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Gyanvapi case: Varanasi court rules in favour of Hindu petitioners

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 The Varanasi court on Monday said that the Hindu petition for worship in Shringar Gauri was maintainable and the five Hindu women’s plea seeking right to worship in the Gyanvapi complex will be heard.

District judge A.K. Vishvesha dismissed the petition filed by the Muslim side citing the Places of Worship Act and questioning the maintainability of the petition.

Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the Hindu side said, “The court rejected the Muslim side’s petition and said the suit is maintainable. The next hearing in the matter will be on September 22.”

“Muslim petitioners are likely to approach the Allahabad High Court in appeal,” petitioner Sohan Lal Arya said, but added that they will continue to contest the case.

Well known Sunni cleric Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali said that their legal team would study the verdict and act accordingly.

He expressed concern over the fact that the Places of Worship Act 1991 was being set aside and such cases were being raised.

“We will fight the matter legally,” he added.

In May, the Supreme Court had assigned the case to the Varanasi district judge’s court, shifting it from a lower court where it was being heard till then.

The Supreme Court had ordered that “Keeping the complexity and sensitivity of the matter in view, the civil suit before the civil judge in Varanasi shall be heard before a senior and experienced judicial officer of the UP judicial service.”

A month before the Supreme Court’s intervention in the case, the Varanasi civil court had ordered the filming of the Gyanvapi mosque, based on the petition by the Hindu women who claimed that there are idols of Hindu Gods and Goddesses in the Gyanvapi mosque complex.

A report of the filming at the mosque was then submitted to the Varanasi court in a sealed cover, but the Hindu petitioners controversially released details just hours later.

The report claimed a ‘Shivling’ had been found in a pond within the mosque complex used for ‘wuzu’ or purification rituals before Muslim prayers.

The judge hearing the case at the time had ordered the sealing of this pond.

This filming inside the centuries-old mosque was challenged in the Supreme Court by the Gyanvapi mosque committee.

The petitioners said the filming goes against the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which maintains the religious status of any place of worship as of August 15, 1947.

“Such petitions and sealing of mosques will lead to public mischief and communal disharmony, will affect mosques across the country,” the mosque committee had argued.

The mosque committee made similar arguments before the Varanasi district judge’s court in the ‘maintainability’ case, while lawyers for the Hindu petitioners claimed the law does not bar their case and that they could establish in court that the mosque premises was actually a temple as on the day of Independence.

National News

Mumbai: Cooper Hospital Doctors Raise Alarm As Security Overhaul Leaves OPD Unprotected; MARD Warns Of Mass Leave

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Mumbai, Nov 24: A sudden overhaul of the security system has created confusion among doctors at Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle after they noticed the absence of guards in the Out-Patient Department (OPD).

The hospital has witnessed several assaults on doctors in recent weeks, increasing anxiety among staff and prompting the Cooper Hospital unit of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) to raise concerns with the administration.

On November 8, three doctors were attacked by a man after a 60-year-old patient died during treatment. Shockingly, the security personnel present in the emergency ward allegedly remained passive during the incident, raising serious questions about the efficiency of the contracted security agency.

Following the incident, the BMC administration removed around 150 personnel of the outsourced agency and initiated the process to appoint a new one. It later emerged that both the old and proposed agencies were operated by the same individual under different company names.

As the appointment of a new agency will take time, the BMC temporarily deployed its own staff. About 90 personnel were pooled from various departments and assigned to Cooper Hospital. The abrupt shift led to confusion among doctors, who initially believed no security had been deployed.

Chief Security Officer Ajit Tawade said the misunderstanding has now been cleared. “Doctors were not aware that BMC security personnel had been deputed,” he said. Tawade added that 90 guards will be deployed round the clock in three shifts, with fewer staff required at night. Previously, 150 guards were posted across the hospital.

Under the revised arrangement, one guard will be assigned to each floor instead of every ward or OPD, raising concerns about reduced vigilance.

“With limited manpower, we cannot post guards in each ward or OPD. Doctors are demanding the same strength they had with the private agency. We deploy security in the same manner at Sion, KEM and other hospitals. At present, we are functioning with only 50 percent of the required strength,” Tawade said.

MARD president Dr. Chinmay Kelkar said doctors have been assured that security deployment will be gradually increased. “If there is no improvement, we will be forced to go on mass leave,” he warned.

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Crime

Thane Shocker: Young Woman’s Body Found Stuffed Inside Suitcase Under Desai Khadi Bridge On Kalyan–Shil Road; Police Launch Murder Probe

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Kalyan, Nov 24: A shocking incident has come to light after the body of a young woman was discovered inside a suitcase under the Desai Khadi bridge on the Kalyan–Shil Road on Monday. The gruesome finding has triggered panic and concern throughout the area, as it clearly indicates a cold-blooded murder.

According to police sources, the age of the deceased woman is estimated to be between 25 and 30 years. The body was packed inside a medium-sized suitcase and dumped beneath the bridge, suggesting that the killers deliberately chose a secluded spot to dispose of the evidence.

Prima facie, officers believe the woman was murdered before being stuffed into the suitcase and abandoned. However, the exact cause of death will be known only after the post-mortem examination.

The identity of the victim remains unknown at this stage. The police have begun checking missing women complaints from Kalyan, Dombivli, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Mumbai and surrounding regions.

Forensic experts have been called to examine the suitcase and surrounding area for fingerprints, blood traces, or any other clues that may help identify the perpetrators.

CCTV footage from nearby locations, toll plazas, and road junctions along the Kalyan–Shil corridor is also being collected and analyzed to trace the vehicle or individuals who might have transported the suitcase.

The Dyghar Police have officially launched a murder investigation and formed a special team to trace the identity of the woman and hunt down those responsible. Police have appealed to the public to contact them immediately if they have information about a missing woman matching the victim’s description.

The brutal killing has sent a wave of shock across the city, raising serious concerns about safety. Police say they are treating the case with utmost urgency and are confident of making a breakthrough soon.

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Crime

J&K: ED attaches property valued at Rs 1 crore in money laundering case

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Jammu, Nov 24: The Jammu Sub-Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Jammu and Kashmir said on Monday that the agency has attached immovable property worth Rs 1 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

A press statement by the ED said, “The Jammu Sub-Zonal Office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable property worth nearly Rs 1 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

“The provisionally attached property comprises industrial land at Panipat, Haryana, of M/s Vidit Healthcare Private Ltd., Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, the ED initiated investigation in respect of case registered by the Jammu NCB against M/s Vidit Healthcare (Managing Partner, Neeraj Bhatia) Niket Kansal and others for illegal diversion of a codeine-based cough syrup (CBCS), “Cocrex”, for misuse as intoxicant/drug, from manufacturer, M/s Vidit Healthcare,” the statement added.

“ED investigation revealed that M/s Vidit Healthcare supplied CBCS to entities viz. M/s S.S. Industries, M/s Kansal Industries, M/s Nouveta Pharma, M/s Kansal Pharmaceuticals and N.K Pharmaceuticals (all operated and controlled by Niket Kansal r/o Delhi) during 2018-24, to the tune of about Rs 16.74 crore. Part of such illegally diverted CBCS was supplied to Raees Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Srinagar, from whom large quantities of CBCS was seized on January 14, 2024 by NCB.”

“ED investigation further revealed that M/s Vidit Healthcare earned gross profit estimated to be nearly Rs 2.92 crore as proceeds of crime from the sale of codeine-based cough syrup (CBCS) to entities operated by Niket Kansal viz. M/s S.S. Industries, M/s Kansal Industries, M/s Nouveta Pharma, M/s Kansal Pharmaceuticals and N.K Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in this case, ED has conducted search at the premises of Neeraj Bhatia and Niket Kansal on February 13, 2025, resulting in seizure of cash amounting to Rs 32 lakh and jewellery valued at Rs 1.61 crore from the residential premises of Neeraj Bhatia and in furtherance of investigations, ED has further attached immovable property in the form of land at Panipat of M/s Vidit Healthcare, worth nearly Rs one crore.”

“Further investigation is underway,” the statement said.

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