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.

Navi Mumbai: After receiving several complaints from residents about non-functional streetlights, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) discovered that copper wires from dozens of streetlight poles along the Vashi Link Road and Thane-Belapur Highway had been stolen. The thefts had plunged several stretches into darkness, raising safety concerns among commuters.

During intensified inspection rounds, workers from M/s Chaitanya Electricals, the agency responsible for streetlight maintenance, caught two men red-handed on October 27 stealing copper wires from poles near Kokilaben Hospital on Thane-Belapur Road. While one suspect fled, the other was detained with 48 meters of stolen wire. A formal FIR was lodged at the Turbhe Police Station.

According to NMMC’s Electrical Department, each streetlight pole contains around 48 meters of copper wire. Preliminary checks revealed that wires had been stolen from about 60 poles—approximately 2,880 meters in total. The large-scale thefts had disrupted power supply to several streetlights, particularly under the Belapur Flyover and near bus stops in Vashi village, where citizens had frequently complained of poor lighting and unsafe conditions.

Taking the matter seriously, City Engineer Shirish Aradwad and Executive Engineer Pravin Gade directed teams to increase surveillance and carry out frequent patrols in vulnerable areas. The swift action helped in nabbing one of the culprits, who was handed over to the Turbhe Police. Further investigation is underway.

An NMMC official said, “Theft of copper wires not only causes huge financial losses but also endangers public safety. We have stepped up monitoring and appeal to citizens to immediately report any suspicious activity near streetlight poles.”

Residents have been urged to contact the civic body’s toll-free helplines 1800-222-309 or 1800-222-310 to report such incidents and assist in maintaining the city’s infrastructure.