Mumbai: Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi has congratulated SP President Akhilesh Yadav for his struggle to protect the nation and the Constitution. He stated that Akhilesh Yadav has the capacity to save the country, and the nation’s 1.4 billion citizens should recognize his efforts. Abu Asim Azmi emphasized that a strong alliance is essential to eradicate communalism and hatred from the country. He further added that the distribution of seats within such an alliance should be based on the strength of a party’s grassroots workers and its ability to secure the highest number of votes. Highlighting the political significance of Uttar Pradesh, he remarked that the path to Delhi runs through the state; therefore, a robust alliance must be formed to secure power in Uttar Pradesh and, in turn, halt those who propagate hatred.

On October 29, Police Inspector Ranjit Gondkome of the Mumbai MIDC Police Station, along with the Anti-Narcotics Squad, was out on patrol as part of an operation targeting individuals involved in the consumption, purchase, and sale of narcotics. During this patrol, near the Industrial Estate on Paper Box Road, MIDC, Andheri (East), Mumbai, two individuals were observed moving about in a suspicious manner. Finding their behavior suspicious, Police Inspector Gondkome and his team moved to detain them. One of the individuals was carrying a red plastic bag. Both men attempted to flee the scene to evade the police, but they were successfully apprehended by the police team on the spot. When Police Inspector Gundkome questioned the two individuals regarding their presence at the location and their attempt to evade the police, they initially tried to mislead the officers. Upon further, more intensive questioning, ‘hydro-ganja’ (a potent form of cannabis) was discovered in their possession. Following the procedures mandated by the NDPS Act, 1985, a physical search of the individuals was conducted, along with a search of a red plastic bag held by Omkar Rajendra Pawar. This search yielded 1.896 kilograms of ‘hydro-ganja,’ with an estimated value of 6,636,000 rupees. The individuals—Omkar Rajendra Pawar (aged 28, resident of Bhakarwadi, Takoregaon, Satara District) and Piyush Madhukar Ghongde (aged 22, resident of Station area, Takoregaon, Satara District)—were found in possession of this substance, intended for sale, transport, and commercial purposes. Consequently, a case has been registered at the MIDC Police Station, Mumbai (Case No. 1244/2026), under Sections 8(c), 20(b), and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985.
Investigations have revealed that the arrested suspects had traveled from Satara District to Mumbai city with the intent to sell this ‘hydro-ganja.’ Further investigation into the aforementioned crime is underway. This operation was carried out under the leadership of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, Joint Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Sharma, Additional Police Commissioner Abhinav Deshmukh, DCP Datta Nalawade, and MIDC Senior Police Inspector Ghanshyam Nair.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday expressed grief over the deaths of six people in a helicopter crash near Chai village close to Joshimath in Uttarakhand, while on its way from Badrinath to Sahastradhara.

The victims include the pilot of the helicopter.

Taking to X, the Congress leader said: “The news of the death of six people in the helicopter crash in Joshimath, Uttarakhand, is deeply saddening.”

“May God grant peace to the departed souls. My heartfelt condolences are with the bereaved families. May the Almighty give them the strength to bear this immense loss,” she added.

Earlier in the day, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat also condoled the loss of life in the incident, while seeking an inquiry into the repeated aviation disasters that have rocked the state in recent times.

Speaking to reporters in Dehradun, Rawat said: “This is deeply painful…Along with making our helicopter services competitive, we also need to make them safe and secure. An inquiry will be conducted and improvements will be made based on the probe but this is extremely necessary because one after another, such incidents are happening which are alarming.”

Meanwhile, the bodies of all six individuals, including the pilot, have been recovered from the crash site by joint teams of the Uttarakhand Police, the State Disaster Response Force, and the Army, which swung into action for rescue and recovery operations after receiving the news of the accident.

The operation to transport all the bodies from the difficult-to-access crash site to a location connected by road was underway, officials said.

The pilot of the helicopter was identified as Capt. Himanshu Sabharwal, who hailed from Delhi, while the passengers were Prathapa, Arun, Shankar Gowda, Sudheer K., and H.S. Natraja, all from Karnataka, police said.

According to official information, Gowda was an advocate, while Nataraja ran a poultry business in Karnataka’s Huliyurdurga.

There were no women or children on board the helicopter, officials said.