A Mumbai court has acquitted BJP leader and former Member of Parliament Gopal Shetty, along with party worker Ganesh Khankar, in a 2004 case related to the alleged assault and abuse of police officers, reported the PTI. Delivering the verdict on July 19, Additional Sessions Judge Satyanarayan Navander noted that even the investigating officer failed to corroborate the claims made in the First Information Report (FIR). The detailed judgment became available on Thursday. “In light of this, a serious doubt arises regarding the prosecution’s case… In the absence of cogent, consistent, and reliable evidence, both accused are entitled to the benefit of the doubt,” the court stated, as per the PTI. According to the prosecution, BJP worker Netaji Shinde was detained at Kasturba Marg Police Station in Kandivali, suburban Mumbai, on September 9, 2004, under investigation linked to the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities (MPDA) Act, the news agency reported. Gopal Shetty and Ganesh Khankar allegedly entered the police station later that night. When questioned by a police constable, they were said to have pushed him aside, verbally abused him, and issued threats. The two allegedly entered the detection room, where further abuse was directed at officers, reported the PTI. Shetty was the MP of Mumbai North constituency twice from 2014 to 2024. Before that he was an MLA. An FIR was registered against them the next day under Indian Penal Code sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty), 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), and 506 (criminal intimidation). During the trial, the constable -- who was the complainant -- told the court that he was pushed and abused, but during cross-examination he stated that the push might have been unintentional, the accused being in a hurry. He also did not recall the exact swear-words used by the accused. The court found his testimony "extremely weak and unreliable," according to the PTI. Further, the investigating officer testified only about conducting investigation and filing a chargesheet, without corroborating the allegations of himself being insulted or intimidated despite being present when the incident took place. The court noted that the only witness who partly supported the prosecution case was the constable, and "even his testimony was contradictory, vague, and substantially weakened during cross-examination". (with PTI inputs)
24 July,2025 06:24 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentA special court in Mumbai, while granting bail to a 40-year-old woman school teacher held for allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulting a minor male student, has said the relationship between the duo was "consensual", reported PTI. Special judge Sabina Malik, who was hearing cases of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, granted bail to the teacher of a city-based prominent school on Monday. In its order, the court said that the boy is above 16 years of age and that there is "evidence from both the sides showing that there was a consensual relation" between them, reported PTI. The order mentioned that as the teacher had resigned from the school, the relationship of a teacher and student no longer existed, and hence the influence was diluted. In her bail application, filed through advocate Neeraj Yadav and Deepa Punjani, the accused teacher stated that the case was fabricated at the behest of the boy's mother. Citing several conversations with the boy, the woman's plea stated that the boy’s parents knew of his relationship with the accused and were against it. The woman raised concern about the legality of her arrest, claiming that the grounds of arrest were provided in Marathi, which she does not comprehend. The defence contended that these grounds are not translated and she simply made to sign it (document), and that a confessed interrogation is inadmissible. She also stressed she is a mother to 11-year-old twins, one of whom suffers from asthma, and their study is suffering and they are under emotional stress due to the absence of their mother. The prosecution, opposing her bail plea, said that if the accused is released, she will abscond and will not be available for trial. The informant is in mental trauma owing to the alleged incidents and thus the application should be rejected, the police said. The boy also resisted the application, expressing fears of manipulation, intimidation, threats and harm if the teacher were granted bail. However, the court, recognising that the trial would take time, held that keeping the accused in custody would not be fruitful. The special judge released on bail upon executing a bond of Rs 50,000 with one or more solvent sureties in the like amount. (With PTI inputs)
24 July,2025 04:04 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe police have seized Ketamine valued at Rs 88.92 crore from a factory in Maharashtra's Raigad district, and arrested four persons allegedly involved in its production, an official said on Thursday, reported news agency PTI. Acting on inputs, the police raided a drug manufacturing unit at Jite village in the Mahad MIDC area on Wednesday, the official said. The raid was carried out with the help of various teams, and assistance from the Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Mumbai police was sought, he said, reported PTI. A consignment of ketamine valued at Rs 88.92 crore was confiscated from the factory, the police official said, reported PTI. Ketamine, which has some hallucinogenic effects, is used as an anaesthetic. However, it is also abused by youngsters for pleasure. The police have arrested four persons, identified as Machhindra Bhosle, Sushant Patil, Shubham Sutar and Rohan Gawas, who were involved in the manufacturing of the drug, he said, reported PTI. A case has been registered against the accused persons under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said, adding that further probe into the seizure is underway. Rs 10.8 lakh drugs seized in Palghar; two held In another case, the police have seized drugs valued at Rs 10.8 lakh and arrested two persons in this connection in Maharashtra's Palghar district, officials said on Tuesday, reported PTI. During night patrol on Monday, the police noticed a car speeding on the Mokhada-Trimbak road. The police signalled the vehicle to stop, but the driver tried to speed away. The police then chased the car and it was later found abandoned in Chinchur village, while the driver managed to escape, Superintendent of Police (Palghar Rural) Yatish Deshmukh said, reported PTI. Upon inspection of the vehicle, the police found in it 111.42 kilograms of opium valued at Rs 7,80,340, he said. Two fake number plates were also found inside the vehicle, the official said. Search was on for the car driver, the police said. In another case, police intercepted two persons near a hotel at Ibadpada in Talasari area on Sunday and seized 2.33 kilograms of ganja valued at Rs 3 lakh from them, the official said, reported PTI. The two persons, aged 24 and 38 and hailing from Palghar and neighbouring Dadra and Nagar Haveli Union Territory, were arrested, he said. Two motorcycles and as many mobile phones were also seized from the accused, the police added. (With inputs from PTI)
24 July,2025 02:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe police on Thursday said that two car wash workers were injured when two men allegedly attacked them with swords after a dispute in Maharashtra's Thane city, reported news agency PTI. A video of the incident, which took place on Tuesday in the Wagle Estate area, showing two men brandishing swords and chasing a group, has gone viral on social media, sparking outrage. The two accused were arrested on Wednesday, an official from Wagle Estate police station said, reported PTI. The incident occurred when a 24-year-old man, who works at a car washing centre, was sitting with a group of people. Around that time, the two accused approached the group and asked one of its members to move a vehicle parked nearby. When the group members did not comply with the request, the two accused, who were armed with swords, allegedly attacked two of them, the official said. "Two members of the group sustained injuries during the assault," the official said, reported PTI. The attackers had arrived with an intent to intimidate and were seen threatening others in the vicinity as well, eyewitnesses claimed. Some passersby and local shopkeepers alerted the police control room. The police arrested the accused, both aged 30, and booked them on charges of attempt to murder and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said, adding the incident's video clip was authentic and part of the evidence in the case, reported PTI. The injured persons were undergoing treatment and reported to be out of danger, the police said. Man held for killing woman's husband after she refuses his marriage proposal In another case, the police have arrested a man from Vashi in Navi Mumbai for allegedly murdering a 35-year-old person after the latter's wife reportedly rejected his repeated proposals to marry him, an official said on Tuesday, reported PTI. The 21-year-old accused, identified as Aminur Ali Ahemadali Molla, was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 103 (1) (murder) and 238 (destruction of evidence), officials said on Wednesday, reported PTI. As per the complaint filed by the victim's 25-year-old wife, who resides in a slum settlement in Vashi, the accused allegedly murdered her husband, Abubakar Suhadali Mandal, after she refused his repeated proposals for marriage. The crime is believed to have taken place during the intervening night July 21 and 22, ACP Adinath Budhwant said, reported PTI. After the murder, the accused dumped the victim's clothes and personal belongings in the Vashi creek and hid the body at a nearby place, he said, reported PTI. Acting on the complaint, the police nabbed the accused and later recovered the body, which was then sent to a government hospital for post-mortem, the official said. (With inputs from PTI)
24 July,2025 01:21 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondentA lawyer from Mira Road in Maharashtra's Thane district was allegedly duped of Rs 20 lakh by two men under the pretext of performing a ritual to double his money, police said on Wednesday, reported the PTI. The incident occurred in CBD Belapur area of Navi Mumbai on July 22, in which the accused locked the victim inside the bedroom of a flat before sneaking out with his money, they said. "The 42-year-old victim, a practising lawyer, came in contact with the accused persons - Premsingh Sadhu Maharaj (aged around 40) and Anant Ramchandra Narahari (65) - through a mutual acquaintance. Premsingh convinced the advocate that he possessed special spiritual powers and could invoke divine blessings to double his money through a sacred ritual," assistant police inspector Narayan Palampalle of CBD police station said, according to the PTI. On July 22, the advocate was invited to a flat in CBD between 6 and 8 pm, where Premsingh and his accomplice had prepared an elaborate setup with photos of deities Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Ganesh, he said. "During the ritual, the victim was asked to place Rs 20 lakh in front of the deity and instructed to go into a bedroom, lock it from inside and repeatedly chant the mantra 'Laxmi Devaya Namaha'," the police official said, the news agency reported. While the victim was engrossed in the ritual, the two accused allegedly took the cash and quietly left the premises, he said. "They locked the flat from outside, confining the victim inside the bedroom," he said, as per the PTI. After some time, the lawyer realised that something was amiss and managed to alert the local police using his mobile phone. The police reached the spot, rescued him from confinement, and subsequently registered a case based on his complaint, the official said, according to the PTI. A manhunt has been launched to trace and apprehend the accused duo, Palampalle said. They have been booked under sections 318 (4) (cheating), 127(2) (wrongful confinement) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, the news agency reported. (with PTI inputs)
23 July,2025 11:04 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondentA court in the Palghar district Maharashtra on Wednesday remanded a 28-year-old woman and her partner to police custody till July 30, a day after they were arrested on charges of killing her husband and burying the body under tiles at home, reported PTI. The sessions court at Vasai sent Chaman Devi and Monu Sharma to police custody and their interrogation will help in establishing the motive behind the gruesome murder and find out other details of the crime, an officer said. Chaman Devi and Sharma were arrested from Pune on Tuesday evening, a day after the decomposed body of her husband, 34-year-old Vijay Chouhan, was exhumed from the couple's home at Gangnipada in Nallasopara, a distant suburb of Mumbai. According to police, the duo killed Chouhan and buried his body under floor tiles around two weeks ago. The crime came to light when two of Chouhan’s brothers went to his home and found a foul smell emanating from the floor. Neighbours informed Chouhan's brothers that he had not been seen since July 10 and his wife was also missing since July 19, said police. On being alerted, a police team arrived in the house and exhumed the body in the presence of doctors, forensic experts and local tehsildar. A Pelhar Police team traced Chaman Devi and Sharma to Pune, around 270km from Palghar, and nabbed them. They have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 103 (murder), 238 (destruction of evidence) and 3(5) (common intention) and further investigation was underway, according to police. 21-year-old held arrested from Navi Mumbai for killing woman's husband after she refuses his marriage proposal Police have arrested a 21-year-old man from Vashi in Navi Mumbai for allegedly murdering a 35-year-old person because the victim’s wife reportedly rejected his repeated proposals to marry him, an officer said on Tuesday. The accused, Aminur Ali Ahemadali Molla, was booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 103 (1) (murder) and 238 (destruction of evidence), officials said on Wednesday. The couple lived in a slum settlement in Vashi. According to the complaint filed by the victim’s 25-year-old wife, Molla allegedly murdered her husband, Abubakar Suhadali Mandal, after she refused his repeated proposals for marriage. The crime is believed to have taken place during the intervening night Monday and Tuesday, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Adinath Budhwant said. After the crime, the accused dumped the victim's clothes and personal belongings in the Vashi creek and hid the body at a nearby place, Budhwant stated. Acting on the complaint, the police nabbed the accused and later recovered the body, which was then sent to a government hospital for post-mortem, the officer informed. The motive appears to be rooted in personal enmity and unreciprocated romantic interest, another officer said. "The woman was reportedly being pressured by the accused to marry him and her refusal could have triggered the crime," he said. (With PTI inputs)
23 July,2025 08:04 PM IST | Palghar | mid-day online correspondentThe Thane Police in Maharashtra have exposed a prostitution racket with the arrest of a female agent and the rescue of three women, an official said on Wednesday, reported the PTI. Acting on a tip, the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of the city police on Tuesday laid a trap near the Mumbra railway bridge and nabbed a female agent, said senior inspector Vaishali Gorde. During the operation, the police also rescued three women who were being pushed into prostitution. The three women have been sent to a rescue home, she said. A case has been registered against the female agent at the Mumbra police station under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 143 (trafficking of person) and the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA), the official added, according to the PTI. Five Bangladeshi women held from Pune's red light for illegal stay in India Meanwhile, in an another incident, last week, the Pune City Police arrested five Bangladeshi women from the Budhwar Peth red-light in Maharashtra's Pune district, officials said. Acting on a specific tip-off, senior officers from the Faraskhana Station and the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) carried out a targeted operation in the red-light district on Friday. The women detained were found to be living in India illegally without valid documentation, according to the news agency ANI. Preliminary investigation revealed they arrived in India unlawfully from Bangladesh, pretended to be residents of West Bengal, and came to Pune to engage in prostitution. The women, aged between 20 and 28, had been using false identity documents to remain in India. The operation also revealed the involvement of several traffickers who arranged their illegal entry and stay in India. Police have registered cases under relevant sections of the Immigration Act, Passport Act, and Human Trafficking laws, as per ANI. The investigation is being carried out under the supervision of senior officials, with further efforts underway to identify and apprehend the trafficking network operating across borders. (with PTI and ANI inputs)
23 July,2025 07:50 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondentA Thane court has acquitted a 36-year-old man accused of kidnapping his wife's sister's minor son in 2023, as key witnesses became hostile. Additional Sessions Judge V G Mohite stated on July 18 that the prosecution failed to present convincing evidence of the child's kidnapping for ransom. The order was made available on Wednesday. The man, in custody since October 28, 2023, was ordered to be released immediately, pending any other legal matters. The prosecution claimed that on October 25, 2023, he went to his wife's sister's house in Kalwa, Thane, and took her one-and-a-half-year-old son with sweets, refusing to return him unless his estranged wife accompanied him. Police alleged he demanded Rs 2,000 for the child's release, according to news agency PTI. The accused faced charges under sections 363, 364A, 365, and 384 of the IPC. The Thane court has acquitted a 36-year-old man accused of kidnapping the minor son of his wife's sister in 2023, as the prime witnesses in the case turned hostile. Additional Sessions Judge V G Mohite, in the order passed on July 18, said the prosecution has failed to bring on record incriminating evidence to prove the incident of the kidnapping of a child by the accused for ransom. A copy of the order was made available on Wednesday. The accused, who has been in judicial custody since October 28, 2023, was ordered to be released immediately, subject to any other legal proceedings pending against him, as per PTI. The prosecution alleged that on October 25, 2023, the accused went to the house of his wife's sister in the Kalwa area of Maharashtra's Thane city and took away her one-and-a-half-year-old son under the pretext of giving him sweets. He refused to return the child unless his estranged wife agreed to go with him. The police later alleged the accused demanded Rs 2,000 to release the child. The accused faced charges under sections 363 (kidnapping), 364A (kidnapping for ransom), 365 (wrongful confinement) and 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code. Defence counsel Sagar Kolhe contested the charges against the accused. During the trial, the child's mother, who is the complainant, turned hostile. She testified that the accused had returned the child safely and that she lodged the complaint in anger over a domestic dispute. Judge Mohite said, "Informant is the mother of the minor child. The accused came to her house and took away her son. After some time, the accused brought him back to the house. However, due to anger, she has filed the complaint against the accused for the kidnapping of her son," reported news agency PTI. The court further noted that even during cross-examination by the public prosecutor, the complainant denied that the child was held for ransom or that the accused demanded money. The second key witness, who is the complainant's sister and the accused's wife, also did not support the prosecution. She denied her police statement that the accused demanded ransom, and insisted she had no complaint against him. With both prime witnesses turning hostile, the prosecution opted not to examine the remaining witnesses. The court acknowledged the background of a family dispute, which appeared to have triggered the case. According to the defence, the accused and his wife had been living separately due to a marital rift. On the day of the incident, the accused had visited Kalwa to enquire about his wife's whereabouts. When he was refused information, he briefly took the child and then returned him unharmed. The court accepted this version, especially in the absence of credible evidence to the contrary. "The prosecution has failed to bring on record incriminating evidence to prove the incident of the kidnapping of a child by the accused for ransom. Witness has denied the demand of money. Prosecution has not adduced reliable direct as well as circumstantial evidence. The accused is entitled to get an acquittal," the court said. (With inputs from PTI)
23 July,2025 01:31 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondentPolice have confiscated the banned gutka valued at Rs 17.4 lakh from a tempo and arrested one person in this connection in Navi Mumbai, an official said on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI. The tempo was intercepted on the Mumbai-Pune road on Monday evening. Upon checking, the police recovered gutka of various brands from the vehicle, the official from Kamote police station said. A 23-year-old man, resident of Kandivli in neighbouring Mumbai, was arrested in this connection on Tuesday, he said, reported PTI. A case has been registered against the accused under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, reported PTI. Efforts were on to trace another person involved in the offence, the official said. Two shopkeepers held with banned gutka, tobacco items in Thane In another case, the police have arrested two shopkeepers after seizing gutka and other banned products from their outlets in Thane city of Maharashtra, an official said, reported PTI. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) personnel conducted raids at a grocery shop and a paan stall in the Diva area on July 14. They seized the banned gutka, other tobacco products, and blended paan masala collectively valued at Rs 27,470 from the premises, the official from Mumbra police station said, reported PTI. The two shopkeepers were arrested on July 15. "During interrogation, they were unable to provide any valid purchase receipts for the banned substances found in their shops," the official said, reported PTI. The two accused were booked under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections, including 274 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale), 275 (sale of noxious food or drink), 123 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc, with intent to commit an offence), and provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, the police said. Thane: Banned tobacco products seized, two arrested Earlier in May, an official said that the Wagle Estate police in the city has seized gutka or scented tobacco mix and other banned tobacco products worth Rs 40,000 and arrested two men, reported news agency PTI. A police team intercepted a tempo and found that it was transporting banned tobacco products of different brands, he said. Tempo driver Ayush Chotelal Nigam (22) and Shivam Sitaram Nigam (22) were arrested under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 123 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit an offence), 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 275 (sale of noxious food or drink), reported PTI. Police are looking for a person named Anand Jaiswal who was allegedly connected to the illegal supply and sale of these banned substances. (With inputs from PTI)
23 July,2025 11:55 AM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondentA man from Pune in Maharashtra has allegedly been duped of more than Rs 5 lakh after being lured by a cyber fraudster under the pretext of investment in the share market for good returns, police said, reported news agency PTI. The victim had been looking at some advertisements related to share market investment. A person later added him to a WhatsApp group, with its administrator guiding people on share trading, an Ambegaon police official said. Later, a person sent the victim a link and asked to furnish details for the investment, promising good returns in an IPO subscription. Under the pretext, the person managed to access the victim's Aadhaar card, PAN card and other details, the official said, reported PTI. The fraudster allegedly siphoned off more than Rs 5 lakh from the victim's account, as per the police. After the victim came to know of the fraud, he approached the Pune police, who registered a case on Monday under relevant legal provisions and launched a probe into the matter, the official said, reported PTI. Elderly woman from Mumbai loses Rs 7.88 crore in stock investment fraud In another case, a 62-year-old housewife from Mumbai has allegedly been duped of Rs 7.88 crore by cyber fraudsters after being lured to invest in the stock market for high returns, police said, reported PTI. The fraudsters posed as representatives of a reputed financial services company to cheat the woman, a resident of the Bandra area, over the last two months, an official from West Region Cyber Police Station said on Monday, reported PTI. The victim, in her police complaint, said she first received a message on WhatsApp from an unknown number. The sender, identifying as a woman, claimed to be the assistant of a senior officer of the company and initiated a conversation about stock investments. The victim was then provided with the company officer's contact number and a link to a website. She was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group and introduced to another individual, who also claimed to be associated with the finance company, the official said, reported PTI. On the woman's insistence, the victim transferred a total of Rs 7,88,87,000 into multiple bank accounts over a period of time, the police said. When she attempted to withdraw her funds, she was asked to deposit an additional 10 per cent of the amount. Sensing something suspicious, the woman decided to inquire, which indicated the fraud, reported PTI. Based on the woman's grievance lodged on an online cyber complaint portal, the police have registered a case against unidentified persons under relevant legal provisions and initiated a detailed investigation into the matter, the official added. (With inputs from PTI)
23 July,2025 11:22 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentA mob thrashed four persons on Tuesday while accusing them of attempting to kidnap children in an auto rickshaw in Palghar district of Maharashtra, police said. The Vasai police have arrested four suspects who allegedly posed as eunuchs and attempted to kidnap two girls, aged 13 and 14, in Naigaon near Vasai Road. According to the police, the accused arrived in an auto-rickshaw and tried to abduct the girls, threatening them with a knife as the victims were returning home from school on their bicycles. All the accused are residents of Thane, and the police have also seized the auto-rickshaw used in the incident. Local residents, along with the victims' parents, caught the accused and beat them before handing them over to the Vasai police. According to police officials, the incident occurred around 1 pm on Tuesday when the two girls were cycling back home. While they were returning, three individuals posing as eunuchs stopped them. One of the accused brandished a knife and threatened the girls, asking them to get into the auto-rickshaw. The accused also told the girls that they were now in their custody. A police officer said, “The victims managed to escape from the spot and informed their parents.” Speaking to mid-day, one of the victims' fathers said, “My daughter came home crying and told me about the incident. We rushed to the spot and caught one of the fake eunuchs. Later, we caught three more individuals from the area. These same people had been roaming around for the past few days, trying to kidnap my daughter.” “We beat them and handed them over to the police. They are not eunuchs and are residents of Thane,” the victim’s father added. Police Inspector Bala Ghadigaonkar of Vasai police station said, “We have arrested four people in this case. All are in custody. They are not eunuchs. Further investigations are underway.”
22 July,2025 09:38 PM IST | New Delhi | Shirish VaktaniaADVERTISEMENT
