Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad is considering pressing charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against all the nine accused in the Malegaon blast case, including Lieutenant Colonel Shrikant Prasad Purohit and Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.The ATS is investigating transfer of funds from the bank account of Lt. Col. Purohit, the first serving army officer to be arrested in the case, to Rahirkar and others for execution of the alleged conspiracy.
"You will create history by doing this job and your name will be there in all newspapers and other media," it said, citing their conversation.
The film financier is charged under MCOCA and accused of colluding with the underworld.
In a major setback to the Mumbai police, a court here today dropped the charges under stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against the 23 persons arrested for having links with terrorist group Indian Mujahideen.
Faisal Sheikh, Tanvir Ahmed, Kamal Ansari and Ehtesham Siddiqui were booked under MCOCA
The former Mumbai police commissioner argued he has been wrongly booked under the stringent law.
The CBI lodged the case after a two-year preliminary enquiry, which originated from a pen drive handed over to the then Maharashtra Assembly speaker by Devendra Fadnavis, who was in the opposition in 2020, they said.
Pujari is allegedly involved in eight serious cases in Mumbai, including firing, extortion and murder. A resident of Tagore Nagar in Vikhroli, he had fled from the country years ago. He had allegedly targeted builders and businessmen in eastern Mumbai, the crime branch official said.
The court ruling came following a state government appeal against the sessions court decision to set aside MCOCA against the Sadhvi and others.
Designated Judge Y B Shinde, presiding over the special court, said none of the accused had more than one chargesheet filed against him or her for invoking provisions of MCOCA.
On September 29, 2008, a bomb explosion at 9:35pm opposite Shakil Goods Transport Company situated between Anjuman Chowk and Bhiku Chowk in Malegaon killed six persons and injured 101.
Quoting a dialogue on the villain Gabbar Singh from the Hindi blockbuster Sholay, the Supreme Court on Wednesday "confirmed" its earlier order staying the premature release of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli who is serving life imprisonment in a murder case.
Two more suspects in the July 11 serial train blasts in Mumbai were on Thursday booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.
The Delhi high court on Monday granted bail to four convicts serving life imprisonment in the murder case of TV journalist Soumya Vishwanathan.
The trial in the 2006 serial blasts in Mumbai trains, in which 187 people were killed and over 800 injured, resumed in Mumbai on Monday before a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act court, two years after it was stayed by the Supreme Court court.
In a new twist to veteran crime reporter J Dey murder case, police on Friday arrested Jigna Vora, a senior woman journalist under the stringent Maharashtra control of Organised Crime Act for allegedly abetting the crime.
The special MCOCA court on Tuesday directed the state to file its reply to the allegations of physical torture levelled by sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Lt Col Purohit and others accused in the Malegaon blast case
The invoking of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act in the spot-fixing case has taken it a step closer to terrorism, reports Vicky Nanjappa
A Delhi court on Wednesday convicted four people for the murder of television journalist Soumya Vishwanathan, who was shot dead 15 years ago while she was returning home from work.
The major legal hurdle for the Mumbai police to charge Kasab under MCOCA is that he must be found to be involved in a crime at least twice in the past ten years. The provisions for MCOCA clearly state that a person can only be booked under MCOCA if they have been involved in a crime twice over the past ten years.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it would like to examine the plea of the Maharashtra government, challenging the remission granted to gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli who is serving a life sentence in a murder case.
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed till further orders the premature release of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, who is serving life imprisonment in a murder case.
The Bombay high court ticked off a special MCOCA court conducting trial in the 2006 serial train bomb blasts and the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad for refusing to provide documents relating to the Call Data Records to some of the accused in the case.
The high court said the investigation has shown the crime proceeds were used for air travel and purchase of high-end branded gifts for Bollywood celebrities.
A scheduled wedding, taking place between two alleged gangsters -- Anuradha Choudhary alias 'Madam Minz' from Rajasthan and Sandeep alias Kala Jathedi from Haryana -- is being discussed in police circles.
The police have arrested Siddhesh Hiraman Kamble, alias Mahakal, in connection with the killing of popular singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab last month, an official said on Wednesday.
The court also ordered that of the total fine amount imposed on the convicts, Rs 12 lakh will be paid to the victim's family.
'Obviously, this has been done to give an exit route to some accused.'
It discharged three accused -- Shyam Sahu, Shivnarayan Kalsangra and Praveen Takalki -- from the case.
Actor Jacqueline Fernandez on Monday arrived at the Patiala House court in the national capital in connection with the Rs 200 crores money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar.
Gangster Sachin Bishnoi, who was allegedly involved in the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, was extradited from Azerbaijan and brought back to India on Tuesday, officials of the Delhi police said.
Gangster Ejaz Lakdawala on Thursday brought the bottle and sought a mosquito net, but his plea was rejected by the sessions court.
Jadhav, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, has been detained in a 2021 murder case registered at Manchar police station in Pune district.
The top court said where a person commits no unlawful activity after the invocation of the Act, in such circumstances, he cannot be arrested under it for offences committed before the law came into force, even if found guilty of the same.
Gangster and Mumbai serial blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim's brother Iqbal Kaskar has been taken into custody by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in a drugs case, the agency said on Wednesday.
R C Agarwal was arrested on a complaint made by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar, who alleged that the builder and a few others had links with Pakistan-based gangster Chhota Shakeel.
The police will also ask Kamble about who kept the threatening letter at a bench in Bandra area of Mumbai on Sunday, he said.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made a rare appearance at a Bharatiya Janata Party press conference in New Delhi on Wednesday, along with the party's prime ministerial candidate L K Advani.He lamented that the Centre was sitting over his proposal to enact a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act-type law in Gujarat. Such a law gives the state government a wide range of powers to deal with terrorist activities, he said.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad probing the 13/7 Mumbai triple blasts case has invoked the stringent provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against the four arrested accused.
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