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Maharashtra

ED’s pre-dawn swoop on Maha Minister Nawab Malik, taken for grilling

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In a significant development, a team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) landed at the home of Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik around 6 a.m. and took him away for questioning here on Wednesday morning.

Since dawn, a team of ED sleuths is grilling Malik — who had made a series of exposes against the former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai head Sameer Wankhede — and also the ED in the recent past.

According to party officials, Malik is being interrogated for an alleged deal on a Kurla property, Goawala Compound, 17 years ago, said to be owned by a couple of close associates of absconder mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar.

The issue was first highlighted by Bharatiya Janata Party’s Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis in November 2021 but Malik had hit back terming it as ‘making a mountain out of a molehill’.

Soon after Malik was taken away by the agency sleuths, NCP President Sharad Pawar, state President and Minister Jayant Patil, MP Supriya Sule, spokesperson Vidya Chavan, MLA Rohit Pawar, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and farmer leader Kishore Tiwari and others slammed the ED for its ‘selective’ targeting of Sena-NCP leaders.

A National Spokesperson of the party, Malik is the second NCP minister to come under the ED scanner. Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, who went to the agency on November 1, 2021, was arrested early the next morning, and remains in custody till now.

Last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had raided certain properties linked with the absconder mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar and his relatives in Mumbai.

Five days ago, the ED arrested the don’s younger brother, Iqbal Ibrahim Kaskar in connection with a money-laundering case lodged against him.

Chavan and Tiwari strongly condemned the manner in which the Opposition BJP is abusing the official machinery and central agencies to pursue political vendetta and ‘silence’ opponents who dare to speak against them.

However, BJP’s legislators Atul Bhatkalkar and Ram Kadam pointed out that the party had already submitted full details of an alleged business deal between Malik and the mafia don.

Bhatkalkar demanded that if the business deals by Malik are proved in the investigations or if the NCP leader is found to be acting as a ‘front’ for the mafia, then he must be arrested.

Anticipating ‘a call’ from the agency, Malik had earlier stated that he would welcome the ED whenever they come.

disaster

Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sudhakar Pathare, who was posted in the Port Zone, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.

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Pathare had visited Hyderabad for training. He was on his way to visit a temple with a relative when the accident occurred. Both Pathare and his relative lost their lives in the crash.

Mumbai Police have been informed about the incident.

More details are awaited.

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Maharashtra

Order to demolish the tomb of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Baba in Mira Bhayander

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Mumbai: The state government has issued an order to demolish the four hundred year old dargah of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Peer Rahmatullah Alaih located in Mira Bhayander. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation has sent a letter to the collector declaring this dargah illegal and ordered action against it. As the dargah is located on forest land, communalists had started demanding the demolition of the dargah. In the House, Darranjan Daukhre had also demanded action against the dargah, after which now the state government has ordered to run a bulldozer on the dargah. An order has also been issued to remove and demolish the dargah by May.

Dargah trustee Amjad Sheikh said that this dargah is ancient and this order is illegal in itself. In this case, communal forces had launched a campaign against the dargah, after which this order was issued.

There is a dargah on the beach and citing the threat of terrorist and illegal activities and the presence of terrorists here, there was a demand to demolish the dargah. The dargah is close to the sea and in such a situation, the threat of a terrorist attack on Mumbai from the sea has been expressed, while the dargah administration has clearly denied this and said that communal organizations are running their agenda against the dargah and there is no such threat. Muslims have opposed this decision of the government and Muslims have also expressed their displeasure and anger over it.

The trustee says that this dargah is ancient and earlier the collector and the municipal corporation had given a notice, after which the illegal shed and other premises were demolished here and the dargah administration has taken this action at its own level. Now an order has been issued to demolish the dargah itself.

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Maharashtra

Haji Ali Dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid due to rising sea level

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Mumbai: Due to rising sea level at Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid. On March 31, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims from 12 noon to 3 pm. During this time, entry of pilgrims to the dargah will be restricted. The dargah will be closed on Tuesday, April 1 from 12:45 pm to 3:45 pm and on Wednesday, April 2 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

Therefore, we have appealed to the pilgrims not to gather at the dargah during these hours. This information has been released by Tahir, administrative officer of Haji Ali Dargah. Pilgrims visit Haji Ali Dargah on Eid-Basi and Tiwasi, but due to the rising water level of the sea, water gets accumulated on the way to the Dargah and entry to the Dargah is prohibited and the gate of the Dargah remains closed during these days, due to which there is a lot of crowd there. Therefore, pilgrims have been requested to come to the Dargah only at the scheduled time.

The police also remains vigilant at the Dargah during the rising sea level, as there is a crowd of pilgrims here during Eid and festivals. The Haji Ali Dargah administration has said that on the occasion of Eid, lakhs of pilgrims visit the Dargah of Haji Ali (RahmatullahAlaih). These pilgrims include pilgrims from the country and abroad, so the Dargah administration has also claimed special security arrangements on Eid. Spiritual scenes are also seen at Haji Ali Dargah during Eid prayers.

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