Mumbai: In a swift and coordinated operation, the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested a 50-year-old man from Noida, Uttar Pradesh, within 24 hours after he allegedly threatened to blow up the city using human bombs and 400 kg of RDX explosives.

According to officials, on September 4, 2025, at 2:57 pm, an unidentified person sent a WhatsApp message to the government-issued mobile number of the Mumbai Traffic Control Room in Worli. The message claimed that a massive terror attack would be carried out in Mumbai using human bombs and explosives.

The threat, which came amid the backdrop of Ganesh Visarjan celebrations in the city, was taken very seriously given the potential to disrupt law and order. Acting swiftly, the Crime Branch used technical investigation and intelligence-based tracking to trace the accused. With assistance from Gautam Buddh Nagar Police in Noida, the suspect — Ashwinikumar Sureshkumar Supra (50) — was arrested. The mobile phone used to send the threatening message has also been seized.

The case has been registered under Sections 196(1)(A)(B), 351(2), 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Worli Police Station.

Mumbai: The sessions court has granted anticipatory bail to a 34-year-old Thane resident in connection with a case registered with LT Marg police station linked to dabba trading.

The complaint was lodged by Pranam Mehta, partner in PFIVE Bullions Pvt Ltd, which deals with the buying and selling of gold bars and coins, who alleged that in February 2023 their chartered accountant introduced him to businessmen Ladulal Kanther, his son Pallav, and Shubham Kanther, who operated firms Maxis Bullions and Pallav Gold dealing in gold and silver.

Mehta claimed that between May 2023 and March 2024, he invested 36kg and 376.94 grams of gold, along with Rs 10.51 crore in cash, with the Kanthers’ firms. When the investments were not repaid, he filed the case.

During the investigation, the Kanthers were arrested. Ladulal, while in custody, disclosed that he had used 12kg of gold and Rs 5 crore, allegedly proceeds of the crime, to cover his MCX trading losses. He further claimed to have paid Rs 52 lakh to Sancheti. Based on this statement, the police issued Sancheti a notice to join the probe. Fearing arrest, he approached the court.

Sancheti maintained that Ladulal had approached him in May 2022 for investment and that all their transactions were recorded through banking channels, not cash. He alleged his name was being misused to extort funds. In contrast, the complainant claimed Sancheti was instrumental in diverting Rs 52 lakh to Rajasthan to settle Ladulal’s issue with the Customs Department.

After hearing arguments, the court observed that the only role attributed to Sancheti was receiving Rs52 lakh from Ladulal. Beyond this, there was no evidence connecting him to the alleged fraud. It held that ‘merely on the basis of a co-accused’s statement, without specific allegations, anticipatory bail cannot be denied.’

Mumbai: In a shocking development, the crime branch (railways) has arrested a woman police officer for her alleged involvement in the Rs 10.30 lakh extortion from a garment businessman at Bandra Terminus on Monday.

Mumbai railway police chief, Rakesh Kalasagar, said, “The Bandra railway police station senior inspector Nandkumar Khadkikar and (accused cop) Vijaya Ingavale have been suspended.”

So far, four accused have nabbed, while the police said that a total eight people are involved. Ingavale has been allegedly running the extortion racket for four to five years.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Wednesday arrested assistant sub-inspector Vijaya Ingavale, 52, attached to the Bandra Government Railway Police station along with Nilesh Kalsulkar, 45, and Praveen Shukla, 32, who posed as fake cops and extorted the money.

Meanwhile, one Ravi Singh, 25, was detained on Thursday. Ingavale Kalsulkar’s bail plea has been rejected and she along with Shukla have been remanded to police custody till September 10, as per sources.

A police officer said that the arrested accused are well-educated. While Kalsulkar is a mechanical engineer, Shukla holds an MBA in finance and works part-time in the loan business.

A cheating case was registered against Kalsulkar 10 years ago. Along with seven other accused, the woman officer conspired to dupe passengers.

The officer said that Kalsulkar has known Ingavale for four to five years. His role was to scout for wealthy targets at Bandra Terminus. In the case, which exposed the racket, the complainant, Vikas Gupta, 31, was allegedly convinced by his friend to bring cash to exchange it with crypto and purchase electronic goods.

When Gupta arrived at Bandra Terminus, Kalsulkar and Singh, posing as police officers, approached him, while four others stood behind them. They removed money from his bag under the pretext of checking it, said the officer, adding that they later took him to the Bandra police station where Ingavale allegedly threatened him with a raid on his residence and imprisonment.

Activist Samir Zaveri said, “In a short span, one incident after another has exposed the GRP’s involvement in extortion of passengers under the pretext of baggage checking. In the Bandra Terminus case, extortion was carried out by fake cops in nexus with the real police personnel.” This new modus operandi was meant to prevent identification of the police personnel, he added.

Under the guidance of Kalasagar, crime branch senior inspector Vijya Khedkar and police inspector Rohit Sawant exposed the racket. On August 10, three police personnel allegedly extorted Rs30,000 from a jeweller at Mumbai Central. On June 13, railway police allegedly extorted Rs 5,000 from a passenger at the Vasai station.