Mumbai, March 20: The Mumbai Press Club received a threatening email claiming that several small bombs filled with poisonous gas had been planted inside the building and would explode at 1 pm on Friday. The sender identified herself as Neerja Ajmal Khan.

Soon after the email was received, the police and security agencies swung into action. A search operation in and around the Press Club premises is expected to begin shortly. The Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) and the dog squad have been called to the spot to prevent any potential threat in time.

In the email, the sender claimed to represent Muslims from Coimbatore and made certain political allegations. The message stated that injustice had been done to them and that their voices were being suppressed. It also mentioned that the sender had limited resources and had used them to target the Mumbai Press Club. However, the sender also wrote that the intention was to cause damage and advised people to vacate the building.

The email further referred to alleged secret networks linked to Naxalites and Pakistan, which has made the case more serious for investigators.

Taking the threat seriously, the Mumbai Police immediately began an investigation. The cyber team is examining details such as the email ID used to send the message, its possible location, and who may be behind it.

Preliminary information suggests that the email was sent using the secure email service Proton Mail, which is generally difficult to trace.

At present, people inside the Press Club have been alerted. Police officials said that all angles are being probed and no negligence will be tolerated. According to initial information, the email was sent yesterday at 7.33 PM.

Mumbai: Facing sharp criticism from the civic standing committee over an 11% cost escalation above the BMC’s estimate, authorities have been forced into fresh negotiations with the lowest bidder, M/s Soma Enterprises Limited, on Friday for the Gargai Dam project.

The committee has taken a firm stand, demanding that the Rs 3,276 crore (after including taxes Rs 5,396 crore) project be awarded strictly at par with the original estimate, putting renewed pressure on the civic administration to rein in costs.

The Gargai Dam Project was initially estimated at Rs 3,105 crore. After tenders were floated in December last year, the lowest bidder, Soma Enterprises Limited, quoted Rs 3,334 crore. Following negotiations, the company agreed to execute the work for Rs 3,276 crore.

However, the Standing Committee raised concerns over a 2% incentive on the total contract value granted to the contractor after negotiations, terming it unnecessary.

In a subsequent meeting on Wednesday, the committee again questioned the administration and directed it to hold fresh negotiations with the company to further reduce and align the contract cost.

A senior civic official said, “A meeting has been called with Soma Enterprises Limited, and the administration will seek its best possible revised price in line with the Standing Committee’s directions. A fresh proposal will then be placed before the next meeting of the Standing Committee.”

According to sources, the company had earlier justified its higher bid during negotiations by citing cost escalation over the past two years since the project proposal was prepared in 2023, as well as the challenging and inaccessible terrain at Wada and Mokhada, where the dam is proposed to be constructed.

The Gargai Dam Project in Palghar’s Wada taluka is expected to augment Mumbai’s water supply by 440 million litres per day (MLD). The project proposes construction of a 69-metre-high dam near Ogada village, along with a 2.2 km tunnel to divert water to the Modak Sagar Reservoir.

Its implementation would require the felling of approximately 3.1 lakh trees, including areas within the Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary. As a result, the civic body will need to undertake compensatory afforestation on identified non-forest land.

The BMC supplies 4,000 MLD of water to Mumbai from seven lakes—Tansa, Bhatsa, Modak Sagar, Tulsi, Vihar, Upper Vaitarna, and Middle Vaitarna—with 34% lost to theft and leakages. Rising pollution and urbanisation have pushed demand to 4,463 MLD, expected to reach 6,900 MLD by 2041.

The last major dam, Middle Vaitarna, was completed in 2014, highlighting the need for new projects like the Gargai Dam. The project is expected to be completed by 2029.

Mumbai: In a major crackdown on the sale of counterfeit branded goods, Mumbai Police have dismantled an organised racket dealing in fake Apple accessories in Ghatkopar East, seizing products worth Rs. 16.33 lakh and booking six shopkeepers in the case.

The action was carried out by a team from Pant Nagar police station following a specific tip-off about the sale of duplicate mobile accessories in the Patel Chowk and Nilyog Mall areas. Acting swiftly, police officials devised a coordinated plan and split into six teams to conduct simultaneous raids at multiple locations.

During the operation, authorities raided six shops where a large quantity of counterfeit products was recovered. The seized items included mobile chargers, adapters, USB cables, phone covers, back panels, earphones, AirPods and batteries, all falsely branded as products of Apple Inc. Officials said the items were near-identical replicas designed to mislead customers into believing they were purchasing genuine goods.

To verify the authenticity of the products, representatives from Apple Inc. were present during the raids. Using technical expertise and specialised identification techniques, they confirmed on the spot that all the seized items were counterfeit.

The report also said that the accused had been sourcing these fake products at significantly lower prices and selling them at inflated rates under the Apple brand name. Police said the shopkeepers were illegally using Apple’s logo and product designs without authorisation, thereby deceiving customers and violating intellectual property rights.

Based on the findings, cases have been registered against all six accused under Sections 51 and 63 of the Copyright Act, The seized goods have been confiscated and sent for further forensic examination as part of the ongoing probe.

Police officials stated that this operation is part of a broader drive to curb the circulation of counterfeit branded goods in Mumbai. They added that further investigations are underway to trace the supply chain and identify other individuals linked to the racket.

Authorities have reiterated their commitment to taking strict action against such illegal activities and warned traders against dealing in counterfeit products.