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Mumbai General Elections 2026: Various teams formed for Municipal Corporation elections, teams headed by Election Officer Bhushan Gagrani are ready and active

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Various flying squads have been constituted to conduct the Mumbai Municipal Corporation General Elections 2025-26 in a transparent and impartial manner and to ensure strict and effective implementation of the Model Code of Conduct. Appropriate and trained manpower has been provided for these teams. All the officers and employees of the flying teams shall discharge their duties honestly, timely and with full responsibility. Constant vigilance should be maintained to ensure that there is no violation of the election code of conduct during the election process and prompt action should be taken against any violation as per the rules, said Municipal Commissioner and District Election Officer Bhushan Gagrani.

As per the schedule of Municipal General Elections 2025-26 announced by the State Election Commission, Maharashtra, voting will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2026 from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm. Accordingly, the Model Code of Conduct is being implemented in the entire municipal limits. For this, department-wise teams have been set up in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation area. This includes Code of Conduct Squad, Static Surveillance Team, Videography Surveillance Team and Flying Squad Team etc.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwani Joshi said that SST, FST and VST squads have been appointed in connection with the Municipal Corporation general elections. The final picture of the elections has become clear. Therefore, all the forces should be alert to prevent irregularities in the elections. The police and excise department staff should also work together with the returning officer. It is a big responsibility of all of us to conduct the elections peacefully and peacefully. Dr. Ashwani Joshi said that the Municipal Corporation administration is working in coordination with other agencies for this.
Municipal Corporation Commissioner Gagrani said that a code of conduct team is working in every administrative division under the supervision of the Divisional Assistant Commissioner. Citizens can lodge any information or complaint regarding violation of the Model Code of Conduct by directly contacting the Code of Conduct Cell in the concerned Division Office. A fixed surveillance team has been appointed at the check points where illegal transportation of items that may influence or entice voters, money, liquor and weapons may take place.

This team is deployed at a fixed place (check post). The main work of keeping an eye on illegal transportation of cash and liquor, transportation of weapons is being done by the fixed surveillance team. Similarly, flying squads have also been deployed to monitor activities that may influence or entice voters and keep an eye on illegal transportation of money and liquor or other suspicious activities. These teams are patrolling the ward and are acting like the fixed surveillance team. These teams conduct appropriate investigation, take legal action by making seizure if necessary. Further, if any violation of the code of conduct is noticed, it should be reported to the concerned Election Decision Officer and the concerned Police Station. In addition, a videography surveillance team is working at the level of each Election Decision Officer to provide information to the Election Decision Officer without any delay about important events, election campaign rounds, meetings as well as incidents of excessive expenditure and violations of the code of conduct taking place in the constituency.

Instructions have been given to record videos of incidents/rallies, campaign rounds, meetings or incidents violating the code of conduct taking place in the constituency during the code of conduct period and provide information about the same to the head of the code of conduct team and the concerned Election Decision Officer. The team leaders should personally supervise the above tasks, the officers/employees of the assigned team should coordinate with each other and complete the work within the stipulated time. If any negligence or negligence is found in the election work, disciplinary action will be taken as per the provisions of the rules.

Municipal Commissioner Gagrani said that the single window scheme has been implemented to ensure that candidates can obtain all types of permits from different departments easily and on time. Under this scheme, candidates will not need to visit the office of each department separately. The necessary permits of various departments of the Municipal Corporation including Fire Department, Licensing Department, Police Department, Traffic Police and Regional Transport Department are being made available at one place.

Maharashtra

Mumbai Fake police fraud gang busted, four FIRs registered so far, and four individuals—including mastermind Raj Khatib—arrested: DCP.

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have busted a gang of fraudsters posing as police officers who used to intimidate people by giving them police badges and fake identity cards. Earlier, the Crime Branch had claimed to have arrested three fake police officers in this case. The search for their accomplices was also on. These absconding accused were arrested today. The accused had told the complainant that the blood money would be returned with interest. After that, the Crime Branch took action on the complainant’s complaint and arrested Mohammad Ghaus Ibrahim Khatib and Rajesh Bade Singh. The search for the absconding accused in this case was on. In this case, Raj Bade Singh was arrested by the Crime Branch from Jaipur, Rajasthan. The accused had cheated the complainant of about Rs 15 lakh and taken money from his several bank accounts. Not only that, Raj Khatib used to tell the police that he would get the complainant’s money back. So far, the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested four accused in the fraud case, in which the mastermind is Muhammad Ghaus alias Raj Khatib. In this case, three accused were arrested in the first complaint. At that time, the accused had promised the complainant a loan of Rs 1 crore from the bank and then cheated him. In this, Raj Khatib, his son Musab Khatib were arrested. Raj Khatib used to call himself a DCP and cheated the complainant of Rs 16 lakh on the pretext of getting money from a builder along with interest. This complainant was confronted after the news was broadcast. After that, another complainant came forward who said that he had received Rs 12 lakh from three candidates in the name of police recruitment. After that, four FIRs have been registered against these accused so far, this information was given by the Mumbai DCP. Raj Tilak Roshan has said that the number of his victims is likely to increase, so he appeals to the citizens that if they have been cheated by this gang, they can file a complaint with the Crime Branch.

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra ATS Operation : Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti and two associates of Lawrence Bishnoi questioned, released after interrogation.

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has intensified its crackdown on anti-social elements including gangsters like underworld, Pakistani don Shahzad Bhatti and Lawrence Bishnoi. The ATS in Osmanabad Dharashio carried out Operation Lawrence Bishnoi and detained two suspects and released them after questioning them. Mumbai On July 10, 2026, ATS officers in Dharashio detained and questioned two persons on suspicion of interacting (liking/commenting) on ​​WhatsApp links associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. They have been identified as Vishal Bankat Kamble (age 35, resident of Tarna Colony, near Chhaya Deep Lawn, Dharashio) and Jirabi Bandiwan Sheikh (age 22, resident of Jalkot, Taluka Tuljapur, District Dharashio). During the inquiry, it was found that they were following the links of three groups associated with this controversial gang. However, no data was found posted by them on these groups. Their mobile phones have been seized, further investigation is underway. Vishal Bankat Kamble’s (late Bankat Kamble) father served as a police constable in the Dharashiv police department. He passed away after retirement. Jirabi Sheikh had followed the controversial link using his father’s mobile phone. As soon as this came to light, his father switched off the phone. However, the old SIM card was reactivated and checked, which confirmed that the controversial link was indeed followed.
To retrieve the old data, both the mobile phones and the SIM card have been sent to the ATS office in Chhatrapati Sambhaj Nagar and the electronic gazette has been sent to the Forensic Examination Laboratory. The ATS is conducting further investigation. Both have been released, however, the ATS has not given them a clean chit so far.

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Maharashtra

BMC sets up helpline for manhole-related issues following the SakiNaka incident; dedicated WhatsApp chatbot launched for complaints.

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Mumbai: After the death of Aslam Sheikh in a manhole at Mumbai’s Sakinaka, the BMC has now gone on alert mode and has set up a helpline and a WhatsApp chatbot for grievance redressal to avoid such incidents. The Municipal Corporation (BMC) has provided a more robust and transparent grievance redressal system to facilitate quick registration and prompt resolution of grievances. Citizens can easily register complaints regarding open, broken or missing manhole covers, drain cover issues and other civic grievances through various digital channels.

To ensure quick resolution of complaints related to open, broken or missing manhole covers, the corporation has introduced a dedicated WhatsApp chatbot (9324500600). To use this facility, citizens need to initiate a conversation by sending a message to the designated WhatsApp number. After that, they need to select the “Submit Complaint” option, share the location of the incident, and upload a picture of the issue. On successful registration, the citizen will receive a complaint registration number for future follow-up.

Register complaints through ‘My BMC Marg’
Citizens should first open the ‘My BMC Marg’ app and log in using their mobile number and OTP. After that, they should select the ‘New Registration’ option and select the complaint type. If required, a brief description of the issue should be provided. Users should upload a current photo of the location or take a geo-tagged photo and upload it. After submitting the complaint, the citizen receives a complaint registration number for future follow-up. *Complaint registration through other channels
Apart from the ‘MyBMC Marg’ app and the dedicated manhole chatbot, citizens can also register complaints through the municipal corporation’s WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999), official website, and 1916 helpline. Complaints can be registered by sending the location and a photo of the issue to the WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999). To report potholes, one can send a message with the keyword “Do it” (or “Said”) and for complaints related to manhole covers, the keyword “Manhole” (or “Manhole”) (or “Manhole”) (or “Manhole”).

Citizens can also file complaints through the municipal corporation’s website (portal.mcgm.gov.in) by visiting the options: ‘Citizens File Complaints All’.

Additionally, complaints can be filed by calling the 1916 helpline and providing the necessary details.
In cases where a photo is required, citizens are sent a link to upload or capture a geo-tagged photo. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) appeals to citizens to report incidents of open, broken, or missing manholes, as well as other dangerous civic issues, using the available complaint channels. Citizens are encouraged to use the ‘MyBMC Marg’ mobile application or WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999) for quick registration and effective follow-up of complaints. The corporation has also specifically appealed to citizens to use the dedicated WhatsApp chatbot (9324500600) for complaints of open, broken, or missing manholes.

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