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Mumbai: Court Orders FIR Against Ali Abbas Zafar And Others In ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ Cheating And Forgery Case

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The Metropolitan Magistrate Bandra Court on December 2, directed the Bandra Police to file an FIR against director Ali Abbas Zafar, co-producer Himanshu Mehra, and others for charges including cheating, forgery, and defrauding producer Vashu Bhagnani. The case pertains to allegations made by Bhagnani, the producer of the 2024 multi-starrer film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.

The court instructed the police to register the FIR under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document as genuine), 500 (defamation), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

On September 3, 2024, Vashu Bhagnani filed a complaint with the Bandra Police Station against Ali Abbas Zafar, Himanshu Mehra, and others, accusing them of fraud, forgery, criminal breach of trust, cheating, and misappropriation of crores of rupees by falsifying and forging his signatures during the production of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. However, no action was taken by the police. Subsequently, Bhagnani approached the Bandra Metropolitan Magistrate Court seeking its direction to register the FIR.

According to the court’s order, Bhagnani signed four films with Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar in February 2021, including the action-comedy Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (B.M.C.M.). In November 2021, Bhagnani approached Ali Abbas Zafar to hire him as the director and writer for the film. Bhagnani alleges that Zafar, with a premeditated plan to defraud him, accepted the offer but conditioned on the appointment of Himanshu Mehra as co-producer and Ekesh, along with other associates, to manage accounts, audits, and related work. Zafar allegedly made these appointments based on false representations.

The film’s minimum production cost was set at Rs.125 crores, excluding the remuneration of lead actors, to be borne by Bhagnani. Despite these initial agreements, Bhagnani alleges that Zafar and his associates cheated and defrauded him during the film’s production and distribution phases.

Bhagnani alleges that Zafar demanded high fees immediately after entering the agreement in February 2022 but furnished the film script only in July 2022, breaching the contract. Another thing was part of the film was shot in the UAE, where Zafar and his associates allegedly stayed in costly hotels, ignoring prior arrangements made by Bhagnani, and incurred heavy expenses, violating the agreement. Despite an initial budget of Rs. 125 crores, the production costs escalated to Rs.154 crores due to Zafar and his team’s refusal to control expenses.

Bhagnani accused Zafar and his associates of violating several other agreements, leading to significant financial losses. Bhagnani claimed that despite approaching the Bandra Police Station with a complaint, no action was taken against Zafar and his team. He subsequently applied with the Metropolitan Magistrate Court, seeking a direction to register the offence and investigate the matter under the law.

The Metropolitan Magistrate Court, after reviewing the allegations and evidence, directed the Bandra Police to register the FIR against Ali Abbas Zafar and his associates.

Maharashtra

FDA conducts major raid on cosmetics store in Jogeshwari, seizes unlabeled toilet soap

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Mumbai, July 16: A team of Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Greater Mumbai Division conducted a major raid at M/s JK Soap Bazaar, 10/11, Qadir Ismail Estate, Near Momin Colony, Patel Estate Road, Jogeshwari (West), Mumbai – 400102. During the operation conducted on July 14, 2026, it was observed that unlabeled toilet soap was being stored and offered for sale in the establishment. The seized soap lacked statutory information like batch/lot number, date of manufacture, ‘first use’ date, manufacturing license number, and name and address of the manufacturer. Selling cosmetics without such mandatory labelling is a violation of the law. During this operation, toilet soap worth about Rs 10,93,692 was seized, and two samples were collected for analysis as part of the ongoing investigation. The accused in this case is Nabiullah and necessary legal action is being initiated against him. “The Food and Drug Administration gives top priority to the protection of the health of citizens. Making any cosmetic product available for sale in the market without labelling as per the law is a very serious matter. It becomes difficult to verify the source, quality and safety of such products. Therefore, strict legal action will be taken against the violating manufacturers, distributors and sellers.” This warning was given by Takaram Mandhe, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra State.

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Maharashtra

AIMIM Govindi corporator’s husband Atiq Khan banished from city for a year, makes emotional appeal to public on social media and apologizes

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Mumbai: Maharashtra AIMIM leader and husband of a corporator from Govindpura, Atiq Khan, has been banned from the city for one year by the Mumbai Police. In an emotional message on social media, Atiq Khan said that he has been banned from Mumbai city and suburbs for one year, so he will be unable to do pending work or visit the area. If the public or students face educational difficulties due to his absence in the area for one year, he apologizes for it. The police had registered a case against Atiq Khan for violence and rioting, and accordingly, he has been banned, so a complete ban has been imposed on his entry into the area for one year. The ban on this ban will come into effect today. Therefore, Atiq Khan has made a very emotional video and apologized to the public on social media and has also expressed his passion for public service and said that he will continue to serve the public.

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Maharashtra

Major hurdle in completion of expansion project in Mumbai railway network, several projects are facing delays due to encroachment on railway lands, RTI reveals

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Mumbai: Encroachments on railway land are a major reason for delays in railway projects in Mumbai city. Due to delay in its acquisition, projects have been delayed and their estimates have also increased, this has been revealed in an RTI information filed by RTI activist Anil Gilgali. RTI has revealed that 1,574 encroachments have been identified for two major MRVC rail projects, occupying about 17,000 square meters of land. Information sought by RTI activist Anil Gilgali under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 has revealed that a total of 1,574 encroachments were identified during the acquisition of land for two major rail projects of the Mumbai Rail Development Corporation (MRDC). Out of these, 998 encroachments have been removed so far, while encroachments were found on about 17,068 square meters of land. According to information provided by MRVC to RTI activist Anil Gilgali on July 14, 2026, this information relates to the Kalyan-Badlapur 3rd and 4th rail line projects and the Airoli-Kola elevated corridor project.

Kalyan-Badlapur 3rd and 4th rail line project
According to MRVC, 706 encroachments were identified during the acquisition of land for the 3rd and 4th railway lines of the Central Railway between Kalyan and Badlapur. These include hutments and other structures located on railway land and newly acquired land. Out of these, 620 encroachments have been removed, while encroachments were found on about 9668 square meters of land. MRVC also said that each encroachment occurred in different years, hence it is not possible to identify a specific year. The encroachments identified for the project are located between Kalyan and Badlapur railway stations.
Airoli – Kalwa Elevated Corridor Project.

During land acquisition for the Airoli – Kalwa Elevated Corridor Project, 868 encroachments were identified. These included constructions on railway land and newly acquired land. So far, 378 encroachments have been removed while about 7400 sq m of land was found to be occupied. These encroachments are located between Digha village and Kalwa station. The MRVC also clarified that all the encroachments occurred in different years.

Information on re-encroachments not available
The RTI application also asked in how many areas encroachments were re-established after the encroachments were removed. The MRVC replied that the relevant information was not available.
Anil Gilgali raised important questions.

RTI activist Anil Gilgali said that encroachments have become a serious challenge in railway projects in Mumbai. Encroachments are a major reason for project delays, cost overruns and additional burden on public funds, he said. Mere removal of encroachments is not enough. Railways and MRVC should ensure that no encroachments are created again in the removed areas. Regular monitoring, safeguards and accountability are essential to achieve this.

Gilgali also demanded that information on land acquisition, encroachments, rehabilitation and progress in removal of encroachments for all rail projects be made available on a public portal from time to time, to enhance transparency and provide real-time information to citizens.

He said that availability of land is very important for Mumbai’s rapidly developing rail network. If encroachments are not effectively controlled, many public transport projects in the future may be affected. Therefore, the government, railways and local administration should come together to find a permanent solution.

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