Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, April 10: A 26-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her husband at a petrol pump in the Karmad area of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Thursday afternoon, police said. The incident unfolded in front of staff members and several customers, leaving those present in shock.

In a fit of rage, the husband allegedly took out a knife and slit the victim’s throat. The accused, identified as Satyam Gavande, was arrested shortly after the crime.

The deceased, Pooja Gavande, worked at a fuel station near the Ganapati temple in Karmad. According to police, Satyam arrived at the petrol pump on a two wheeler and confronted her while she was attending to her duties.

What began as an argument quickly escalated into violence.

Police officials said the couple had been facing ongoing marital discord and were living separately. Pooja had married Satyam around six months ago after the death of her first husband.

Superintendent of Police Vinaykumar Rathod said the accused had been pressuring her for a divorce as he wanted to remarry. However, she had refused, reportedly keeping in mind the future of her two young children from her first marriage.

During the confrontation, the accused allegedly pulled out a knife, pushed Pooja to the ground and attacked her repeatedly before anyone could intervene. She died on the spot.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed at the petrol pump and is now a key part of the investigation.

Sources said the petrol pump owner attempted to stop the attack but was threatened with the weapon. The accused then tried to flee, causing panic among those present.

Police teams reached the spot soon after being alerted, sent the body for postmortem and registered a case of murder. The accused was traced to Kachner village and arrested within a short span.

Mumbai: The special POCSO court has refused to grant bail to a Ghatkopar resident, a 38-year-old cricket coach arrested on the complaint of his 13-year-old student for repeated penetrative sexual assault and harassment, observing that he may repeat the crime with other girls and may also abscond.

The case was lodged with Deonar police station, wherein a 13-year-old girl alleged that when she was attending cricket coaching, the accused was working as a cricket coach.

She claimed that the accused touched her inappropriately and repeatedly sexually assaulted her, because of which she often had severe stomach pain.

The coach, on the other hand, pleaded that he is innocent and has not committed any alleged crime. He claimed that the case filed against him is false. He stated that he had lodged a case against two persons and, as a counter to that, the present case was lodged.

The plea, however, was opposed by the prosecution, wherein it was pointed out that the coach was also booked in another case registered by a 16-year-old girl for molestation.

It was claimed that there was a CCTV camera at the spot, which was destroyed by the accused with the intention to tamper with the prosecution evidence.

The victim girl too had objected to the bail plea, claiming that she was doing the practice of cricket and also attending tuition; if the accused is released on bail, again there are chances of repetition of crime.

The court, after hearing arguments, noted that, “age of the victim girl is only 13 years. There is an allegation of penetrative assault. Medical evidence is also on record. Nature of the offence is serious, further it is also alleged that there was a CCTV camera at the incident spot, which was destroyed by the accused to disappear the prosecution evidence.”

“If, in this situation, the accused is released on bail, there are chances of repetition of crime with minor girls and also there are chances of absconding of accused,” the court said, rejecting the bail plea.

Mumbai: The Anti-Terrorism Branch (ATB) of the Special Branch busted a hawala racket after coordinated raids at three locations in Kurar, Malad East, on Wednesday. One accused, Mohammed Islam Ismail Khan alias Salim Rahmatullah Shaikh, 49, has been detained for questioning. An FIR has been registered at Kurar Police Station against accused Mohammed Islam Ismail Khan under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 337, 340(2), and 180 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 12(1)(b) of the Passports Act, 1967, and Sections 3 and 13 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.

The raids were conducted at Flat No 1302, Fatema Tower, Pathanwadi; Flat No 904, D-Wing, Sugra Park, RS Road; and a ground-floor office in Parekh Overseas building, all in Malad East.

During the operation, officials seized cash worth ₹12.5 lakh, foreign currency worth around ₹2 lakh in Kuwaiti dinars, multiple fake passports, nine mobile phones, a laptop, an iPad and larg number of documents, including bank wire transfer records.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had been residing in Kuwait for the past 22 years and frequently visited Mumbai for short durations of two to three months. He allegedly owns three laundry businesses in Kuwait and operates two offices in Mumbai.

Police sources said multiple passports were fraudulently obtained under different identities, two in the name of Mohammed Islam Ismail Khan and three in the name of Salim Rahmatullah Shaikh.

Authorities are probing a possible terror funding angle linked to the hawala operations. The detained accused is being questioned, and the process of registering a case at Kurar police station is underway. Senior Police Inspector Umesh Patil confirmed the development.