Navi Mumbai, May 9: Panvel City Police solved a Rs 1.5 crore theft of materials belonging to Tata Projects Limited, stored on railway land, within six hours, arresting three accused and recovering stolen property and cash worth Rs 1.6 crore.

The police recovered 100 per cent of the stolen material and also exposed the involvement of an insider in the case.

The theft took place on April 28 from a site in Karanjade Sector-1, where Tata Projects Limited had stored construction materials for a railway bridge project on railway premises.

Unknown persons had stolen materials worth Rs 1.5 crore from the location.

After a case was registered at Panvel City Police Station, special teams were formed under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Nitin Thackeray.

Acting on technical analysis, intelligence inputs and local inquiries, the police arrested three accused within six hours and recovered the entire stolen material in the following days.

During the investigation, the main accused was identified as Vijaykumar Babulal Verma, a supervisor with the company, who allegedly instigated the theft and facilitated the crime.

He had reportedly taken Rs 10 lakh from the co-accused in return. The police later recovered the cash amount from his residence.

“We were able to crack the case within six hours using technical inputs and local intelligence. The entire stolen property has been recovered and further investigation is underway,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhausaheb Dhole.

A total of Rs 1.6 crore worth of property, including Rs 1.5 crore in stolen materials and Rs 10 lakh in cash, has been seized, police said.

Mira Bhayandar: In a significant crackdown on the narcotics trade, the Crime Detection Branch (Unit 4) of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police has dismantled a major drug trafficking gang. Officials seized 6.773 kg of Mephedrone (MD), valued at approximately ₹13.61 crore in the international market.

The operation began on May 4, following a precise tip-off received by a team led by Police Inspector Pramod Badakh. The information suggested a large stockpile of drugs at the Chedda Adarsh building in the Naya Nagar area of Mira Road.

Upon raiding the premises, police recovered 1.324 kg of MD worth ₹2.66 crore from the residence of a woman identified as Firdos Arbaz Qureshi. Investigators determined that the contraband belonged to her husband, Arbaz Vakil Qureshi. Both were immediately taken into custody.

During the interrogation of the Qureshi couple, the police uncovered a wider network of suppliers and distributors. Subsequent raids led to the arrest of several other accomplices across different regions

Moiz Javed Khan (Behram Baug, Jogeshwari), Arman Ali Kalam Ali Rain & Sunil Kamal Yadav (Oshiwara), Mohammad Wasim Yusuf Sheikh (Shanti Park, Mira Road), Irfan Anwar Kudiya (Rajkot, Gujarat), Mohammad Arafat Shamsuddin Ansari (Byculla), Khalda Arafat Ansari (Madanpura, Byculla), Akash Satyaram Yadav (New Link Road, Jogeshwari)

The total recovery stands at 6.773 kg, with the largest portion of the drugs being traced back to and seized from the Agripada area in Mumbai.

Total Value of Seized MD is ₹13,61,38,480

The MBVV Police are currently investigating the “forward and backward linkages” of this syndicate to identify the original manufacturers and the end consumers to whom the gang intended to sell the illegal substances.

Mumbai: The special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court has rejected the bail pleas of NESCO staff and MBA students in the drug overdose deaths case. In its detailed order, the court observed that “greed for money turned a place of amusement into a graveyard for two persons”.

The court on Thursday refused bail to Raunak Khandelwal, a final-year MBA student, and Pratik Pandey, a second-year MBA student. Additionally, the court denied relief to Sunny Jain, a senior manager, and Balkrishnan Kurup, business head and vice president of live events and IP at NESCO.

The case pertains to an incident on April 11, where two MBA students died and several others were hospitalised following a suspected MDMA (ecstasy) overdose at a techno music concert held at NESCO Goregaon.

The court noted that the organiser allowed attendees to consume liquor despite being directed to ensure no narcotic drugs or alcohol were permitted at the event. The court described the incident as an example of poor management.

“It may be intentional, negligent and/or an act done under the greed of money. However, such an act has turned into a tragedy, ultimately the place of amusement becoming the graveyard of two persons. Thus, the organisers are primafacie responsible for negligence and mishap occurred in the event,” the court said.

Regarding the students, the court observed they are accused of bringing and distributing contraband among college friends. In the case of Khandelwal, the court stated that the supply of a yellow ecstasy tablet to a victim was sufficient to infer involvement in the crime, regardless of the specific weight found on his person. The court noted that investigators recovered 435gm of MDMA from Ayush Sahitya, making it hasty to categorise the recovery as a small quantity.

While denying bail to Pandey, the court remarked that the applicant tried to encash the chaotic conditions caused by mismanagement to sell contraband. The court further noted the submission of the prosecution that if released, the applicant might dissuade friends from disclosing facts to the investigating officer.