Navi Mumbai: The Panvel Taluka Police have arrested a couple who allegedly cheated several people of lakhs of rupees by promising to supply groceries, clothes, and household goods at discounted rates.

The accused, identified as Nawin Dhanaji Panchal (52) and Vidya Nawin Panchal (45), were arrested from Alandi in Pune and have been remanded in police custody till October 31 by the court.

According to the police, the Panchal couple rented flats in various housing societies across Panvel, where they initially gained the trust of residents by supplying groceries and household items at wholesale prices. Once they established credibility, they lured victims with offers to start a grocery business together, collecting large sums of money.

One such complainant from Panvel was cheated of Rs 5 lakh, after which the couple switched off their phones and vacated their rented home without delivering goods or returning the money.

Following a complaint, a case was registered against the duo under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Acting on technical intelligence, a police team tracked them to Alandi in Pune. Under the supervision of Senior Police Inspector Gajanan Ghadge, a team led by API Aniruddha Gije and PSI Harshal Rajput laid a trap and arrested the accused on October 27.

“During the investigation, we found that the Panchal couple used multiple mobile numbers, email IDs, and bank accounts to cheat people in the same manner in different cities. They were previously booked in similar cases in Nagpur and Kalyan and had been absconding. We suspect more victims may come forward as the probe continues,” said Senior Police Inspector Gajanan Ghadge of Panvel Taluka Police Station.

Police have appealed to citizens who may have fallen victim to the couple’s fraud to contact their nearest police station immediately.

Patna, Oct 31: A sense of shock and fear gripped Belghat village under Mufassil police station in Bihar’s Bhojpur district on Friday after two persons — a father and his son — were found lying murdered on the roadside.

The deceased have been identified as Pramod Kushwaha and his son Priyanshu Kushwaha, residents of Belghat.

According to local sources, the duo had gone out for some work on Thursday afternoon but did not return home until late in the evening.

Their family launched a search, and at around 4 a.m. on Friday, both were discovered unconscious along the road.

Police, upon being informed, reached the spot and seized a motorcycle and three empty cartridges found near the scene.

Pramod Kushwaha is known locally as the owner of the Maurya Sweets shop in Piyania Bazaar and is also an active worker of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

The incident occurred at a time when the election campaign was underway in Bihar.

Due to his political affiliation, police are probing the case from both personal and political angles.

Mufassil Police Station SHO Deepak Kumar reached the site with a large police force.

A forensic team was called in to collect evidence, and several suspects are currently being questioned.

The local police recovered the dead bodies from the crime scene and sent them for the post-mortem in Sadar Hospital, Ara.

The incident has triggered panic in the area, with residents expressing fear over the brazenness of the attack.

Bhojpur Police suspect that the act could be a well-planned conspiracy and executed with precision, raising suspicions of an old enmity or an organised gang’s involvement.

An FIR has been lodged under relevant sections of the BNS Act against unidentified persons, and a detailed investigation is underway.

This disturbing incident once again highlights the lingering atmosphere of fear and lawlessness in parts of Bihar, where politics and crime often intersect.

New Delhi, Oct 31: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached shares worth Rs 127.3 crore linked to two hospitals – Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital in Panchkula – as part of an ongoing money laundering probe involving the Alchemist Group, the agency said on Friday.

The properties are beneficially owned by businessman Karan Deep Singh. The order was issued by the ED’s Delhi Zonal Office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, on October 30, 2025.

The action is connected to a probe into alleged large-scale financial fraud and misappropriation of public funds by the group’s promoters and associated companies.

The ED initiated its investigation based on an FIR registered by Kolkata Police, which was later taken up by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), ACB Lucknow, under Sections 120-B and 420 of the IPC against Alchemist Township Pvt. Ltd., Alchemist Infra Realty Pvt. Ltd., their directors, and former Rajya Sabha MP and group chairman Kanwar Deep Singh.

“The case pertains to a large-scale criminal conspiracy to defraud investors by illegally raising funds through fraudulent Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), offering unusually high returns, and/ or making false promises of allotting plots, flats, and villas,” ED said in its press note.

The agency claims that Alchemist Holdings Ltd. and Alchemist Township India Ltd. raised approximately Rs 1,848 crore through these schemes, siphoning the money for unauthorised use.

“ED investigation revealed that the misappropriated funds were systematically layered through complex financial transactions involving group entities of the Alchemist Group, with the intent to conceal the illicit origin of the funds,” the agency said.

“These tainted proceeds were ultimately used for the acquisition of shares and the subsequent construction of Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital. The transactions were deliberately structured to project these assets as legitimate, thereby disguising the Proceeds of Crime (POC),” it further added.

According to the ED, the shares of Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital are held to the extent of 40.93 per cent and 37.23 per cent, respectively, by M/s Placid Estate Pvt. Ltd., a company beneficially owned by Kanwar Deep Singh.

“The assets of Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital as held by M/s. Placid Estate Pvt. Ltd, valued at Rs 127.3 crore, has been attached in the current provisional attachment order,” it said.

In addition, the ED noted that it had previously arrested Kanwar Deep Singh on January 12, 2021.

A prosecution complaint was filed on March 2, 2021, followed by two supplementary complaints in July 2024 and September 2025. So far, assets worth Rs 365.42 crore have been attached in the case through earlier orders, including shares held by Sorus Agritech Pvt. Ltd. in the same hospitals.

Further investigation is underway.