Maharashtra
Is Sanjay Raut causing more harm than good to Uddhav Thackeray?

Mumbai: If there is near a consensus within Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, it is that party MP Sanjay Raut, 61, has caused huge damage to the organisation by his highly controversial statements.
Recently, Raut claimed, without providing any evidence, that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son and MP Shrikant Shinde had hired a goon of Thane to eliminate him. In the past, he had made even more outlandish statements that caused incalculable damage to the party.
Raut’s controversial statements
After the COVID pandemic, Raut alleged that most of the doctors and nurses had abandoned their responsibility and fled from the hospitals. This evoked howls of protests from the medical fraternity, after which Uddhav was forced to undertake damage control.
In January 2020, Raut, who is the executive editor of the party mouthpiece Saamana, claimed that Indira Gandhi used to regularly call on the late drug lord Karim Lala at Pydhonie in central Mumbai. It is a different matter that Karim Lala operated out of Dongri and not Pydhonie. The Congress was understandably furious over this bizarre claim and slammed Raut. The MP, most recently, alleged that Rs2,000 crore had changed hands to get Shinde’s faction recognised as the Shiv Sena along with the bow and arrow symbol. Raut promised to produce evidence and as usual failed to proffer any.
Many supporters of Uddhav Thackeray say that their leader is paying a heavy political price by not taking action against Raut despite the huge damage he continues to inflict. The only thing Uddhav has done is not promote Raut as the editor of Saamana. Instead, he has appointed his wife Rashmi Thackeray as the editor, while Raut continues to be the executive editor.
Sources: Raut is useful to Uddhav as a conduit between him & NCP chief
According to sources close to Uddhav, Raut is useful to him as a conduit between him and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Though there is a perception that Raut is being used by Pawar to influence Uddhav, Raut’s proximity to Pawar can be gauged from the fact that when the MP was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the infamous Patrawala chawl multi-crore scam, the Maratha honcho personally called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention in taking Raut out of the hook. Incidentally, Pawar did no such thing for his own partyman Nawab Malik who, too, was arrested by the ED.
It is not that Uddhav has always obliged Raut. For example, when Raut insisted that his brother and MLA from Bhandup, Sunil Raut, should be made a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which was helmed by Uddhav, the latter put his foot down and refused a ministerial berth for Sunil.
Raut’s career
Sanjay Raut started his career in Saamana as a journalist. When Bal Thackeray decided to publish a Hindi tabloid ‘Dopahar Ka Saamana’, Raut recommended Sanjay Nirupam as the editor. Thackeray Senior was so impressed with Nirupam’s aggressive propagation of the Hindutva line that he made him a member of the Rajya Sabha much to the chagrin of Raut.
Raut won over the confidence of Balasaheb by carrying a series called ‘Marathon Mulaquats’ or Marathon Interviews of the Sena founder. These interviews revealed Balasaheb’s thoughts on a host of issues and they were picked up by other newspapers and TV channels.
Balasaheb then decided to reward Raut by sending him to the Rajya Sabha. It is learnt that Raut does not share the same chemistry with Aaditya Thackeray as with Uddhav. “Given the widespread nature of resentment against Sanjay Raut within our party, I won’t be in the least surprised if he is politically downsized in the near future,” a top Sena source observed.
Crime
Anti-Narcotics Cell cracks down on Mumbai drug dealers, two drug dealers arrested, drugs worth over Rs 2 crore seized

The Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell has claimed to have arrested a drug dealer from the Andheri Lokhandwala area of Mumbai’s suburbs.
The ANC Azad Maidan unit had received information that a person was going to come to Lokhandwala to sell drugs. On this, the ANC recovered Rs 18 lakh in cash, 703 grams of hashish and 104 grams of Mephedone MD from the person’s possession. After this, in the second operation, the ANC on July 8 arrested a suspect in the case of selling illegal heroin in the Andheri Versova area and recovered 306 grams of heroin from his possession. Along with this, it was revealed that the accused sells drugs in Andheri and surrounding areas.
Action was taken against both of them under the NDPS Act and both of them have been arrested. It has been claimed that drugs worth over Rs 2 crore have been seized from their possession. The 46-year-old arrested from Andheri Lokhandwala The accused and the second accused are 31 years old and both are under investigation. The operation was led by Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti and was conducted by DCP ANC Nunath Dhole.
Crime
Maharashtra Crime: 3 Arrested For Rape & Suicide Case Of 16-Year-Old Girl In Sangli

Mumbai: In an disturbing incident, Sangli police on Wednesday arrested three men linked to the alleged rape and suicide of a 16-year-old girl in Kargani village, located in Atpadi tehsil. The girl, a Class 10th student, reportedly took her own life on Tuesday after being sexually assaulted and threatened by the accused.
Investigations reveal that the accused had been harassing the girl for several days. They allegedly raped her in the presence of her sister and, along with the others, as reported by Hindustan Times. They also mentioned that the accused allegedly filmed an obscene video and threatened to make it viral.
As per the report, the minor informed her parents about the incident. However, before they could file a police complaint, she died by suicide on Sunday. The suspects, Raju Gend, Anil Kale, and Rohit Kharat, have been taken into custody. A fourth accused, Ramdas Gaikwad, was beaten by angry villagers before being handed over to the police. He is currently receiving medical treatment and will be arrested once discharged.
The sub-divisional police officer, Vipul Chhaya Vijay Patil, mentioned that “We have arrested three accused in this case, while the fourth accused is undergoing medical treatment at a hospital,”
The Vinay Bahir, PI, Atpadi police station said, “Police also enquired about the sister of the deceased girl, and she also didn’t know much about the incident.” Based on the complaint, the police filed a case against the accused for charges of rape and abetment of suicide.
In a separate crime story from Maharashtra, a 16-year-old girl from Adivali in the Dombivli area of Thane was allegedly kidnapped and raped by a 20-year-old man during a train journey to Akola. Senior Police Inspector Pandhari Kande from the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Kalyan reported the case on Monday.
According to the police, the incident occurred on June 30. The man took the girl on a train from Thane to Akola, where he assaulted her during the journey, as reported by the news agency PTI. Upon their arrival in Akola, the man’s parents refused to allow them into their home. He then abandoned the girl at the Akola railway station and returned to his residence.
Maharashtra
Mumbai News: Central Railway Requests 800 Workplaces To Change Work Timings To Ease Local Train Congestion

Mumbai: To address congestion during peak times on Mumbai’s local trains, Central Railway (CR) has contacted more than 800 workplaces, suggesting staggered working hours. At present, CR operates 1,810 local train services each day, catering to more than 3.5 million passengers, but there is an absence of alignment in working hours between government and private entities situated between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Thane.
This discrepancy results in significant overcrowding, heightening the chance of accidents, as illustrated by recent statistics showing that between January 1 and May 31, 2025, there were 922 accidental deaths associated with local train usage, including 210 fatalities from falls occurring on overcrowded trains.
The effort to stagger working hours is expected to alleviate pressure on rail services, particularly from 8-10 AM and 5-7 PM, during which they are most crowded. CR thinks this change would aid in spreading out commuter traffic over the day, improving safety and comfort for travellers.
Kalyan station reported the most deaths from these incidents, with Thane and Kurla stations following. Furthermore, CR has officially sought assistance from the Maharashtra State Government, anticipating it will aid in a synchronized implementation of the staggered schedules.
The CR recognizes an increasing need for additional rail lines; nonetheless, spatial limitations restrict prompt growth. Therefore, staggering office hours is viewed as an effective approach to alleviate the strain on the local train system. By partnering with multiple institutions and receiving government backing, CR seeks to change the commuting experience in Mumbai from chaos to a safer, more efficient process, guaranteeing a smoother travel routine for its residents.
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