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Maharashtra

Civic Activists Demand Special Task Force To End BMC Corruption, Address Mumbai’s Infrastructure Collapse

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Mumbai: Civic activists have demanded that the chief minister appoint a special task force for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to immediately address the civic infrastructure collapse in Mumbai. The activists have alleged that the task force is necessary to bring an end to the systematic corruption prevailing in the civic body.

Members of the Watchdog Foundation have written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging him to appoint a special task force to bring an end to the systematic corruption in the BMC. They have alleged that the corruption prevailing in the civic body is the reason for the infrastructural collapse in Mumbai.

The letter written on Tuesday alleged that the municipal commissioner and his team have consistently failed to provide basic civic amenities across multiple fronts. It alleged that the ongoing road concretisation works are being carried out in a haphazard and uncoordinated manner. Numerous roads have been dug up and left incomplete, causing severe air pollution, traffic congestion, and posing a grave risk to pedestrians, the letter alleged.

The activists raised concerns regarding multiple road work contracts being awarded to a few contractors. They also alleged that BMC has failed to mandate the creation of underground ducts for utilities, which leads to repeated road digging. It also pressed on the issues of encroachments of roads and footpaths, illegal parking, and repeated repairs of footpaths, resulting in waste of taxpayers’ money.

“It may be recalled that in the year 2001, the Maharashtra Government had taken the unprecedented decision to dissolve BMC following the recommendations of an expert committee constituted to probe into the widespread corruption prevalent in the civic body. Unfortunately, despite the passage of over two decades, the situation within the BMC has only deteriorated further,” read the letter.

The letter also alleged a scam in the desilting of riverbeds and nullahs, including the Mithi river, and expressed disappointment, saying that the situation remains pathetic even after hundreds of crores being allocated annually for the projects. The letter also added concerns like the proliferation of slums, rampant tree cutting, and harassment of law-abiding citizens.

“The citizens of Mumbai are losing faith in the system, and urgent corrective action is the need of the hour. We urge you to institute a high-level inquiry into the functioning of BMC and transfer all senior officials, if necessary, to cleanse it of its deeply entrenched corruption. Implement systemic reforms to ensure transparency, accountability, and efficient civic governance in Mumbai,” said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee of Watchdog Foundation.

Maharashtra

40 rain shelters, 08 unauthorized shops, 30 hawkers, 06 vehicular paths removed, joint action by ‘T’, ‘S’ and ‘N’ departments of Mumbai Municipal Corporation

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The Mumbai Municipal Corporation is implementing the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign in the Mumbai region (Mumbai city and suburbs). Under this, 40 rain shelters, 08 unauthorized shops and 30 hawkers obstructing footpaths were removed today (August 11, 2026) in the Milind area. This action was taken jointly by the ‘T’, ‘S’ and ‘N’ divisions of the Municipal Corporation. As per the directions of the High Court, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation under the guidance of Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide is effectively implementing the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign to immediately remove unauthorized hawkers and encroachments on footpaths and to make the footpaths free from obstructions.

In this regard, a joint campaign was conducted under the leadership of Assistant Commissioner (T Division) under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner (Zone-6) Santosh Kumar Dhonde. Assistant Commissioner (S Division) Samrin Syed, Assistant Commissioner (N Division) Jaideep More
The operation was carried out in the areas of Ram Ratan Trivedi Marg, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Sivaram Lalwani Marg, Ratanji Hirji Bhograj Marg, Jhaveer Marg and Ganesh Gawde Marg as well as Lokmanya Tilak Marg (West) in the ‘T’ zone of the Municipal Corporation. In this, 40 rain shelters built on the footpaths, 08 unauthorized shops, 30 hawkers and 06 carriageways that were obstructing the footpaths were removed. Apart from this, the material obstructing the footpaths was also seized.

The operation was carried out with the help of 10 vehicles, 05 dumpers, 05 JCBs and other equipment along with 13 secondary engineers, 07 licensing inspectors, 66 workers working in Zone 6. Adequate police security was deployed at that time.

Meanwhile, the municipal administration is committed to providing barrier-free and easy footpaths for pedestrians. However, no one should create obstacles on the footpath or carry out unauthorized constructions. The municipal administration is telling that strict action will be taken if this happens.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Mankhurd ATM card fraud two accused arrested

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Police has claimed to have arrested two accused who committed fraud by changing ATM cards. On August 5, the complainant had gone to the ATM center at Mangal Murthy Junction to withdraw money. While withdrawing money from the ATM, an unknown person standing behind her saw the PIN of the card. After that, she cleverly changed the ATM rod and withdrew Rs 19,000. The police have registered a case of fraud in this matter and started investigating it. The police had seen three suspicious people from the CCTV footage of the scene who were found withdrawing money from the ATM card. After that, the police identified the accused with the help of CCTV footage. Later, they were arrested. The accused have been identified as Qasim Ali Barkat Ali, 30, and Parvez Akbar Ali Sheikh, 38, both residents of Kalyan. The police are investigating further regarding both of them. Along with this, the police are also finding out how many people they have cheated before. This action was taken by DCP Sameer Sheikh on the instructions of Additional Commissioner Dhananjay Kulkarni.

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Maharashtra

7 accused arrested in cyber fraud case of over Rs 1 crore in Mumbai

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Mumbai: The Cyber ​​Police Station has claimed to have solved the mystery of a cyber crime in which the complainant was threatened with digital arrest on WhatsApp from April 2 to April 18, 2026, and was involved in a money laundering case and was defrauded of Rs 16.74 crore online by sending fake electronic documents. During the technical investigation, the police have arrested 7 accused, identified as Sanjay Hiralal, 57, who used to generate OTPs, the 32-year-old female accused used to hide the fraudulent money, Rishi Ramchandra Meena, 38, who used to transfer the fraudulent money to bank accounts, Naushad Ali, 31, who digitally arrested the complainant and the victim and worked in this gang digitally, Muhammad Khalid Hafeezuddin Saif, 27, a digital expert, Jogesh Mehta, 43, and Zubair Hussain, 27, who helped them deposit the fraudulent money in their accounts. 613 mobile phones, 2 laptops, 5 digital sign devices were recovered from the possession of the accused. SIM cards of several companies, 10 cheque books, 2 passbooks and 2 ATM cards have been seized. DCP Bajrang Bansode told the press conference that there is no such thing as digital arrest and in such a situation, do not keep in touch on unknown social media accounts. If someone threatens digital arrest, do not believe them.

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