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Maharashtra

After ED remand, Nawab Malik gets 14 days’ judicial custody

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A Special PMLA Court on Monday remanded Maharashtra Minorities Affairs Minister Nawab Malik to judicial custody till March 21 in an alleged money-laundering case arising out of a tainted land deal nearly 20 years ago.

Arrested on February 23, Malik was produced before the Special PMLA Judge R.S. Rokade after his extended custody with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the past 12 days ended on Sunday.

At the previous hearing, the ED had informed the Special Court that Malik had allegedly taken only Rs 5 lakh — and not Rs 55 lakh as stated earlier — which was paid to Haseena Parker between 1999-2005, for a property deal in Goawala Compound of Kurla.

The Special Judge extended Malik’s custody as the ED argued that they could not interrogate the Minister as he was ill and hospitalised.

The ED in February raided the homes of the kin of absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, including his deceased sister Haseena Parker and interrogated his nephew Alishah Parker, in connection with the alleged money-laundering case.

Among other things, the ED has contended that Malik was allegedly involved in a conspiracy hatched with Dawood’s gang members to usurp the ancestral property of one Muneera Plumber, with a current estimated market value of Rs 300 crore, which the central agency was a crime under the PMLA.

Later, Malik moved the Bombay High Court challenging his ‘illegal arrest’ by the ED and seeking immediate release from custody.

He contended that the ED had violated PMLA and CrPC sections by first detaining him from home in the early hours of February 23 and then serving him with the summons at the agency’s office.

Malik denied any links with the mafia and argued that the PMLA could not be applied for the alleged offence which was completed over 20 years ago, when the Act did not exist.

After his arrest, the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clamoured for the immediate resignation or sacking of Malik, but was spurned by the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress.

The MVA hit back by asking whether Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane had quit after he was arrested in August 2021 for a slur on Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and hence there was no need for Malik to quit his Cabinet post.

Maharashtra

Malegaon Blast Case Acquitted Accused Sudhakar Chaturvedi Offers ‘₹2 Lakh Reward’ To Anyone Who Slaps Maharashtra Ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan

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Mumbai: The political row over the 2008 Malegaon blast verdict escalated further on Thursday, August 7, when Sudhakar Chaturvedi, one of the seven accused acquitted in the case, made a provocative statement during a press conference. Chaturvedi, who was cleared of all charges along with BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, said, “Prithviraj is himself a Sanatani. I will give a reward of Rs 2 lakh to anyone who dares to slap Prithviraj Chavan.”

His remarks were aimed at former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, whose recent comments following the verdict have stirred controversy. The special NIA court, in its judgment, stated that there was no reliable and cogent evidence to convict the accused. The Malegaon blast of September 29, 2008, near a mosque, killed six people and injured 101, and the case dragged on for nearly 17 years before the final acquittal.

Prithviraj Chavan’s Controversial Remarks

After the court’s decision, Chavan urged people to stop using the term saffron terrorism, suggesting instead ‘Hindu fundamentalist’ or ‘Hindu terrorism’ to describe such acts. He explained that saffron holds deep cultural and religious meaning, representing the flag of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Warkari sect and saints like Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar.

Shiv Sena Protests Outside Congress Office Over Ex-Maha CM Prithviraj Chavan’s Controversial Remarks

However, his alternative terminology triggered backlash from right-wing groups and BJP allies, who accused him of maligning Hindu identity. On August 2, Shiv Sena workers staged a protest outside the Congress office in Mumbai’s Prabhadevi, demanding an apology. They alleged that the Congress frequently targeted Hindu sentiments under the banner of secularism.

Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that “no Hindu can ever be a terrorist,” Chavan pointed to history, stating, “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.”

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Crime

Mumbai Customs Seizes ₹3.72 Crore Gold Dust, Hydroponic Weed In Two Separate Cases At CSMI Airport

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Mumbai: During the duty of 07.08.2025, the Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai Customs Zone-III, made a significant seizure of contrabands at the CSMI airport. The operation resulted in the seizure of 0.947 Kg of suspected Hydroponic Weed (Marijuana) valued at approximately ₹0.94 crores, gold dust weighing 3.02Kg valued at Rs. 2.78 crores, across 02 cases.

02 persons were arrested.

Highlights of the cases:

Case 1: (07.08.2025)

24 Kt gold dust in wax (06 pcs) having net weight 3020 grams valued at Rs. 2.78 crores was recovered from an airlines staff. The gold was found concealed inside innerwear in specially designed belt. The airlines staff was arrested under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962.

Case 2: (07.08.2025)

A passenger who had arrived from Bangkok to Mumbai was intercepted and the contraband i.e. 947 grams Approximately valued at Rs.0.94 crore of greenish coloured in lumps form purported to be Hydroponic Weed (Marijuana) was recovered. The said recovered contraband was concealed in vacuum sealed plastic packets kept inside trolley bag carried by the passenger. 01 person was arrested under the provision of NDPS Act, 1985.

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Crime

Thane: 55-Year-Old Man Attempts Suicide After Mumbai Police Arrive To Arrest Him For Sexually Assaulting Minor Girl In Badlapur

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Thane: A 55-year-old man allegedly attempted suicide after a Mumbai Police team arrived at his residence in Badlapur, Thane, on Tuesday night to arrest him for the alleged sexual assault of a minor girl. The girl is the daughter of a bedridden man whom the accused had been hired to care for.

A police officer investigating the sexual assault case said on Thursday, “The man was immediately rushed to the nearby private hospital, where he lay unconscious for almost 36 hours, and currently his condition is stable.

According to the police complaint, the minor girl’s father suffered a paralytic attack last year. The accused was hired in May to care for him from 8 am to 8 pm. During this time, the man allegedly began sexually assaulting the minor and made obscene remarks after her mother left for work.

Despite being warned by the girl’s mother, the man continued to harass her. On July 28, he allegedly entered her bedroom and harassed her again, prompting the girl and her mother to approach the police.

On Tuesday, the police traced the accused’s location to Badlapur, prompting a team consisting of two assistant police inspectors and three to four constables to reach the spot. Around 10 PM, the man locked himself inside his house and began threatening to end his life. Despite the police’s efforts to calm him down, he allegedly attempted suicide. Officers then broke open the door and rushed him to the hospital, said an officer involved in the investigation.

The Police registered a case against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on July 29, following a complaint by the minor girl and her mother, who reported the harassment that occurred on July 28, as reported.

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