Mumbai: Mumbai experienced a refreshing winter nip on Friday morning as clear skies, cooler winds and mild temperatures offered residents a pleasant start to the day. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that the temperature was likely to hover between a minimum of around 15°C and a maximum of 32°C, marking one of the season’s more comfortable days. However, the seemingly picture-perfect morning masked a persistent environmental challenge: the city’s steadily deteriorating air quality.

Despite the pleasant weather, a thin layer of haze settled over Mumbai, signalling that pollution levels continue to be a concern. According to data from AQI.in, the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 148 early Friday morning, categorised as ‘poor’. While this reading is slightly better than the alarming spikes seen in recent weeks, it remains harmful, especially for children, the elderly and those with respiratory issues.

Experts attribute the worsening pollution primarily to dust and particulate matter emitted by Mumbai’s massive infrastructure boom. Large-scale government projects, metro corridors, coastal road construction, bridges and extensive road widening, along with rising private construction continue to add significant pollution load into the atmosphere.

The AQI readings across different areas of the city highlighted stark contrasts. The Wadala Truck Terminal was the worst-hit, recording a staggering AQI of 305, placing it in the ‘severe’ category. Such levels pose health risks even to healthy and active individuals. Mulund West also fared poorly with an AQI of 207, in the ‘unhealthy’ bracket.

Other areas reflected similar patterns. Deonar (200) and Bhandup (187) remained in the ‘poor’ category, while Govandi and Chembur registered AQI levels of 187 and 183, respectively.

Suburban regions performed slightly better but were far from ideal. Parel–Bhoiwada and Kandivali East recorded moderate AQI levels of 73, while Jogeshwari East stood at 95. On the other hand, Charkop (107) and Malad West (117) slid into the ‘poor’ bracket.

For context, an AQI of 0–50 is considered ‘good’, 51–100 ‘moderate’, 101–150 ‘poor’, 151–200 ‘unhealthy’ and anything above 200 ‘hazardous’.

New Delhi, Dec 11: The Delhi Police Crime Branch has arrested four members of an interstate mobile phone theft gang and recovered 40 high-end smartphones, many of which had been stolen from a December 7 concert at IGI Stadium, officials said on Thursday.

A team from the Eastern Range-I of the Crime Branch, led by Inspector Ashish Sharma and supervised by ACP Sunil Srivastav, tracked the suspects for nearly 48 hours before intercepting them near Yamuna Vihar Metro Station on December 9.

The police said the accused kept shifting locations to evade surveillance, forcing the team to maintain continuous technical tracking.

The arrested men have been identified as Salman (35), Imran (28), Shahrukh (32) and Wasim (25), all residents of Ghaziabad.

Police recovered eight Apple iPhones — including iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 series along with seven premium Samsung models such as the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Fold 6.

The remaining phones belonged to OnePlus, Vivo, Oppo, Redmi, POCO and Motorola.

Several of the recovered devices have already been matched with FIRs registered at Prashant Vihar, Shahbad Dairy and IP Estate police stations.

According to officers, the gang targeted crowded public places such as concerts, metro stations, bus stops, bars, marketplaces and railway stations.

During interrogation, the alleged kingpin, Salman, confessed that they focused on events frequented by young people carrying expensive phones. Police said the group had been operating across Delhi-NCR for several months.

“The stolen phones were then swiftly shifted to Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh), where the gang had established contacts in the grey market. The high-end devices were sold at throwaway prices within hours of the theft, making recovery extremely difficult,” the police said in its press note.

“Salman admitted that the gang had been actively operating in Delhi-NCR for the past several months and had committed scores of such thefts, earning them lakhs of rupees with almost no risk of getting caught until the present arrest,” it added.

Police said the four have been booked under Sections 35(1)(E) and 106 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

“This operation underscores the Delhi Police Crime Branch’s commitment to curbing organised crime and apprehending hardened criminals. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the accused’s associates and others, and to verify additional cases linked to the accused,” said DCP Vikram Singh.

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out a coordinated search operation in Borivali village near Padgha in Thane district, with assistance from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), officials said.

The operation, which began in the early hours of Thursday, extended to multiple residential premises as ED officials probed suspected terror funding and related financial transactions. ATS personnel provided on-ground support to coordinate the ED searches.

According to ED officials, the searches were conducted at nearly 40 locations across Maharashtra including Padgha, Pune, and Malegaon as well as in Delhi. The searches are linked to suspected financial transactions associated with terror-related activities.

The ED had recently registered an ECIR linked to the NIA’s ISIS terror module case involving Saquib Nachan, as well as the Pune ISIS module case. While ATS is simultaneously investigating the same modules, it is assisting the ED by sharing intelligence, leads, and field updates, helping ensure that the ongoing search operations are thorough, coordinated, and synchronised.

Officials said the operation is ongoing, with teams continuing to probe the suspected financial networks connected to the terror modules.