Mumbai: Manoj Jarange’s hunger strike for Maratha reservation has entered its 18th day, and he is marching towards Mumbai with his convoy; however, the Mumbai Police have refused to grant permission for the hunger strike and have rejected his application. The Maratha Morcha had sought permission to hold the hunger strike at Mumbai Azad Maidan starting September 19. Although Manoj Jarange-Patil has set out for Mumbai with his convoy, the police have denied permission for the protest.
Explaining the reasons for the refusal and the rejection of the application, the Mumbai Police stated that the Maratha community had previously organized a protest at Azad Maidan where they continued the demonstration even after the permitted timeframe had expired. This caused significant inconvenience to Mumbai’s citizens and paralyzed normal public life, leading to traffic and law-and-order issues. Furthermore, 13 FIRs were registered in the Azad Maidan area during that protest, as rules and regulations had been violated. Rejecting Manoj Jarange-Patil’s application, the police stated that the Ganesh Utsav festival is currently underway in Mumbai (from September 14 to 26), drawing large crowds of devotees; a Maratha reservation rally would attract further crowds, raising concerns about the disruption of civic order. The police cited potential law-and-order issues and inconvenience to citizens amidst the congestion as grounds for the rejection. They further noted that while Azad Maidan has a capacity for 5,000 protesters, the call has gone out to hundreds of thousands—or even millions—to attend, creating a significant risk of disorder and traffic disruption. Despite the Mumbai Police’s categorical refusal to grant permission, Manoj Jarange-Patil remains adamant in his stance and has already departed from Jalna with his convoy.

In a major operation, the Mumbai Crime Branch arrested two drug peddlers found selling Nitrazepam tablets. Acting on a tip-off received by Unit 6 on September 9, a Crime Branch team laid a trap and apprehended the two accused near the Trombay Transport Office—located on the southbound service road of the Panvel-Sion Highway in Trombay, Mumbai. Authorities seized 21,000 Nitrazepam tablets—weighing a total of 12.81 kg and valued at ₹64,05,000—which the accused were intending to sell illegally for recreational use. The arrested individuals have prior cases registered against them under the NDPS Act; specifically, a case has been registered against both under Sections 8(c), 22(c), and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985. The arrested men are aged 44 (resident of Shivaji Nagar, Govandi, Mumbai) and 50 (resident of Kausa, Mumbra, Thane district).

This operation was carried out by a team from Unit 6 under the guidance of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Anil Kumbhare, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Krishnakant Upadhyay, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Datta Nawathe, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (D-East) Dharmapal Bansode. The team comprised Police Inspector Bharat Ghonge (In-charge, Unit 6), Police Inspector Sushant Sawant, Woman Sub-Inspector Chaudhary, Woman Sub-Inspector Mashire, Police Sub-Inspector Desai, Police Havaldars Wankhede, Khedkar, Bhalerao, and Chamgar, Police Constables Panchal, Shaikh, Bodhare, and Sasane, and Woman Police Constable Khotod.

Rais Shaikh, the Samajwadi Party MLA from Bhiwandi East, has lodged a complaint with the State Chief Electoral Officer regarding numerous flaws in the Election Commission’s ‘Special Summary Revision’ (SIR) campaign for voter lists. He pointed out that the names of lakhs of eligible voters are missing from the recently published draft list. In a letter, MLA Shaikh has demanded a two-month extension for the process of rectifying these errors.

Elaborating on the issue, MLA Shaikh stated that voters had submitted registration applications with valid documents during the SIR campaign and possess acknowledgment receipts; however, their names are not included in the recently published draft voter list. The online system indicates that lakhs of applications—ranging from new voter registrations (Form 6) to name corrections or address changes (Form 8)—are pending at the Booth Level Officer (BLO) level.

Affected voters have not received any notices, SMS alerts, or phone calls from the Election Department regarding discrepancies in the voter list or ‘no-linkage’ issues. Thousands of eligible voters are confused about whether they will be included in or excluded from the final voter list. MLA Shaikh noted that this sentiment prevails among voters in the areas of Bhiwandi, Madanpura, Mankhurd, and Govandi.
Persistent server issues on the Election Commission’s website and mobile app have made it extremely difficult for citizens to fill out new forms or check the status of their existing applications. BLOs are unwilling to work during the festive holidays. Consequently, MLA Rais Shaikh has demanded a two-month extension to the September 30 deadline for the SIR process. In his letter, he urged that the names of citizens holding SIR acknowledgment receipts be included in the final electoral roll. He also called for immediate orders to process pending applications held by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and suggested launching a campaign to accept applications via offline (physical) methods to overcome online server issues. Exercising the right to vote is a constitutional right for every eligible voter. Through this letter, MLA Rais Shaikh has directed the State’s Chief Electoral Officer and the Thane District Collector to ensure that no voter is deprived of their right to vote during the SIR process.