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Crime

ED raids Shiv Sena minister Anil Parab, MP Bhavana Gawali

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Building up pressure on the Shiv Sena, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday raided multiple locations belonging to senior Shiv Sena Transport Minister Anil Parab and five-time Lok Sabha MP Bhawana P. Gawali, sources said.

The ED raids came a day after Parab was slapped with a notice requiring his appearance on August 31, but he said he will consult legal experts in the matter.

On the other hand, Gawali said that she has not received any ED notice so far, even as the agency raided around half a dozen locations linked to her in Washim district, including some trusts, a college, and social and business organisations.

While Patil is a close aide of Sena president and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Gawali is the party’s sole woman face in the lower house of the parliament, elected twice from Washim and thrice from the Washim-Yavatmal constituency.

“It (ED notice) is a legal matter. We shall deal with it legally,” Parab said on the development, which came a week after Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane was arrested, granted to magisterial custody and then given bail during his ‘Jan Ashirwad Yatra’.

Reacting to the issue, Sena MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that the notice issued by the ED is not “a death warrant”, but “a love letter” for political workers.

“Only the frequency of such ‘love letters’ has increased after many unsuccessful attempts (by the opposition BJP) to breach the wall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which remains strong and impregnable. We are not scared by it,” Raut told mediapersons.

Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson and Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik said that such notices and raids are an outcome of “a clear political vendetta” witnessed against states ruled by non-BJP parties.

“Some BJP leaders say in advance that so and so leader will face action and the central agencies start working. There’s a strong doubt in the minds of the people all over India about the ED and even the Supreme Court has made certain observations recently,” Malik said.

He pointed out how when leaders from other parties join the BJP, all actions against them are dropped, and reiterated that the MVA will not be cowed down by such tactics.

Crime

Encroachments along Adyar River in TN bulldozed on Madras HC order

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Chennai, May 22: Following stern directives from the Madras High Court, authorities have initiated the removal of encroachments along the Adyar riverbank in Tamil Nadu’s Anakaputhur, with plans to complete the process within a week.

The court had recently issued a three-month deadline to the Tamil Nadu government to eliminate all encroachments obstructing the Adyar River Restoration Project.

Responding to this, the Water Resources Department on Wednesday began demolishing illegal structures, including around 50 houses in Anakaputhur. Officials confirmed that this is the first phase of the eviction drive.

The removal will continue in downstream areas such as Thideer Nagar, Jyothi Ammal Nagar, Surya Nagar, and Malligaipoo Nagar in Saidapet and Kotturpuram in the coming weeks.

An official from the Water Resources Department stated, “We will proceed with the clearance, one neighbourhood at a time, as per the court’s directive. The project had been delayed for years due to the presence of these encroachments.”

The state’s Additional Advocate-General J. Ravindran informed the court that the encroachments had halted progress on the Adyar River Restoration Project — a major initiative worth Rs 1,500 crore announced in three consecutive budgets since 2023.

Due to the obstructions, contractors were unable to prepare a detailed project report, stalling the project indefinitely.

In Anakaputhur alone, 593 families residing in areas such as Quaid-e-Milleth Nagar, Thai Moogambikai Nagar, Santhai Nagar, and MGR Nagar Third Street are being evicted. However, the state government is providing alternative housing to the affected families.

“Each displaced family will be allotted a 390-square-foot house at no cost. These houses, valued at Rs 17 lakh each, are located in Talaivaram, Keerapakkam, Perumbakkam, and Navalur,” the official added.

The Adyar River Restoration Project aims to rejuvenate the heavily polluted waterway and prevent urban flooding — a recurring issue during Chennai’s monsoon seasons. The successful removal of encroachments is expected to pave the way for its long-awaited implementation.

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Crime

Online sex racket busted in Mumbai: 28-year-old man arrested, woman rescued

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Mumbai, May 21: The Amboli Police in Mumbai have busted an online sex racket operating out of the Andheri area, leading to the arrest of a 28-year-old man allegedly running the illegal operation, officials said on Wednesday.

A 30-year-old woman, believed to have been forced into prostitution, was rescued during the operation.

The accused has been identified as Sarfaraz alias Mohammad Gulab Phoolbabu Sheikh, a resident of Versova in Andheri.

According to police, Sarfaraz was using mobile phones and messaging apps like WhatsApp to operate the racket, offering women to clients at various hotels, lodges, and guest houses across the city based on demand.

Police launched an undercover operation following a tip-off. A decoy customer contacted Sarfaraz, who then shared several photographs of women via WhatsApp for selection. Once a woman was chosen, the financial deal was also finalised over the phone.

As per the plan, Sarfaraz was asked to bring the woman to a hotel on Veera Desai Road in Andheri. When he arrived at the hotel with the woman and began negotiating with the fake client, police officers who were already stationed nearby swooped in and detained him for questioning.

During preliminary interrogation, the rescued woman told police that Sarfaraz had brought her to the hotel for prostitution. She was immediately taken for a medical check-up and later sent to a private rescue and rehabilitation centre in Kandivali for further care.

Police have registered a case against Sarfaraz under Section 143 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA).

Further investigation is underway to ascertain the scale of the operation and identify others who may be involved in the sex racket.

Officials said more arrests are likely as the accused is being interrogated for details on his network, including customers, others, and women who may have been trafficked or coerced into the trade.

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Crime

Liquor scam: ACB-EOW raid 22 locations in Chhattisgarh

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Raipur, May 20: The investigators in Chhattisgarh have ramped up efforts to uncover the details of a massive liquor scam, estimated to be worth Rs 2,000 crore.

The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) have launched a series of coordinated raids across multiple districts, including Durg-Bhilai and Mahasamund.

Reports suggest that enforcement teams are actively conducting operations at 22 locations in Durg-Bhilai, after arriving in Bhilai on Tuesday morning in four vehicles.

Additional searches are underway in Sankara and Basna within the Mahasamund district, focusing on individuals closely associated with former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma, sources said.

The authorities have expanded their scrutiny to business establishments, with EOW teams inspecting the residences of individuals suspected of involvement in the scam.

The investigation has widened to the Mahasamund district, where the enforcement teams had raided the premises of a businessman and an LIC agent believed to be linked to the illicit liquor trade.

The ACB and EOW teams have executed searches at more than 20 locations across the state, targeting key figures involved in the operation.

The investigation has caused a significant stir, with officials continuing to uncover crucial evidence.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma on January 15 after multiple rounds of interrogation.

The ACB and EOW registered an FIR in January 2024 based on a letter from the Enforcement Directorate.

Recent findings indicate that the scam, which allegedly took place between 2019 and 2022, resulted in substantial financial losses to the state exchequer while generating illegal profits exceeding Rs 2,100 crore.

The syndicate behind the scam reportedly includes senior bureaucrats, politicians, and excise department officials.

The authorities have confiscated cash, electronic devices, bank records, and land investment documents from suspects’ residences earlier. The investigation remains active as officials work to expose the full extent of the fraudulent activities.

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