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Maneka Gambhir’s Bangkok visit remains uncertain as Calcutta HC refuses plea

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Maneka Gambhir’s trip to Bangkok to visit her mother there has remained uncertain as a vacation bench of the Calcutta High Court refused to hear her plea on this ground on Thursday.

Instead, the Calcutta High Court’s vacation bench of Justice Lapita Bandopadhyay has referred the matter to the regular bench of the court, which means that the matter will be heard only after the full operations of the court resume at the end of the ongoing festive season in the state.

Maneka Gambhir is the sister-in-law of Trinamool Congress’s national general secretary and party MP, Abhishek Banerjee. While rejecting her plea, Justice Bandopadhyay observed on Thursday that since Gambhir has already made a similar plea at a regular bench of the Calcutta High Court earlier, there is no justification of hearing in the matter by a vacation bench.

On October 17, she made an application at a vacation bench for the permission to go to Bangkok to visit her ailing mother there. However, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opposed the request on grounds that another single judge bench of the court had already refused to entertain a similar plea.

On the night of September 10, the immigration department at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata did not allow Gambhir to board a flight to the Thai capital due to the look out notice issued against her by the ED.

In response, she filed a contempt of court petition against the probe agency ED at the single judge bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya.

Her contention was that when there was a prior court order barring the central agency from adopting any cohesive action against her, such a refusal amounted to contempt of court.

However on September 30, Justice Bhattacharya’s bench dismissed the contempt of court petition and observed that neither the ED nor the immigration department had resorted to any sort of contempt of court by denying her the permission to board the flight.

Gambhir was questioned by the ED on September 12 in connection with the central agency’s ongoing probe on the coal smuggling scam in West Bengal.

The ED sleuths have also questioned Abhishek Banerjee and his wife Rujira Narula Banerjee on this count.

Crime

Intoxicated passenger threatens to kill man in Mumbai local; arrested after threat video goes viral

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Mumbai, July 4: A disturbing incident aboard a Mumbai suburban local train has once again raised concerns over passenger safety after a man allegedly threatened to kill a fellow commuter during an altercation. The incident comes just weeks after a youth was stabbed on a Mumbai local train, leading to his death.

The accused was later arrested by the LTT Railway Police after a video of the incident went viral on social media.

The accused has been identified as Ramzan Fakir Mohammad Ibrahim Qureshi, also known as Ibba (36), a resident of Shivaji Nagar.

According to the Railway Police, he was allegedly travelling in a heavily intoxicated condition when he threatened the life of another passenger over what officials described as a trivial issue.

The Railway Police stated that the incident took place on June 29, 2026, aboard a ‘Down’ direction Mumbai local train that had departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). The train was passing near Govandi station at around 10:34 P.M. when the altercation occurred.

Officials said the confrontation took place between Govandi and Chembur stations. The complainant, Surendra Shukla (55), a resident of Ulwe in Navi Mumbai, told police that he had boarded the train at Govandi. He alleged that the accused was speaking to someone on his mobile phone while using abusive language in a loud voice and appeared to be heavily intoxicated.

According to Shukla, he requested the accused to refrain from using abusive language because women were travelling in the compartment. The request allegedly enraged the accused, who suddenly became aggressive, started shouting and allegedly threatened to kill him in full public view.

The incident created panic and an atmosphere of fear among passengers travelling in the compartment. During the altercation, another commuter recorded the entire episode on a mobile phone. The video was later uploaded on social media, where it spread rapidly and drew widespread attention.

After the video went viral, the LTT Railway Police took cognisance of the matter and immediately launched an investigation. Officials said the detection team carried out a technical analysis of the viral footage and examined CCTV footage from railway stations and nearby areas to identify the accused.

Based on the investigation, police tracked the accused’s movements and eventually detained him outside Reay Road railway station. He was subsequently arrested, and further legal proceedings are underway.

The incident comes close on the heels of another similar case reported in Borivali, adding to concerns over the safety and security of passengers on Mumbai’s suburban rail network.

On June 23, a 22-year-old passenger was stabbed to death inside a first-class compartment of a Churchgate-Nallasopara fast local train following an argument over keeping the coach door open during heavy rain, police said.

The victim, identified as Mayank Lohar, a resident of Virar, was travelling in the first-class coach of Train No. 90663, when the incident occurred between Andheri and Borivali stations, when he reportedly asked the accused Roshan Suvarna to close the coach door.

The request allegedly led to a heated argument between the two passengers. During the altercation, the accused Suvarna allegedly pulled out a sharp weapon and stabbed Lohar in the abdomen, inflicting serious injuries that led to his death.

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Crime

Mumbai Police bust Rs 1.07 crore online share trading fraud; 6 arrested

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Mumbai, July 4: The Cyber Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police has busted an organised cyber fraud syndicate allegedly involved in cheating investors of more than Rs 1.07 crore through fake online share trading schemes.

As part of the operation, police arrested six individuals accused of orchestrating the fraud by luring victims with bogus investment opportunities, officials said.

According to the Cyber Police, the accused allegedly carried out the fraud by operating through WhatsApp groups, fake trading applications and multiple bank accounts while promising lucrative returns through fabricated share trading and IPO investment schemes.

Of the six accused arrested in the case, four were apprehended from Vadodara in Gujarat, while the remaining two were arrested from Mumbai. Police said the investigation revealed that the group functioned as a well-organised network with clearly defined roles assigned to different members.

According to investigators, the operation was carried out in several layers. The first stage involved identifying individuals willing to provide their bank accounts.

Thereafter, current accounts were allegedly opened in the names of companies, following which the money obtained through the fraud was routed through multiple bank accounts before being transferred further to conceal its trail.

Police believe the entire mechanism was part of an organised cyber fraud racket designed to evade detection.

The case came to light after a 43-year-old investment professional from Mumbai approached the police with a complaint.

According to investigators, she came across an online share trading advertisement on WhatsApp and clicked on the link provided in the message.

Police said that after accessing the link, the woman was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘Arjun Mehta, Kua Securities, UK’, where several individuals, posing as market experts, regularly shared stock market updates, investment advice and claims of exceptionally high returns in an apparent attempt to gain the confidence of group members.

According to the police, the accused gradually won the victim’s trust through professional-looking conversations and investment discussions.

She was eventually persuaded to register on what was presented as an online trading platform and to download a mobile application that displayed an interface closely resembling a genuine stock trading platform.

Believing the platform to be legitimate, the victim transferred money in multiple instalments from her own bank accounts as well as from the accounts of her family members to various bank accounts provided by the accused.

During the investigation, police found that the fraudsters had allegedly cheated the victim of a total amount of Rs 1,07,37,208.

The Cyber Crime Branch is now examining the financial transactions linked to the accused, tracing the movement of the defrauded funds and identifying other individuals who may have been part of the network.

Investigators are also trying to ascertain whether more investors across different states may have fallen victim to the same modus operandi.

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Crime

Delhi Police busts drug supply chain, arrests three traffickers including two foreign nationals

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New Delhi, July 4: The East District Anti-Narcotics Squad of Delhi Police has busted an alleged drug supply chain operating in the national Capital and arrested three accused, including two foreign nationals, recovering 21.09 grams of MDMA, 30 grams of ganja, three scooters and two mobile phones, officials said on Saturday.

According to Delhi Police, the operation was carried out as part of its ongoing ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy against drugs and the campaign to build a drug-free society.

The three arrested persons have been identified as John, a 35-year-old Senegalese national allegedly working as a drug supplier; Diwakar, 27, a resident of Baba Colony in Burari, Delhi, who was allegedly acting as a local drug peddler; and Solomon, a 37-year-old Nigerian national, who police described as the source of the narcotics.

Police said a dedicated team of the Anti-Narcotics Squad (ANS) of East District was formed under the supervision of Inspector Arun Kumar and the overall guidance of ACP (Operations) Pawan Kumar to crack down on drug suppliers and peddlers. Acting on a tip-off received on June 30, the team laid a trap near Star City Mall on the Delhi-Noida Link Road after receiving information that John would arrive there to deliver MDMA.

According to police, John attempted to flee after noticing the police team by making a U-turn on the wrong side of the road. During the chase, he allegedly rammed his scooter into a road divider before being overpowered by the police. A search led to the recovery of 12.86 grams of MDMA from his possession. Subsequently, an FIR was registered at Mayur Vihar Police Station under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

During interrogation, John allegedly disclosed that he used to supply MDMA to a local peddler, Diwakar, at different locations between the Chilla-Noida border and Akshardham Road. Based on this information, police traced and arrested Diwakar from Akshardham Road. Officers recovered around 3 grams of MDMA and 30 grams of ganja from his possession.

Further questioning of the two accused led investigators to another alleged supplier identified as Solomon, an African national residing in New Ashok Nagar. Police laid another trap near Crown Plaza Hotel Road and Chilla Border Road and arrested Solomon. A search resulted in the recovery of 5.23 grams of MDMA from his possession.

Police said the total seizure included 21.09 grams of MDMA, classified as a commercial quantity, and 30 grams of ganja, with an estimated value of around Rs 4 lakh in the international illicit market. Three scooters allegedly used for transporting narcotics and two mobile phones were also seized.

During the investigation, police found that Diwakar had initially started purchasing MDMA from John for personal consumption before allegedly turning to drug peddling for financial gain. Police further said that both foreign nationals failed to produce valid passports or visas during verification.

Officials said the arrests have helped dismantle an active narcotics supply chain operating in the area. Further investigation is underway to identify both backward and forward linkages of the network and ascertain whether the recovered vehicles were used in other criminal activities.

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