Chandigarh, Oct 15: A day after a confrontation between Chandigarh Police and Punjab Police over the custody, Janata Party president Navneet Chaturvedi, who allegedly forged the signature of legislators on nomination papers for the lone Rajya Sabha seat, on Wednesday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking protection from arrest in the criminal case registered against him.

In the petition, Chaturvedi sought protection from arrest for 10 days and directions to the Punjab Police to produce the first information report (FIR) registered against him before the court. He also alleged attempts to abduct him by the Punjab Police on Tuesday.

Punjab Police have also moved a petition in the high court seeking his custody. After the FIR was registered in Ropar, a Punjab Police team went to Chandigarh to arrest him, but the Chandigarh Police took him into their custody.

Punjab Police on Monday reportedly registered multiple FIRs after several Aam Aadmi Party MLAs alleged that their signatures were forged on nomination papers submitted by Chaturvedi, who claims to be the national president of the Janata Party for the Rajya Sabha bypoll.

Advocate General Maninderjit Singh Bedi and Additional Advocate General Chanchal Singla sought transfer of custody of the accused to the Punjab Police, and initiation of contempt and departmental action against the officials responsible for defiance of court orders.

The Punjab Police have initiated legal action following receipt of complaints from sitting Members of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha (MLAs) regarding the alleged forgery of their signatures on nomination papers submitted by Chaturvedi.

A spokesperson for Punjab Police on Monday said the complainant MLAs have stated that they received messages and social media posts indicating that their names had been mentioned as proposers in the nomination papers filed by Chaturvedi before the Secretary of the Vidhan Sabha. Chaturvedi has filed two nominations, one on October 6 and another on October 13.

In their complaint, MLAs stated that it was found that a handwritten list of proposers, purportedly bearing the signatures of these MLAs, had been attached to the nomination papers, and the same was being circulated on digital platforms.

The MLAs have categorically denied having signed or supported the said nomination, and have alleged that their names and signatures were forged and fraudulently used without consent.

The forged documents, submitted before a constitutional authority, constitute a serious offence involving forgery, cheating, and criminal conspiracy. Based on these complaints, FIRs have been registered at different police stations in the constituencies of the complainant MLAs against said Chaturvedi.

Mumbai: A couple from Navi Mumbai has been arrested by the Customs Department at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) for allegedly smuggling hydroponic weed worth Rs 5.45 crore from Colombo. The accused, identified as Mohammed Saud Siddiqui (29) and his wife Sana Siddiqui (27), were detained by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) after a tip-off about a suspicious trolley bag they were carrying.

Officials said that when the couple’s baggage was checked, three airtight packets were found hidden inside. On testing the contents, officers confirmed the packets contained five kilograms of banned hydroponic marijuana, a high-grade variant of cannabis.

However, the couple has claimed innocence, stating they were victims of a scam. While presenting their case in court, the Siddiquis said they had received an offer of a free trip to Colombo through social media.

Believing it to be genuine, they accepted the offer, completed visa formalities, and flew to Sri Lanka. On their return, the person who had arranged the trip gave them a parcel of chocolates to deliver in Mumbai. They alleged they were unaware that the parcel contained drugs.

Their lawyer, Advocate Sunil Tiwari, told the court that the couple had been trapped in a fabricated case and had no knowledge of the contents of the parcel. “An unknown person used social media to lure them with a free holiday and made them unwilling carriers,” he said.

The Customs Department has booked the couple under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. They were produced before a local court on Monday and have been remanded in judicial custody until October 28 while investigations continue.

Mumbai: The Colaba Police have arrested a 71-year-old man who had been absconding for 48 years in an attempt-to-murder case registered in 1977. The accused, identified as Chandrashekhar Madhukar Kalekar, was wanted in Crime case was registered in 1977 under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, in connection with an attack on a woman with a sharp weapon.

Chandrashekhar Kalekar, When he was almost 22-Year-old, accused of attempting to murder a woman by stabbing her with a knife. A case was registered at the Colaba Police Station, and the trial was scheduled before the Sessions Court, Mumbai. However, Kalekar failed to appear for the hearings and was subsequently declared a proclaimed offender by the court.

The accused had been on the run since 1977. His old residence, Haji Kasam Chawl, Lalbaug, had been demolished years ago, and he kept changing his whereabouts — moving across Santacruz, Goregaon, Mahim, Lalbaug, and Badlapur — making it difficult for the police to trace him.

Over the past six months, a special team from Colaba Police launched a renewed effort to track him down. Using data from the Election Commission portal, RTO records, and court databases, officers discovered that Kalekar had been living in Karanjani village, Dapoli, Ratnagiri district.

Acting under the guidance of senior officers, a police team visited Dapoli with the help of local police. On the night of October 13–14, Kalekar was found hiding in a house in Karanjani. Upon interrogation, he confessed to being involved in the 1977 crime case. He was subsequently brought to Mumbai and re-arrested in the same case.

The accused had an affair with the victim when he was 22 years old. However, Accused by suspicion that his lover was involved with another man, the accused carried out the attack on her in 1977.

The accused was medically examined and produced before the 10th Sessions Court, Mumbai, for further legal proceedings. This operation Led By Under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I), Mumbai Dr. Pravina Mundhe.