Mumbai, March 6: The opposition parties on Thursday staged a protest in the Maharashtra Assembly premises against two Ministers — Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam and Minister Jaykumar Gore — and also demanded their resignation from their respective posts.

The opposition has accused Minister Kadam of making an “insensitive” statement in the assault case of a 26-year-old woman inside a bus at the Pune bus depot and has alleged that Gore was involved in harassing a woman.

The opposition leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the state council Ambadas Danve, demanded the resignation of Kadam and Gore while accusing the state government of protecting the two.

Opposition took strong objection to Kadam’s statement that “in the incident that took place in the Shivshahi bus, there was no resistance from the victim. Since there was no resistance, no one suspected this.” Thereafter, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Kadam’s statement was taken differently but added that “my advice to him is that we have to be more sensitive when speaking in such cases. If something goes wrong while speaking, it has a negative impact on the public mind.” Kadam also subsequently clarified.

As far as the BJP Minister Gore is concerned, the opposition claimed that he should resign or the chief minister should sack him from the cabinet for harassing a woman. Gore, on his part, clarified that the court had already given a judgment in 2019 and acquitted him.

The court had ordered the destruction of the seized material and mobile phone. He further said, “It has been six years since this court verdict. This case has come to light after six years. Political leaders should restrain on what to say at what time.”

Gore has announced that he would file defamation case and move privilege motion against those who are making allegations in this case despite his acquittal by the court.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut dared Gore to move a privilege motion. “Is he going to move the privilege motion against the woman who has filed a fresh complaint to the state Governor?” he asked.

He further said, “Even if the Minister says that he was jailed in this case, then how did Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis take him in the cabinet? Even after doing so much, now, after becoming a Minister, you are again harassing that woman who will be sitting on a hunger strike in front of the Vidhan Bhavan from March 17.”

Raut demanded that the CM should immediately take Gore’s resignation. “I have spoken to the woman who has said that she will commit suicide if she is not freed from such harassment,” said Raut.

Mumbai: The Mumbai police’s economic offences wing (EOW) has searched the residence of New India Cooperative Bank’s former chairman Hiren Bhanu in connection with the embezzlement of Rs 122 crore at the lender, officials said on Wednesday.

EOW Recovers Several Documents

During the search, EOW recovered several documents, which police are examining, an official said.

The house search was conducted in the Malabar Hill area of south Mumbai, where Hiren Bhanu and his wife Gauri Bhanu stayed in a rented flat, an official said. Gauri previously held the position of vice chairman at the bank.

The couple also own a flat at Nepean Sea Road which they have rented out, an official said. Both are wanted accused in the Rs 122-crore embezzlement case.

The EOW team is identifying the couple’s properties and also ascertaining whether they were acquired with the proceeds of the crime, he said.

About The Lie Detector Test

Meanwhile, the agency will conduct a lie detector test on Hitesh Mehta, former general manager and head of the accounts of the bank, on March 11, the official said.

Mehta is not cooperating and is hiding some important facts concerning the case, due to which he has not given his consent for the test, he said. But the court has permitted the police to conduct the forensic psychological test on Mehta, the official said.

The EOW is probing what prompted the Reserve Bank of India’s inspection team to visit the bank in February 2025.

As per the balance sheets of the bank, as of March 31, 2019, it had Rs 33.71 crore in cash which rose to Rs 99 crore on March 31, 2020. It’s almost a three-fold jump, he said.

On March 31, 2021, the figure further increased to 194 crore and it was Rs 105 crore in 2022. At some point in the current financial year, the amount rose to even Rs 152 crore. Police are examining why the RBI team conducted an inspection last month and not in some of the previous years, the official said.

So far, police have arrested four persons in connection with the embezzlement, and four accused are still at large, he added.

Mumbai: Four police constables attached to Dharavi Police Station were suspended on Thursday after a video of them allegedly accepting bribes from hawkers surfaced on social media.

According to officials, the suspended constables were deployed as beat marshals on patrolling vehicles, responsible for taking action against illegal roadside eateries and food stalls. However, instead of enforcing the law, they were caught on camera extorting money from hawkers.

Following the video’s viral spread, senior police officials initiated an internal inquiry and ordered their immediate suspension.