BJP rebel Gokul Gite secured a surprising victory in Maharashtra legislative council's Nashik district local governing body constituency, defeating the ruling Shiv Sena nominee Narendra Darade by 109 votes, despite senior Mahayuti leaders' attempts to resolve his independent candidature.
Walmik Karad, the main accused in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case, was hospitalised after complaining of abdominal pain and fever while in jail.
Four persons were booked in Maharashtra's Beed district for collecting more than Rs 4 crore fraudulently claiming it was to support Palestine amid the war with Israel, a police official said on Thursday.
A tehsildar from Kaij in Maharashtra's Beed district died in a car accident near Latur. The vehicle overturned on the Latur-Ambajogai highway, resulting in the official's immediate death.
A 13-year-old rape survivor in Palghar district was visited by an official, sparking outrage and calls for stricter laws and swift justice in the case.
'A 14-year-old boy kept a status message in praise of Aurangzeb on a social media platform on Thursday. A complaint was received in this connection, based on which an offence was registered at Ashti police station'
'Life in India is better only for those who have reservations.'
Police have arrested sub-inspector Gopal Badane in connection with the alleged suicide of a woman government doctor in Maharashtra's Satara district, officials said.
A court in Beed district, Maharashtra, has granted temporary release to Jairam Chate, an accused in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case, to attend his brother's post-death rituals under police protection. The decision has sparked controversy and objections from the victim's family.
A village of about 400 persons in Maharashtra's Beed district was evacuated after cracks developed there, prompting a team from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to visit the location, an official said on Friday.
Police personnel in Maharashtra's Beed district will now put up their name plates without surnames, in an attempt to eliminate caste-based discrimination. This follows an earlier directive by the Superintendent of Police (SP) Navneet Kanwat in January to address each other by their first name, and not surname. The move comes in the wake of the murder of a village sarpanch, allegedly by members of a dominant community, which had a caste angle. The new policy is being implemented across police stations and offices in the district, with nearly 100 name plates distributed so far.
During the Gudhi Padwa festival, Hindus visit Hazrat Sayyad Badshah Dargah near the mosque, a villager said.
A senior Goods and Services Tax (GST) officer has been arrested in connection with the alleged suicide of a junior colleague, who was reportedly facing harassment and pressure to engage in unethical practices.
The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was threatened by some unidentified persons days before his murder following a quarrel at a windmill company, his wife claimed on Monday.
A Special Investigation Team of Maharashtra Police told a court at Beed on Wednesday that Santosh Deshmukh was killed because he was thought to be an obstacle in a plan to extort Rs 2 crore from an energy firm, and Walmik Karad was in contact with his killers when the crime was executed.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange has been booked by Beed police for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde over the murder of a sarpanch in the district. The FIR was registered based on a complaint by Tukaram Aghav, who alleged that Jarange's remarks were aimed at creating a divide in society. The activist had targeted Munde during a rally in Parbhani, stating that the Maratha community would not allow Munde to roam the streets if the sarpanch's family was harmed. Munde's supporters protested against Jarange, demanding action against him. The sarpanch, Santosh Deshmukh, was abducted, tortured, and murdered on December 9, allegedly for trying to prevent extortion from an energy firm. Seven individuals have been arrested in connection with the murder case, including Walmik Karad, an associate of Munde, who has been arrested in the extortion case. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) is probing the cases.
An undated audio clip, allegedly featuring Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, has surfaced online. In the audio, Karad is purportedly heard telling a man not to worry as "influential people" were sitting in Beed. Karad is an accused in an extortion case linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. This comes after a video clip of Karad, along with other accused, walking with a suspended police officer emerged on social media last week. The audio clip has sparked further controversy surrounding the case.
'I don't know if she is doing it willingly or not, but she is respecting the sentiments of the party.'
Police are examining the past records of the arrested men in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and a related case of extortion to decide if the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) should be invoked, sources said on Thursday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special prosecutor in the murder case. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has sought old case papers and chargesheets against the arrested men. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company. Beed Police has put up posters seeking information about whereabouts of three wanted accused in the murder case. CM Fadnavis said he spoke to BJP MLA from Beed, Suresh Dhas who demanded that Nikam be appointed as special public prosecutor in the case. Nikam was a special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 terror attacks and 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that "smaller fish" could be killed in fake encounters to save the "big fish" involved in the Deshmukh murder and extortion cases. Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council Ambadas Danve said the trial in the case should be conducted outside Beed district. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who has come under fire after the alleged involvement of his aide Karad in the extortion matter came to light, said those who murdered Santosh Deshmukh should be tried in a fast-track court and "hanged till death." The government on Wednesday set up a 10-member SIT to probe the case, headed by Deputy Inspector General -CID Basavraj Teli.
Pankaja Munde of the BJP -- Dhananjay Munde's cousin -- has been made the guardian minister of Jalna district.
Before going to the police, Karad posted a video on social media, announcing that he would surrender and claimed he was being linked to the murder case due to political vendetta.
The accused, Sudarshan Chandrabhan Ghule (26) and Sudhir Sangle (23), were handed over to the special investigation team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the case, the official said.
The family of a doctor who allegedly committed suicide in Maharashtra claims her phone was unlocked and data erased after her death, raising suspicions of foul play.
Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from ruling parties demanded the sacking of Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde.
The opposition Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) conceded defeat in the elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats, accusing the election commission of 'facilitating' the victory of the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
Amid opposition call for his resignation over the Beed sarpanch murder case, Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde on Wednesday said he is ready to quit if asked by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis or deputy CM Ajit Pawar.
Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Suraj Chavan on Sunday took objection to Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Dhas targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the probe into the murder of a sarpanch in Beed district.
Nationalist Congress Party minister Manikrao Kokate has resigned from the Maharashtra Cabinet after a court upheld his conviction and two-year jail term in a 1995 cheating and forgery case. This marks the second NCP minister to resign this year.
Police in Maharashtra's Beed district have registered a case against five persons after a purported video showing them attacking a man with a cricket bat surfaced on social media. The video, which appears to be from Bawi village, shows one Sachin Bhosale and four unidentified individuals beating a man with a cricket bat. Authorities are investigating the incident to identify the victim and ascertain the cause of the attack. The five individuals have been charged with causing hurt and using dangerous weapons.
The doctor, hailing from Beed district and posted at a government hospital, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan of Satara district on Thursday night.
'A poor candidate was given a chance so that the concerns of ordinary, needy citizens could be represented.'
More than 750 houses and crops on over 33,000 hectares were damaged in Dharashiv district, where helicopters and boats had to be deployed to rescue stranded people, they said.
The SIT will be headed by Crime Investigation Department's (CID) Deputy Inspector General Basavraj Teli, said an order issued by the state Home department.
The Army unit deployed in Ashti successfully evacuated 40 people with the help of an NDRF team and other agencies.
The first phase of polling for municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra was disrupted by violence and allegations of bogus voting. Clashes occurred between supporters of ruling allies BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena. The Bombay High Court directed the SEC to postpone the counting of votes.
'What attitude has spawned such gruesomeness in the state of Saint Tukaram, Saint Dnyaneshwar, and great leaders like Chhatrapati Shivaji, Chhatrapati Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar?'
A woman doctor of a government hospital allegedly died by suicide in Maharashtra's Satara district, leaving behind a note accusing two police personnel of rape and mental harassment, police said on Friday.
The trial of Abu Jundal, accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is set to resume after the Bombay High Court overturned a lower court order requiring authorities to hand over confidential documents to the accused.
Suspected Indian link to the 26/11 Mumbai carnage Syed Zabiuddin's family in Beed, Maharashtra, ostracised by its own people, is trying to come to terms with their son being labeled as a terror mastermind. In the second part of the terror trail, rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore travels to Beed, as he attempts to communicate with Zabiuddin's family.
