Mumbai: Mayor Ritu Tawade, along with BJP leader Kirit Somaiya, staged a protest at Ghatkopar police station over an alleged sexual assault case involving two minor girls and the subsequent action taken by police on the victims’ families.

The case pertains to a violent confrontation that broke out in the Nityanand Nagar area of Ghatkopar West after an enraged mob attempted to lynch a 38-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls. The incident escalated into an assault on law enforcement, resulting in serious injuries to a police constable and a Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) personnel.

Coming back to the protest held by the BJP leader, he told news agency media, “Firoz Iqbal attempted to molest four girls, two of whom were aged five and six years old.” The BJP leader alleged that despite a complaint filed by the victims’ families, the police ‘did not want to arrest Iqbal’, adding that the authorities only took action after the families insisted, but in a shocking turn of events, the police also arrested the families of the victims.

Somaiya further stated that “we will sit here until these families get justice and the police who helped Firoz should be suspended.”

Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawade also backed the protest and challenged the police narrative that the families had attacked officers during the initial arrest of the suspect. Tawade claimed to have seen video evidence that contradicts the police’s version of events and said, “Whereas I had seen the video, no attack took place”.

She added that the police are saying that they were attacked, but when I saw the video, there was no attack on the police, the families were attacking the accused, claiming that “it’s natural that the family’s blood would boil over the heinous act he committed, so there will be a reaction to the action.”

Expressing shock, Tawde further added, “At a time when the family is going through this, instead of consoling them, the police are putting the family in jail… The family is still inside.”

According to the statement by the police, when a team from Ghatkopar police station went to arrest the accused, a crowd of around 40–50 people allegedly obstructed the officers and physically assaulted them in an attempt to reach Shaikh.

In the scuffle, a police constable was injured after being hit on the head, and another personnel suffered a fractured arm after being assaulted.

Following the incident, police registered two separate cases. The accused has been booked under the POCSO Act, while another case has been filed for the attack on the police. Five people have been arrested so far, and around 30–40 unidentified individuals are under investigation.

Mumbai: The Byculla police have registered a case of cheating against a Jalgaon-based trader, identified as Amol Bhaskar Mahajan, for allegedly defrauding a Mumbai import-export businessman of Rs1.30 crore under the pretext of supplying bananas for export to Iran.

According to the FIR, the complainant, Abbas Mohammad Ali Deghani, 38, runs an import-export business dealing in fruits with markets in Iran, Iraq, and Dubai. He exports commodities such as bananas and turmeric to Iran and, due to trade practices requiring barter transactions, imports dates, pistachios, apples, and kiwis in return.

The complaint states that Deghani came into contact with an Iran-based broker, Mojtaba Ashuri, who deals in banana trade. Ashuri allegedly introduced Deghani to Mahajan, claiming that he owned a company named Sanriya Agro Produce OPC Pvt. Ltd. and was a major banana trader based in Jalgaon. Ashuri also shared Mahajan’s bank account details at an Axis Bank branch in Jalgaon.

Between October 21, 2022, and January 21, 2023, Deghani transferred a total of Rs1.30 crore to the said account for the purchase of bananas. However, despite receiving the full payment, Mahajan neither supplied the consignment nor refunded the money.

When Deghani repeatedly attempted to contact Mahajan through calls and messages, he allegedly failed to respond. During this period, Mahajan is said to have sent four invoices via WhatsApp to Ashuri in the name of his company. These invoices bore a director’s stamp but lacked any signature, raising suspicion. Ashuri subsequently forwarded these invoices to Deghani.

The FIR further notes discrepancies in the invoices, including inconsistencies between amounts mentioned in US dollars and Indian rupees, indicating that the documents were fabricated and had no legal validity.

Upon realizing that he had been cheated, Deghani approached the Byculla police station and filed a complaint. Based on his statement, the police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and have initiated further investigation into the matter.

Taking advantage of panic over LPG chaos amid the West Asia crisis, in just a month, cyber fraudsters duped over 100 Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) piped gas consumers and applicants of Rs 2.7 crore by deceiving them into installing malicious APK files.

the victims include people aged between 26 and 83, including domestic help, teachers, lawyers, drivers, businessmen, senior citizens and even government employees.

According to the report, victims received messages warning that their gas connection would be ‘stopped tonight’ due to non-payment or failure to update their previous month’s bill. They were then asked to download an app via a link, which enabled remote access to their phones, allowing scammers to steal the crucial bank details. Not just this, in some cases, individuals who had applied for new gas connections also received fake calls followed by malicious app links.

Meanwhile, in April, a man posing as an MGL employee was caught by residents in Mumbai’s Bhandup while allegedly trying to scam a household. The accused, who failed to produce a valid ID, was handed over to the police.

In another case, a 64-year-old Kurla resident was targeted when fraudsters sent him a fake APK file after warning that his gas connection would be blocked. After he downloaded the file, Rs 2.35 lakh was withdrawn from his bank account.

In March, cybercriminals targeted a 52-year-old housekeeping businessman from Ghatkopar West. The fraudsters sent him a WhatsApp notice claiming his gas bill was not updated and warned that his gas connection would be disconnected. After he clicked on a link shared by them, the accused siphoned off Rs 4.84 lakh from his bank account.

Similarly, an assistant manager from Kurla was looted of Rs 2.75 lakh while another resident from Ghatkopar was cheated of Rs 3.6 lakh after a caller identifying himself as Divesh Sharma from MGL sent an APK file for bill updation.

While a 70-year-old Kalachowki resident received a WhatsApp message claiming that his gas bill was pending, along with an APK file named “MGL-Gas-Bill-Update.” After installing the file, his phone was hacked, and Rs 6.90 lakh was stolen from his account.

MGL urged residents to stay alert, warning that scammers often pose as trusted service providers through fake links, APK downloads, and WhatsApp or SMS messages.

The company advised people to protect themselves by staying informed and verifying details before taking any action. It also clarified that MGL will never ask for OTPs, bank details, or passwords through messages or calls.