New Delhi, Dec 25: The ISI’s role in attempting to fan an anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh is most certainly confirmed, given the rhetoric by some Pakistan news outlets and a few leaders. Some media outlets have recklessly blamed India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for the murder of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. The claim has been made at a time when the Bangladesh authorities themselves are unclear about the killers and their motive.

Adding to the fire is a fiery video message by Kamran Sayeed Usmani, a leader of Pakistan’s ruling party, PML-N, who went on an anti-India rhetoric.

While blaming New Delhi for the mess in Bangladesh, he threatens that missiles would be directed at India. Officials say that these are reckless messages only aimed at ensuring that the violence continues in Bangladesh.

The official further pointed out that there is a pattern to such messaging. The intention is to internationalise the domestic problems in Bangladesh, and by dragging India into it, these elements are trying to achieve just that. Not a single country except Pakistan has blamed India for the mess that is on in Bangladesh. In fact, it was the Pakistan deep-state that orchestrated this mess by first ensuring that Sheikh Hasina was ousted and the Jamaat-e-Islami was in the driver’s seat. The international community is aware that the Jamaat is a puppet of the ISI.

Following the Liberation War, it was the ISI and Jamaat which planned large-scale illegal immigration into India so that demographic changes could be executed. Intelligence Bureau officials who are keeping a close watch on the developments in Bangladesh say that the ISI is playing two games here.

Pakistan has been desperately seeking revenge against India since it lost the 1971 war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh. Hence, there has been the manufacturing of a false narrative so that the people of Bangladesh are pitted against India.

The ISI realises that it would need a Jamaat government or one backed by it to be in power. Parties like the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) have been showing signs of moving away from the Jamaat and ISI, as the party wants a developed and not a radical nation.

The signs became clear when the BNP distanced itself from the Jamaat and decided to contest the elections on its own.

This shift has hurt the ISI and made it insecure, as the BNP does have every chance of winning the elections. Pollsters have predicted a win for the BNP in the absence of the Awami League, which has been banned from contesting the elections.

Former Prime Minister and BNP chief Khaleda Zia is unwell, and this could well be a sympathy factor for the party in the February 2026 polls. The BNP cadre will also be bolstered by the return of Zia’s son, Tarique Rehman, who is set to visit Bangladesh after 17 years in exile.

All these factors have made the ISI and Jamaat uneasy, and they feel that the elections can slip out of their hand.

Bangladesh watchers say that the elections are unlikely to be put off as pressure from the international community is building up. Experts say that the elections in Bangladesh are most likely to go as per schedule, but the fairness of it remains a question mark.

Intelligence agencies say that the violence is being fanned by the Jamaat-controlled groups so that the people do not come out and vote in large numbers. They want to create fear in the minds of the people so that they stay indoors when the elections are on.

Many Awami League supporters are unlikely to vote as the party is banned. Some are likely to shift their loyalties to the BNP, and if this does happen, then the party’s chances of winning the elections will only increase.

Analysts say that there is either a chance of a short postponement of the elections or a completely unfair one being conducted.

The ISI is doing everything possible to rig the polls by inciting violence. While trying to rig the polls, the ISI is also dishing out a false narrative to create an anti-India sentiment among the people.

Mumbai: The Kalachowki police have registered an FIR against Sadanand Vishwanath Darekar and his wife, Neelima Darekar, residents of Shiravane, Nerul, Navi Mumbai, for allegedly cheating the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank Ltd. by submitting forged documents resembling original property papers to obtain a home loan of Rs 30 lakh. The alleged fraud pertains to an outstanding principal amount of Rs 29.28 lakh.

According to the FIR, the complainant, Balu Chintu Yadav, 55, branch manager of the Lalbaug branch of the Mumbai District Central Cooperative Bank since 2020, stated that the accused had applied for a home loan in 2014 to purchase Flat No. 102, first floor, Shri Om Apartment, Shiravane (JES), Sector 1, Nerul. The loan was approved by the bank’s divisional office at Mahim on December 15, 2014.

The bank accepted purported original property documents, including an agreement showing the developer Shri Om Construction & Builders (Dnyaneshwar N. Sutar) selling the property to Tanaji Shankar Mohite in 2007, and a subsequent agreement dated February 26, 2014, showing Mohite selling the flat to Sadanand Darekar.

A legal title certificate issued by advocate Dilip V. Zore declared the property mortgageable, while a valuation report by M/s Vishal Associates assessed the property value at Rs 44.10 lakh. The property was mortgaged in favour of the bank on December 30, 2014, and the loan amount of Rs 30 lakh was disbursed via pay order to the seller on January 5, 2015.

However, the borrowers allegedly stopped paying EMIs from April 6, 2016, resulting in the account turning non-performing. Despite repeated demand notices, the dues remained unpaid. As of August 31, 2016, the outstanding principal stood at Rs 29,28,370, with accrued interest of Rs 1,92,174 at that time.

A recovery certificate under Section 101 of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960, was obtained on March 30, 2017. Acting on this, the bank took possession of the mortgaged property on November 25, 2024, through the Belapur Mandal Officer, Navi Mumbai.

During an inspection on June 26, 2025, the bank’s recovery officer noticed that instead of the Mumbai Bank’s notice, the flat door displayed a SARFAESI Act, 2002 auction notice issued by The City Cooperative Bank.

Subsequent correspondence revealed that City Cooperative Bank had also sanctioned a loan of Rs 28.50 lakh to Sadanand Darekar on September 24, 2014, against the same property, and had seized it on January 17, 2025, for loan default.

Upon verification on August 12, 2025, Mumbai Bank officials found that the documents submitted to both banks appeared identical. However, records obtained from the Sub-Registrar’s office (Thane-6) revealed discrepancies between the genuine registered documents and those submitted to Mumbai Bank, indicating that forged documents resembling originals were used to secure the loan.

Following these findings, the bank lodged a complaint at the Kalachowki police station. The police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Act and initiated further investigation.

Mumbai: With two political gladiators – the BJP and the Shiv Sena (UBT)-MNS – announcing that the next Mayor of Mumbai will be a Marathi, the battle lines have clearly been drawn. The BJP, which heads the Mahayuti, had earlier announced that the city would be led by a Hindu, but later changed its stance, stating that the Mayor would indeed be a Marathi.

The reunion of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray has altered the political agenda and will now compel other parties to respond in kind. The civic body, with an annual budget exceeding Rs74,000 crore, is up for grabs – albeit with the Marathi asmita (pride) card firmly in play.

It was during the Congress-led rule that the battle for Mumbai was equally fierce. While the Congress stood for ‘Mumbai for all,’ the Shiv Sena–BJP alliance championed ‘Mumbai for Marathis.’ In 1992, when the Shiv Sena was at its peak under the late Balasaheb Thackeray, the BJP took a step back. It was officially announced by Thackeray and Pramod Mahajan that the two parties would fight separately. The Congress, led by Sharad Pawar, took full advantage of this split and went on to rule the metropolis for five years.

Much water has flowed under the bridge since then. After ruling the civic body with BJP support from 1997 to 2017, the Shiv Sena fought the last election on its own and survived by a narrow margin. In the 2017 BMC polls, the Sena won 84 seats, narrowly ahead of the BJP’s 82. The BJP chose not to stake its claim to the BMC, prioritising the alliance that was vital for running the Devendra Fadnavis-led state government.

The Uddhav-led Shiv Sena, which leaned more heavily on the Hindu plank after 2004, has now reverted to its original Marathi agenda. The shift has been driven largely by the 2022 party split engineered by Eknath Shinde with BJP support, which weakened the UBT faction as several leaders defected to the Shinde-led Sena. Meanwhile, Raj Thackeray – who has consistently upheld the Marathi language and Marathi Manoos agenda – has decided to join forces with his cousin Uddhav. Their reunion has sharply drawn the battle lines: Mumbai for Marathis or Mumbai for others?

The Marathi vote bank is estimated to be 32-37%. Electoral arithmetic shifts dramatically when this bloc votes en masse for a single party. Earlier, Marathi voters were divided between the Shiv Sena and the MNS; now, a unified push is likely. In 2007, when the MNS contested the BMC elections for the first time, it secured 10.43% of the vote, while the unified Shiv Sena polled 22.71%. In 2012, the MNS vote share rose to 20.67%, with the Sena at 21.85%. Had the Sena not allied with the BJP, which garnered 8.64%, the outcome could have been very different.

In 2017, when the Sena and BJP contested separately, the Sena secured 28.29% of the vote, while the BJP followed closely with 27.32%. The MNS managed 7.73%. Of the 227 seats in the BMC, the Congress won only 31, while the undivided Shiv Sena and BJP won 84 and 82 seats, respectively.

“Mumbai’s mayor will be Marathi, and he will be ours,” Raj Thackeray declared while announcing the poll pact. This sets up a major challenge for the Eknath Shinde–led Shiv Sena, which must now prove its relevance and identity in Mumbai.