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Maharashtra: More Than 360 Booked For Violence Over Maratha Quota In Jalna

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A day after a protest over Maratha quota turned violent in Maharashtra’s Jalna, leading to some police personnel and others getting injured, the situation is under control on Saturday and the police have filed a case against more than 360 persons, of whom 16 have been identified, for their alleged involvement in violence, an official said.

Police used baton-charge and fired teargas shells to disperse a violent mob at Antarwali Sarathi village on Dhule-Solapur road in Ambad tehsil, around 75 km from Aurangabad, on Friday.

The protesters, led by Manoj Jarange, had been staging a hunger strike demanding reservation for the Maratha community at the village since Tuesday. The trouble began when police tried to shift Jarange to a hospital on doctors’ advice, officials said.

The agitation turned violent as some persons targeted state transport buses and private vehicles, police said. Villagers claimed that police fired some rounds in the air, but officials did not confirm it.

Agitators remain firm on their demand

On Saturday, the agitators remained firm on their demand and said they would continue with the stir till the government provides reservation to the community. They also questioned the police action against their “peaceful” agitation and asked why they fired bullets in the air and lathi-charged the protesters.

According to police, around 40 police personnel and some other persons were injured in the violence. The protesters torched at least 15 state transport buses and some private vehicles, they said.

“An offence was registered at Gondi police station in Jalna against 16 agitators, who have been identified, and around 350 others for their involvement in violence on Friday,” a senior police official said.

The case was filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 307 (attempt to murder), 333 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and others, he said.

Police personnel are now deployed at the village

Police personnel and a company of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) are now deployed at the village, the official said.

Jalna Superintendent of Police (SP)Tushar Doshi told, “Nearly 40 police personnel were injured in the violence yesterday. Police used plastic bullets and tear shells to disperse the protesters and bring the situation under control. No arrest has been so far and the situation is under control now.” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday made an appeal for peace and announced that a committee will be set up for a high-level probe into the violence, while Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis claimed that the police were forced to use baton-charge due to stone pelting.

Reservation was quashed by SC earlier

The reservation provided by the state government for the politically dominant Maratha community was quashed by the Supreme Court earlier.

Talking to reporters in Antarwali Sarathi village this morning, protest spearhead Jarange said, “The hunger strike won’t be called off now. Our sisters and the entire village have been protesting in a peaceful manner. The CM has formed a committee over the Maratha reservation, but it has not submitted a report and hence we are agitating.”

Showing a bullet in hand he said, “These bullets were fired and we were lathi-charged inhumanly. Women were also beaten up. Are we Pakistanis or do we have relatives in that country? Why did they fire? We will not stop until we get a reservation, let (CM) Shinde fire as many bullets as he wants.”

A woman, who has also been on a hunger strike with Jarange, sought to know why the police lathi-charged the protesters. “What was the need (for the police) to disturb the atmosphere here. If we wanted to beat someone, then we would have come with lathis in our hands…The government should provide reservation to the Maratha community,” she said.

Former MP Sambhaji Chhatrapati, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and prominent Maratha leader, visited Antarwali Sarathi village on Saturday morning and extended his support to those agitating for the quota demand.

Addressing media persons, he said, “Those on hunger strike here are followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and not of Mughals or Nizams. Firing on people and using lathis against them used to happen during the era of Mughals and Nizams.” “For how many more years the community will have to fight for the reservation demand. The government must tell when they will provide reservation. The same party rules the state as well as at the Centre,” he said.

The government should withdraw the cases registered against the protesters, the founder of ‘Swarajya’ organisation said, adding that 58 peaceful marches were taken out across the state over the Maratha quota demand in the past.

Sharad Pawar to visit Sarathi village on Saturday

Meanwhile, an official said that Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar is scheduled to visit Antarwali Sarathi village post-noon on Saturday. He will arrive in Aurangabad and then go to the village. He will also visit the sub-district hospital in Ambad and a primary health centre.

In the wake of the violence in which several state transport buses were torched, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has decided to run buses only on selected routes in the division for the time being.

MSRTC’s Divisional Controller Sachin Kshirsagar said, “Nearly 350 buses have been kept off roads in different depots of the division. Buses are not being operated on Aurangabad-Ahmednagar-Pune, Beed, Jalna, Paithan routes (from Aurangabad). Limited number of buses are being released on certain routes.” 

Maharashtra

Mumbai Fake police fraud gang busted, four FIRs registered so far, and four individuals—including mastermind Raj Khatib—arrested: DCP.

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have busted a gang of fraudsters posing as police officers who used to intimidate people by giving them police badges and fake identity cards. Earlier, the Crime Branch had claimed to have arrested three fake police officers in this case. The search for their accomplices was also on. These absconding accused were arrested today. The accused had told the complainant that the blood money would be returned with interest. After that, the Crime Branch took action on the complainant’s complaint and arrested Mohammad Ghaus Ibrahim Khatib and Rajesh Bade Singh. The search for the absconding accused in this case was on. In this case, Raj Bade Singh was arrested by the Crime Branch from Jaipur, Rajasthan. The accused had cheated the complainant of about Rs 15 lakh and taken money from his several bank accounts. Not only that, Raj Khatib used to tell the police that he would get the complainant’s money back. So far, the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested four accused in the fraud case, in which the mastermind is Muhammad Ghaus alias Raj Khatib. In this case, three accused were arrested in the first complaint. At that time, the accused had promised the complainant a loan of Rs 1 crore from the bank and then cheated him. In this, Raj Khatib, his son Musab Khatib were arrested. Raj Khatib used to call himself a DCP and cheated the complainant of Rs 16 lakh on the pretext of getting money from a builder along with interest. This complainant was confronted after the news was broadcast. After that, another complainant came forward who said that he had received Rs 12 lakh from three candidates in the name of police recruitment. After that, four FIRs have been registered against these accused so far, this information was given by the Mumbai DCP. Raj Tilak Roshan has said that the number of his victims is likely to increase, so he appeals to the citizens that if they have been cheated by this gang, they can file a complaint with the Crime Branch.

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra ATS Operation : Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti and two associates of Lawrence Bishnoi questioned, released after interrogation.

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has intensified its crackdown on anti-social elements including gangsters like underworld, Pakistani don Shahzad Bhatti and Lawrence Bishnoi. The ATS in Osmanabad Dharashio carried out Operation Lawrence Bishnoi and detained two suspects and released them after questioning them. Mumbai On July 10, 2026, ATS officers in Dharashio detained and questioned two persons on suspicion of interacting (liking/commenting) on ​​WhatsApp links associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. They have been identified as Vishal Bankat Kamble (age 35, resident of Tarna Colony, near Chhaya Deep Lawn, Dharashio) and Jirabi Bandiwan Sheikh (age 22, resident of Jalkot, Taluka Tuljapur, District Dharashio). During the inquiry, it was found that they were following the links of three groups associated with this controversial gang. However, no data was found posted by them on these groups. Their mobile phones have been seized, further investigation is underway. Vishal Bankat Kamble’s (late Bankat Kamble) father served as a police constable in the Dharashiv police department. He passed away after retirement. Jirabi Sheikh had followed the controversial link using his father’s mobile phone. As soon as this came to light, his father switched off the phone. However, the old SIM card was reactivated and checked, which confirmed that the controversial link was indeed followed.
To retrieve the old data, both the mobile phones and the SIM card have been sent to the ATS office in Chhatrapati Sambhaj Nagar and the electronic gazette has been sent to the Forensic Examination Laboratory. The ATS is conducting further investigation. Both have been released, however, the ATS has not given them a clean chit so far.

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Maharashtra

BMC sets up helpline for manhole-related issues following the SakiNaka incident; dedicated WhatsApp chatbot launched for complaints.

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Mumbai: After the death of Aslam Sheikh in a manhole at Mumbai’s Sakinaka, the BMC has now gone on alert mode and has set up a helpline and a WhatsApp chatbot for grievance redressal to avoid such incidents. The Municipal Corporation (BMC) has provided a more robust and transparent grievance redressal system to facilitate quick registration and prompt resolution of grievances. Citizens can easily register complaints regarding open, broken or missing manhole covers, drain cover issues and other civic grievances through various digital channels.

To ensure quick resolution of complaints related to open, broken or missing manhole covers, the corporation has introduced a dedicated WhatsApp chatbot (9324500600). To use this facility, citizens need to initiate a conversation by sending a message to the designated WhatsApp number. After that, they need to select the “Submit Complaint” option, share the location of the incident, and upload a picture of the issue. On successful registration, the citizen will receive a complaint registration number for future follow-up.

Register complaints through ‘My BMC Marg’
Citizens should first open the ‘My BMC Marg’ app and log in using their mobile number and OTP. After that, they should select the ‘New Registration’ option and select the complaint type. If required, a brief description of the issue should be provided. Users should upload a current photo of the location or take a geo-tagged photo and upload it. After submitting the complaint, the citizen receives a complaint registration number for future follow-up. *Complaint registration through other channels
Apart from the ‘MyBMC Marg’ app and the dedicated manhole chatbot, citizens can also register complaints through the municipal corporation’s WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999), official website, and 1916 helpline. Complaints can be registered by sending the location and a photo of the issue to the WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999). To report potholes, one can send a message with the keyword “Do it” (or “Said”) and for complaints related to manhole covers, the keyword “Manhole” (or “Manhole”) (or “Manhole”) (or “Manhole”).

Citizens can also file complaints through the municipal corporation’s website (portal.mcgm.gov.in) by visiting the options: ‘Citizens File Complaints All’.

Additionally, complaints can be filed by calling the 1916 helpline and providing the necessary details.
In cases where a photo is required, citizens are sent a link to upload or capture a geo-tagged photo. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) appeals to citizens to report incidents of open, broken, or missing manholes, as well as other dangerous civic issues, using the available complaint channels. Citizens are encouraged to use the ‘MyBMC Marg’ mobile application or WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999) for quick registration and effective follow-up of complaints. The corporation has also specifically appealed to citizens to use the dedicated WhatsApp chatbot (9324500600) for complaints of open, broken, or missing manholes.

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