Crime
CBI court sentences former Punjab cops in 2007 sex scandal

Chandigarh, April 7: A CBI court in Mohali on Monday sentenced Punjab’s former Senior Superintendent of Police Devinder Singh Garcha and former Superintendent of Police, Headquarters, Paramdip Singh Sandhu to five years of rigorous imprisonment each, in connection with the 2007 sex scandal in Moga.
Besides the imprisonment under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the court imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh each.
Garcha and Sandhu were arrested and charged with blackmailing influential persons to extort money.
Former Inspector Amarjit Singh was sentenced to six-and-a-half years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 2.5 lakh, while former Sub-Inspector Raman Kumar was sentenced to eight years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 3 lakh.
Both were found guilty of implicating prominent businessmen in a false gangrape case to extort money from them.
CBI Special Judge Rakesh Gupta pronounced the verdict after convicting Garcha, Sandhu, Raman Kumar, and Amarjit Singh under Sections 13(1) (D) and 13 (2) of the PC Act on March 29.
Besides corruption, Raman Kumar was also convicted of extortion, while Amarjit Singh was convicted of attempting extortion.
The CBI court acquitted Barjinder Singh, alias Makhan, the son of former Punjab minister Tota Singh, and Sukhraj Singh of all the charges.
The CBI took over the probe on the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s direction on December 11, 2007. A day later, the central probe agency registered a fresh FIR in the case.
The sex scandal involved high-profile politicians and senior police officials extorting rich people by trapping them in a flesh trade case.
As per the investigation, the accused public servants abused their positions and entered into a criminal conspiracy to obtain undue pecuniary gain by corrupt and illegal means.
According to the charge sheet, two women, including Manjit Kaur, in connivance with the police officers and Barjinder Singh, extorted money from influential people by threatening to frame them in sexual abuse cases if they refused to pay up.
Crime
Thane Crime Branch Arrests 25-Year-Old Serial Housebreaker, Cracks 9 Theft Cases In Bhiwandi; Seizes Gold Worth ₹5.98 Lakh

Thane: The Thane Crime Branch Unit 2 has arrested a 25-year-old habitual thief and cracked nine house break-in cases reported across Bhiwandi.
Gold Worth ₹5.98 Lakh Recovered from Accused Akash Jadhav
According to police sources, 58 grams of gold ornaments worth ₹5.98 lakh were recovered from the accused’s possession. The suspect has been identified as Akash alias Chinya Jadhav, a resident of the Manpada area in Thane.
The investigation began after an FIR was filed at Narpoli police station for a housebreaking incident involving an unidentified suspect. Crime Branch officials, along with local police, launched a joint investigation. CCTV footage and technical intelligence led to the identification of Jadhav.
A trap was laid, and the accused was apprehended. He was produced in court and remanded to police custody for further investigation.
History of Theft: 9 Cases Registered Across Four Police Stations
During questioning, police discovered that Jadhav has a history of theft, with nine cases registered against him. These include five at Narpoli, two at Bhiwandi City, one at Nizampura, and one at Shantinagar police station.
Police confirmed the recovery of stolen gold ornaments during the arrest. Further investigation is underway.
Business
India Lost ₹22,842 Crore To Cybercriminals & Fraudsters In 2024: DataLEADS

India lost Rs 22,842 crore to cybercriminals and fraudsters in 2024, DataLEADS, a Delhi-based media and tech company, said in its report on widespread digital financial frauds in the country. The amount stolen by digital criminals and fraudsters last year was nearly three times more than the Rs 7,465 crore in 2023 and almost 10 times more than the Rs 2,306 in 2022, DataLEADS said in ‘Contours of Cybercrime: Persistent and Emerging Risk of Online Financial Frauds and Deepfakes in India.
Prediction For Cyber-Crime Frauds
The Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, I4C, a federal agency that liaises between state and central law enforcement, predicts Indians will lose over Rs 1.2 lakh crore this year. The number of cybercrime complaints has spiked similarly; nearly twenty lakh were reported in 2024, up from around 15.6 lakh the year before and ten times more than were logged in 2019.
The surge in the number of cybercrime complaints and the volume of money lost points to one inescapable conclusion – India’s digital crooks are getting smarter and more efficient, and, in a country with a staggering nearly 290 lakh unemployed people, their ranks are increasing.
Bank-related frauds have increased dramatically; the Reserve Bank of India reported a nearly eightfold jump in the first half of FY 2025/26 compared to the same period last year. And the amount of money lost was staggering – Rs 2,623 crore to Rs 21,367 crore. Private sector banks accounted for nearly 60 per cent of all such incidents. But it was customers in public sector banks who were worst-hit; they lost Rs 25,667 crore in all.
Why have these numbers jumped so much over the past three years?
Because of the increased use of digital payment modes – i.e., smartphone-enabled services like Paytm and PhonePe – and the sharing and processing of financial details online – via (what many believe are encrypted and fail-safe) messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
Federal data says there were over 190 lakh UPI, or unified payment interface, transactions in June 2025 alone, and these were worth a combined Rs 24.03 lakh crore. Digital payments’ value has grown from roughly Rs 162 crore in 2013 to Rs 18,120.82 crore in January 2025, and India accounts for nearly half of all such payments worldwide.
COVID-19
Much of this increase can be attributed to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns.
During COVID-19, the government pushed for a switch to UPI apps like Paytm to ensure social distancing and minimise contact with currency notes, via which the virus could be transmitted.
Digital Payment Tools In Rural Areas
The government also reasoned that digital payment tools would ensure greater penetration of financial services, particularly in rural areas. By 2019, India already had 440 million smartphone users and data rates were among the cheapest in the world – 1 GB cost Rs 200, or less than $3.
Insurance sector scams were also common. These included life, health, vehicle, and general, and are becoming an increasingly lucrative option for cybercriminals, particularly as insurance companies urge customers to opt for app-based services.
Crime
Mumbai Drug Bust: 24-Year-Old Arrested In Byculla With Mephedrone, Charas Worth ₹3.46 Crore In Car

Mumbai: In a major anti-drug operation, the Mumbai Police arrested a 24-year-old man in the early hours of Wednesday and recovered a large quantity of narcotics valued at over Rs 3.46 crore. The accused, identified as Sahil Junaid Ansari, a resident of Bhiwandi in Thane district, was intercepted while driving through the Byculla area of South Mumbai.
Accused Found Driving Suspiciously In Byculla Area
The incident occurred around 4 am when a team of patrolling constables, Bhabad, Bhoye and Gangurde, spotted a Maruti Ertiga car moving suspiciously near Hume Church on B.A. Road. The team flagged down the vehicle and questioned the driver about his presence at that odd hour. Ansari, however, failed to give a satisfactory response, raising the officers’ suspicions.
Alerted by constable Bhabad, night duty in-charge Police Inspector Anup Dange immediately reached the location with PSI Kolekar, PSI Asade from the Anti-Terror Cell and other detection personnel.
Details On Drugs Found In Car
A detailed search of the vehicle was conducted, during which the police found 1,710 grams of Mephedrone, commonly known as MD, concealed inside. The street value of the seized MD is estimated at Rs 3.42 crore. Additionally, 17 grams of charas worth Rs 4.5 lakh were also recovered from the car.
Police officials confirmed that Ansari has been taken into custody and booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The contraband was seized and sent for forensic examination.
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