Crime
Kids’ kidnap-murder case: Bombay HC commutes death verdict for 2 to life
Bombay High Court.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday commuted the death sentences on two prime accused – both step-sisters – to life term till death in jail, in the sensational case of the kidnapping of 13 minor children and murdering at least 5 of them, that rocked the state in the early 1990s.
The accused, Seema Mohan Gavit, 39, and Renuka Kiran Shinde, 45, were arrested by Maharashtra Police in 1996 and have so far spent around 25 years under the shadow of the hangman’s noose, at the Yerawada Central Jail, Pune.
Another prime accused and their mother, Anjana, who was also arrested and charged in the case, passed away in 1998 during the pendency of the trial.
A division bench of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Sarang Kotwal commuted the death penalty, rapping the delays by the government authorities in taking a decision on the mercy pleas of the two.
In 2001, the half-sisters were convicted and awarded the death penalty by the Kolhapur Sessions Court for the stunning kidnappings of 13 children and killing 5 of them brutally.
The death sentence was confirmed by the Bombay High Court in 2004 and then the Supreme Court in 2006.
The sisters had earlier filed mercy pleas before the Governor in 2008 that were declined in August 2013, and later to the President, which was rejected in July 2014, even as people from the USA Japan, Canada, and India appealed to the President for commuting the death verdict, saying that execution of women is extremely rare.
After the rejection of their appeals from both the Governor and the President, they moved the Bombay High Court.
The matter was taken up urgently on August 19, 2014, as the two sisters awaited the gallows that day.
The Public Prosecutor issued telephonic instructions to the YCJ Jail Superintendent Yogesh Desai to stop the hangings till their pleas were heard and the matter came up on the board the following day.
The petitioners contended that the government machinery did not adhere to the rules that required utmost expediency and resorted to a “most casual approach” resulting in a delay of nearly 8 years, which the division bench upheld.
The sisters contended, through their lawyer Aniket Vagal, that the delay was attributable to the executive including the Governor and the Maharashtra Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the President, which was denied by the Centre’s lawyer Sandesh Patil.
The judges noted that from the date of the sisters submitting their mercy plea on September 1, 2006 till it was finally disposed of on July 30, 2014, it took 7 years, 10 months and 15 days.
Justice Jamdar and Justice Kotwal also observed how the chronology showed that there was “nothing but the movement of files, delay, and casual approach demonstrated at each stage” and the state government moved “as if it was a routine file, perhaps even slower than that”, at each stage “officers exhibited utter casualness”.
The court also frowned at how, in the period between 2006-2014, modern electronic communication facilities, email, courier, transportation were easily available to all government officers, and termed as “abhorrent” the movement of files/papers in such a crucial matter within the state or the city after gaps of 15 days, month, six months or up to one year.
It also commented on how the matter was circulated before the court only by the petitioner-sisters in 2021 and not by the government since 2016, and the manner in which the two convicts were kept isolated in the ‘Death Convict Yard’ which has an ominous connotation, and was described as “brooding horror of hanging, daunting the prisoner in the condemned cell” by the late Justice Krishna Iyer.
However, the evidence on record shows the kids were brutally murdered, showing the “depravity” of the two convict-sisters which was “heinous and beyond words to condemn”, the bench said, ordering “life imprisonment is till the life of the convict” unless the competent authority decides otherwise, though the (convicts) were beyond reform for society.
The court also cancelled the unexecuted death warrants against the two sisters and disposed of the petition.
Crime
Palghar Crime: Pelhar Police Seize Banned Gutkha Worth ₹6.39 Lakh, Shopkeeper Arrested In Nalasopara

Palghar, Maharashtra, Dec 27: In a significant crackdown on the sale of banned tobacco products, the Pelhar Police arrested a shopkeeper for illegally stocking and selling gutkha, seizing contraband worth ₹6.39 lakh.
According to police, the action was carried out on December 25, 2025, during a routine patrol by Assistant Police Inspector Ramesh Waghchaure along with his team.
Acting on specific and reliable information, the police raided Sana General Stores located at Khan Chowk, Nalasopara Station Road, Nalasopara East, Vasai.
During the raid, the shop owner was found in possession of Maharashtra government-banned tobacco products (gutkha), allegedly kept for sale. The accused has been identified as Javed Ahmed Zaheer Ahmed Ansari (38), a resident of Nalasopara East.
Upon searching the shop premises, police recovered banned gutkha products valued at ₹6,39,493. Following the seizure, Pelhar Police registered a case against the accused, invoking Section 123 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with relevant provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Sections 26(2)(i), 26(3), and 26(4)).
Further investigation in the case is being carried out by Waghchaure. Police officials stated that such drives against banned substances will continue to protect public health and ensure strict enforcement of the law.
Crime
Mother strangles 6-year-old to death in Navi Mumbai for not speaking Marathi

Navi Mumbai, Dec 27: In a shocking and disturbing incident from Navi Mumbai, a woman allegedly murdered her six-year-old daughter because the child could not speak Marathi, sending shockwaves across the city.
The police have arrested the mother in connection with the case after attempts were made to pass off the child’s death as a heart attack.
The incident came to light after the police grew suspicious of the circumstances surrounding the child’s death and ordered a post-mortem examination, which revealed that the girl had died due to asphyxiation.
Following intensive questioning, the truth behind the incident was uncovered.
The heart-wrenching crime was reported from the Kalamboli suburb of Navi Mumbai. In Gurusankalp Housing Society in Sector-1, Kalamboli, the 30-year-old woman allegedly strangled her own six-year-old daughter to death.
The Kalamboli police have arrested the woman and initiated further investigation into the matter.
According to information provided by the police, the family consisted of an IT engineer husband and his wife, who holds a B.Sc. degree. The couple got married in 2017 and welcomed their daughter in 2019.
However, from a very young age, the child reportedly had difficulty speaking and mostly communicated in Hindi instead of Marathi.
This reportedly became a recurring source of anger for the mother. During the investigation, it emerged that she often expressed resentment about the child’s speech, repeatedly telling her husband, “I don’t want such a child; she doesn’t speak properly.”
The husband, police said, had tried to reason with her on several occasions.
On the night of December 23, the woman allegedly decided to kill the child. Coincidentally, the grandmother had visited the house that day, but could not meet the girl.
Later, when the husband returned home and found the child unresponsive, the family rushed her to the hospital.
At the hospital, an initial claim was made that the child had suffered a heart attack. However, Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Kote of Kalamboli Police Station found the circumstances surrounding the death suspicious and ordered a post-mortem examination.
The preliminary medical report indicated obstruction of the airway, pointing towards asphyxiation.
Following this revelation, the police subjected the parents to sustained questioning. After nearly six hours of interrogation, the mother allegedly confessed to strangling her daughter.
She has since been arrested in connection with the crime.
It has also come to light during the investigation that the woman was undergoing treatment with a psychiatrist.
The police are continuing their probe to ascertain all aspects related to the case and the mental condition of the accused.
Crime
मुंबई के पायधोनी में करोड़ों रुपये के ड्रग्स के साथ 9 आरोपी गिरफ्तार, इनमें 3 महिला तस्कर भी शामिल

मुंबई : ड्रग्स के खिलाफ एक बड़े ऑपरेशन में, पायधोनी पुलिस ने 1 करोड़ रुपये से ज़्यादा की हेरोइन ज़ब्त करने और दो पुरुष और दो महिला ड्रग पेडलर को गिरफ्तार करने का दावा किया है। जानकारी के मुताबिक, 16 दिसंबर को दोपहर 2:30 बजे पायधोनी पुलिस स्टेशन की सीमा में पी.डी.मेलो रोड पर एक सर्च के दौरान, 37 साल के राम नटवर ठक्कर और 27 साल के वसीम सैयद के पास से 326 ग्राम से ज़्यादा हेरोइन बरामद की गई। आरोपियों को गिरफ्तार कर लिया गया और उन पर एनडीपीएस एक्ट के तहत मामला दर्ज किया गया। जांच के दौरान, आरोपियों ने बताया कि वे ड्रग्स कहां से लाए थे। उसके बाद, पुलिस ने 30 साल की रुबीना सैयद को गिरफ्तार किया। उसने बताया कि वह शबनम शेख के संपर्क में थी। उसे राजस्थान के अजमेर से गिरफ्तार किया गया। जब यह पता लगाने के लिए जांच की गई कि इन दोनों महिलाओं ने ड्रग्स कहां से हासिल किए थे, तो शबनम शेख को ड्रग्स बेचने वाले व्यक्ति, मुस्कान समीउल्लाह शेख 19 साल को मस्जिद बंदर इलाके से गिरफ्तार किया गया। पुलिस को जानकारी मिली थी कि अब्दुल कादिर शेख और मेहरबान अली मुस्कान को ड्रग्स सप्लाई करने आ रहे हैं, जिस पर पुलिस ने जाल बिछाकर अब्दुल कादिर को गिरफ्तार कर लिया। उसके पास से ड्रग्स भी बरामद हुए। जोगेश्वरी में उसके घर की तलाशी के दौरान नवजीत गुलाबी खान, शारिक सलमानी, समद गुलाबी के पास हेरोइन मिली। उनके पास से कुल 33 करोड़ से ज़्यादा कीमत के ड्रग्स ज़ब्त किए गए। इस ऑपरेशन में पुलिस ने तीन महिलाओं और 6 पुरुषों को गिरफ्तार किया और करोड़ों रुपये के ड्रग्स ज़ब्त किए। यह ऑपरेशन मुंबई पुलिस कमिश्नर देविन भारती के निर्देश पर डीसीपी विजय सागरे ने किया।
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