Crime
Future of Bengal’s Pegasus panel uncertain after SC sets up committee
With the Supreme Court appointing an independent expert technical committee to examine allegations that the government used Israeli spyware, Pegasus, the future of the two-member commission, formed by the West Bengal government three months before, to probe the issue is unclear.
Though the state commission is yet to come out with an official statement, a section of legal experts believes that after the formation of the committee by the apex court, it has lost its relevance.
The two-member commission comprising former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan B. Lokur, and former Calcutta High Court Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya, met on Thursday to decide their future course of action but declined to speak anything on the issue.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had set up the commission of inquiry into the alleged surveillance of phones using the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli cyber-intelligence company NSO Group. It was look into the alleged breach of privacy of several individuals – journalists, activists, businesspersons, police officials, politicians – both in the government and the opposition.
According to the notification issued by the West Bengal government, the commission will “enquire into and report on inter alia the reported interception and the possession, storage and use of such information collected through such interception, in the hands of state actors and non-state actors”.
The commission, set up under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, was given powers of a civil court, while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This means that it had powers to summon and enforce the attendance of any person from any part of India and examine him or her on oath, and receive evidence, and it can order requisition of any public record or copy from any court or office.
Under Section 5 of the Act, the commission also has the power to require any person, subject to any privilege which may be claimed by that person under any law for the time being in force, to furnish information on such points or matters that, in the opinion of the commission, may be useful for, or relevant to, the subject matter of the inquiry.
According to political experts, Banerjee’s move to form the commission was an effort to force the Centre to react. Though both the Central and state governments can set up such commissions of inquiry, states are restricted by subject matters that they are empowered to legislate upon.
According to the legal provisions, it matters who orders an inquiry first. If the Central government set up the commission first, then states cannot set up a parallel commission on the same subject matter without the approval of the Centre. But if a state has appointed a commission, then the Centre can appoint another on the same subject if it is of the opinion that the scope of the inquiry should be extended to two or more states.
However, a section of the legal experts believe that the state commission cannot run simultaneously with the committee formed by the Supreme Court.
“The state cannot form this kind of commission legally but the state government has formed the commission under the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1952. The committee the Supreme Court has formed is not under the Act, but it is on the basis of powers vested on the Supreme Court,” former Supreme Court judge Asok Kumar Ganguly said.
“The committee has been formed under Article 142 of the Constitution. If this committee functions, then I cannot understand how the illegal (according to me) commission formed by the state can function. This is not tenable under the Constitution of India,” he added.
However, Trinamool Congress MP and Supreme Court lawyer Kalyan Banerjee contended: “The two can function simultaneously. There is no problem in the functioning of the two commissions.”
Crime
Maharashtra, Mysuru Police Bust MDMA Factory On Ring Road; ₹100 Crore Drugs Seized, Four Held

Bengaluru: In a joint operation, the Maharashtra police and Mysuru police have raided a narcotics manufacturing factory on the outer ring road of Mysuiru and seized 13 kg of MDMA and 37 kg of liquid being used to manufacture MDMA, all worth over Rs 100 crore in the international market.
Interestingly, the narcotics manufactured here were being supplied to Maharashtra and the raiding police squad have arrested four persons in this connection. The Mysuru city Commissioner has suspended the Narasimharaja police station inspector Lakshmikanth Talawar for dereliction of duty, under whose jurisdiction the factory comes.
Recently, a drug peddler who was arrested by the Maharashtra police had confessed that he was procuring drugs from Mysuru. He had told the police that a large quantity of the MDMA was stored in Mysuru either in the form of powder or pills and was being supplied to Maharashtra.
Based on the information, the Maharashtra police approached the Mysuru City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar, who organised the raid. In the early hours on Sunday, the police team raided an old garage near Belavattha in the outer ring road. Among the four arrested, two are from Mysuru and the other two are outsiders. The police have refused to divulge any details of the arrested, as it would hamper the future investigations.
Reacting to the drug factory in Mysuru, Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwar said that it was a disturbing development, as Mysuru was a quiet place without much such activities.
“Now we have unearthed the factory, we are taking strict action against such activities. Even our police are investigating various angles of the incident,” he added.
Crime
Mumbai: 11 Months On, No Action Against Cops Who Planted Drugs On Innocent Man In Kalina

Mumbai: There has been no significant progress in the drug planting incident in Kalina involving four police personnel, even after almost 11 months.
The Vakola police have neither taken any action against the four accused police personnel, nor have they filed the chargesheet or properly recorded eyewitness statements. They have also not added additional NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) sections to the case, applying only bailable sections instead. As a result, the accused were granted anticipatory bail.
About The Case
On August 30, 2024, four policemen allegedly planted drugs in the pocket of 31-year-old Dylan Estbeiro, an innocent man working at a livestock farm in Kalina, Santacruz East. The entire incident was captured on CCTV, exposing the four police personnel.
The incident dates back to August 30, 2024, when PSI Vishwanath Omble and three constables – Imran Shaikh, Sagar Kamble, and Yogendra Shinde (also known as Dabang Shinde) – in plain clothes from the Khar police station visited Shahbaz Khan’s livestock farm in Kalina, Santacruz East, where Dylan Estbeiro was working. They allegedly frisked Dylan and planted 20 grams of mephedrone in his pocket during a staged search, later accusing him of drug possession.
The entire incident was captured on CCTV, which was later reviewed and shared publicly by Shahbaz Khan. Following the release of the footage, Dylan was released by the Khar police. The video sparked public outrage, prompting then-Deputy Commissioner Raj Tilak Roushan to suspend all four officers on August 31. Nearly three and a half months after the incident, the case was filed under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Crime
Mumbai Crime News: Father, Brother-in-Law Booked Under POCSO For Sexually Assaulting Minor Girl; One Arrested

The Sewree Police have registered a case against the victim’s father and brother-in-law under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and rape charges for sexually abusing a minor girl. While the police have arrested the brother-in-law, the father remains absconding after the case was filed. Authorities are conducting a search for the accused.
The victim, a 16-year-old girl, alleged in her complaint that in April 2024, her father covered her face with a cloth while she was sleeping at home and sexually assaulted her. He also threatened to kill her mother if she disclosed the incident, leaving the victim too terrified to speak out. Later, in March (year unclear—needs verification), when the girl was alone at home, the accused allegedly molested her again.
After the victim recently approached the police, a case was filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for rape and the POCSO Act. The brother-in-law has been arrested, while the father is still at large.
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