A family in Noida was duped of over Rs 1 crore after they were kept under 'digital arrest' for five days by unknown people posing as government officials. The scammers threatened the family with arrest by making video calls and claiming to be investigating money laundering and other crimes. This is a new type of cyber fraud where the accused pose as law enforcement agency officials and use video calls to intimidate their victims.
The fresh threat comes in the wake of the recent murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique.
The crime branch named 29 accused in the 4,590-page charge sheet, including 26 already arrested and three wanted persons, including Anmol Bishnoi, the brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
The accused has been identified as Bhagwat Singh Om Singh (32), originally from Udaipur in Rajasthan who is currently staying in Navi Mumbai.
The police arrested the accused on Thursday and booked him under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, an official said.
Lokesh Sharma, the former OSD of Rajasthan's ex-chief minister Ashok Gehlot, has turned approver in a phone tapping case that happened during the political crisis in the state in 2020. Sharma was accused of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telephonic conversations. He has alleged that Gehlot was involved in tapping of phones and gave evidence to support his claim. Sharma claims that he was directed by Gehlot to circulate recordings of phone calls to the media.
Maharashtra Home Minister Jayant Patil on Thursday showered praise on the Mumbai Crime Branch, which is investigating the 26/11 terrorist attacks, and claimed that the investigation done by it compelled Pakistan to finally admit that Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab was a Pakistani.Patil told reporters that the Mumbai Crime Branch investigated the case properly and collected evidences systematically, which forced Pakistan to admit that Kasab was its national.
Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist from the November 26 terrorist attack on Mumbai who was shifted to Arthur Road Jail for an identification parade, was brought back to Crime Branch lock-up on Monday, police sources said. "About 20 witnesses, who participated in the identification parade, have identified Kasab. He was brought back to the Crime Branch in the wee hours," one officer said.
Jailed journalist Mahesh Langa, already facing multiple charges, has been booked in a fresh case for allegedly extorting Rs 40 lakh from a real estate agent by threatening to malign his image and implicate him in a false case. This is the fifth FIR registered against him since his arrest in October 2023 for an alleged Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam. The latest case was registered based on a complaint by Janak Thakor, a real estate agent, who alleged that Langa threatened to write negative articles about him and trap him in a false case unless he paid the money. Langa has been in jail since his arrest in October and is facing charges in four previous cases registered by Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Rajkot police.
The probe into the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, was today transferred to the elite Crime Branch of Delhi Police, a week after she was found dead in a luxury hotel in the national capital
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has alleged that leaders of the opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) were involved in a "conspiracy" against his cabinet colleague Jaykumar Gore in a case involving a woman. Fadnavis said there was proof of communication between NCP leaders Supriya Sule and Rohit Pawar, and one of the accused in the case where three persons, including the woman, have been arrested for trying to extort money from Gore. He also pointed to Gore's acquittal more than five years ago in a case involving the woman's allegations of harassment. Fadnavis emphasized that opposition and ruling parties are political opponents and not enemies. The CM also criticized the behavior of some opposition members in the state assembly, accusing them of insulting the House and pressuring ministers.
A social activist has been summoned by the Mohali police after his number was found in the call records of two mobile phones of Anuradha Bali alias Fiza, the estranged second wife of former Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan found dead on Monday.
As per the advisory of cyber-security agency CERT-In, a digital arrest is the one in which victims receive a phone call, an e-mail or a message claiming they are under investigation for illegal activities, such as identity theft or money laundering.
A Bangladeshi national, Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir (30), has been arrested for stabbing Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan at his residence in Mumbai. The Mumbai police apprehended the accused after a two-day manhunt with the help of a labour contractor who provided crucial information. The attacker was tracked down to a labour camp in Thane. Khan, who underwent emergency surgery, is recovering and may be discharged soon.
The motice was issued on the basis of applications filed by Shiv Sena activist Amit Chouhan and four suspended police officers.
How did the thug access Saif Ali Khan's home?
Mumbai police had arrested Gurmail Baljit Singh (23), a resident of Haryana and Dharmaraj Rajesh Kashyap (19), from Uttar Pradesh, whereas there one aide, who was at the spot during the firing, fled from the spot.
The army termed the incident as "very unfortunate," and said it would not allow the guilty to go scot-free. "We have constituted a board of officers to carry out a proper search of the area including the houses adjoining the scene of the incident. The process of search is going on in detail," Brigadier (administration) Sashi Nair told reporters
Mumbai Police arrested a budding songwriter for allegedly sending threat messages to Bollywood actor Salman Khan and demanding Rs 5 crore from him in the name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. Sohail Pasha, held from Raichur in Karnataka, wanted a song written by him to become famous and used this ploy for the purpose, police claimed.
The Bombay high court on Monday ordered a first information report (FIR) against five policemen for the custodial death of Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde, allegedly shot dead in a police van in September 2024, and setting up of an Special Investigation Team, noting that a prima facie offence is disclosed.
Baba Siddique murder: Pune scrap shop owner held
The chief minister's office said the special team will be headed by IG Sparjan Kumar and will include four senior women IPS officers of the state.
He said Gehlot could tell how he got the call recordings and whether the call interceptions were done legally or not.
Shivkumar Gautam, the alleged main shooter in the Baba Siddique murder case, remained at the spot for 20 minutes after the Nationalist Congress Party leader was gunned down on October 12, an official said on Thursday.
Actor Saif Ali Khan was attacked with a knife at his Mumbai apartment, leaving him grievously injured. The intruder, captured on CCTV footage, is seen escaping through the staircase. Police are examining the footage and have formed several teams to apprehend the suspect. Khan was operated upon at Lilavati Hospital to remove a piece of knife lodged in his spine. The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Thursday after the intruder gained entry into Khan's flat. The actor's representatives described the incident as a "burglary attempt." Police are investigating whether the intruder entered the building earlier in the night.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized its biggest-ever cryptocurrency worth Rs 1,646 crore in a money laundering investigation into a fraud investment scheme called BitConnect. The scheme, which ran between 2016 and 2018, promised investors high returns through a proprietary trading bot but was found to be a sham. The ED tracked transactions through the dark web and seized the cryptocurrency from numerous wallets. This is the agency's largest-ever seizure of virtual digital assets and the investigation is ongoing.
The police also mentioned that the accused had done recce of Baba Siddiqui's house and office premises and were in Mumbai for one and a half to two months and were keeping an eye on him.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Wednesday that police officer Sachin Vaze will be removed from the Crime Branch and posted in some other department.
'There are 10 detection teams working in different directions.'
It is important to note that confessions made to the police under MCOCA are admissible as evidence in court. It is also difficult to secure bail under the MCOCA.
He clarified that Siddique was provided a non-categorised security and was allotted three police constables.
In a breakthrough, Mumbai Police and Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Sunday arrested wanted shooter Shivkumar in Nationalist Congress Party politician Baba Siddique murder case from the northern state along with four others, an official said.
The Mumbai crime branch conducted the raid with the help of the district police in Goalpukur.
The three gunmen involved in the killing of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai practiced firing near a waterfall in adjoining Raigad district before executing the murder, police officials said on Tuesday citing their investigation.
According to the Mumbai police, the accused worked as a waiter at a restaurant, and a briefing regarding the case will take place later at the DCP zone IX office at 9 am.
Enforcement Directorate officials said on Friday they are probing a 'complex network' of agents and facilitators in India, Canada and the US who help Indians illegally enter the US via 'bogus' admissions in Canadian colleges.
Evidence has been collected from Khan's home and the building with the help of forensic teams and the dog squad and searches were conducted at many places in Mumbai to track down the attacker, he said.
The Mumbai police probing the Baba Siddique murder case have found that the five newly-arrested accused had demanded Rs 50 lakh for the killing, but backed out later due to disagreement over payment and also considering the Nationalist Congress Party leader's clout, officials said.
The conspiracy to kill Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was hatched in Pune and shooters were provided with a photo and a flex banner for the target identification, police said on Monday.
According to a police official, they have come across a viral post on social media in the name of an alleged member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claiming responsibility for Baba Siddique's murder.
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