Thane: Mumbai Metro activities have officially begun in the eastern suburbs. On August 25, the first trial train coaches were lifted and placed on the tracks near Anand Nagar in Thane, starting from midnight. Trial runs are expected to commence in September 2025.

These are not the final trains, but they match the final specifications. The rolling stock (train) contract for Mumbai Metro Green Line 4 and 4A was awarded in February 2025 to a joint venture of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Alstom, as reported by Midday.

A 10.5-km stretch covering 10 stations from Gaimukh to Cadbury Junction, which includes Line 4A and part of Line 4, is expected to open by February 2026. This will be the longest among the partial launches. The stations on this stretch include: Cadbury, Majiwada, Kapurbawadi, Manpada, Tikuji-ni-Wadi, Dongari Pada, Vijay Garden, Kasarvadavali, Gowaniwada, and Gaimukh, as reported.

In other news related to Mumbai Metro, in view of the upcoming Ganeshotsav celebrations, the Aqua Line Metro, also known as Metro Line 3, will extend its operational hours till midnight from August 27 to September 6. During this period, services will run daily from 6:30 AM to 12:00 AM, ensuring smooth travel for devotees and commuters throughout the festivities.

Currently, a 22 km stretch between Aarey (JVLR) and Worli is operational. The entire corridor spans 33 km, with the final phase up to Cuffe Parade (Colaba) slated to open soon.

Currently, trial runs are ongoing, and the remaining stretch is awaiting certification from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) before commercial operations can commence.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday dubbed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi as a “serial liar” while rejecting the latter’s allegations of “vote theft” against the BJP.

These “lies” of the opposition leaders are only meant to convince themselves, Fadnavis told reporters here

“I have said it earlier also that Rahul Gandhi is a serial liar. He has been spreading lies relentlessly. It pains me to see that even some leaders from Maharashtra have suddenly realised that Rahul Gandhi is speaking the truth,” he said.

Responding to Gandhi’s charge that votes were “stolen” by the BJP, CM Fadnavis said false information never has any foundation.

“A fort built on lies crashes. Unless they realise that to win the votes of people, one has to go to the people and earn their trust, their lies are only meant to convince themselves,” the senior BJP leader said.

Gandhi has alleged that votes were stolen in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana, and that attempts were being made to “steal” votes of the people in Bihar, ahead of the upcoming assembly polls there, by the ruling BJP at the Centre in collusion with the Election Commission.

Some of the other opposition parties, including the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), have also raised the issue of “vote theft” and asked their party workers to check the electoral rolls to assess bogus voters.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has also said he had been talking about “vote theft” since 2016, and the Election Commission should have conducted a probe when both Rahul Gandhi and BJP leader Anurag Thakur alleged voter list fraud.

CM Fadnavis on Sunday said leaders alleging vote theft were doing so to provide solace to their workers for their defeat in polls instead of introspecting about their loss.

New Delhi, Aug 25: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under its ongoing Operation Chakra-IV, has dismantled a sophisticated cybercrime network that defrauded US nationals of nearly $40 million and arrested three key accused, an agency statement said.

The action was carried out in close coordination with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The arrested have been identified as Jigar Ahmed, Yash Khurana, and Inder Jeet Singh Bali.

According to the CBI, between 2023 and 2025, the accused gained unauthorised remote access to victims’ systems and bank accounts by posing as tech support providers.

They convinced US-based victims that their accounts were compromised and manipulated them into transferring money to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the gang, the statement said.

The CBI registered the case on August 18 and launched extensive searches across Amritsar and Delhi. A major breakthrough came when investigators raided an illegal call centre — Digikaps The Future of Digital — being run at Global Tower, opposite Khalsa College for Women, Amritsar. At the site, 34 people were caught red-handed while engaged in cyber fraud activities.

The searches led to the seizure of 85 hard disks, 16 laptops, 44 mobile phones, incriminating digital evidence, and Rs 54 lakh in cash. Documents and additional electronic devices linked to the fraud were also recovered.

CBI investigations revealed that the accused had been funnelling proceeds of crime through cryptocurrency transactions.

Further operations are underway to trace the money trail and identify other members of the transnational cyber-enabled financial crime network, the agency said.

The probe is also pursuing international leads in coordination with Interpol and other foreign law enforcement agencies, the statement added.

The CBI noted that Operation Chakra-IV has significantly disrupted and dismantled this organised cybercrime syndicate.

Investigation into the broader network and on international leads is ongoing.