A 53-year-old habitual offender was arrested by the MHB Police and identified as Bapi Ratan Bhattacharya. He was accused of stealing women’s purses and valuables from busy supermarkets repeatedly. Bhattacharya, dubbed a ‘serial snatcher’ by the police, was apprehended in Mira Road on Saturday after weeks of investigation.

In a statement given by the cops to Media, Bhattacharya would exploit the chaos of crowded shopping areas, especially popular D Mart outlets, to discreetly lift purses and bags placed in shopping trolleys. Most of his victims were women distracted while shopping. Investigators revealed that Bhattacharya had been involved in more than 10 similar thefts across various supermarket branches in Mumbai and nearby areas.

His latest crime came to light after a Dahisar West resident filed a complaint stating her purse had been stolen while she was shopping with her two-year-old son at D Mart, Kandarpada. The stolen bag contained cash, ATM cards, and important documents. Within minutes, ₹20,000 was withdrawn from her husband’s account using one of the stolen cards.

Following the complaint, police teams led by DCP Sandeep Jadhav (Zone XI), Senior Inspector Harish Gavli, and PSI Nilesh Patil analysed CCTV footage and used technical surveillance to trace Bhattacharya’s movements. The accused was later arrested from Mira Road. During interrogation, he confessed to multiple thefts carried out in a similar fashion across several D Mart branches.

An officer said, “More than ten cases have been registered against Bhattacharya across Mumbai and nearby police stations. Whenever a theft is reported at a supermarket, his name is the first to come up. We have already solved two pending cases after his arrest.”

The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Information Technology Act, police said, adding that further investigations are underway to identify his other offences and potential accomplices.

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 5: A spate of alleged cooperative society scams in the state capital has put the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the defensive, threatening to dent its image ahead of the upcoming local body elections.

The party, which has served as the principal opposition in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation for the past two terms, now finds itself battling allegations of financial impropriety and internal discord.

The crisis deepened after the suicide of Anil Kumar, a sitting BJP councillor in the Corporation and president of a local cooperative society.

He reportedly took his own life following severe financial distress after the institution failed to return deposits.

His death has not only sparked emotional outrage within the party but also turned the spotlight on the functioning of a few BJP-linked cooperatives in the city.

Adding to the turbulence, M.S. Kumar, one of the party’s prominent faces in Thiruvananthapuram and a former state secretary, publicly alleged large-scale loan defaults by senior BJP leaders from another Society, of which he is a key office-bearer.

According to Kumar, loans worth over Rs one crore were taken by state- and district-level leaders and never repaid.

One senior leader allegedly owes Rs 40 lakh, while another has defaulted on Rs 35 lakh.

Kumar accused the party’s top brass, including state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, of failing to act despite repeated complaints.

He has also threatened to release the names of all defaulters, claiming that a good number of those who failed to repay loans are BJP members.

His revelations, first reported by the CPI(M) party daily ‘Deshabhimani’, have created ripples within the BJP and given ammunition to the Left, which has accused the party of “moral and financial decay”.

The CPI(M) has demanded a detailed probe into the alleged misuse of cooperative institutions under political patronage.

With the BJP scrambling to contain the fallout, senior leaders are reportedly in talks with Kumar to withdraw his damaging Facebook post.

However, as the controversy widens, the cooperative scandals threaten to overshadow the party’s campaign and undermine its credibility in Kerala’s politically charged capital.

Meanwhile, in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the CPI(M)’s State Education Minister V. Sivankutty has expressed confidence of a sweeping win, while the Congress-led UDF has already taken the early lead by announcing candidates in 64 of the 101 seats and launching its campaign.

Kumar’s allegations have left the BJP rattled, with damage-control efforts now underway.

Chandigarh, Nov 4: After the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct for the by-election to the Tarn Taran Assembly constituency, Punjab Police, following the directions of the Election Commission, has made seizures of drugs, liquor, cash and freebies valued at over Rs 57.47 crore.

According to details, from October 7, the day the Model Code of Conduct came into effect, till November 3, the police in the Tarn Taran constituency seized 51,429.50 litres of liquor valued at Rs 32,89,160, narcotic substances of Rs 56,67,10,500 (21,811.10 grams), cash amounting to Rs 9,73,480, and other items valued at Rs 37,85,700.

Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said the police have been directed to maintain round-the-clock surveillance through CCTV cameras at all checkpoints in the constituency to curb illegal smuggling activities.

He added that strict action is being ensured against those attempting to influence voters by distributing cash or any other kind of freebies during the elections.

The Chief Electoral Officer said there are a total of 192,838 voters in the constituency, which includes 100,933 men, 91,897 women and eight third-gender voters. There are 1,357 service voters, 1,657 voters aged above 85 years, 306 NRI voters, and 1,488 voters with disabilities. The number of young voters aged between 18 and 19 years stands at 3,333.

He said there are 222 polling stations set up at 114 polling station locations, of which 60 are urban and 162 are rural.

The Tarn Taran bypoll on November 11 was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal, who had won the seat with 52,935 votes, defeating Shiromani Akali Dal’s Harmeet Singh Sandhu.

Fifteen candidates are in the fray. They include Sukhwinder Kaur of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Harjit Singh Sandhu of the BJP, Harmeet Singh Sandhu of the Aam Aadmi Party, and Karanbir Singh of the Congress.