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Maharashtra

Malik becomes first serving Maha minister to be held for money laundering, sent to 8-day ED custody

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A special PMLA court in Mumbai on Wednesday remanded Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik to eight-day ED custody till March 3, nearly 15 hours after his pre-dawn dramatic detention, interrogation and arrest in an alleged money-laundering case arising out of a tainted land deal.

Malik was produced by the Enforement Directorate (ED) before the special court eight hours after his detention and arrest on Wednesday evening, following which a furious legal battle ensued for his 14-day remand with the defence team opposing the same.

The development gave a massive jolt to the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government as Malik became the first sitting Cabinet minister to be arrested, sending tremors in the political circles.

After a series of meetings with top leaders of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress, it was decided that irrespective of the court orders, Malik would not be compelled to resign as the Minority Affairs Minister.

On Wednesday afternoon, ED Assistant Director Niraj Kumar said in his arrest order that the agency had “reason to believe” that Malik “has been found guilty of an offence punishable under the provisions of PMLA,” and accordingly placed him under arrest at 2.45 pm.

Shortly after the formal arrest, Malik was whisked away by an ED team to a government hospital for a medical check-up from where he was taken to the designated special PMLA court.

Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh represented the ED while senior counsel Amit Desai appeared on Malik’s behalf, as the minister’s colleagues, political activists and relatives reached the court.

While he was escorted out of the ED office by the CISF, police and ED staff, a grinning Malik in a white kurta-pyjama was seen raising a fist in the air, and declaring: “Jhookenge Nahin, Ladenge Aur Jeetenge” (Will not succumb, will fight and win) to his supporters as he was made to sit in a vehicle.

The fast-paced developments started with an ED team along with a CISF team knocking at Malik’s home at around 4.30 am and taking him away a couple of hours later for questioning in the 17-year-old Kurla land deal case having a mafia taint, with an alleged money-laundering angle emerging from it.

The ED had deployed teams of the CISF and Mumbai Police for the operation even as a large number of NCP workers staged a noisy protest outside the agency’s office since morning to protest against the detention of Malik.

Malik, 62, became the first sitting minister and the second senior NCP leader in the MVA government to be arrested by the ED. Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh was arrested by the ED on November 2, 2021 in alleged corruption and money-laundering cases.

Malik’s arrest triggered hectic political activity with NCP President Sharad Pawar rushing to meet Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal Balasaheb Thorat, Ashok Chavan and others in an urgent meeting held on Wednesday evening.

The MVA partners and top leaders like Pawar, Jayant Patil, Supriya Sule, Majeed Memon, Chhagan Bhujbal, Vidya Chavan, Sanjay Raut, Kishore Tiwari, Nana Patole, Chavan, Naseem Khan, and others slammed the ED for the action against Malik, saying they would not be “cowed down” by the vendetta politics and targetting of opponents, and “silencing” them by letting loose central probe agencies on them.

Simultaneously, the opposition BJP sharpened its swords and intensified efforts to bring down the MVA government before its declared deadline of March 10.

Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis termed the matter as “extremely serious” since the land worth crores of rupees was allegedly grabbed at a throwaway price with persons linked to absconding mafia don Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, colluding with enemies of the country, and the proceeds were laundered for terror funding and anti-national activities.

BJP state President Chandrakant Patil demanded that since Malik has been arrested, he should quit, as also all other ministers facing various allegations should resign from the Cabinet immediately, failing which the BJP would launch an agitation on the streets.

The MVA leaders announced a sit-in at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi near Mantralaya at Nariman Point on Thursday morning, besides announcing statewide protests against Malik’s arrests, highlighting how the central probe agencies are being misused to topple the Maharashtra government and other states ruled by the Opposition parties.

Maharashtra

‘Won’t leave protest site until new FIR lodged’: Congress leaders support Rahul Gandhi’s sit-in

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Congress leaders, who have been accompanying Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi during his sit-in outside a Delhi police station on Friday, asserted that the agitation will continue till the police registers a fresh First Information Report (FIR) as sought by a purported pellet-gun victim.


LoP Gandhi, who was later joined by Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, is staging the sit-in outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police at Delhi’s Parliament Street Police Station, protesting the alleged refusal of the police to register an FIR on a complaint by a student, Sahil Lochab, who the Congress claimed, suffered pellet-gun injuries during last month’s protests demanding education reforms at Jantar Mantar.


Speaking to reporters, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said: “His (Lochab’s) lawyer has demanded the registration of an FIR. This is not some general FIR but rather a strictly defined one, concerning the illegal manner in which police action took place (against Sahil), where pellet guns were used.”Maintaining that their demand has not been accepted yet, he said: “Discussions must be going on. They must have spoken to the Home Secretary, they must have spoken to the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and ultimately, they have to speak to the Home Minister. But so far, nothing has been conveyed to us.”

“Rahul ji is absolutely clear: Until an FIR is registered, and a new FIR registration number is given, we will not leave from here,” he asserted.Admitting that a general FIR regarding complaints against the alleged police action during the July 20 Parliament march has been registered, Ramesh specified that the pellet gun victim has sought a new FIR.”It is completely unacceptable and condemnable that the BJP is viewing the matter through the lens of polarisation.”Congress MP Kishori Lal Sharma also took part in the agitation.

“This is a very shameful matter. The democratic right of an ordinary citizen states that if any injustice is done to him, an FIR should be registered. But they are not even registering that as the government is scared,” Sharma remarked while speaking to IANS.”The Leader of the Opposition had to come here… Does any investigation take place without registering an FIR? Why is the government scared about the truth coming out regarding who ordered the use of pellet guns? The Home Minister didn’t come to the Parliament and FIRs are also not being registered,” he said.

Congress leader Mukul Wasnik, who was also present at the site, said: “Our fight will continue till the government reveals the truth regarding who ordered the firing of pellet guns on students.”Meanwhile, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari told reporters in Uttar Pradesh that Rahul Gandhi has gone to “secure the right of a victim”.

“The pellet gun was fired on the 20th (of July). Today, it has been over a month, yet no FIR has been filed so far. So, Rahul Gandhi went to file an FIR to seek justice in accordance with the laws of India. Under Indian law—and anywhere in the world—filing an FIR is every victim’s absolute right. He went there to secure the right of a victim, and all of us stand with him in this struggle,” he said.Further, he accused the Centre of “shielding the accused”.In Rajasthan, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said: “Rahul Gandhi is making every effort to ensure that those people get justice…The youths who were hit by pellet guns…Everyone has the right to seek justice…”

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Maharashtra

Muharram Fayyaz’s Conspiracy Impacts Eid Milad-un-Nabi ProcessionPolice Alert on Niyaz, Langar, Traffic Rules & Safety

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Public Celebration of Eid-e-Milad Notification Issued on 16th September

The effect of Muharram Fayyaz’s poisonous conspiracy on the Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession
Police’s view on the distribution of food and langar, appeal to adhere to the rules, police and scholars advise in the important meeting of the Khilafat Committee to avoid rush driving including triple seats and superstitions


In view of the Mumbai Eid Milad-un-Nabi (peace be upon him) procession, the Mumbai Police has issued an alert. The poisonous conspiracy of Fayyaz Premji will also affect the procession this year in Muharram-ul-Haram, so the police will be keeping an eye on the distribution of food and langar in the procession. Along with this, the police have appealed to the procession administration and the participants of the procession to refrain from distributing edible items, food and water because it is very difficult to trace and trace who has distributed these items.

Therefore, now the police stations will also register those organizations that distribute food items. This kind of view was expressed by Additional Commissioner Central Region Vikram Di Mane in the Khilafat Committee meeting. He said that it is necessary to take care of the rules and regulations in the procession. If someone If he violates this, action will be taken against him. DJs are completely banned and therefore action will be taken against those who bring DJs. It is the duty of the organizers to explain to those who bring DJs because later they have to be removed and bad moods arise.

Additional Commissioner Shalish South Region said that although the rules and regulations are taken care of in the procession, but despite this, there is a need for effective changes in it. Similarly, the length of the flags and trucks in the procession should also be fixed. Last year, there was a problem near the Parsi statue standing in this matter. In this important meeting of the Khilafat Committee, Hazrat Maulana Moinuddin Ashraf Al-Mu’rif Moin Mian also appealed to the youth to avoid un-Islamic matters and superstitions in the procession, to avoid triple riding on motorcycles and violating other rules, and to avoid revelry. He said that we celebrate the birth anniversary of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

In this, we should take care that no one’s feelings are hurt in this procession and heart-wrenching slogans should be avoided. If anyone is found involved in un-Islamic behavior, the administration and the police will take action against him. The participants of the procession should also keep this in mind that the rules and regulations have been fixed and the guiding principles must be followed. In this meeting, Khilafat Committee Working President Sarfaraz Arzoo also addressed the gathering and informed the attendees about the history of Khilafat. In this meeting, MLA Amin Patel, Manoj Jamsatkar, Javed Jinja and Corporator also addressed the gathering. Senior police officers and Senior Police Inspector ACP Tanveer Sheikh were also present in the meeting.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: QR-code collar strap for identification and digital registration of vaccinated stray dogs, BMC’s technology-based initiative

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Mumbai The Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has launched a technology-based initiative to use QR coded reflective collars for stray dogs. These collars will facilitate identification of stray dogs that have undergone anti-rabies vaccination and sterilization, as well as enable their digital registration and tracking. In this regard, an agreement was signed between BMC and Ridlan AI Foundation at the BMC headquarters today (August 20, 2026). The event was attended by Deputy Commissioner (Special) Vinay Vijpute, Head of Veterinary Health Department Dr. Kaleem Pasha Pathan, and Akshay Ridlan of Ridlan AI Foundation, along with other officials and staff of the Veterinary Health Department. As per the directions of the High Court. With the objective of animal welfare in mind, various measures are being implemented under the guidance of BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide. Led by Ashwini Bhide and Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Prajakta Laungare, these initiatives include stray dog ​​management, Animal Birth Control (ABC) and anti-rabies measures. Moreover, to achieve the broader goal of making Mumbai rabies-free by 2030, the corporation is strengthening field-level surveillance and management through the use of technology and digital information systems. This initiative has been taken as part of these efforts. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) conducts a massive anti-rabies vaccination drive for stray dogs every year. Earlier, vaccinated dogs were identified with coloured ink or other temporary markings. However, as these markings started fading or disappearing over time, long-term identification and monitoring became difficult. The initiative to use reflective collars equipped with QR codes will enable a more sustainable, systematic and technology-enabled mechanism for identifying dogs that have undergone vaccination and sterilization. As per the established data access protocol, the recorded information about a specific dog can be retrieved through QR tags, facilitating more effective monitoring of vaccination, sterilization, and health interventions. This digital system will support evidence-based planning, prevent duplication of necessary interventions, enhance field-level surveillance, and strengthen coordination between BMC, animal welfare organizations, veterinary teams, and other stakeholders. In the future, this digital registry can serve as a key source of information for Mumbai’s long-term rabies eradication strategy. Moreover, this initiative has immense importance from a public health perspective. Access to reliable and up-to-date information on vaccination and deworming coverage will help identify gaps in service, improve follow-up measures, and strengthen efforts to eradicate rabies. According to the municipal administration, this digital registry will help improve coordination between animal welfare and public health systems, thus reinforcing the broader goal of reducing human deaths from dog-transmitted rabies.

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