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AIMIM to give a fight to Congress in Gujarat

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 The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM) entry into Gujarat politics may not have a significant impact but it is definitely going to affect the Congress party.

Muslim community leaders fear that if the AIMIM puts up its candidates in Muslim dominated seats, their representative strength will fall further in the state assembly. Once there were at least eight Muslim MLAs in the state assembly. The number has fallen to three after the 2017 assembly elections.

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi visited Gujarat on Sunday and Monday and addressed two public meetings, one in Ahmedabad and another in Chhapi in Vadgam taluka of Banaskantha district.

The venues of the meetings clearly indicate that the party is targeting constituencies where the Congress has a presence and its representatives have got elected. Chhapi is the place where the biggest protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens had taken place.

Chhapi falls under Vadgam assembly constituency which is reserved for Scheduled Castes. Jignesh Mevani got elected in 2017 as an independent MLA from here and has now joined the Congress.

The Muslim population in the state is 58.47 lakh – 9.67 % of the total population. Going by these numbers, it should have 18 representatives in the assembly.

There are at least 20 assembly seats where Muslims have a more than 20 per cent vote share, but hardly two to three Muslims get elected to the assembly. “Now if AIMIM enters the fray, it will divide Muslim votes further, affecting the Congress party’s prospects,” feels Adam Chaki, Congress leader and candidate from Bhuj constituency in the 2017 elections.

Chaki said that at least on 34 to 35 seats, the Muslim vote share is around 15 to 16 per cent, but the parties are not taking a risk and are fielding more Muslim candidates. According to him, the AIMIM will field candidates in two constituencies: Kutch district, Bhuj and Abdasa, on Jamnagar seat; and two in Ahmedabad in Jamalpur-Khadia and Dariapur. It is less likely to field candidates in Jambusar, Vagra and Bharuch constituencies in Bharuch district.

When it comes to the BJP, it is “least concerned with AIMIM’s entry,” says Mohsin Lokkhanwala, president of the BJP minority cell, and adds that the AIMIM can’t divide nationalist Muslim votes as those Muslims who believe in the BJP’s one nation theory are committed voters of the nationalist party.

The AIMIM is receiving a good response. Said Sabir Kabliwala, state president of the AIMIM, “It is not decided on how many seats the party will field its candidates. The party is conducting a survey and based on its conclusions, the party will field its candidates.”

This party’s entry in the state has already started denting the Congress vote bank. “See the results of Modasa and Godhra nagar palika and Ahmedabad municipal corporation elections. In Modasa, in second elections 16 councillors got elected, all on Congress symbols. All were Muslims. In 2021, 16 got elected, but nine on AIMIM symbols and seven on Congress,” elucidated Shafi Madani, national secretary of Jamat-e-Islami-Hind.

Though Muslims have a good presence in more than 50 seats, its representatives are less because parties field less number of Muslim candidates. After fielding Muslim candidates, they are left on their own and have little support from the party and the non-Muslim community, that is why their victory is dependent on how much Muslim votes one garners, elaborates Shafi Madani.

Maharashtra

Search continues for absconding accused under trial in Mumbai Sessions Court, Crime Branch teams are active, case registered on constable’s complaint

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A suspect under trial has escaped from the Mumbai Sessions Court. The suspect had pushed the constable and fled. According to the details, the suspect under trial from Sessions Court Room No. 10, Calamba has fled from the second floor. Complainant Prashant Shrimant Kamble, 28 years old, employed as a police constable, resident of No. 2200, 2C Building, MHADA Colony, Mohite Patil Nagar, Mankhurd, Mumbai, pushed Harrison Anthony Joseph, 42 years old, resident of Gala No. 08, Room No. 2202, New Scale Building, Masafir Khana, Crawford Market, Mumbai. The suspect under trial in this case was brought from Arthur Road to Court Room No. 10, Sessions Court, Calamba for hearing today. After the hearing of the said suspect, he was to return to his jail along with the other four accused. The other four accused were to be kept in the lockup of the Sessions Court till the hearing is completed. While the complainant was being brought down from the third floor, as soon as he reached the second floor, the accused surrounded the complainant before he knew anything, grabbed his hand and pushed him and fled. The said case has been registered on the basis of the statement of the complainant. A case has been registered against the accused under sections 307,504,506,34 IPC. On receiving information about the said offences, the Crime Detection Team has immediately rushed to the spot and the footage has been examined. In the said footage, the accused is seen fleeing from the Sessions Court premises and on the basis of the information received, the Crime Detection Team has immediately left for Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Kurla to search for him. Further investigation is underway.

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International News

Trump claims Iran reset, orders nuclear dust cleanup

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Washington, April 8: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced what he called a “very productive regime change” in Iran, saying the US would eliminate uranium enrichment and work to dig up and remove deeply buried nuclear “dust”.

In a series of posts, Trump outlined a framework that combined nuclear restrictions, sanctions relief and sharp trade penalties.

“The United States will work closely with Iran, which we have determined has gone through what will be a very productive regime change!” he wrote on Truth Social, a day after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

He asserted that Iran would no longer be allowed to enrich uranium. “There will be no enrichment of Uranium,” Trump said, adding that the United States would work with Iran to “dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) nuclear ‘dust.’”

Trump said the material remained under strict monitoring. “It is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance (Space Force!). Nothing has been touched from the date of attack,” he said.

The President also pointed to ongoing negotiations that could ease economic pressure on Tehran. “We are, and will be, talking tariff and sanctions relief with Iran. Many of the 15 points have already been been agreed to,” he said, without detailing the terms or the parties involved.

Minutes later, Trump issued a warning to countries supplying weapons to Iran, signalling an aggressive escalation in trade policy.

“A country supplying military weapons to Iran will be immediately tariffed, on any and all goods sold to the United States of America, 50 per cent, effective immediately. There will be no exclusions or exemptions!” he said.

The dual messaging — offering sanctions relief while threatening sweeping tariffs — reflected a strategy that mixes economic coercion with conditional engagement.

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Crime

Mumbai Crime: 3 Brothers Booked For Alleged ₹450 Crore Land Fraud In Bhandup Using Forged Documents

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Mumbai, April 8: The Mumbai police have booked three brothers from Bhandup for allegedly forging affidavits and submitting false information to government authorities to fraudulently insert their names as legal heirs in official property records, including the property card and 7/12 extract. The accused are said to have subsequently sold this prime land parcel in Bhandup, currently valued at approximately Rs 450 crore.

The accused have been identified as Hitendra Shankar Gawand, Mahendra Shankar Gawand, and Narendra Shankar Gawand. Nimish Vajralal Sura, a partner in M/s Newkem Products Corporation, the company that purchased the land, has also been named as a co-accused in the case.

According to the FIR, the complaint was filed by Neeraj Prakash Malvi, 27, a resident of Thane West, who works at a private firm in Powai. He lives with his father, Prakash Malvi, 65, while his elder sister Hemangi, 29, recently got married in March 2026 and resides in Goregaon.

Neeraj’s mother, Bhavana Prakash Malvi (née Bhavana Shankar Gavand), passed away on May 9, 2005. Following her death, Neeraj and his sister, who were minors at the time, lived for a few years with their maternal uncle, Narendra Gavand.

The disputed land, located at Lake Road in Bhandup (West), bearing CTS Nos. 204 and 204/1 to 6, originally belonged to Neeraj’s grandfather, Shankar Narayan Gavand.

After his mother’s death, Neeraj’s father was allegedly assured by the three uncles that Bhavana Gavand was a legal heir and that her children would be entitled to a 5% share in the ancestral property.

The alleged fraud came to light in 2024 when Neeraj’s father initiated the process to sell a portion of the property for family needs. They discovered that the entire property had already been sold in 2010 by the three uncles to M/s Newchem Products Corporation.

Upon obtaining documents from the Mulund City Survey Office, it was revealed that shortly after Bhavana Gavand’s death, the accused brothers had submitted a false affidavit dated July 6, 2005, claiming that only they and their mother were the legal heirs of the deceased, deliberately excluding Bhavana’s children. Based on this affidavit, they allegedly got their names added to the property card and land records (7/12 extract).

Subsequently, on April 29, 2010, the brothers allegedly executed an illegal conveyance deed and sold the land to M/s Newkem Products Corporation.

The FIR further states that Nimish Sura was aware of Bhavana Gavand’s legal claim, as multiple meetings regarding the land transaction had taken place between 2003 and 2005 involving all family members, during which Bhavana had allegedly raised objections over her share.

Following Neeraj Malvi’s complaint, the Bhandup police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and have initiated further investigation.

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