Mumbai: The Bombay HC on Thursday dismissed the appeal challenging acquittals of all the 22 accused in the 2005 alleged fake encounter case of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati.

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad on Thursday dismissed the appeal filed by Sohrabuddin’s brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin Shaikh challenging the special court’s verdict of 2018 acquitting all the accused. The detailed order however would be available subsequently.

Sohrabuddin’s brother had in April 2019 approached the HC against the special court’s judgment, acquitting all the accused. The appeal filed by Sohrabuddin’s brothers claimed that the trial was flawed. It cited instances where witnesses later claimed that their testimonies were not accurately recorded by the trial court. The appeal sought for the judgment to be quashed and for a retrial in the case.

Interestingly, the prosecuting agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not filed an appeal against the acquittal. During the hearing in the appeal on October 8, 2025, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing the CBI, had informed the HC that the agency has accepted the verdict by the special CBI court, Mumbai, acquitting all the 22 accused, and will not be challenging the same. 

The special court, in December 2018, acquitted all the 22 accused, citing insufficient evidence and prosecution’s failure to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt. It observed that the prosecution had failed to establish a cogent case to suggest there had been any conspiracy to kill Sohrabuddin and the others, and that the present accused persons had any role in it. The court also the CBI had failed to prove there existed any nexus between these officers and the local politicians, some of whom were also accused in the case.

Sohrabuddin, alleged to be a gangster, was killed in November 2006 in an encounter near Ahmedabad by the Gujarat police. His wife Kausar Bi was also allegedly killed. Later in December 2006, Prajapati, who was considered as a key eyewitness, was killed in another alleged encounter.

The Supreme Court then handed over the probe to the CBI and transferred the trial in the case to a special CBI court in Mumbai. 

Mumbai: In the drug overdose deaths case related to a music event at NESCO Goregaon last month, an international drug racket link has been revealed. The investigation has found that the main supplier, Mahesh Khemlani, allegedly procured 4,000 ecstasy pills from Europe and used a USDT wallet (a digital wallet that stores, sends, and receives Tether, a stablecoin).

On Wednesday, Khemlani, 44, aka Mark, was produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Borivali, which remanded him to police custody until May 10. The police said he allegedly sourced ecstasy pills from a friend based in Europe. He is believed to have ordered the drugs twice and had them couriered to the address of a friend of co-suspect Ayush Sahitya, 24, who resides in Ulhasnagar.

In the first consignment, 3,000 pills were sent, followed by 1,000 pills in the second, taking the total to 4,000 pills delivered to the same address. The transactions were conducted in foreign currency using the USDT wallet. The foreign currency was allegedly converted into Indian currency and vice versa through an agent, before being transferred to Khemlani’s supplier in Europe.

Investigators also revealed that Khemlani, Sahitya, and the Europe-based supplier had met at a hotel in Mumbai, and a further probe is underway. Khemlani, along with cosuspect Vineet Gerelani, 22, and Sahitya, had also met in Goa before the incident. The police suspect they may have links with other drug suppliers.

On Wednesday, the Vanrai police told the court that they had so far seized 935 pills in this case and needed custody to trace the remaining contraband and identify recipients. The police also said they are investigating meetings in Mumbai and Goa and are trying to identify the agent involved in the currency exchange.

Khemlani’s advocate, Pankaj Jadhav, argued that no incriminating material has been recovered from his client. Jadhav stated that Khemlani has no connection to the case, and that neither his chats nor his bank transactions indicate any involvement. The advocate added that Khemlani is engaged in import-export business, and the transactions in his account are work-related. Jadhav also claimed that the money transferred to a co-suspect was a loan and that the arrest was made solely based on the statement of Sahitya.

Advocates Surendra Landge, Azad Gupta, and Ranjita Jain appeared for several suspects in the case.

Mumbai: The Azad Maidan police have booked Vinay Jadhav for allegedly submitting forged documents to obtain a job in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) under the compassionate policy (preferential treatment) in 1997. He worked with the BMC for 29 years, and his employment came under scrutiny in January 2026.

As per the FIR, Jadhav’s father, Madhukar Jadhav, died in June 1986; Jadhav’s elder brother, Harshraj Jadhav, had already secured a clerk’s job in the BMC under the compassionate policy in December 1986. As per the rules, only one eligible family member can be appointed on compassionate grounds after the death of a parent.

However, in August 1995, Vinay Jadhav allegedly submitted an application to the BMC under the same policy. Police said he submitted forged documents and, in October 1997, fraudulently obtained a job in the civic body.

According to the FIR, Jadhav worked in the BMC’s Licence Department (C Division) as a licence inspector and allegedly cheated the civic body for 29 years.

The matter came to light when Rajeshree Patil, 57, an administrative officer in the BMC’s Licensing Department, initiated an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the hiring, promotion and transfer of employees. The inquiry revealed that officials at the time had failed to properly scrutinise the documents, allowing Jadhav to take undue advantage.

The BMC administration stated in the FIR that Jadhav drew a salary and other benefits over the years, causing financial losses amounting to lakhs of rupees to the civic body. Following the complaint filed by Patil, the Azad Maidan police registered an FIR against Jadhav on April 28 under Sections 318(4) (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.