Mumbai: Police Crime Branch has ruled out any Maoist or terrorist connection in the case involving an Agniveer from Telangana and his brother, who stole an INSAS rifle and two magazines containing 40 live rounds from a naval sentry at Colaba’s New Navy Nagar last month.

The accused, Agniveer Rakesh Dubbula, 22, and his brother Umesh Dubbula, 25, were arrested from their native village, Elakapalli, in Telangana’s Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district. Police recovered the stolen rifle and ammunition from them.

According to officials, the theft was motivated by personal reasons, not terrorism. The brothers allegedly wanted the weapon for self-protection in their Maoist-affected village and to extort money from local residents. A chargesheet is expected to be filed soon.

Investigations revealed that Rakesh, who joined the Indian Navy in 2023, was posted at Mumbai before being transferred to Kochi. His brother Umesh, who runs a ration shop in Adilabad, is suspected to have indirect Maoist links through illicit liquor trade and had persuaded Rakesh to steal the weapon.

On September 6, Rakesh tricked sentry Alok Singh into handing over duty, then threw the rifle and magazines over the compound wall to his brother. They fled to Telangana via Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.

Although terror and Maoist links were ruled out, Alok Singh remains under investigation and removed from key duties. The Navy conducted security audits and drills at New Navy Nagar to strengthen safeguards.

Three people were arrested by Malad Police for allegedly stealing ATM cards from unsuspecting bank customers. The accused discreetly noted down PINs and later withdrew money from victims’ accounts, targeting ATMs in Andheri, Bandra, Kandivali, Borivali, Chembur, and Malad this month alone.

The latest case was reported on October 8 in Malad. A 55-year-old man’s ATM card got stuck while withdrawing cash. The accused helped retrieve the card while secretly noting his PIN, later stealing the card and fraudulently withdrawing Rs 40,000 from his account.

After the complaint, a team led by Senior Inspector Dushyant Chavan analyzed CCTV footage and traced the suspects. Monitoring their movements, police followed a vehicle to Chembur and identified its owner, who admitted hiring the car to the three accused.

The arrested individuals are Mohammad Aarif Khan, 47, a chauffeur; Abdul Haqiq Khan, 34, a truck driver; and Danish Khan, 23, a labourer. Abdul Haqiq and Danish have prior criminal records in Uttar Pradesh.

Kolkata, Oct 13: The father of the second-year medical student said on Monday that he will take the victim back to Odisha once she records her statement before a judicial magistrate.

The father of the victim also met the West Bengal Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday afternoon.

Adhikari told the victim’s father that he would arrange the transport facility for the victim. A video of the conversation between the two was also shared on Adhikari’s official Facebook account.

In the video, Adhikari first inquired about the physical condition of the victim. The father said that his daughter was more stable than before. Then the BJP leader advised him that if there was a need for better treatment, then the victim should be taken to Odisha. The father responded by saying that he plans to take the victim to Odisha once she records her statement before a judicial magistrate under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Adhikari told him that he would talk to the Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other BJP leaders and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to ensure that all necessary arrangements are made in Odisha.

The BJP leader further asked the victim’s father whether West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called him.

In response, the victim’s father said, “We spoke to the Chief Minister of Odisha. But there was no talk with the Chief Minister of West Bengal.”

Meanwhile, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose expressed concern over the Durgapur incident. On Monday, he left Howrah station for Durgapur in a car.

At the station, he said, “I have taken stock of the entire incident. I am going to talk to the victim. Strict action will be taken against those who did this.”

On Friday, the second-year medical student from Odisha was allegedly gang-raped outside the campus in Durgapur after she went out with her male friend for dinner.

The police have arrested all five accused in the Durgapur gang-rape case.