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Maharashtra

Maharashtra: Opposition Parties Boycott Assembly Session Over BJP Leader Girish Mahajan’s Alleged Gangster Links

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The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Monday boycotted the day’s proceedings in the state legislative council after turning tables on the government accusing its senior minister Girish Mahajan of having gangster links. This was in sequel to the government’s decision last week to appoint a special investigative team to probe Shiv Sena (UBT) Nashik unit head Sudhakar Badgujar’s association with gangster and Dawood Ibrahim’s sharpshooter Salim Kutta.

The leader of the Opposition in the House and the Shiv Sena (UBT) member Ambadas Danve on Monday asked the government to sack rural development minister Girish Mahajan for attending the marriage of international terrorist Dawood Ibrahim’s niece in Nashik in May, 2017.

CM Shinde must sack Mahajan: Oppn

The opposition leader said that if Mahajan does not resign, then chief minister Eknath Shinde must sack him.

Last week MLA Nitish Rane had presented video clips and photos of Badgujar dancing with Salim Kutta at a party in May 2017 while the latter was on parole.

Raising the issue aggressively, NCP member Eknath Khadse demanded immediate dismissal of Mahajan and an inquiry through SIT in the matter as he levelled the serious allegation against his old political foe Mahajan. 

“If the state government can set up a special investigation team  to probe the alleged links between  Badgujar and Salim Kutta, a convict in the 1993 serial bomb blast case, then why not an inquiry be constituted against the minister?” he asked, waving the purported pictures of Mahajan with alleged gangsters.

Danve supported Khadse and despite chairperson Neelam Gorhe raising objections to the way the matter was raised without a prior notice, named the minister.” He said when a similar allegation was raised in the lower house against Badgujar, the government had acted swiftly and so it should follow suit and take the same action against the minister after sacking him,” Danve said.Gorhe repeatedly tried in vain to stop Khadse and Danve and said she had granted them permission to air their contention  in good faith since the notice they pressed under section 289 did not name the minister. She also warned them that she would strike off from records the mention of the minister’s name. Senior Sena (UBT) member Anil Parab also vehemently demanded strict action against Mahajan for “hobnobbing with anti-national elements.”

House adjourned

As the opposition members persisted in their demand for Mahajan’s resignation and SIT probe against him, Gorhe adjourned the house twice -for ten minutes first and then for 20 minutes. 

Later, talking to media persons, Mahajan said the allegations against him by Khadse were baseless and uttered out of  personal animosity. “Khadse is a frustrated man  and lost his bearings after severe political and financial setbacks. He is liable to pay the revenue department Rs167 crore for irregularities he indulged in while in government. He is mentally disturbed and therefore making such wild allegations,” said Mahajan.

He said the incident, and pictures Khadse was referring to were nine years old. Elaborating, he said he had attended the marriage ceremony of a relative of Sheher-e-khatib of Nashik, a social figure. Some 20,000 people were attending it as the Sheher-e-khatib had lent a helping hand during Kumbh celebrations in Nashik  some nine years ago.

“Political leaders across parties were attending the event. Later the police had probed the matter to see if any  unscrupulous persons  had been present at the event. They found nothing objectionable and the matter was closed. I am not aware of Salim Kutta’s presence there,” said Mahajan.

Crime

Fake social media account, Chat GPT used in Ketan Agarwal murder

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Pune, Sep 20: A fake account on social media platform Instagram, along with ChatGPT and murder films, was used by Siya Goyal and her co-accused in the alleged murder of her fiance Ketan Agarwal, reveals the charge sheet filed by the police in the sensational case.

The 5,053-page charge sheet, filed on Saturday, detailed the alleged conspiracy behind the death of the 26-year-old businessman at Lohagad Fort in Pune in June, NDTV reported.

Agarwal was allegedly pushed off the fort on June 18 by his fiancee Siya Goyal, who was assisted by her purported lover Chetan Chaudhary, and another accused, identified as Ritesh Hange. All three have been arrested by the police.

According to the charge sheet, the accused had initially discussed seriously injuring Agarwal and even explored the possibility of hiring someone from outside Maharashtra to carry out the attack.

Police claimed the plan was later dropped because they feared the hired assailant could expose the conspiracy or create problems for them. Investigators have mentioned that a person contacted during this stage has since become a witness, the media report said.

As per the charge sheet, the accused subsequently decided to kill Agarwal themselves and watched murder films and used ChatGPT for the purpose. They also listened to podcasts on how to avoid detection by police as part of their preparations.

Goyal and her co-accused also researched last year’s Meghalaya honeymoon murder case where Indore resident Raja Raghuvanshi was allegedly killed by his wife, Sonam, during the couple’s honeymoon in the state’s East Khasi Hills district.

Moreover, investigators stated that a fake Instagram account named ‘Mahi’ was created using the photograph of a woman known to the accused in order to “lure” Agarwal to the fort.

Subsequently, messages from the account encouraged the victim to visit the spot on June 18 for a surprise birthday plan for Goyal.

According to the chargesheet, the fake account was part of a plan devised by Ritesh Hange to bring Agarwal to the fort. The account was deleted after the incident.

Further, the charge sheet also revealed that the accused conducted a recce of locations around Lonavala before selecting Lohagad Fort.

According to investigators, Goyal and Chaudhary visited Tiger Point and other locations in search of an isolated spot.

Police said that Lohagad was eventually selected because of a death at the fort in March last year. The accused thought they could make Agarwal’s death appear like an accidental fall at the spot.

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Crime

Stall operator booked after two die of electrocution in Mumbai Lalbaug Ganesh pandal

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Mumbai, Sep 20: An FIR has been filed following a tragic electrocution incident near a Ganesh festival pandal in Mumbai Lalbaug area early on Sunday, which resulted in the deaths of two people, including an 8-year-old girl.

Two people, including an eight-year-old girl, died and four others were seriously injured after receiving electric shocks from a loose wire at a Pepsi-Cola stall near Aastha Hospital on Dattaram Lad Marg in Kalachowki, Mumbai, early Sunday.

Police have registered an FIR against nearby stall operator Kamal Shetty under Sections 106(1) and 125(b) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, alleging negligence, and have begun an investigation.

According to information from the fire brigade, the incident occurred at around 2 a.m. on Sunday when devotees were present near the pandal.

Two boys and three girls, aged between 8 and 20, reportedly came into contact with the electrical current and suffered burn injuries.

Following the incident, all five victims were rushed to Masina Hospital in Byculla for treatment. Doctors declared the 8-year-old girl Raghni Ghanshyam Yadav dead upon arrival.

Meanwhile, a second victim, a woman who was admitted to Global Hospital in Parel, later succumbed to her injuries. Her identity was yet to be ascertained.

Kiran Akbar Naik, 19, Tanvi Narsh Hande, 19, Sahil Sandip Tare, 19, and Ruhi Singh, 12, were undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the incident.

Among the injured, one girl was reportedly in critical condition and was shifted to Global Hospital in Parel for further treatment. The remaining three injured victims are undergoing treatment at Masina Hospital and have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), where their condition remains serious.

According to the FIR filed at Kalachowki Police Station, the wire allegedly came into contact with the girl, Raghni, and others nearby.

The girl was declared dead at Masina Hospital, while another woman, identified as 33-year-old Sujata Thorati, died at Global Hospital. Four injured persons were admitted for treatment.

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Maharashtra

17-year-old among three killed in Mumbai high-end car accident (Lead)

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Mumbai, Sep 20: A 17-year-old was among the three people who were killed in a serious accident involving a high-end car on the Mumbai Coastal Road early on Sunday, officials said.

Another person is critically injured and is currently receiving treatment.

According to information received from the Coastal Road Control Room, the accident occurred at around 5.20 a.m. near Lotus Jetty, opposite Lala College.

The car was travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle due to overspeeding.

The speeding vehicle crashed onto the Coastal Road and hit a boundary wall. It fell off the bridge into an area where construction work was underway.

The severity of the accident was evident from the extent of the damage to the car.

The vehicle tore off through the signboard hanging from the bridge. The roof of the car was pushed inwards, the windshield was shattered, and the bonnet was completely destroyed.

Following the accident, all four occupants of the car were rushed to Nair Hospital, where emergency medical teams assessed their condition.

According to an update issued by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Nair Hospital at around 8.40 a.m., three of the occupants were declared brought dead by doctors.

Two of the deceased have been identified as 21-year-old Shanay Gajjal and 17-year-old Dhirya Seth. The identity of the third deceased is yet to be ascertained.

The injured has been identified as 23-year-old Aditya Oswal.

Speaking about the incident to media, Senior Police Inspector Meena Jagtap said: “At around 5:20 a.m., a black BMW was travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali in the northbound direction when it fell from the Coastal Road. There were four people in the car. Three people died, while Aditya is currently at Nair Hospital.”

She said that it is yet to be ascertained whether the occupants of the car were in an intoxicated state when the accident occurred.

Police are investigating the case.

Further details are awaited.

On September 3, several people were booked after Mumbai Police took cognisance of a viral video showing luxury and high-performance cars speeding and racing dangerously inside the Marine Drive-Southbound Coastal Road tunnel.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, three people were critically injured after a speeding off-road SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) hit them near PKC Hospital in Vashi, Navi Mumbai.

The driver fled the spot after the crash instead of helping the injured.

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