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Malegaon 2008 case: End threats, enticement of witnesses, urges Congress

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In a significant development, the Maharashtra Congress on Thursday urged the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to ensure that the witnesses in the sensitive Malegaon 2008 blasts case “are not pressurised, threatened or enticed”.

In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, Congress state Working President Arif Naseem Khan said the terror case has prominent names as prime accused, including Bharatiya Janata Party MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, Col. P.S. Purohit, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Dayanand Pandey and several others.

“I have learnt that in order to save all these accused in the Malegaon 2008 bomb blast case, some organisations and individuals are threatening, pressurising and luring the witnesses to make them ‘hostile’ before the court,” Khan said.

The blast occurred in Malegaon on September 29, 2008, near a mosque when Muslims were offering prayers, and left at least nine dead and another more than 80 injured, and the subsequent probe revealed the involvement of what was called ‘saffron terror groups’.

Khan urged Thackeray and Walse-Patil that such groups or persons should be investigated by a high-level committee and stringent action must be initiated against them for influencing or harassing the witnesses.

The case was probed by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad and later taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and has a total of 495 witnesses.

From these, 220 witnesses have already testified, out of which 15 have already been declared ‘hostile’, with the likelihood of more witnesses going against the probe agency owing to pressures exerted by some organisations and persons, Khan pointed out.

The Congress leader said that Walse-Patil had assured he would do the needful in the matter in order to ensure a free and fair trial at the day-to-day hearing before a Special Court.

Khan’s letter assumes significance, coming a day after a witness in the case made a shocking claim that he was allegedly detained for a week by the ATS in 2008 and then compelled to name five RSS leaders, including Yogi Adityanath, who is now Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

The witness, who is one of the trustees of Abhinav Bharat, a right-wing group, also contended that the ATS did not record his statement though the agency had attached his purported five-pager statement in its charge sheet filed in 2009.

During the cross-examination, the witness named Adityanath, Swami Aseemanand, Indresh Kumar, a Prof. Deodhar and one Kakaji, whose names he was allegedly forced to take by one police official Chavan, DCP Shrirao and an IPS officer Param Bir Singh.

Crime

Palghar Crime: Group Brutally Assaults 24-Year-Old Man Near Moregaon Talao In Nalasopara; Attempt-To-Murder Case Registered

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Palghar, Maharashtra: Police have registered a case of attempt to murder after a 24-year-old man was brutally assaulted late Saturday night near Moregaon Talao in Nalasopara (East).

FIR Details and Identity of Victim

According to the FIR lodged at Tulinj Police Station, the victim, identified as Pratik Prasad Waghe (24), was attacked around 11:30–11:50 p.m. on August 23 by a group of men following a dispute related to a woman.

The complainant, Pritam Dike (34), a relative of the victim, told police that the accused, identified as Bhushan Patil, Sanket Patil, Swarup Meher, and 4–5 unidentified men, cornered Waghe near the Vasai-Virar Municipal Hospital, and assaulted him with fists and blows aimed at his head. The attackers also abused him and allegedly tried to kill him during the assault.

Two Arrested, Hunt for Others Continues

Police have arrested Bhushan Patil and Sanket Patil, while the search is on for the remaining accused. The case has been registered under sections 109, 189(1), 189(2), 191(2), 190 and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

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Crime

Palghar News: Chemistry Teacher Arrested Under POCSO For Sexual Assaulting Teen Student In Nallasopara

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Palghar: Another shocking incident of a teacher sexually assaulting a teen student has come forward from Palghar. Authorities have taken a teacher into custody for supposedly assaulting a 16-year-old female student at a private tutoring centre in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, an official stated on Monday.

As per the victim’s report, the 42-year-old suspect, a Chemistry instructor at the coaching centre in the Nalla Sopara region, summoned her for an additional class on Saturday afternoon and took her to his office at the facility, where he purportedly assaulted her, the official stated, as reported by PTI.

The following day, the instructor tried to photograph the victim in class, but she evaded it, stated the official from Nalla Sopara police station. Her parents soon reached the class, seized the accused, and delivered him to the police. The victim claimed that the accused had previously made advances toward her as well, PTI reported.

According to the complaint, the suspect was apprehended on Sunday and charged under section 74 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intention to insult her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with clauses of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the police reported.

Another Incident

A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped multiple times by five individuals over three months in central Mumbai. Police arrested a 25-year-old man and detained four juveniles related to the case. The situation came to light when the girlfriend of one accused confronted the victim.

After her parents checked her phone and discovered videos and messages about the relationship, they reported the matter to the police. A case was filed against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

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Crime

CBI dismantles transnational cybercrime network targeting US nationals, three arrested

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New Delhi, Aug 25: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under its ongoing Operation Chakra-IV, has dismantled a sophisticated cybercrime network that defrauded US nationals of nearly $40 million and arrested three key accused, an agency statement said.

The action was carried out in close coordination with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The arrested have been identified as Jigar Ahmed, Yash Khurana, and Inder Jeet Singh Bali.

According to the CBI, between 2023 and 2025, the accused gained unauthorised remote access to victims’ systems and bank accounts by posing as tech support providers.

They convinced US-based victims that their accounts were compromised and manipulated them into transferring money to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by the gang, the statement said.

The CBI registered the case on August 18 and launched extensive searches across Amritsar and Delhi. A major breakthrough came when investigators raided an illegal call centre — Digikaps The Future of Digital — being run at Global Tower, opposite Khalsa College for Women, Amritsar. At the site, 34 people were caught red-handed while engaged in cyber fraud activities.

The searches led to the seizure of 85 hard disks, 16 laptops, 44 mobile phones, incriminating digital evidence, and Rs 54 lakh in cash. Documents and additional electronic devices linked to the fraud were also recovered.

CBI investigations revealed that the accused had been funnelling proceeds of crime through cryptocurrency transactions.

Further operations are underway to trace the money trail and identify other members of the transnational cyber-enabled financial crime network, the agency said.

The probe is also pursuing international leads in coordination with Interpol and other foreign law enforcement agencies, the statement added.

The CBI noted that Operation Chakra-IV has significantly disrupted and dismantled this organised cybercrime syndicate.

Investigation into the broader network and on international leads is ongoing.

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