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.”

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.

Mumbai: Nearly 14 hours after two young men were swept into the sea at Silver Beach near Godrej Gate in Juhu, the body of one of the missing individuals was recovered late Friday night. The deceased has been identified as 20-year-old Vighnesh Murgesh Devendram.

Details On The Drowning Incident

The incident was first reported around 10:24 am on Friday by the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), which stated that the duo had ventured approximately 200 metres into the water when they were caught in a powerful current around 8:30 am. While one of them, 22-year-old Rajkumar Govind Subba, was pulled to safety by on-duty lifeguard Jitendra Tandel from Drishti Marine before the fire brigade arrived, Vighnesh went missing in the waters.

A large-scale search operation was immediately launched by the fire brigade in coordination with local police, civic staff and fishermen. Despite continuous efforts throughout the day, there was no sign of the youth until later that night.

According to officials, both youths were residents of a slum in Vile Parle. Preliminary reports indicate that they may have been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. The Mumbai Fire Brigade had to halt the search operation at 1:36 pm due to high tide conditions. Authorities had earlier appealed to the public to alert the nearest police station, the BMC, or the fire brigade in case they spotted the missing individual.

Body Of Missing Youth Found At Night

According to the updated report received on Saturday morning, local fishermen and the Juhu Police were able to recover Vighnesh’s body at approximately 10:30 pm on Friday. He was rushed to Cooper Hospital, where he was declared, brought dead. The confirmation came from Dr. Niranjan, Assistant Medical Officer at the hospital. Rajkumar Subba, the survivor in the incident, was rescued in time and is believed to be recovering.