartment caught fire at Godhra on February 27, 2002, and riots erupted across the state in its aftermath. The special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Supreme Court to investigate some of the riot cases, has arrested some people who allegedly played ‘key’ roles in three massacres that occurred in the city on February 28, 2002.

For the 1st first time in India’s history of wildlife crime, all accused — 37 in this case, dating to 2007 — have been punished

In a landmark verdict, 17 accused in the lion poaching case of 2007 — involving 20 others who have already been indicted — were sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by a chief judicial magistrate of Bhavnagar, on Thursday.

The magistrate, AI Sheikh, also imposed a penalty of Rs2,000 on each accused. This marks the conclusion of all cases relating to the poaching of Asiatic lions at the Gir wildlife sanctuary.

Singapore - The Singapore High Court confirmed on Thursday a life imprisonment for an Indonesian maid who killed her employer's 75-year-old mother in 2005, media reports said.

The maid, who was identified as Barokah, 29, pushed Wee Keng Wah from their ninth-floor flat after the elderly woman scolded her for sneaking out to meet a man. In 2007, the maid was sentenced to life imprisonment and appealed.

However, a re-hearing into the case did not change the judge's mind, the online edition of the Straits Times newspaper reported. The second hearing was ordered to evaluate if the life sentence was appropriate.

Singapore  - A Singapore court fined a restaurant manager 500 Singapore dollars (326 US dollars) Thursday for tying up a sex worker who subsequently fell to her death from a window of the man's ninth-floor flat, a news report said.

Edmund Peter Anthony had taken the 27-year-old Thai woman home and had sex with her on October 15, 2007, the online edition of the Straits Times newspaper reported. Before he went to the bathroom, he tied her hands and ankles with neckties.

A fast track court in the city is likely to pass its judgment on a two decade old road rage death case on March 3.

The accused in the case is Ashok Fernandez, son of former IAS officer and historian Praxie Fernandez. The case has been dragging on for the past two decades.

The First Fast Track Sessions Court judge Justice Savithri Vinayaka, who heard the case, has posted the judgment for March 3.

According to the prosecution, on January 11, 1990, Ashok, owner of a leading photo printing unit, allegedly shot at two motorcycle riders, Murali and his friend. While Murali died, his friend escaped with injuries.