Mumbai, June 30: The police have registered a case against Rajesh Kumar, a 21-year-old caretaker at Swagat Ashram in Kandivali West in Mumbai, Maharashtra, for allegedly physically assaulting two minors. The accused allegedly grabbed an 11-year-old boy by the throat and repeatedly slapped him after the child and his brother woke up late.

The incident came to light after the two children fled the shelter home and were later rescued by the Dadar Railway Police. Police have launched an investigation into the matter.

According to the victim’s statement, the children had been staying at the ashram after their father passed away in September 2025. Their mother had admitted them to the institution in the hope of providing them with a better future and access to education.

The victim told police that at around 4 a.m. on June 8, he and his cousin were assigned the task of filling water at the ashram. After completing the work at around 5 a.m., they went back to sleep, intending to wake up again at 6 a.m. for kitchen duties. However, due to exhaustion, they failed to wake up on time.

Enraged by the delay, the caretaker allegedly threw a bottle at one of the boys. He then repeatedly punched the 11-year-old on his back. When the child turned around, the accused allegedly grabbed him by the throat and slapped him across the face several times.

According to the complaint, the victim told police that the children had been subjected to regular abuse and beatings at the shelter home. Fearing further violence, the 11-year-old and his 14-year-old friend decided to flee the premises.

After leaving the ashram, the victim borrowed Rs 100 from a vegetable vendor by mentioning the caretaker’s name. The two boys then travelled by auto-rickshaw to Kandivali railway station and boarded a local train to Dadar. They were reportedly planning to travel onward to Ahilyanagar to reach the victim’s mother.

An alert citizen noticed the boys wandering on Platform No. 13 at Dadar railway station and informed the Dadar Railway Police. The officers took the children into custody, counselled them, and uncovered the alleged abuse at the shelter home.

The police subsequently contacted the boys’ mother and informed the authorities at Swagat Ashram. After undergoing medical examinations, both children were shifted to a safe children’s home.

Following directions from the Child Welfare Committee, Mumbai City, the police registered a case against Rajesh Kumar. Further investigation into the alleged assault and the functioning of the shelter home is underway.

Pune, June 30: A fresh legal dispute has emerged in the Ketan Agarwal murder case, with Advocate Ashutosh Srivastava, who claims to be representing accused Siya Goyal, issuing a legal notice seeking Rs 10 crore in damages from her brother, Sahil Goyal, over alleged defamatory statements.

In the notice, Advocate Srivastava stated that Siya Goyal had formally appointed him as her legal counsel through a duly executed vakalatnama (authorisation letter).

“Ms. Siya Goyal has duly executed and signed the Vakalatnama/authority in my favour for her legal defence. The said appointment was not an oral claim, not a media projection and not an unauthorised assertion, but a legal authority voluntarily given by an adult accused/client. The original/signed Vakalatnama is already filed before the competent court and her additional signed original copies of the relevant documents shall be produced before the appropriate forum/Court of law as and when required,” the notice stated.

The notice alleges that Sahil Goyal made false, misleading, and defamatory statements against Srivastava through the media, causing serious harm to his professional reputation and public image.

According to the legal notice, Srivastava’s vakalatnama has already been accepted and placed on record before the Vadgaon Maval Court. Despite this, it claims that Sahil publicly questioned his authority to represent Siya Goyal without first verifying the legal documents or contacting him.

“It is appalling, distressing and shocking that, instead of first verifying the authenticity and legality of the Vakalatnama duly filed on record or without having any conversation with us, you blatantly, irresponsibly, maliciously and fraudulently issued a public/media statement suggesting that I was not appointed or authorised by the family members,” the notice read.

The notice further contends that the statements created a false impression that Srivastava had falsely claimed authority to represent the accused or had acted improperly, thereby exposing him to ridicule, trolling, threats, hostile phone calls, professional embarrassment, and reputational damage.

Through the notice, Sahil Goyal has been asked to immediately withdraw the alleged defamatory statements, issue a public apology, and provide a written undertaking that he will refrain from making similar allegations in the future.

The notice also warns that if no satisfactory response is received within the stipulated time, Srivastava will initiate appropriate legal proceedings, including a civil claim seeking Rs 10 crore in damages for alleged defamation and reputational loss.

The legal notice marks a new development in the high-profile Ketan Agarwal murder case, adding a separate legal dispute between the accused’s family and the lawyer claiming to represent one of the accused.

The controversy began ahead of a court hearing in the case on Monday, when Sahil Goyal publicly questioned Srivastava’s authority to represent his sister.

Speaking to the media, Sahil alleged that Srivastava had neither been appointed nor authorised by the family and claimed that he may have obtained Siya Goyal’s signature “by deceit”.

Sahil’s remarks came after Srivastava made multiple media appearances in which he identified himself as Siya Goyal’s legal counsel and spoke on matters related to the case.

However, Sahil Goyal maintained that the family had not hired Srivastava as their lawyer and asserted that Advocate Vipul Dushing had been appointed to represent them. He also stated that the family had filed an affidavit before the court regarding the issue and alleged that Srivastava had issued threats to them.

Mumbai, June 30: The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Tuesday hailed the Special Court’s judgement sentencing the prime accused in the horrific Nasrapur minor assault and murder case to death. It has triggered a massive debate across the state regarding the breakdown of law and order and the growing atmosphere of insecurity for women and children in Maharashtra.

The Thackeray camp, in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’, said that the verdict provides closure to the victim’s grieving parents; it exposes a larger, more systemic failure. While the ruling administration is expected to tout this case as a major achievement — highlighting how it was fast-tracked to deliver a conviction in just 58 days — the core issue remains unaddressed: Will crimes against women actually decrease?

The Thackeray camp has accused the current dispensation of being preoccupied with corruption, multi-crore scams, exam paper leaks, and political horse-trading, while failing to protect citizens.

The editorial said a series of shocking incidents across major cities highlights this growing crisis. “Once revered as the cultural and educational capital of the state, Pune has now gained notoriety for heinous crimes against women, dowry deaths, the menace of the ‘Koyta (machete) Gang’, brazen murders, and widespread hooliganism. Law and order has reportedly collapsed even in the Chief Minister’s home turf of Nagpur, where cries of victimised women go unheard,” it said.

The editorial further stated that in the Kasheli area of Bhiwandi, a seven-year-old girl was recently subjected to sexual assault. In Kolhapur, a four-year-old toddler was assaulted after being lured with chocolates. In Pimpri-Chinchwad, a residential building security guard attempted to molest young girls inside the society complex. The recent Badlapur case, where two minor girls were assaulted inside a reputable school’s premises, triggered a massive political and social storm. Two months ago, a predator attempted to assault two young girls in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. In Kalyan’s Kolshewadi, a 55-year-old man assaulted a minor girl, said the editorial.

The Thackeray camp has sharply called out the “political hypocrisy” of the current leadership. “The state government, which aggressively promotes welfare schemes like the ‘Ladki Bahin’ initiative to secure women’s votes, is completely abandoning these very women when it comes to actual physical security. Even daily commutes on Mumbai’s local trains have turned hazardous, with minor altercations frequently escalating into fatal stabbings.”

The editorial referred to the passage of a stringent “Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill” by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government back in 2020 to curb crimes against women. However, it has remained pending with the Central government for the last six years. “Over 23,000 cases of violence and murder involving minor children have been officially registered in Maharashtra in recent years, a number that is drastically higher if unregistered cases are factored in, proving that strict laws like POCSO have lost their deterrent effect on criminals,” said the editorial. While the judiciary has swiftly executed its duty in the Nasrapur case within two months, the ultimate accountability does not lie with the courts, noted the editorial.

“The crucial questions regarding state security cannot be answered by the judiciary. They must be answered by the state government and the Chief Minister, who holds the Home Ministry portfolio,” remarked the editorial.

“Can the ruling politicians, who have allowed a progressive and safe state like Maharashtra to slide into a dark alley stretching from Badlapur to Nasrapur, provide these answers? Only when women and young children can step out and breathe freely without fear will true justice be achieved. Until then, a single hanging remains just a temporary response to a permanent crisis, leaving the haunting question wide open: What next?” asked the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.