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34 people arrested over Bengal firecracker warehouse blast

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Thirty-four people have been arrested in connection with an explosion at an illegal firecracker warehouse in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district, claiming the lives of three people.

The arrested persons will be presented at a lower court in Kolkata on Monday.

Sunday night’s explosion at the Maheshtala warehouse came six days after a blast also at an illegal firecracker factory at Egra, East Midnapore district on May 16 killed 12 people.

The illegal warehouse at Maheshtala was at the ground floor of a private residence and was in operation for quite some time, locals have alleged.

They also claimed that despite being aware of the warehouse’s existence, the local administration had taken no action.

Meanwhile, a political slugfest has surfaced over the explosion, with the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari describing the current situation in West Bengal with that in Ukraine.

“Russia began their invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. I think if one calculates & compares the number of explosions that have taken place on Ukrainian soil until now, the number would be fewer than the explosions that took place in West Bengal during this timeframe,” Adhikari said in a tweet.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress’s Santanu Sen said that while the event of explosion was surely unfortunate, the attempts of opposition parties of doing politics over bodies was simply not acceptable.

Crime

One killed, several injured in clashes between two communities in Manipur

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One person was killed and several others injured in clashes between members of two communities in Manipur Thoubal district, prompting the authorities to impose prohibitory orders in two affected areas, police said on Monday.

A police official in Imphal said that the violence erupted at Khangabok village, under Thoubal police station and around 25 km south of the state capital Imphal, on Sunday night when a group of people allegedly pelted stones at a ground where a music concert was being held, police said.

The incident escalated into stone-pelting between members of the two communities in Khangabok and neighbouring Sangaiyumpham. A few houses and vehicles were also set on fire during the clashes.

Amid the violence, unidentified miscreants opened fire, hitting a person in the head. The injured man, identified as Laishram Rakesh, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Several other people sustained minor cut injuries after being hit by stones and were admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Additional state and central security forces were deployed in the affected villages to prevent further escalation.

The situation was under control on Monday morning, police said.

Following the violence, the Thoubal district magistrate issued prohibitory orders on Sunday night, directing residents of Khangabok and Sangaiyumpham not to leave their homes from 11 p.m.

The order, issued under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), cited the likelihood of a breach of peace, disturbance of public tranquillity and an imminent threat to human life and property due to the alleged unlawful activities of anti-social elements.

The order did not specify when the restrictions would be lifted.

Meanwhile, more than 25 houses were set ablaze in separate incidents in Manipur’s Kamjong district during the past 24 hours, with suspected militants targeting both Naga and Kuki inhabitant areas, forcing civilians to flee their homes and take shelter in forests and a nearby security camp.

Around 14 abandoned houses belonging to the Naga community were set on fire by unidentified miscreants at Pilong and Skipe villages along the India-Myanmar border on Sunday.

Additional security forces were deployed after these incidents, a police official said. The houses had been abandoned after earlier attacks on the Naga-inhabited villages.

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Crime

Pune: 70-year-old man duped of Rs 4.81 lakh in pension card fraud

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A 70-year-old man was cheated of Rs 4.81 lakh by cyber fraudsters on the pretext of pension card registration in the Baner area in Pune, Maharashtra.

The victim, Dilip Eknath Waikar, a resident of Pashan, received a WhatsApp message regarding pension card registration between September 8 and 9. He was asked to open the message and enter his bank account details. Subsequently, he discovered that Rs 4.81 lakh had been fraudulently withdrawn from his account.

Following the incident, a case was registered at Baner police station under Sections 318(4) and 318(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act. The identity of the accused remains unknown, and no arrests have been made so far.

In a similar incident reported in September, a 72-year-old retired bank employee was cheated of Rs 5 lakh after clicking on a Facebook advertisement offering a pension card. The victim, a resident of Makarba, approached the Sarkhej police after noticing an unauthorised transaction in his bank account.

According to his complaint, the retired banker came across an advertisement on Facebook on September 6 offering a pension card purportedly issued by a bank. Believing the advertisement to be genuine, he applied for the card through the link provided.

The following day, he received a call from an unknown mobile number. The caller allegedly informed him that his pension card had been approved and asked him to provide his name, address and other personal details to complete the registration process.

The victim told police that he shared the requested information, including his bank account details, with the caller.

He subsequently received an email alert regarding an online transaction worth Rs 5 lakh from his account. Realising that he had not authorised the transaction, he suspected fraud and immediately contacted the cybercrime helpline at 1930.

Upon checking his bank account, he discovered that the money had been transferred online to an account maintained with Punjab National Bank.

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Crime

Tiger Shroff attack: CM Fadnavis vows action, says Mumbai Police will dismantle gangs operating from abroad

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday issued a stern warning to criminal syndicates following the shocking attack on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff. Dismissing the perpetrators as cowards hiding behind remote communication networks, the Chief Minister asserted that the Mumbai Police will completely dismantle the international tentacles of these criminal gangs.

Emphasising the professional calibre of the city’s law enforcement, CM Fadnavis stated that no one will be permitted to openly challenge the Mumbai Police or threaten public safety. Labelling the culprits as cowardly proxies who operate from hidden locations, he declared that their plots will be thoroughly neutralised.

Acknowledging that the threats originate from outside Maharashtra and beyond national borders, CM Fadnavis confirmed that the state machinery is actively coordinating with central intelligence agencies to root out the entire network.

“The police will find the accused, and their masterminds have also been found. Therefore, I can say with certainty that such incidents will not be tolerated. The Mumbai Police will definitely track down the accused. No one can openly challenge the police,” said CM Fadnavis.

“These are cowardly people. They hide somewhere and boast from there. They don’t have the courage. These are kind of hired people, and those who operate based on them,” CM Fadnavis said.

“The challenge the police definitely face in this is that they do not operate from Maharashtra; they operate from outside the country. By contacting the Central government agencies, the Mumbai Police will annihilate these gangs operating from outside Maharashtra and the country,” he added.

He noted that the police have already mapped crucial trails and identified key operatives linked to the assault.

CM Fadnavis said that public safety — for both celebrities and ordinary citizens — remains its paramount priority. With multiple specialised police teams deployed to probe the shooting, he added that the government has made it clear that local conspirators and international masterminds alike will face the full might of the law.

Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated that the attack on actor Tiger Shroff was extremely unfortunate, and he fortunately survived it. He mentioned that following the attack, Shroff’s entire family is currently in a state of terror and anxiety, prompting him to personally visit them to check on his health.

The Deputy CM noted that despite having no disputes or quarrels with anyone, such a life-threatening attack on a young actor has left the Shroff family, especially his mother, Ayesha Shroff, under severe mental stress.

Following the incident, Mumbai Police have taken serious cognisance of the matter, with the Police Commissioner forming a special team to track down the culprits.

Deputy CM Shinde, who visited the Tiger Shroff at his residence and inquired about his health, stated that these criminals will be apprehended immediately and strict action will be taken against them. Additionally, he mentioned that instructions have been given to the Mumbai Police Commissioner to review the security of all artists and actors in the film industry.

Addressing recent incidents of celebrities being threatened by the Bishnoi gang or other gangs, Shinde asserted, “The terror of any gang or attempts to threaten celebrities in Mumbai or Maharashtra will not be tolerated. Anyone attempting to do so will be given a fitting reply by the police,” he said.

Recalling how the police completely crushed Mumbai’s gang wars through strict action in the 1990s, Dy CM Shinde warned that anyone attempting to create terror through similar bullying today will not be spared. “The security of ordinary citizens and celebrities is the top priority of the government. Artists in the film industry have no reason to panic following such incidents,” said Dy CM Shinde.

He appealed to people that anyone receiving threat calls or messages from such gangs should immediately contact the Mumbai Police, assuring that the government stands firmly behind the artists.

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