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Coal scam of Rs 6,000 Cr in last 14 years in Gujarat: Cong

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The Congress on Wednesday alleged that coal meant for Small and Medium Industries was sold to industries of other states and a scam of Rs 6,000 crore has come to light in Gujarat.

The party demanded a time-bound investigation.

It raised questions, whether it was coincidence that three chief ministers — Narendra Modi (CM of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014) was also holding the charge of Industry, Mines and Minerals Department from December 2007 to December 2012), Vijay Rupani (August 2016 to September 2021) and Bhupendra Patel (September 2021 till date) — kept the Industry, Mines and Minerals Department with them.

Addressing a press conference here, Congress spokesperson Gaurav Vallabh said, “Coal extracted from mines of Coal India did not reach the industries for which it was extracted.”

“In the last 14 years, 60 lakh tonnes of coal have been sent from the mines of Coal India in the name of traders and small industries of Gujarat. It’s average price is Rs 1,800 crore at Rs 3,000 per tonne, but instead of selling it to traders and industries, it has been sold in other states at a price of Rs 8,000 to 10,000/tonne.”

The Congress said that the UPA government had formulated a policy in 2007 to provide good quality coal at affordable rates to the small industries across the country. Under this policy, coal was extracted every month from the West Coal Field and South-East Coal Field of Coal India for Small and Medium Industries of Gujarat.

Vallabh said, “The Gujarat government had to send all the information, including the list of beneficiary industries of coal, the quantity of coal required, from which agency the coal will be sent to Coal India. Along with this, the Gujarat government also has to send a list of State Nominated Agency (SNA). SNA means the agency declared by the state government, which is authorised to take coal from Coal India to the state’s beneficiaries, small scale industries, small traders.

“The information sent to Coal India by the Gujarat government turned out to be false. The industries in the name of which coal was extracted from Coal India in the documents did not reach those industries.

“Agencies buy coal from Coal India every year in the name of beneficiary industries of Gujarat, but agencies instead of giving it to the beneficiaries earn crores of rupees by selling coal at high prices in the open market. It is possible that the agencies have created fake bills for this game and evaded Income Tax, Sales Tax and GST,” said the Congress spokesperson.

National News

Mumbai Local Mega Block Update: Train Services To Be Disrupted In Central, Western Lines | Full List Of Affected Routes & Timings

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Mumbai local train update: The Central and Western Railways have issued an advisory for commuters regarding their upcoming mega block and special traffic block and power block on their service. The Central Railway has announced a special traffic block and power block for pre non-interlocking works in connection with Karjat Yard remodelling work from October 11 to October 14.

In addition to this, a four-hour jumbo block has been scheduled on the Western Line between Borivali-Ram Mandir Station tomorrow i.e. October 12.

The block has been scheduled for carrying out pre non-interlocking works in connection with Karjat Yard remodelling work. The block has been imposed between Palasdhari and Bhivpuri Chowk section. Amid this, several trains have been cancelled, diverted or short terminated. The full list of the trains is shared below:

From 12.20 pm on 11.10.2025 (Saturday) to 7.20 am of 12.10.2025 (Sunday)
From 7.20 am to 6.20 pm of 12.10.2025 (Sunday)
From 11.20 am to 2.20 pm of 13.10.2025 (Monday) & From 11.20 am to 2.20 pm of 14.10.2025 (Tuesday)

In order to carry out maintenance work of tracks, signalling and overhead equipment, a Jumbo Block of four hours has been announced on Sunday.

The block will be taken on Up Fast lines between Borivali – Ram Mandir stations, as well as on the 5th line between Ram Mandir – Kandivali stations.

According to a press release issued by Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, the timings of the jumbo block is from 10 am to 2 pm.

Some suburban trains will remain cancelled during the block and also some of the Andheri and Borivali trains will be worked upto Goregaon on Harbour line.

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Bollywood

‘My Wife, Sister Getting Hate Messages From Pak, UAE, Bangladesh’: Sameer Wankhede On ‘Ba*ds Of Bollywood Row, Defamation Case Against Red Chillies, Netflix

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Former Mumbai NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, on October 11, spoke about the defamation case he has filed against Red Chillies Entertainment and Netflix. While speaking to news agency ANI, the former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer claimed that his family has been receiving hate messages from Pakistan, the UAE, and Bangladesh.

Wankhede said that his family has nothing to do with his profession or the case and asked, “Why are they feeling the brunt of these kinds of things?”

In addition, he also informed reporters that his sister and wife have been receiving threats. “Hate messages are coming from Pakistan, the UAE, and Bangladesh. I will not accept that because of me, they are facing the brunt of it,” he said.

He further added, “We have regularly informed the police about the threats that my sister and wife keep getting.”

Wankhede also said that he filed the case as it was about his self-respect, personal dignity, and honour, stating, “Whatever satire or parody you create, do it with your own people.”

He added that he would fight the legal battle as far as possible, saying, “I am a loyal soldier of the Government of India. There are numerous checks and balances in our system, and there is a proper rule book — the Constitution — according to which we work. One person does not make the decisions here. Everything has been done according to the rules and regulations. It is not about any publicity; it is about dignity. The kind of hate messages I have been getting, no self-respecting man will remain silent on it. I will fight this legal battle to whatever extent possible.”

Calling drug abuse a major issue for the nation, he further said, “By highlighting such things, you’re insulting not just one person but those who have worked with me, and others who fight against drug abuse.”

The case pertains to Aryan Khan’s web series, ‘The Ba**ds of Bollywood’*. The former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officer has claimed that a character in the series bears a striking resemblance to him and has alleged that the show was “deliberately conceptualised and executed with the intent to malign his reputation.”

Wankhede has filed a ₹2 crore defamation case against Aryan Khan, Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd (owned by Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan), and Netflix.

After filing the ₹2 crore defamation case, Wankhede told PTI, “I don’t want to comment on this. I will just say one thing — Satyamev Jayate (Truth alone triumphs).”

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Crime

Mumbai: Real Estate Contractor Arrested In Alleged Multi-Crore Fraud Case

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Mumbai: In an interesting turn to an alleged fraud case, a real estate contractor who approached the Khar police against his partner became an accused himself and was arrested. Notably, the sessions court recently refused to even grant him bail, observing that the investigation has revealed that he, in fact, cheated 35 people with fake documents.

The court said that if the contractor, Syed Abi Ahmed, 53, is released, the “prosecution will suffer a lot”. Ahmed was arrested on August 25 on the direction of the Bombay High Court. As per the prosecution case, he had filed a complaint against Peer Mohammad Shaikh alias Babu and Babu’s sister Karima Mujid Shaikh alias Lady Don. It was claimed that in 2014, Ahmed bought a property spanning 2,860 sq ft in Santacruz from one Vijay Dhule by sale agreement which was notarised.

Claiming financial problems, Ahmed did not develop the property into a residential complex. On April 12, 2024, Babu approached him to develop the plot but by June wanted to break the partnership claiming losses. Ahmed claimed he returned Babu’s share of Rs1.60 crore collected from the 35 persons who had booked houses. In June that year, Babu gave up his rights on the flats in writing, with his role limited to constructing the building and handing it over to Ahmed.

In August 2024, Ahmed claimed Babu demanded more money which led to a dispute and also a scuffle, landing Ahmed in hospital for four months. Ahmed claimed that, in his absence, Babu sold flats on the first floor. The Khar police began investigating and found that the sale agreement of the alleged plot was forged. The probe revealed that the advocate whose name appeared as notary had passed away and his signature was forged. Besides, the investigating officer found that Ahmed had entered into an agreement with 35 persons.

The MoUs were allegedly attested by one Advocate Mustari, who denied signing the documents. Advocate for Babu, Tariq Khan, pointed out these findings while arguing for bail for Babu during the hearing on August 18. The court later ordered to implicate Ahmed, following which he was arrested. Ahmed sought bail, claiming that the documents were genuine. He also raised medical grounds for the bail, which the court refused, noting that “there is prima facie case” against him.

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