Walmik Karad, an aide to Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde, was on Tuesday charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody in an extortion case allegedly linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.
Sunil Patil, whom former Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party youth wing chief Mohit Bharatiya has accused of being the mastermind of the cruise drugs episode, appeared before the Mumbai Police's Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Sunday evening to record his statement, an official said.
Two people have been detained and are being questioned by Meerut police in connection with the alleged kidnapping and extortion of comedian Sunil Pal. Pal's wife visited the Lal Kurti police station in Meerut with three lawyers to inquire about the matter. Last week, Pal claimed that he was abducted while on his way to Uttarakhand for a show. He claimed the kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 20 lakh, but he managed to secure his release after paying Rs 8 lakh, which he collected from some friends. The comedian said he was dropped by the side of a road in Meerut, from where he made his way to the Delhi airport and flew to Mumbai. The kidnapping case of comedian Sunil Pal has been transferred from Mumbai to Meerut. The police are also looking into an audio clip that has surfaced online, in which Pal allegedly discusses the kidnapping plan with an unidentified person, mentioning his wife's awareness of the situation and media discussions about the episode. Pal's wife, Sarita, claimed the viral audio clip had been edited. She said Pal is currently at home but is unwell, which is why she came to Meerut to meet police officials. When asked about any connection to the recent kidnapping case of Bollywood actor Mushtaq Khan, Sarita said she had no knowledge of it.
A suspended police sub-inspector from Beed, Maharashtra, India, has alleged that he was offered money to carry out an "encounter" of Walmik Karad, an accused in the murder case of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh. The suspended cop, Ranjeet Kasle, claims he mentioned the names of the individuals who made the offer in a local police station diary. However, a senior police official from Beed has dismissed Kasle's claims as baseless and demanded proof. Kasle was suspended earlier while serving as a sub-inspector in the local cyber crime department. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village, was abducted and killed last December allegedly for attempting to stop extortion targeting an energy company. Karad is among eight individuals arrested in connection with the murder and charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The state Crime Investigation Department (CID) filed a chargesheet in the case last month. Kasle's claims come amidst ongoing investigations into the custodial death of Badlapur sexual assault case accused Akshay Shinde. Kasle has demanded a central government SIT to investigate Shinde's death, believing it will reveal the truth.
The chargesheet in the murder case of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, reveals horrific details of the torture he endured at the hands of his abductors. The accused recorded 15 videos, clicked eight photos, and even made two video calls, documenting the brutality. Deshmukh was abducted and killed in December for attempting to foil an extortion bid on an energy company. Seven men, including a close aide of state minister Dhananjay Munde, have been arrested so far.
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.
Meghna Alam's arrest came soon after she claimed that she had an affair with a married Saudi diplomat posted to Bangladesh, who she blamed for 'trying to silence her with the help of law enforcement agencies'.
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Monday claimed Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde met him before the state polls last year along with his associate Walmik Karad, arrested later in an extortion case linked to the murder of a sarpanch.
Authorities in Ahmedabad demolished the houses of six out of 14 accused arrested for attacking commuters and rioting in the city. The demolition followed a mob attack on Thursday night in which three people were injured and several vehicles were damaged. The police are taking action against "anti-social elements" in the city, including preparing a list of repeat offenders and taking action against illegal constructions and encroachments.
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.
Bisht used the fake profiles to connect with women aged between 18 and 30 years on various onlione dating platforms.
A petition filed by murdered sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's brother in the Bombay high court, seeking a direction to the Maharashtra government to remove Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde from the cabinet, has been withdrawn.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will ask NCP minister Dhananjay Munde to step down if any evidence is found linking him to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil has said. A comprehensive probe is being conducted into the murder of Deshmukh, BJP leader Patil told reporters in Sangli on Sunday. Walmik Karad, an associate of minister Munde, has been arrested in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's killing. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and killed on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion attempt against an energy firm operating a windmill project there. Munde, the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district, is under attack from some of the ruling alliance colleagues and the opposition over his links with Karad. The Maharashtra government has already seized properties of the accused in sarpanch Deshmukh murder case. Stringent charges have been invoked and the probe is going on, the BJP leader said. The police machinery is actively investigating the case, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed for a probe into it, Patil said. Additionally, a committee headed by a retired judge has been constituted to oversee the inquiry, the minister said. Steps are being taken, including invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Walmik Karad and other accused, Patil pointed out. The process of seizing Karad's assets is also underway, he added.
Targets should avoid panicking and hang up. 'Disconnecting stops the scammers from building psychological pressure.'
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 crime branch of Mumbai Police, which is probing the case, had sought the proclamation, saying that the Indian Police Service officer could not be traced even after the issuance of a non-bailable warrant against him.
Singh is being probed in an alleged extortion case and three men, allegedly his aides, have been already arrested for extortion.
The students alleged that they were forced to stand naked and were subjected to brutal acts using dumbbells meant for weightlifting.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has received a death threat and a demand for Rs 50 lakh, Mumbai police said on Thursday, adding an extortion case has been filed in this connection.
The IPS officer who is facing several extortion cases in Maharashtra had told news channels on Wednesday that he was in Chandigarh.
The lawyer told the police that he lost his phone a week before and had filed a police complaint, the official said.
The Maharashtra State Commission for Women has directed Mumbai Police to take immediate action on a complaint filed by actor Prajakta Mali against MLA Suresh Dhas for making inappropriate remarks about her. Mali alleged that Dhas' comments impacted her personal and social life and led to defamatory content being circulated online. The commission has instructed the Mumbai Police Commissioner to submit a factual report on the matter. Dhas has stated that he is ready to face any consequences regarding the issue and has emphasized the need to focus on the Santosh Deshmukh murder case and crime in Beed district.
The Karnataka high court on Monday stayed investigation against Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others over alleged irregularities concerning the now scrapped electoral bond scheme.
Maharashtra Minister Dhananjay Munde has denied any involvement in the murder of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, saying he is being targeted by the opposition and some leaders within the ruling alliance. He compared himself to Arjun from the Mahabharata, claiming he cannot be cornered like Abhimanyu. Munde also criticized the media trial and social media trolling he has faced since the murder.
The Mumbai police registered a case against the woman on Deshmukh's complaint of "extortion", an official said on Tuesday night.
Zee Group Chairman Subhash Chandra on Saturday appeared before the police for questioning in connection with the alleged Rs 100 crore extortion bid by two Zee editors from Congress MP Naveen Jindal's company for not airing news damaging to it.
The Supreme Court has quashed a chargesheet against a retired Army officer in an alleged rape case, calling it an "abuse of process of law". The court found that the complainant's testimony showed no offense and the FIR deserved to be quashed. The court also noted that the Delhi High Court erred in its decision of not quashing the chargesheet. The complainant, a woman, had filed multiple FIRs against different persons, allegedly blackmailing them for money. The court concluded that the former Army officer was a "victim of an unscrupulous abuser" of law whose modus operandi was to extort money by misusing the rape and molestation laws.
One more case has been registered against former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh for allegedly extorting money from the relative of a builder and kidnapping him for ransom, the police said on Friday.
Salem, who was an accused in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case, was brought to the capital last week in pursuance of the production warrant issued by the Delhi court against him on April 17.
A Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker was shot dead and two others, including a local committee president, were critically injured in a gun attack in Malda district, West Bengal, on Tuesday. The incident occurred in the Kaliaganj area when TMC workers were attending a program. Police suspect factionalism within the party could be behind the attack, while senior TMC leaders blame external forces. The killing comes less than a fortnight after the murder of another TMC councillor in the same district, adding to the tension in the area ahead of the upcoming panchayat elections.
The slain sarpanch's brother Dhananjay Deshmukh met Jarange in Beed on Thursday, a day after Karad was sent to the custody of a Special Investigation Team of the Maharashtra police.
Two women, including a 27-year-old Israeli tourist, were allegedly gang-raped while stargazing on the banks of Sanapur Lake near Hampi, police said on Saturday.
The city's traffic control room on Thursday received the Rs 5 crore threat message on its WhatsApp helpline, police earlier said.
Another threat has been issued to Bollywood actor Salman Khan, with the sender demanding Rs 5 crore on 'behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang', officials said on Friday.
The Mumbai police have arrested a 20-year-old man from Noida in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly issuing a death threat to Bollywood actor Salman Khan and Nationalist Congress Party leader Zeeshan Siddique, an official said on Tuesday.
Some ex-MLAs from Punjab, too, had received similar threats from these numbers. The callers spoke to them in Mumbai accent and in Punjabi, the IGP said.
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.
Some online fraudsters got their target and timing horribly wrong on Sunday after they attempted to 'digitally arrest' a senior police official with an automated call over 'credit card misuse' while he was addressing a press conference in Indore in Madhya Pradesh.
Director General (prisons) Sandeep Goel has been transferred from Tihar Jail in New Delhi, days after jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar alleged the extortion of Rs 10 crore for protection in prison.
