A 53-year-old habitual offender was arrested by the MHB Police and identified as Bapi Ratan Bhattacharya. He was accused of stealing women’s purses and valuables from busy supermarkets repeatedly. Bhattacharya, dubbed a ‘serial snatcher’ by the police, was apprehended in Mira Road on Saturday after weeks of investigation.

In a statement given by the cops to Media, Bhattacharya would exploit the chaos of crowded shopping areas, especially popular D Mart outlets, to discreetly lift purses and bags placed in shopping trolleys. Most of his victims were women distracted while shopping. Investigators revealed that Bhattacharya had been involved in more than 10 similar thefts across various supermarket branches in Mumbai and nearby areas.

His latest crime came to light after a Dahisar West resident filed a complaint stating her purse had been stolen while she was shopping with her two-year-old son at D Mart, Kandarpada. The stolen bag contained cash, ATM cards, and important documents. Within minutes, ₹20,000 was withdrawn from her husband’s account using one of the stolen cards.

Following the complaint, police teams led by DCP Sandeep Jadhav (Zone XI), Senior Inspector Harish Gavli, and PSI Nilesh Patil analysed CCTV footage and used technical surveillance to trace Bhattacharya’s movements. The accused was later arrested from Mira Road. During interrogation, he confessed to multiple thefts carried out in a similar fashion across several D Mart branches.

An officer said, “More than ten cases have been registered against Bhattacharya across Mumbai and nearby police stations. Whenever a theft is reported at a supermarket, his name is the first to come up. We have already solved two pending cases after his arrest.”

The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Information Technology Act, police said, adding that further investigations are underway to identify his other offences and potential accomplices.

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 5: A spate of alleged cooperative society scams in the state capital has put the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the defensive, threatening to dent its image ahead of the upcoming local body elections.

The party, which has served as the principal opposition in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation for the past two terms, now finds itself battling allegations of financial impropriety and internal discord.

The crisis deepened after the suicide of Anil Kumar, a sitting BJP councillor in the Corporation and president of a local cooperative society.

He reportedly took his own life following severe financial distress after the institution failed to return deposits.

His death has not only sparked emotional outrage within the party but also turned the spotlight on the functioning of a few BJP-linked cooperatives in the city.

Adding to the turbulence, M.S. Kumar, one of the party’s prominent faces in Thiruvananthapuram and a former state secretary, publicly alleged large-scale loan defaults by senior BJP leaders from another Society, of which he is a key office-bearer.

According to Kumar, loans worth over Rs one crore were taken by state- and district-level leaders and never repaid.

One senior leader allegedly owes Rs 40 lakh, while another has defaulted on Rs 35 lakh.

Kumar accused the party’s top brass, including state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, of failing to act despite repeated complaints.

He has also threatened to release the names of all defaulters, claiming that a good number of those who failed to repay loans are BJP members.

His revelations, first reported by the CPI(M) party daily ‘Deshabhimani’, have created ripples within the BJP and given ammunition to the Left, which has accused the party of “moral and financial decay”.

The CPI(M) has demanded a detailed probe into the alleged misuse of cooperative institutions under political patronage.

With the BJP scrambling to contain the fallout, senior leaders are reportedly in talks with Kumar to withdraw his damaging Facebook post.

However, as the controversy widens, the cooperative scandals threaten to overshadow the party’s campaign and undermine its credibility in Kerala’s politically charged capital.

Meanwhile, in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the CPI(M)’s State Education Minister V. Sivankutty has expressed confidence of a sweeping win, while the Congress-led UDF has already taken the early lead by announcing candidates in 64 of the 101 seats and launching its campaign.

Kumar’s allegations have left the BJP rattled, with damage-control efforts now underway.

Mumbai: A 62-year-old retired government employee has been duped of ₹1.68 crore in an elaborate online share trading scam that promised lucrative returns on investments. The Mumbai Cyber Police have launched a detailed investigation after the victim lodged a complaint on November 2, 2025.

According to the complaint, the victim who retired as a Senior Administrative Assistant in July 2025  invested his and his wife’s life savings in what turned out to be a bogus trading scheme. With his wife’s pension being their only source of income, the fraud has left the couple financially distressed.

The incident began on June 24, 2025, when the complainant was added to a WhatsApp group named “M4 Wealth Creator.” The group, allegedly managed by two individuals  Karan Singh and Alok  introduced him to stock trading. They presented forged documents claiming that their firm, Conifer Wealth Management, was registered with SEBI.

Encouraged by the false assurances, the victim opened an account on a trading app sent via a registration link on September 29 and made an initial investment of ₹50,000 through Google Pay. Over the next month, between October 1 and October 31, following the suspects’ instructions, the complainant transferred large sums through UPI, RTGS, and IMPS to multiple accounts.

The fraud was exposed when the victim attempted to withdraw ₹80 lakh from the trading app on October 23 but failed. When questioned, Alok told him the funds were converted into an IPO and demanded another ₹50 lakh to “unlock” his account. Under pressure, the victim transferred the amount on October 31, only to be asked for yet another ₹80 lakh the same evening. Realizing he had been cheated, he cut off contact and filed a police complaint. The fraudsters had siphoned a total of ₹1,68,14,058 by exploiting the victim’s trust and financial hopes.

The East Region Cyber Police have registered a case against Karan Singh, Alok, and others connected with the fraudulent trading portal (https://m.conifer-llc.com/). Investigators are now tracing the linked bank accounts and digital trail to identify the full extent of the racket. Police have once again urged citizens to exercise caution while investing through online trading platforms and to verify the authenticity of financial entities before transferring funds.