Maharashtra Congress workers staged a protest in Mumbai against the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday, echoing Rahul Gandhi’s fresh allegations of large-scale electoral fraud.

Yesterday, the former Congress president claimed that democracy in India was under threat and called for judicial intervention. He alleged that between the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in Maharashtra, over one crore new voters were added to the rolls in just five months, a spike larger than the addition made in five years.

CCTV Footage Destruction Raises Eyebrows

Gandhi also accused the ECI of destroying CCTV footage from polling booths, despite questions over a suspicious surge in voting after 5.30 PM in certain areas. He alleged this was part of a cover-up, as Congress workers stationed at booths reported no such spike in voter turnout.

According to Gandhi, the Election Commission has refused to provide the voter list in an accessible format, instead handing over stacks of printed paper — deliberately formatted to block Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scanning.

“This is why we are being given data like this — so it is not analysed,” he said, adding that his team spent six months manually checking records for just one constituency.

Karnataka Example: “Vote Chori” in Mahadevapura

To highlight his claims, Gandhi cited findings from the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Karnataka. He alleged over one lakh fraudulent votes were cast in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls there, including:

11,965 duplicate voters

40,009 fake/invalid addresses

10,452 bulk voters (same address)

4,132 invalid photos

33,692 misuse of Form 6

In Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat, Congress won six out of seven segments but lost Mahadevapura by over 1,14,000 votes — a margin Gandhi says was inflated by “vote chori.”

Mumbai: A tragic road accident in Bhayandar, a few kilometres away from Mumbai, on Thursday claimed the lives of a couple after their two-wheeler skidded and they fell in front of a dumper while overtaking it. The husband died instantly, while his wife succumbed to injuries on the way to the hospital. A CCTV footage of the deadly crash has surfaced on the internet.

The deceased were identified as Nilesh Mali, 54, and his wife Manju, 50, residents of Uttan. According to police, the couple was travelling to Mira Road when the incident occurred on the Bhayandar West stretch towards Mira Road, near the Radhaswamy Satsang area. Nilesh attempted to overtake the dumper from the left side when he lost control, causing the two-wheeler to skid. Both fell onto the road directly in front of the heavy vehicle, which ran over them.

CCTV Captures Exact Moments Of Deadly Accident

Disturbing CCTV footage of the accident has surfaced online, showing the two-wheeler edging ahead of the dumper before losing balance. Within seconds, the couple was crushed under the vehicle’s wheels. In the video, onlookers can be seen rushing to help, with some urging the driver to reverse in a desperate attempt to free the victims. Manju was seen writhing in pain before she lost consciousness.

Passersby immediately alerted the police, who arrived at the spot shortly after. Locals detained the dumper driver and handed him over to the authorities. Nilesh sustained fatal head injuries and was declared dead at the scene. Manju, despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, could not survive the severe trauma.

Overtaking Led To Fatal Accident, Say Cops

A police officer stated that poor balance during the overtaking manoeuvre was the primary cause of the incident. “The two-wheeler skidded when Nilesh tried to overtake from the left. Both fell in front of the dumper, leading to the fatal runover,” the officer said, as quoted by Hindustan Times.

The police have booked the dumper driver under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). The driver’s statement is being recorded and his vehicle has been seized for inspection.

Mumbai: The political row over the 2008 Malegaon blast verdict escalated further on Thursday, August 7, when Sudhakar Chaturvedi, one of the seven accused acquitted in the case, made a provocative statement during a press conference. Chaturvedi, who was cleared of all charges along with BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, said, “Prithviraj is himself a Sanatani. I will give a reward of Rs 2 lakh to anyone who dares to slap Prithviraj Chavan.”

His remarks were aimed at former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, whose recent comments following the verdict have stirred controversy. The special NIA court, in its judgment, stated that there was no reliable and cogent evidence to convict the accused. The Malegaon blast of September 29, 2008, near a mosque, killed six people and injured 101, and the case dragged on for nearly 17 years before the final acquittal.

Prithviraj Chavan’s Controversial Remarks

After the court’s decision, Chavan urged people to stop using the term saffron terrorism, suggesting instead ‘Hindu fundamentalist’ or ‘Hindu terrorism’ to describe such acts. He explained that saffron holds deep cultural and religious meaning, representing the flag of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Warkari sect and saints like Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar.

Shiv Sena Protests Outside Congress Office Over Ex-Maha CM Prithviraj Chavan’s Controversial Remarks

However, his alternative terminology triggered backlash from right-wing groups and BJP allies, who accused him of maligning Hindu identity. On August 2, Shiv Sena workers staged a protest outside the Congress office in Mumbai’s Prabhadevi, demanding an apology. They alleged that the Congress frequently targeted Hindu sentiments under the banner of secularism.

Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s claim that “no Hindu can ever be a terrorist,” Chavan pointed to history, stating, “The first terrorist act in independent India was carried out by Nathuram Godse. What was his religion? Terrorism has no religion. This is BJP’s mindset, linking or delinking terrorism based on religious identity.”