Connect with us
हिंदी اردو
Saturday,17-October-2026
Breaking News

Crime

Badlapur Sexual Assault Case: Maharashtra Govt Challenges Sessions Court Judge’s Order, Unclear On Filing FIR Against Policemen

Published

2 years ago

on

Mumbai: The state government has challenged before the Bombay High Court the order of the Thane sessions judge by which it kept “in abeyance” the findings of magistrate inquiry report implicating policemen in the death of accsued in the Badlapur sexual assault case. The State, however, remained non-committal on whether it would register an FIR against the policemen concerned based on the report.

Public Prosecutor Hiteen Venegaonkar informed a bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Neela Gokhale that they have filed an application before the HC challenging the February 21 order of the Thane sessions court keeping in abeyance the magistrate’s report questioning the legitimacy of the alleged encounter.

On a specific question by the bench on whether an FIR would be lodged against the five policemen based on the findings of the magistrate report, the State maintained that the observations in the magistraterial report cannot be a basis for an FIR.

Senior counsel Amit Desai, appearing for the government, said the an independent investigation is being conducted by the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in addition to a probe by an inquiry committee headed by retired judge of Allahabad HC, DB Bhosale. Hence, said that the State will wait for the conclusion of the CID probe before taking any decision.

“State believes that the investigation is ongoing and based upon it’s outcome, it will decide whether FIR is needed to be filed; or no cognisable offence is made and a closure report has to be filed,” Desai underlined.

Desai submitted that it can’t be said that the magistrate’s report “constitutes as evidence to lodge an FIR”. “We are doing our bit and there is nothing to suggest that the investigating officers (of CID) are acting in a mala fide manner for the court to intervene,” he added.

The bench again pointedly asked whether the State proposes to lodge an FIR. “Once that the report has come, our question is whether it is incumbent on the state to register an FIR or not. Today, the question is whether the state proposes to lodge an FIR or not? Say yes or no,” the court asked.

Desai emphasised that the independent probe was on and at this stage it is not permissible for the court to order registering of an FIR based on the magistrate’s inquiry report. The court will continue hearing the matter on March 10.

Last week, the HC had appointed senior advocate Manjula Rao as amicus curiae (friend of the court) to assist with the plea after Shinde’s parents expressed that they did not wish to pursue the case. Rao has been asked to assist the court on several issues, including whether an FIR ought to be registered by the State based on the magistrate’s report. The issue arose after the State argued that the magistrate’s report was only recommendatory.

The father had initially filed a petition claiming that his son was killed in a fake encounter.

Meanwhile, the State’s application against Thane sessions court order would be taken up for hearing after two weeks by Justice RN Laddha. The government has contended that the sessions judge order was “wrong, illegal and against the facts and circumstances of the case”. It contended that the sessions court had failed to consider the fact that the HC was seized of the matter related to the alleged encounter of the accused.

The HC had last week censured the sessions judge for the order.

Shinde had been arrested by the Badlapur police for allegedly sexually assaulting minor girls at a local school. While in judicial custody at Taloja Prison, he was taken into police custody on September 23 via a transfer warrant in connection with a second FIR lodged by his wife. However, during transit, he sustained firearm injuries and later succumbed.

The magistrate’s report, prepared on January 17, raised suspicion on the claims made by the five cops that they had to shoot at the accused in self-defence after he allegedly snatched a gun from them while being escorted. The magistrate noted the policemen, including two inspector-level officers, were in a position to control the situation and the use of force by them was not justified.

Post Views: 49,169
Related Tags:

Crime

Online betting: ED conducts searches at 20 premises in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad

Published

41 minutes ago

on

October 17, 2026

By

Mumbai, Oct 17: In fresh action against an online betting/gaming and cyber fraud syndicate, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted search operations at 20 premises located in Mumbai, Pune, Mehsana, Surat and Hyderabad, ED officials said on Saturday.

During the search operations on October 13, the ED’s Mumbai Zone-2 seized various incriminating documents, digital devices and other material evidence relating to the layering and diversion of proceeds of crime, the official said in a statement.

In addition, multiple bank accounts of the concerned entities and persons have been ordered frozen under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the statement said.

In the case, the ED had earlier conducted searches at multiple places in Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru and also arrested Ram U. Ramdhani, founder of Edsom Fintech Private Limited, who remains in judicial custody, it added.

The investigation stems from two predicate offences pertaining to the online gaming and betting platform “All Panel Exchange” (allpanelexch.com) and MGM91 wherein the complainants were induced to deposit funds and were subsequently cheated, the ED said.

The central agency’s investigation under PMLA established that funds collected from victims of both betting platforms were routed and ultimately received in the bank accounts of a Pune-based entity established by Ram U. Ramdhani.

“Edsom had developed and operated an in-house payment intermediary platform called “iPaisa”, through which it onboarded more than 200 shell/front entities — referred to internally as “merchants” — on behalf of online gaming, betting, and cyber fraud operators and their agents, referred to as “Channel Partners/Carry and Forward Agents”,” the ED said.

“Investigation revealed that funds collected from victims of online gaming/betting/cyber fraud platforms were routed through a vast network of mule bank accounts and the controllers of these betting platforms, along with the shell entities used for routing the proceeds of crime, have been identified,” the ED added.

It also emerged that a significant number of persons involved in operating these online betting/gaming platforms were being directed from Dubai based persons, the probe agency said.

The syndicate was further aided by certain cooperative banks, whose infrastructure was used to collect and further layer the illicit proceeds, it added.

“Investigation has also established that the proceeds of crime generated through online betting/gaming and cyber fraud activities were siphoned out through three principal routes: One, by way of remittances disguised as trade transactions through over invoicing; and other, by cash withdrawals from mule accounts opened under the guise of APMC units; and another, by conversion of funds into cryptocurrency for siphoning off the proceeds of crime outside India,” the ED said.

Post Views: 59,909
Continue Reading

Crime

One killed as DTC bus runs into pedestrians in Delhi Anand Parbat

Published

4 hours ago

on

October 17, 2026

By

One person was killed, and two others were injured after a Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus hit vehicles and pedestrians in Delhi Anand Parbat area on Saturday, officials said.

According to the officials, an e-rickshaw, two bikes, and a scooter rider were hit by the bus, which was heading towards Tikri Border.

One person died on the spot, while two others were seriously injured and were shifted to the hospital.

The officials added that the bus driver fled the scene following the accident.

According to the eyewitnesses, the bus was speeding when it hit the pedestrians.

“The bus was being driven by a female driver. The bus was at a very high speed. Pedestrians tried to save themselves; however, some were hit by the bus. Around 4-5 people were injured,” an eyewitness told media.

“There is always a traffic jam in this area. There is no place to walk on this road. Rikshaws and shops have encroached upon the road. Everyone fears to walk on this road. Today, a person has died because of all this,” another said.

“Several accidents keep happening here. The situation is miserable. The police also don’t arrive on time,” a local told media.

Police and forensic teams have reached the spot and are investigating the incident. Further details are awaited.

In a separate incident, one person was killed, and three others were injured after a truck hit two motorcycles near Crescent Apartment Red Light in Dwarka Sector 18 in the early hours of Saturday.

According to Delhi Police, the fatal accident occurred at around 12.45 a.m. The two motorcycles were carrying four people, with two persons on each vehicle, when the truck struck them.

Police apprehended the truck driver, Hotam Singh, 41, a resident of Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The truck, both motorcycles, and other exhibits were seized.

A case has been registered at Dwarka North police station under relevant sections, and further investigation is underway.

Post Views: 66,131
Continue Reading

Crime

Delhi Police rescue 19 women, arrest 10 in raids on two spas in city

Published

4 hours ago

on

October 17, 2026

By

The Central District Police conducted simultaneous raids at two spa establishments in the Nabi Karim and Paharganj areas of Delhi, rescuing 19 women and arresting 10 people for their alleged involvement in illegal activities, police said on Saturday.

The raids were conducted as part of a crackdown on alleged illegal activities operating under the guise of spa services. Two FIRs have been registered under Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, and further investigation is underway.

In the first operation, Nabi Karim police acted on specific information about an alleged sex racket operating at Hollywood Spa, located on the second and third floors of property number 8709-10 on Desh Bandhu Gupta Road.

According to police, on October 16, a secret informer approached Sub-Inspector Neeraj Rathi and provided information about the alleged racket. The information was shared with the station house officer (SHO), who constituted a team to verify the input and take legal action.

A police personnel was deployed as a decoy customer to verify the information. After the alleged illegal activity was confirmed, the team raided the premises, rescued 14 women and arrested nine accused.

The arrested persons were identified as Preeti Iman Ali, 39, the spa owner; Rizwan Ali, 38, the manager; Asif, 35; Shajeb, 31; Mohd. Umar, 39; Sameer, 25; Shahrukh, 35; Gulrej alias Danish, 28; and Shiva, 25. They are residents of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka.

An FIR (No. 473/26), dated October 16, was registered at Nabi Karim police station under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.

In a separate operation, Paharganj police raided New Latest Unisex Salon and Spa at property number 3738 on Desh Bandhu Gupta Road. During the raid, five women were rescued, and one accused was arrested.

The accused was identified as Shakeel Ahmed, 46, a native of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, who was residing at the spa premises in Delhi.

An FIR (No. 452/2026), dated October 17, was registered at Paharganj police station under Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.

Police teams from both stations carried out the operations under the supervision of their respective SHOs, with the Nabi Karim operation also supervised by the ACP, Paharganj.

Post Views: 60,012
Continue Reading

Trending