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Maharashtra

Maha ATS lawyers to track Malegaon-2008 blast case hearing

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Alarmed by witnesses turning hostile in the Malegaon-2008 blasts case, the Maharashtra government lawyers shall now remain in the Special NIA Court where the trial is being conducted on a daily basis, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil said here on Saturday.

He told the media persons that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had taken over the case (from the state ATS), but the state government is perturbed at the manner in which several critical witnesses have become hostile in the Special Court.

The significant development came two days after the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ally Congress had raised the issue and drawn the attention of the Home Ministry and the ATS.

Congress state Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan had submitted a memorandum to the Additional Director-General of Police and ATS chief Vineet Agrawal urging necessary measures to monitor the case closely.

“We are thankful to Home Minister Walse-Patil for accepting our demand for a team to keep a track on the court proceedings. The presence of the ATS lawyers will help in a free and fair trial,” Khan said in a statement.

An ex-minister, Khan reiterated that the NIA is allegedly ‘weakening’ the Malegaon-2008 case and not pursuing it with ‘honesty and sincerity’.

In his memorandum to the ATS Chief Agrawal, Khan contended that the witnesses turning hostile are invoking the names of Bharatiya Janata Party-RSS leaders to “malign the Maharashtra government and ATS” for gaining political mileage in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections.

The September 29, 2008 (Malegaon 2008) bomb blast was allegedly engineered in this minority-dominated Nashik town by Hindu fundamentalists, killing 6 and injuring over 100 others, during the Ramadan month when Muslims were breaking their fast.

The Maharashtra Police and then the ATS probed the case till 2011 when it was taken over by the NIA, and the trial is going on daily before the Special NIA Court in Mumbai.

Of the 223 witnesses examined, 16 have turned hostile, claiming that the ATS tortured them to give evidence against the accused, said Khan, urging the need for the presence of the ATS in the court to protect the image of the Maharashtra government.

Among the accused in the sensational Malegaon 2008 case are BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Swami Amritananda Dev Teerth, Dayanand Pandey, Lt. Col. Prasad S. Purohit, and others.

Khan said that the ATS was being sought to be tarnished as an ‘anti-Hindu’ agency with the witnesses, allegedly influenced by the accused, deliberately naming BJP-RSS people ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls for political gains.

“The NIA is not prosecuting all the accused with honesty and sincerity. Out of 223 witnesses who deposed so far, 16 important ones have turned hostile and over a 100 more are still left to be examined. These witnesses are crucial and need to be protected. The NIA has not challenged any orders passed in favour of the accused which shows their intentions clearly,” Khan said.

Some of the witnesses in Malegaon 2008 case even went beyond their recorded statement mentioning names like Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, but the NIA’s Special Public Prosecutor took no objection, and another witness claimed he was tortured and threatened by the ATS to take names of Yogi and 4 RSS leaders.

Maharashtra

Mumbai: Student dies, four injured after tree falls on school bus in Chembur.

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Mumbai, June 30: A student died and four others were injured in an accident in the Chembur area of ​​Mumbai, Maharashtra. A tree suddenly fell onto a bus belonging to Universal School, located on Road No. 11 in Chembur. This resulted in the death of one student on board and injuries to four others.

According to reports, there were 12 children on the school bus at the time of the accident. The sudden fall of the tree caused significant damage to the bus and sparked panic among the children inside. A total of five students sustained injuries, with one being critically hurt. The critically injured student was declared dead at 4:23 PM. He has been identified as 11-year-old Vihan Srivastava.

Upon receiving news of the incident, locals and rescue teams rushed to the scene. All students trapped inside the bus were safely evacuated, and the injured were immediately taken to the hospital.

The four injured students are currently undergoing treatment at Zen Hospital in Chembur under medical supervision. Following the incident, the police, fire department, and other relief and rescue teams arrived at the site and brought the situation under control. The police have initiated an investigation into the matter.

Officials from various departments, including the BMC, arrived at the scene after the incident and engaged in relief and rescue operations. Work also began to remove the damaged bus, which had been pinned beneath the tree. Describing the incident as heart-wrenching, Mumbai’s Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi stated that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) would take strict action against those responsible.

It is worth noting that Mumbai is currently experiencing rainfall. During this period, strong winds pose a risk of trees and dilapidated buildings collapsing. The BMC makes preparations for this every year. However, this incident, occurring right at the onset of the monsoon, has raised several questions.

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Maharashtra

Fayyaz, who distributed poison pills on Ashura Day, participated in the election, important conclusion in the investigation

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Mumbai: Fayyaz Premji, who distributed poisonous capsules on Ashura Day in Mumbai, was mentally disturbed. He had also contested the election for the Khoja Committee here and after his defeat, he became disheartened. He was an atheist since 2005. He also started criticizing the Shia community and religious scholars. He committed this act to register his presence in the Khoja Committee. His intention was not to kill the mourners. He had ordered poisonous rat poison from MM Reshamwala of Madhya Pradesh and had also transferred money online for 40 kg of the substance. Fayyaz lives in Pune’s Women Nagar. Ever since he started making controversial statements against the Shia community, his family has also distanced themselves from him. Fayyaz also visited Iran in 2025 during this time. He confessed to the Mumbai police that his intention was not to take the lives of the mourners or kill them, so the capsule pills he distributed had only 1.5 or 1.1 grams of rat poison mixed in them so that the mourners would only get sick and not die. In this case, the police have also started investigating whether Fayyaz’s plan was prepared by him alone and whether more people are involved behind it and whether this is not a conspiracy of a lone wolf attack because it is also a part of global terrorism. In this regard, the police have started investigating this case from every angle, but in this case, the police have made it clear that Fayyaz’s mental state is also unstable and this is also leading to new conclusions in the investigation. The police have not denied the involvement of more people in this case, but in the investigation so far, only Fayyaz’s involvement in this case has been confirmed.

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Maharashtra

Political parties should cooperate in the process of Special Revision (SIR) of voter lists: District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide

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Mumbai: As per the instructions of the Election Commission of India, the process of Special In-depth Revision (SIR) of Voter Lists is underway in the Mumbai region (Mumbai city and suburbs) under the programme. Political parties should cooperate in the various processes going on in this regard. In addition, District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has appealed to the public to assist in the house visits of Polling Station Level Officers (BLOs) from June 30 to July 29, 2026 to ensure maximum counting. To provide information about the Special In-depth Revision of Voter Lists programme, a meeting of representatives of various political parties was held today (June 30, 2026) at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Headquarters under the chairmanship of the District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner.

Deputy Mayor Sanjay Gadi, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) and Additional District Election Officer Prajakta Verma-Laungare, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) and Additional District Election Officer Dr. Vipin Sharma, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) and Additional District Election Officer Abhijeet Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) and Additional District Election Officer Dr. Avinash Dhakane, District Collector (Mumbai City District) and Additional District Election Officer SMS. Aanchal Goyal, Joint Commissioner (Tax Assessment and Collection) Mr. Vishwas Shankarwar etc. were present on the occasion. Representatives of various political parties were also present. District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide further said that the Polling Station Level Officers (BLOs) will visit the house between June 30 and July 29, 2026. Voters are expected to provide necessary information to the concerned BLOs. The aim of this entire process is that no eligible voter is left out and no ineligible person is included. Therefore, Smt. Bhide has appealed to all political parties to cooperate in this process. The representatives of political parties were provided with detailed information about the process, schedule and action taken under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the Voter List Programme. Apart from this, various issues raised by the representatives of political parties were discussed.

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