Maharashtra
BMC cracks the whip, sacks 55 staffers for corruption, suspends 134 for graft, crimes

Mumbai: In a massive clean-up operation before the upcoming civic elections, India’s biggest and richest civic body BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has booted out 55 employees for corruption and suspended another 134 for graft and other crimes, an official said here on Tuesday.
The 55 staffers at various levels have been found guilty after court proceedings in corruption and have accordingly been dismissed from service, as approved by BMC Commissioner I.S. Chahal.
Besides losing their jobs, these staffers will forfeit all other benefits like pension and gratuity, and worse – they are permanently debarred from applying from any government jobs in future, as dismissal is deemed as the most severe punishment.
Another 53 employees have cases of bribes lodged against them, while 81 staffers are facing other minor or severe criminal cases from the police.
Not sparing them either, the BMC has suspended these 134 staffers from their services for an undisclosed period – when they are barred from attending duties and face other repercussions.
The BMC said that a total of 200 civic staffers are embroiled in 142 cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and in 105 cases, the civic body has given its ‘pre-prosecution sanction’ to file the cases.
Of the remaining 37 complaints, 30 are under investigation by the departments and no approval has been sought from the BMC, but if they come up for sanction, the suitable action will be taken on priority.
From the remaining 7 cases, in 4 cases, sanction has been given to the ACB and it is in the process for the 3 other matters.
An official said that they had received 395 complaints against BMC employees under the Prevention of Corruption Act’s Section 17(a).
These complaints ranged from potholes to neglected wastes, poor garbage collection, bad condition of footpaths, water problems, improper spraying of insecticides, malpractices in public health services, etc,
Since these do not fall under the pre-prosecution sanction category, all these written complaints are being handled by various departments of the BMC for necessary action.
On the flip side, from 2018, the ACB had sought sanctions to investigate a total of 395 cases, but in 359 cases, after a thorough probe, it was found that those complaints were baseless.
In 18 cases, proceedings are currently on at the civic level, but in 14 cases, no prima facie evidence was found, and the remaining 4 are currently being acted upon by the departments concerned against the accused employees.
The sweeping action across departments comes just ahead of the BMC budget, to be tabled later this week and the much-anticipated civic elections, which are likely to be announced soon.
Crime
Thane Crime Branch Arrests 25-Year-Old Serial Housebreaker, Cracks 9 Theft Cases In Bhiwandi; Seizes Gold Worth ₹5.98 Lakh

Thane: The Thane Crime Branch Unit 2 has arrested a 25-year-old habitual thief and cracked nine house break-in cases reported across Bhiwandi.
Gold Worth ₹5.98 Lakh Recovered from Accused Akash Jadhav
According to police sources, 58 grams of gold ornaments worth ₹5.98 lakh were recovered from the accused’s possession. The suspect has been identified as Akash alias Chinya Jadhav, a resident of the Manpada area in Thane.
The investigation began after an FIR was filed at Narpoli police station for a housebreaking incident involving an unidentified suspect. Crime Branch officials, along with local police, launched a joint investigation. CCTV footage and technical intelligence led to the identification of Jadhav.
A trap was laid, and the accused was apprehended. He was produced in court and remanded to police custody for further investigation.
History of Theft: 9 Cases Registered Across Four Police Stations
During questioning, police discovered that Jadhav has a history of theft, with nine cases registered against him. These include five at Narpoli, two at Bhiwandi City, one at Nizampura, and one at Shantinagar police station.
Police confirmed the recovery of stolen gold ornaments during the arrest. Further investigation is underway.
Maharashtra
Shiv Sena Protests Outside Congress Office Over Ex-Maha CM Prithviraj Chavan’s Controversial Remarks On Malegaon Blast Verdict

Mumbai: Shiv Sena workers staged a protest outside the Congress office on Saturday, slamming senior party leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan over his recent remarks concerning the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.
The protest came in response to Chavan’s comments following the acquittal of all seven accused in the Malegaon blast case by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court. The court ruled that there was “no reliable and cogent evidence” to support the charges against the accused, which included BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Colonel Prasad Purohit. The blast, which occurred on September 29, 2008, near a mosque in Malegaon, killed six people and injured 101 others. It took nearly 17 years for the final verdict.
While speaking to media after the court’s decision, Chavan distanced himself from the controversial term “saffron terror.” He stated, “Don’t use the term ‘Saffron terrorism’. If you want to describe such acts, use ‘Hindu fundamentalist’ or ‘Hindu terrorism’ instead.” He also highlighted that saffron is a colour of cultural and religious significance, representing the flag of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Warkari sect, and revered saints like Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar.
However, his choice of alternative phrases sparked outrage among right-wing groups and BJP allies. Shiv Sena, a coalition partner in the Maharashtra government, led the protest, condemning Chavan’s statements. Protesters demanded an apology, accusing the Congress of repeatedly targeting Hindu beliefs under the guise of secularism.
Chavan also responded to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that “no Hindu can ever be a terrorist. “I want to remind Amit Shah that the first terrorist act in independent India was carried out by Nathuram Godse. What was his religion? Terrorism has no religion. This is BJP’s mindset, linking or delinking terrorism based on religious identity.”
Maharashtra
Mithi River Desilting Scam: ED Raids BMC Engineer, Contractors; Freezes ₹47 Crore, Uncovers Civic Nexus

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen assets worth over Rs 47 crore after conducting search operations at eight locations across Mumbai in connection with the ongoing probe into the Rs 65-crore Mithi River desilting scam ,the central agency said on Saturday.
BMC Contractors and Senior Engineer Under Lens
The searches, carried out on July 31 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), were conducted at premises linked to BMC contractors M/s Acute Designs, M/s Kailash Construction Company, M/s Nikhil Construction Co, M/s N A Construction Pvt Ltd, and M/s J.R.S Infrastructure and and BMC’s Deputy Chief Engineer Prashant Krishna Tayshete.
With the latest action, the total value of proceeds of crime seized and frozen in the case now stands at approximately Rs 49.8 crore.
According to officials, the federal agency’s action led to the seizure of several incriminating documents, digital devices, and records of suspicious immovable property transactions, which are now under scrutiny.
The ED initiated its investigation following a case registered at Azad Maidan Police Station, Mumbai, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against 13 individuals and entities, including those mentioned above, for allegedly causing a wrongful loss of over Rs 65 crore to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Scam Involved Forged MoUs and Fake NOCs
Evidence gathered during the course of the investigation and search operations has revealed irregularities in the Mithi River desilting contracts. According to the Enforcement Directorate, contractors allegedly colluded with officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Storm Water Drainage (SWD) department to submit forged documents, including fake Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) from landowners and No Objection Certificates (NoCs) from gram panchayats, for lands purportedly used for silt dumping.
Machinery Procurement Manipulated for Kickbacks
The probe has further revealed that certain BMC officials misused their official positions for personal financial gain by manipulating the procurement process. Specifically, expensive machinery such as silt pushers and multipurpose amphibious pontoon machines were allegedly included in the 2021–2022 tenders to benefit select contractors.
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