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Friday,24-April-2026
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Maharashtra

Mumbai: CM Devendra Fadnavis, Ritu Tawde Congratulate Ashwini Bhinde On Becoming Mumbai’s First Female Municipal Commissioner

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Mumbai: In a historic development, Ashwini Bhide has been appointed as the first woman Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, marking a significant milestone in the 160-plus-year history of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Following her appointment, political leaders across party lines took to X (formerly Twitter) to extend their congratulations and express optimism about her tenure at the helm of the civic body.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis congratulated Bhide, highlighting the historic nature of her appointment. He noted that this marks the first time in the BMC’s long history that a woman has been appointed to the top administrative post. He also conveyed his best wishes, expressing confidence in her leadership for the city’s governance and development.

Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde also lauded the appointment, describing it as a step towards capable and visionary leadership for the metropolis. Speaking about the felicitation ceremony held in honour of Bhide, which was attended by Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi, Tawde emphasised Bhide’s extensive administrative experience, disciplined work approach, and strong decision-making abilities. She expressed confidence that Bhide’s leadership would provide a new direction to Mumbai’s governance and accelerate the city’s development.

Tawde further underscored the need for transparent, citizen-centric administration in a global city like Mumbai. She said that under Bhide’s stewardship, key sectors such as infrastructure, cleanliness, transportation, and overall quality of life for citizens are expected to witness positive transformation. She also called for collective efforts to meet the expectations of Mumbaikars and to build a cleaner, more modern city.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also extended her wishes, noting the symbolic significance of the appointment. In her post, she remarked that Bhide’s elevation breaks a long-standing barrier in the civic body’s history. She further pointed out that Mumbai now has women occupying key leadership roles, including the Municipal Commissioner, the Mayor, and the Leader of Opposition, all of whom have demonstrated their capabilities in public life.

Bhide’s appointment has thus been widely welcomed, with leaders expressing hope that her tenure will usher in a new phase of efficient and inclusive urban governance for Mumbai.

Maharashtra

Mumbai Police arrests 367 absconding and wanted accused

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Mumbai: Police has claimed to have arrested 367 wanted criminals, including 18 who were wanted for 20 years. All these wanted criminals were declared absconders. In this, an accused wanted since 1987 has also been arrested in Azad Maidan police station, similarly an accused wanted since 1988 has also been arrested in MN Joshi Marg. These accused have been arrested from January 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026. The police have arrested these accused in this special operation to search for the absconding criminals, which is highly successful. This operation has been carried out on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti.

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Maharashtra

Public representatives should cooperate for effective implementation of SIR program in Mumbai: Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide

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Mumbai: As per the instructions of the Commission of India, the Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme is being implemented for the electoral rolls in Mumbai city and suburban districts of Mumbai. District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has appealed to the public representatives and political parties to cooperate in implementing this programme in Mumbai in a very effective manner.
In connection with the Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme, a meeting was held with representatives of various political parties at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters today (April 24, 2026). Leader of Opposition Kishori Pednekar, group leaders of various parties, representatives of various political parties were present at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation House. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) Dr. Avinash Dhakne, District Collector (Mumbai City) Aanchal Goel, Joint Commissioner of Municipal Commissioner (Mumbai City) and Local Government Commissioner etc. were present.
At the beginning of the meeting, detailed information about the Special In-Depth Review Programme was provided to the representatives of political parties through a computer presentation. Apart from this, various issues were discussed in detail.
District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide said that earlier a Special In-Depth Review was conducted in Maharashtra in the year 2002, i.e. about 24 years ago. The change in the voter list is necessary due to migration, double registration, illegal registration of dead voters or foreign nationals. In this regard, a Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme is being implemented in the Brihanmumbai region along with other parts of Maharashtra. This Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme will be implemented in a total of six phases, namely, pre-review period, counting period, preparation of AASD (Already Enrolled, Absent, Transferred, Dead) list, publication of draft voter list, claims and objections period and publication of final voter list. The work of voter mapping in the Brihanmumbai region (Mumbai city and Mumbai suburbs) is underway under the pre-review period. Accordingly, voters in the Special In-depth Review 2002 electoral roll are being mapped in the BLO app by searching the details in the 2024 electoral roll. Meanwhile, the cooperation of political parties is important for more effective implementation of the Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme in the Mumbai region. The Municipal Corporation has appointed Polling Station Level Officers (BLOs) for this work. On this basis, Mrs. Ashwini Bhide also appealed to the political parties to appoint Polling Station Level Assistants (BLAs) in the respective local bodies so that the revision process can be completed more efficiently, transparently and expeditiously.

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Crime

Goa Cyber Police Arrest Maharashtra Man In ₹61.84 Lakh Digital Arrest Scam Case

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Panaji: The Goa Cyber Police apprehended a 48-year-old man from Maharashtra for his alleged involvement in a major cyber fraud case amounting to Rs 61.84 lakh, police officials said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Dayanand Baburao Devalkar, a resident of Ajara in Kolhapur, was traced following an in-depth technical investigation, the office of the superintendent of police (cyber crime), Raibandar, said in a statement.

Police officials said that the funds were transferred into Devalkar’s bank account before being routed to multiple accounts belonging to his associates.

An investigation was initiated after a complaint filed by a resident of Quepem on April 13. According to the police, the fraudsters, acting as Mumbai Crime Branch officers through a WhatsApp number, allegedly threatened the complainant with fabricated allegations of money laundering linked to the banned organisation, PFI.

The accused shared fake documents, including a fraudulent bank statement and an arrest warrant, to intimidate the victim, the police said.

The complainant was subjected to a ‘digital arrest’ and coerced into transferring Rs 61,84,200 to settle the alleged case, the police statement said.

A team led by Sub-Inspector Navin Naik, alongside constables Sidaramaiyya Math and Vinay Amonkar, conducted the raid in Ajara to secure the arrest of the accused.

The investigation is being conducted by Inspector Deepak Pednekar under the supervision of Assistant Superintendent of Police BV Sridevi and Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) Raju Raut Desai.

This arrest follows a surge in ‘digital arrest’ scams across the coastal state.

In February, a Porvorim resident lost nearly Rs 15 lakh in a similar ruse involving fake narcotics officials. In late 2023, the Goa Police issued a public advisory after several professionals reported being held on video calls for hours by individuals posing as officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The arrested accused is being produced before the court to seek police custody.

The police are currently tracking the secondary bank accounts to identify the wider network involved in the syndicate.

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