Mumbai: In the death by suicide of a 17-year-old college student, the Andheri Government Railway Police (GRP) have filed a case against eight unidentified cyber fraudsters for alleged abetment. The teen was hit by a train at Jogeshwari railway station on January 21. The case was filed based on the father’s complaint and the digital evidence extracted from the boy’s phone.

The victim, Vignesh Chougule, a first-year student at Shri Mumbadevi Junior College of Commerce and Science, died after trespassing on the tracks. What initially appeared as an accidental death was revealed to be a suicide driven by an online task scam, according to the police investigation. The GRP first registered an Accidental Death Report after being alerted about a boy being struck by a train.

Vignesh had not returned home by 10 pm, prompting his father to look for him, who was alerted by a friend who received information from an ambulance driver about a boy matching Vignesh’s description. Vignesh’s father, Nilesh Chougule, 46, identified his son at Cooper Hospital. A police officer said, “We investigated various angles like loans or relationships, but found no suicide note. The clue came from his phone activity—he was involved in an online task scam.”

A forensic examination of the phone revealed that on December 30, 2024, Vignesh was contacted on WhatsApp by persons offering part-time work for online Google rating tasks. After completing initial tasks and receiving a small payment, he was added to a Telegram account named ‘Tax Commissioner’. The fraudsters then instructed him to pay Rs49,000 to complete advanced tasks, promising higher returns.

Vignesh paid the amount but received nothing back. Nilesh told the police that this continuous pressure and harassment over the lost money pushed his son into extreme distress. “The investigation revealed the boy was under severe stress due to the money lost in the scam, which led him to take his own life,” a senior officer confirmed.

Mumbai: A heated clash between BJP and Shiv Sena workers in Badlapur marked a tense start to municipal elections across Maharashtra on Tuesday. The confrontation broke out near the ST bus stand at Gandhi Nagar Tekdi in Badlapur West, where both groups allegedly argued over distributing voter slips and setting up polling booths.

What began as a verbal disagreement quickly escalated into a violent scuffle, forcing police to intervene. A heavy police presence was deployed in the area, and two individuals were detained in connection with the incident. The atmosphere remained tense for some time as officers worked to restore order.

Despite the disruption, polling for the Badlapur Municipal Council had begun earlier in the morning. Elections are underway for the post of municipal president as well as 43 council seats. Voters turned out in large numbers from the start, forming long queues at several polling stations. At the Marathi School in Gandhi Chowk, heavy crowds were witnessed, reflecting strong voter enthusiasm. Authorities have implemented strict security arrangements to ensure peaceful voting throughout the day.

Candidates In Fray For Badlapur Seat

The contest for the municipal president’s post is witnessing multiple candidates: Veena Mhatre from the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Ruchita Ghorpade from the BJP, Priya Gawli from the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, independent candidate Sangita Chendvankar, and Aastha Manjarekar.

These elections, covering more than 250 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, are considered crucial for strengthening grassroots governance in the state. The polls had been delayed for an extended period but are now being conducted following court directives. For political parties, the elections serve as an important platform for expanding cadre strength and shaping new local leadership.

Bogus Voting, Technical Snags Reported In State

Elsewhere in the state, polling was marred by incidents of bogus voting and technical glitches. In Buldhana, a young man was caught attempting to cast a fake vote. Polling agents confronted him, resulting in chaos at the Government Technical School booth. Other voters chased the youth away, leading to temporary disorder at the centre.

Technical issues were reported at Akkalkot as well. At the Urdu School polling station, the EVM machine in Room 2 of Booth Number 9 malfunctioned and remained non-operational for nearly half an hour. Early voters faced inconvenience as election officials worked to rectify the issue and restore normal voting.

Mumbai, Dec 2: Indian stock markets opened with a sharp gap-down on Tuesday but soon recovered some losses as investors continued to book profits after the recent rally.

The Sensex was trading at around 85,508, down 134 points or 0.16 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 31 points or 0.12 per cent to 26,145.

“The Nifty’s positional trend remains bullish, with strong support at the 26000-26050 zone. On the higher side, 26300 could offer resistance on a closing basis,” market watchers added.

Heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Ultratech Cement, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Steel, Tata Motors PV, Titan Company and Power Grid dragged the indices lower.

Eternal also remained under pressure during the early trade.

However, selective buying in stocks like Asian Paints, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC, HUL, and L&T helped the Sensex limit its losses and attempt a mild recovery.

In the broader market space, the Nifty MidCap index edged up 0.27 per cent, indicating some buying interest in mid-sized companies. On the other hand, the Nifty SmallCap index slipped 0.12 per cent.

Sector-wise, financial stocks were among the worst performers, with the Nifty Financial Services index falling 0.7 per cent and the Nifty Bank index dropping 0.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Nifty PSU Bank index gained 0.9 per cent, emerging as the top performer, followed by the Nifty Auto index, which rose 0.4 per cent.

Analysts said that markets remained volatile as traders continued to take profits amid mixed global cues.

“Investors can use the current period of consolidation to slowly accumulate fairly-valued largecaps and growth-oriented midcaps which will lead the next leg of rally in the market,” analysts stated.

The Smallcap segment continues to be over-valued. The Bank Nifty, despite the recent run up, have the potential to impart resilience to the market since there is valuation comfort in this segment. The pick up in credit growth is another positive for the segment.