Mumbai/Jalna, Sep 4: The ongoing political tussle over reservations in Maharashtra escalated sharply on Friday as senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal issued a fierce warning to his own MahaYuti government against encroaching upon Other Backward Classes (OBC) quotas.

His fiery outburst drew an immediate, sharp retaliation from Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil, further deepening the rift within the ruling MahaYuti coalition government.

Addressing a press conference, Minister Bhujbal fired a direct broadside at state Ministers and legislators visiting Jarange Patil’s hunger strike site in Antarwali Sarati, accusing the state government of demonstrating excessive eagerness to appease the activist’s demands.

Minister Bhujbal raised serious concerns over alleged document tampering to claim Kunbi-Maratha status and cautioned against overriding statutory procedures.

“The Caste Scrutiny Committee is a vital body, and no one should exert pressure on it,” he asserted, questioning lawmakers who promised to “correct” rejected caste certificates.

“Four Corporators in Mumbai lost their seats because their caste validity certificates were cancelled. Are you going to ‘correct’ those as well?”

Highlighting economic imbalances, Minister Bhujbal revealed he walked out of a Cabinet sub-committee meeting in protest after Rs 750 crore was allocated to the Maratha-focused Annasaheb Patil Economic Development Corporation, compared to a mere Rs 5 crore granted to OBC welfare committees.

He demanded that if a dedicated Maratha-Kunbi Ministry is created, separate Ministries must be established for every community in the state.

Minister Bhujbal urged the state government to immediately clarify how a single candidate could simultaneously seek benefits under three distinct categories — OBC, Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC), and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).

Taking aim at the Maratha Reservation Cabinet Sub-Committee led by Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, the Minister questioned its authority to unilaterally issue local directives and Government Resolutions (GRs), warning that he will take to the streets if OBC interests continue to be sidelined.

Responding swiftly from his protest site in Antarwali Sarati, Manoj Jarange Patil launched a scathing personal attack on the veteran NCP leader Bhujbal, accusing him of exploiting the OBC community for political leverage.

“At this age, he (Chhagan Bhujbal) should look after his own politics and figure out how to make his nephew an MP,” Jarange Patil charged.

“He (Chhagan Bhujbal) consumed everything in the name of OBCs—the OBC Development Corporation was cleared out, and even Maharashtra Sadan wasn’t spared. The OBC community has now recognised his true nature as his decline has begun.”

Dismissing Minister Bhujbal’s demographic claims, Jarange Patil said, “Who told Bhujbal that the OBC population is 60 per cent? The massive Maratha community has only been granted a 10 per cent quota.”

The Maratha activist added, “People are watching how he (Chhagan Bhujbal) opportunistically switches sides—sometimes joining the Maha Vikas Aghadi, sometimes the MahaYuti, and sometimes aligning with Ajit Pawar.”

Jarange Patil reaffirmed that while the state government delegates have accepted key demands—including issuing Kunbi caste certificates to those with historical records—he will not end his fast until official implementation takes effect on the ground.

New Delhi, Sep 4: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched a nationwide crackdown on organised syndicates involved in digital arrest crimes, conducting coordinated searches at 89 locations across 20 states under Operation Chakra-VI, the national probe agency said on Friday.

During the operation, the CBI arrested three persons in Haryana and Kolkata for their alleged roles in receiving, layering and dispersing the fraud proceeds, it said.

The CBI has taken over several digital arrest-related cases registered in different states. In three such cases, investigators carried out extensive searches based on detailed financial and technical analysis.

The probe involved scrutiny of bank accounts, online account access data and other digital trails to identify the movement of fraud proceeds and trace the handlers and beneficiaries of the syndicates.

“One of the cases relates to BITS Pilani, where the victim was allegedly kept under digital arrest for three months and defrauded of Rs 7.67 crore by scammers posing as police officers. In another case in Gujarat, a victim was digitally detained for three months by individuals impersonating police officers and allegedly defrauded of Rs 19.24 crore. The third case, registered in Karnataka, involves a victim who was kept under digital arrest for a month and allegedly cheated of Rs 15.45 crore,” the CBI said.

The searches resulted in the seizure of banking documents, account-related records, digital devices and other material considered crucial to the investigation.

“The seized evidence is being subjected to forensic examination to establish the broader financial and technological infrastructure used by the syndicates to operate across state boundaries,” said the agency.

The CBI also arrested three accused during the operation. Their examination allegedly revealed their roles in receiving, layering and dispersing the proceeds of the fraud.

According to the agency, Akash, a resident of Haryana, received Rs 1.95 crore of the defrauded money in his bank account.

Investigators found that he had opened the account himself and transferred the funds to other accounts on the same day, indicating his alleged direct involvement in laundering the proceeds.

Raja Karmakar of Kolkata allegedly received Rs 1.5 crore of the fraud proceeds in his firm’s account. Jyoti Rani, whose account received part of the defrauded amount, allegedly withdrew some of the money in cash and transferred the remainder to other accounts to conceal its trail, the agency said.

The action comes amid growing concern over the spread of digital arrest fraud, in which cyber criminals impersonate police officers, government officials and other law-enforcement personnel to intimidate victims and force them into transferring large sums of money.

The Supreme Court has also directed the CBI to take concerted action against perpetrators and the wider networks facilitating such crimes.

The CBI said efforts are continuing to identify and apprehend other members of the wider network. Further investigation is underway, with the agency maintaining that it will pursue those involved in digital arrest crimes and organised cybercrime in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions.

Patna, Sep 4: A 12-year-old girl was killed, and four members of her family were injured after a mud house collapsed in Bihar’s Aurangabad district, police said on Friday.

The incident, which happened in Sinhudi village under the Obra police station area, triggered panic in the village after screams and cries for help alerted residents, who rushed to the spot and found the family trapped beneath the debris.

Villagers immediately launched a rescue operation and, after considerable effort, managed to pull all five family members out of the collapsed structure. However, the girl, identified as Babli Kumari, could not be saved.

Her mother, Poonam Devi, and three other children — Nandani Kumari, Rimi Kumari and Kundan Kumar — sustained serious injuries. They were rushed to Sadar Hospital in Aurangabad for treatment, where doctors declared Babli Kumari dead on arrival.

According to villagers, Poonam Devi had been sleeping in the old mud house with her four children, as they did every night, when the walls and roof suddenly collapsed, bringing down the entire room.

The incident plunged Sinhudi village into mourning, while the injured mother and children remain under treatment at the hospital.

Former MLA Rishi Yadav expressed grief over the tragedy and urged the district administration to provide the affected family with a permanent house and adequate compensation.

Obra SHO Nitish Kumar said police received information about the incident and reached the spot. He said a girl had died after being trapped under the debris, while the injured family members were admitted to Sadar Hospital for treatment.

“We have conducted the post-mortem of the dead body and handed it over to the family for the last rites,” the SHO said, adding that further investigation into the incident is underway.

He also said that the case was recommended to the district magistrate’s office for compensation.

The area has experienced heavy rainfall over the past few days, which may have weakened the structure of the mud house and possibly led to its collapse.