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Maharashtra

Amit Shah’s Ganeshotsav trip to Maharashtra may be devotional-cum-political

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 Over two months after the alliance government of Shiv Sena rebel faction leader and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Bharatiya Janata Party’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took charge, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is slated to visit Mumbai on September 5, at the height of the Ganeshotsav festival.

Shah’s customary annual visit to the state’s biggest festival for the past few years used to be a largely religious affair – visiting the Lalbaugcha Raja and other important venues, and taking ‘darshan’ of Lord Ganesha at the homes of several BJP bigwigs in the city.

This year, however, the devotional menu may be laced with a subtle political docket intended to strengthen the Shinde-Fadnavis regime – currently bedevilled by internal, external and legal hassles, plus other political ghosts.

Fadnavis acknowledged all the possibilities with a grin, indicating “there will be a political agenda” during Shah’s visit on Monday, but declined to elaborate.

The Shinde-Fadnavis government has been struggling to attain credibility among the masses after it toppled the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress, led by Uddhav Thackeray.

The MVA has viciously targeted and vituperatively lampooned them for the manner in which the government came to power, with embarrassing choruses of “Khoke Ok” (boxes, implying Rs 50 crore), “traitors”, etc. haunting the “ED sarkar” and needling the 40-odd legislators of the rebel group who sneaked out from June 10 onwards.

The Thackeray-led Shiv Sena even went a step ahead comparing them with a famous Arabian Nights tale of 40 dubious characters, attracting howls of protests and bitter counter-attacks from the “turncoats”.

Shinde faced flak for the massive delays in the cabinet expansion with 18 Ministers – which took place 41 days after he and Fadnavis took oath on June 30 – followed by the hiccups in allocating portfolios, and the hanging swords of the legal tussle in the Supreme Court.

Now, he confronts discontent afresh with many MLAs from his and BJP side clamouring for ministerial berths, and while a second round of expansion may take a while, Shah may cast a benign “glance” and placate the restless legislators.

There is the pending issue of the proposed tie-up with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray, which the BJP has been hoping for since the past over a couple of years.

Once a sharp BJP-baiter, Raj Thackeray apparently sobered up his pilgrimage to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in August 2019, and now the “ED sarkar” is “after” him for a much-anticipated partnership, ahead of the upcoming crucial civic polls.

After recovering from a hip surgery, Raj Thackeray has been the flavour of the season for the BJP with a host of leaders calling on him, like Shinde, Fadnavis, state and city party heads Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Ashish Shelar, respectively, and others.

There’s intense speculation that Shah may home in on the reluctant Raj Thackeray and nudge him into a cooperative alliance – for the mutual benefit of MNS-BJP-Shinde Group – in the civic elections, to begin with, and get a “Thackeray” on the BJP side.

In recent weeks, some prominent Congressmen like ex-CM Ashok Chavan, have been doing multiple rounds of several BJP leaders, rattling the party’s state unit.

However, Congress leaders and Chavan have been claiming that these meetings pertain to “official or constituency-related works”, but the political grapevine is furiously spreading into a vineyard!

It is not immediately clear whether Shah will devote any attention to this new political development – that may well spell further doom for the MVA.

Maharashtra

17-Year-Old Molested By Coaching Class Professors

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Maharashtra: In a shocking incident, a 17-year-old girl was abused in a well-known coaching class in Beed, Maharashtra. The allegations have been leveraged against the two professors of the coaching classes.

The cops at the Shivajinagar police station registered a case under the POCSO Act late Thursday night. Professor Vijay Pawar, an office bearer of the coaching class association and a very well-known name in Beed’s coaching industry, along with Professor Prashant Khatavkar, allegedly molested a class 12 student.

As per the victim, in July 2024, Khatavkar asked the victim to visit her in his cabin, after which he behaved inappropriately. Later, she went to the institute’s director to report the incident. However, the victim alleged that the director also indulged in similar behaviour. According to her, the molestation continued till May 2025.

After the case was filed by the victim, Assistant Inspector Atul Kumar Landge took charge of the situation. “Both are absconding after committing the crime. Three teams of the local crime branch are trying to nab them,” Landge informed.

This incident has raised concerns over women’s safety in coaching centres in Beed.

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Maharashtra

6 Bangladeshi women and a man arrested from Pune and Mumbai

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police has intensified its action against Bangladeshis living illegally in Mumbai. Based on information received from Mumbai Police ATC, Bayazid Ayub Sheikh was detained in the limits of Andheri MIDC Police Station in Mumbai. His documents and Aadhar card were checked. It was found that he is Bangladeshi and is living here illegally. He told that there are many Bangladeshi women in Andheri area. After this, two suspicious women were detained. During interrogation, it was found that the accused Bayazid has also settled women with him in Pune.

Two Bangladeshi women were detained from Pune. One of them, Ati Sheikh, has a case registered in Nagpada for living illegally in Mumbai. All four women have been taken into custody. In this case, Pune Mumbai Police has arrested seven people including Bayazid Ayub Sheikh, Nasreen Begum, Rozni Akhtar, Kokila Bakhthar, Roma Begum, Pakhi Mustafa Begum, Kohinoor Akhtar Begum. Police has arrested six women and a Bangladeshi man. This operation was carried out by Additional Commissioner Paramjit Singh Dahiya and DCP Datta Nalawade on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti.

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Maharashtra

Muharram police station: Police alert ahead of Ashura and Ashadi Ekadashi, look at social media, warn of strict action against miscreants

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Mumbai: In view of Muharram and Ashura, the police have claimed to make special arrangements in the police station. Police Commissioner Ashutosh Dumbere said that small processions of mourning and grief are also taken out on Ashura and Ashadhi Ekadashi. In such a situation, the route has also been changed at many places to avoid clashes between the two processions. He has said that in the backdrop of Shia-Sunni communal clashes, separate routes have also been kept for mourning and grief, along with this the police is fully prepared and alert.

Ashutosh Dumbere said in a special meeting that joint meetings are held in view of Muharram and Ashura, in such a situation the police will also keep a special eye on controversial comments and other insulting posts and social media. Due to Muharram and Ashadhi Ekadashi, a formal meeting of peace committees was also held in the police station commissionerate. He said that for communal harmony, the police station commissionerate does not work only on festivals, but the peace committee and mohalla committee remain active throughout the year and miscreants are kept under surveillance. He said that strengthening brotherhood and communal harmony is among the priorities of the police, so meetings are held at the police station level to establish communal harmony.

Ashutosh Dumbere said that in the backdrop of Ashura, all security arrangements have been made in the police station and arrangements have also been made on the route. Not only this, mourning and mourning processions are taken out on a large scale in Thana, Mumbra, Rabodi, Ulhas Nagar, Bhiwandi, Dombivali Kalyan, so special security arrangements have been made on their route. He said that in view of Ashadhi Ekadashi, the police has taken special care that there is no clash in the processions of Muharram and Ashadhi Ekadashi and hence the routes related to them have also been changed.

The police is fully alert. Special monitoring is also being done on social media so that action can be taken against those who spoil the atmosphere by spreading inflammatory or hate messages on social media. Necessary instructions have also been issued at the police station level. Dumbare said that besides keeping an eye on those spoiling the atmosphere, orders have also been given to take action against them and the activities of miscreants will not be tolerated.

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