Mumbai: In a dramatic breakthrough, the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of Satara police foiled an attempted international escape and cracked a high-profile theft case involving a hotel in Mahabaleshwar. The primary accused, who had allegedly stolen luxury items worth Rs 10 lakh from Oxygen Hotel, was held at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport just before boarding a flight to Dubai.

The theft, which occurred between June 25 and June 28, involved electronic appliances, expensive furniture and kitchenware being stolen from the upscale Oxygen Hotel. Following the incident, Satara Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi launched a swift investigation and assigned Police Inspectors Arun Devkar and Bapusaheb Sandbhor to lead a dedicated probe.

Special Police Team Held Accused Just Before Boarding Dubai Flight

Initial investigations pointed toward an inside job, raising suspicions about a hotel staffer’s involvement. Acting on critical intelligence, LCB Inspector Arun Devkar received a tip-off that the main suspect was attempting to flee the country. A special police team was immediately dispatched to Mumbai Airport. With support from Sahar Police, the team intercepted and arrested Kanchan Kaliprasad Banerjee, a resident of Nalasopara, just as he was checking in for his flight.

Upon interrogation, Banerjee admitted to the theft and disclosed that he had already sold the stolen goods to two scrap dealers in Satara. Based on his confession, the police arrested Karan Dashrath Ghadge from Ambawade Khurd and Gautam Suresh Jadhav from Saidapur, who had bought the stolen materials. Raids conducted at their warehouses led to the recovery of items worth Rs 10 lakh.

Stolen Goods Traced & Returned To Oxygen Hotel

In addition to the stolen goods, authorities also seized a truck and a tempo used to transport the items, pushing the total recovery value to Rs 17.9 lakh. The stolen items were traced back to Oxygen Hotel and have been returned.

The Mahabaleshwar Police and LCB’s swift coordination, aided by timely intelligence and cross-jurisdictional support, was crucial in solving the case. Legal proceedings have been initiated against all three accused, who are currently in police custody. Further investigations are underway to determine if more individuals were involved in the theft or its cover-up.

New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing language row in Maharashtra, state Congress President Harshwardhan Sapkal hit out at the BJP and alleged that they were trying to polarise the language.

Harshwardhan Sapkal said, “The BJP keeps cursing the word secularism every day. Secularism is a necessity for the country and its culture. Secularism is not only used for language but also equality and caste. States also use secularism. Secularism is used for language also. BJP has no concern about secularism so they are trying to create rift in between 22 languages in the country. Unity in Diversity has a direct connection with secularism, and both concepts are related to language and culture. They have already caused polarisation based on caste and religion. Now they are trying to polarise language as well.”

He further said that the BJP believes in one country, one leader, one religion, one language and before this, the BJP has created a rift in religion and caste.

Earlier, addressing the issue of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers being detained in Mumbai, Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday stated that everyone has the right to protest in the country.

“Everyone has the right to protest. We don’t know why the BJP is anti-Maharashtra and anti-Marathi, and why people were arrested last night. There was a peaceful protest. They should have allowed it. Everyone has the right to protest”, he said.

Aaditya Thackeray noted that the BJP is trying to spread “hatred” and create conflicts between “Marathi and non-Marathi people,” he said.

He further stated that the “BJP’s divisive agenda,” ahead of the BMC and Bihar elections, would not succeed.

“The BJP is trying to spread hatred in Maharashtra and create conflicts between Marathi and non-Marathi people. Their agenda won’t work. Their agenda for the Bihar and BMC elections is to create division. This is the BJP’s tactic, and it won’t succeed”, he said.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad punches canteen staff over stale food “The food was stale, I vomited after smelling it and taking the first bite,” said Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, defending his assault on a canteen staffer at the MLA Hostel in Mumbai.

The video of the incident, which has surfaced on social media, showed the Maharashtra lawmaker calling people and asking them to smell the food packet in the canteen. The heated confrontation soon led to physical violence.

MLA’s Reaction To Backlash

Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad expressed his frustration over the poor food quality at the Akashwani canteen, where he has been a patron for 30 years. He highlighted complaints about stale and unhygienic food, including 15-day-old eggs and non-vegetarian items, and the presence of insects and dirt.

After experiencing bad food himself, he insisted that others confirm its staleness, which they did. Gaikwad stressed the importance of serving clean and healthy food, labeling current conditions a health hazard. He lamented the lack of action from the government despite numerous complaints and urged for a check on the canteen’s kitchen, voicing concern for the health of the 5,000-10,000 patrons who rely on the service.

‘I Will Do It Again…’: Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad

When asked about assaulting the canteen staff, Gaikwad said that the food was in the worst condition and that he would hit the canteen staff again for a similar service. “Natural meri jo reaction thi ki agar aap Hindi mein samajhte nahi ho, Marathi mein samajhte nahi ho, angreji (English) mein samjhte nahi ho toh aakhir mein humara Shiv Sene ka style humara phir asal rehta hi hai”, MLA stated this conversation

“Meri bhasha aakhir mein ye rehti hain” said Gaikwad in response to the incident. The incident took place at the Akashvani MLA canteen in Churchgate, where several legislators are staying during the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly.

The incident comes amid ongoing political friction between the MNS and the Mahayuti government, led by the BJP, over the MNS’s aggressive campaign promoting the use of Marathi among residents of the state.