Maharashtra
Is Sanjay Raut causing more harm than good to Uddhav Thackeray?
Mumbai: If there is near a consensus within Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena, it is that party MP Sanjay Raut, 61, has caused huge damage to the organisation by his highly controversial statements.
Recently, Raut claimed, without providing any evidence, that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s son and MP Shrikant Shinde had hired a goon of Thane to eliminate him. In the past, he had made even more outlandish statements that caused incalculable damage to the party.
Raut’s controversial statements
After the COVID pandemic, Raut alleged that most of the doctors and nurses had abandoned their responsibility and fled from the hospitals. This evoked howls of protests from the medical fraternity, after which Uddhav was forced to undertake damage control.
In January 2020, Raut, who is the executive editor of the party mouthpiece Saamana, claimed that Indira Gandhi used to regularly call on the late drug lord Karim Lala at Pydhonie in central Mumbai. It is a different matter that Karim Lala operated out of Dongri and not Pydhonie. The Congress was understandably furious over this bizarre claim and slammed Raut. The MP, most recently, alleged that Rs2,000 crore had changed hands to get Shinde’s faction recognised as the Shiv Sena along with the bow and arrow symbol. Raut promised to produce evidence and as usual failed to proffer any.
Many supporters of Uddhav Thackeray say that their leader is paying a heavy political price by not taking action against Raut despite the huge damage he continues to inflict. The only thing Uddhav has done is not promote Raut as the editor of Saamana. Instead, he has appointed his wife Rashmi Thackeray as the editor, while Raut continues to be the executive editor.
Sources: Raut is useful to Uddhav as a conduit between him & NCP chief
According to sources close to Uddhav, Raut is useful to him as a conduit between him and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. Though there is a perception that Raut is being used by Pawar to influence Uddhav, Raut’s proximity to Pawar can be gauged from the fact that when the MP was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the infamous Patrawala chawl multi-crore scam, the Maratha honcho personally called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sought his intervention in taking Raut out of the hook. Incidentally, Pawar did no such thing for his own partyman Nawab Malik who, too, was arrested by the ED.
It is not that Uddhav has always obliged Raut. For example, when Raut insisted that his brother and MLA from Bhandup, Sunil Raut, should be made a minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which was helmed by Uddhav, the latter put his foot down and refused a ministerial berth for Sunil.
Raut’s career
Sanjay Raut started his career in Saamana as a journalist. When Bal Thackeray decided to publish a Hindi tabloid ‘Dopahar Ka Saamana’, Raut recommended Sanjay Nirupam as the editor. Thackeray Senior was so impressed with Nirupam’s aggressive propagation of the Hindutva line that he made him a member of the Rajya Sabha much to the chagrin of Raut.
Raut won over the confidence of Balasaheb by carrying a series called ‘Marathon Mulaquats’ or Marathon Interviews of the Sena founder. These interviews revealed Balasaheb’s thoughts on a host of issues and they were picked up by other newspapers and TV channels.
Balasaheb then decided to reward Raut by sending him to the Rajya Sabha. It is learnt that Raut does not share the same chemistry with Aaditya Thackeray as with Uddhav. “Given the widespread nature of resentment against Sanjay Raut within our party, I won’t be in the least surprised if he is politically downsized in the near future,” a top Sena source observed.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: Gang involved in producing fake certificates and official documents exposed, documents and other items seized, 4 arrested, one accused absconding

In the case of preparing fake documents under the guise of Aadhaar card centers in Mumbai, the police have arrested a total of 4 accused while conducting operations at two Aadhaar card centers. The police have also claimed to have seized fake documents and other items from both the Aadhaar centers. Mumbai Mumbai Police has claimed to have exposed a group that was preparing fake and bogus ration cards, PAN cards, school certificates, birth certificates and other government documents. Dahisar police received information that there is a group in Dahisar area that is preparing fake government documents under the name US Enterprise. After that, the police created a dummy customer and sent them to this group for the purpose of preparing documents. It prepared a fake birth certificate for the customer, after which the police have registered a case against this group, which includes cheating, preparing fake government documents and other provisions. The police seized 32 fake birth certificates, a certificate from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel School, which was a simple certificate, along with seals and plain paper, seals from Paniyar College and other documents, two thumb fingerprint seals, Aadhaar card update machine scanner, fingerprint machine, web camera from the office. Along with this, the accused Suraj Kumar Ramchand Yadjo, a resident of Kandivali, and Upendra Kaptan Singh, 31, Bhayander, have been arrested, while Umesh Rajesh Yadav alias Sameer is still absconding in this case, whose search is on. This operation has been carried out by DCP Gajanan Raj Mane. Similarly, Dahisar police have taken action against a group that was preparing government documents including fake Aadhaar cards. In further development, the police have raided the Shivam Enterprise Aadhaar card center in Kandivali and seized 14 birth certificates, 7 fake residential documents, 26 SBI medical policies, fake citizenship certificates, along with CPU, printer, Aadhaar machine scanner from Shivam Enterprise Kandivali. In this case, the police have arrested Satyam Lalan Mishra, a resident of Kandivali, and Akash Bhagwan Patwa, 24, of Wadala. The police have arrested a total of four accused while conducting operations at two Aadhaar card centers.
Maharashtra
ATS social operation: Crackdown on ‘Pakistan is better than India’ post, 5 suspects questioned from Thane-Mumbai, Pargha and Palghar

Mumbai: Maharashtra ATS has now started its operation against provocative and controversial posts and anti-national comments on social media. Maharashtra ATS has taken a major action in relation to anti-national and provocative social media posts. ATS has detained five people from Mumbra (Thane), Parghar and Palghar and started questioning them. Their mobile phones have also been seized by the agency.
According to ATS sources, the youth was associated with the Telegram group since 2022. Reports suggest that the group was operated by a person from Kashmir. One post that caught the attention of the investigating agency allegedly said, “It is very dangerous to live in India at this time, Pakistan is better.” Information has also come to light regarding several other objectionable and provocative posts. ATS is now trying to determine whether these posts were made due to personal opinions or there was a legitimate motive behind them. Were the detained youths associated with any suspicious network? Were they influenced or directed by the Telegram group?
The ATS is questioning the five youths individually and is examining their mobile phones to gather information about their contacts and social media activities.
Maharashtra
5 dead due to landslide at Kurla Ghatkopar, financial assistance of Rs. 4 lakh announced for the families of the deceased and Rs. 50,000 for the injured

Mumbai: A landslide in Ashok Nagar, West area of Kurla Ghatkopar, has caused a lot of mourning and chaos in the area. The fire brigade and police have started rescue work. Five people have died in the debris while four injured have been admitted to the hospital. The police have cordoned off the entire area and banned the entry of the general public in the above-mentioned area. DCP Ganesh Shinde has confirmed this. A tragic incident of landslide occurred this morning (August 12, 2026) in Ashok Nagar, Hill No. 3, Kurla (West). In this incident, soil and debris from the hill fell on two to three houses, resulting in loss of life and property. As soon as the information of the incident was received, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde immediately visited the accident site and personally inspected the rescue operations. She expressed her condolences and solace to the affected family. He also directed all the agencies present to carry out the relief work expeditiously and with proper coordination. Ward Committee Chairperson Vijender Shinde, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) Dr. Avinash Dhakne, Assistant Commissioner (In-charge) of ‘L’ Ward Shri Anil Jadhav and other concerned officers were present on the occasion. Mayor Ritu Tawde announced immediate financial assistance of Rs. 4 lakh to the next of kin of each person who lost their lives in the incident and Rs. 50,000 to each injured for their treatment.
The incident site and the access road to it are extremely narrow due to which only one person can pass at a time. Mumbai Fire Brigade, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Mumbai Police, 108 Ambulance Services and other agencies along with officers, staff and workers of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation are making strenuous efforts to rescue the people trapped under the debris. As per initial information, two bodies have been recovered so far while two injured persons have been admitted to the hospital. The administration is closely monitoring the rescue operations and the overall situation.
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