Mumbai: The special MCOCA court on Thursday sentenced two Thane residents to five years’ imprisonment for chain snatching and operating a crime syndicate in a November 2020 incident. The MCOCA court imposed a fine of Rs15.3 lakh on each of the accused.

The court found Zakir Irani, 39, guilty of chain snatching and heading a crime syndicate involved in such crimes, along with Sonu Ananta Jadhav, alias Raj, 28.

According to the prosecution, the complainant was on a morning walk toward Goal Garden, Malad (East), on November 9, 2020, at around 6am. At around 6.10am, a blue-coloured motor scooter approached from behind, and the pillion rider attempted to snatch a gold chain from his neck. The complainant resisted, but the pillion rider inflicted a blow with a helmet on his head, causing him to lose his balance. The rider then snatched the chain.

The complainant claimed that two passersby helped him get up, but the assailants threatened to kill him by running him over. The complainant chased them and tried to note the bike’s license plate number, but two digits were missing. He later lodged a complaint with Dindoshi police station. The police acted quickly and, based on a confidential tip, arrested Irani on the same day. A month later, Jadhav was also arrested.

Public prosecutor Jaysingh Desai contended that Irani had four prior cases and was out on bail when he attacked the complainant in this case. It was also noted that Jadhav was a co-accused in some of these cases. Desai argued that Irani headed the syndicate.

The prosecution stated, “It clearly reflects that in each and every case, Zakir is the ma in accused and there are certain other associates like Gulam Hussain with Zakir in three cases…. In all cases, the modus operandi is the same: the accused target the victim’s neck to snatch a gold chain or mangalsutra.”

Mumbai: A 32-year-old employee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was found dead in Building No. 9 of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project at HDIL Compound, Kurla (West), on Thursday afternoon, police officials said. The incident was reported around 4:30 PM by the V B Nagar Police Station.

According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Rajesh Parmar, a resident of the Ghatkopar area, who worked in the BMC Solid Waste Management (SWM) department, F North Ward.

The body has been sent to the Rajawadi Hospital for postmortem examination. The exact cause of death remains unknown and further investigation is currently underway.

Mumbai: In a major development in the ongoing probe into the Pune ISIS module, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), in coordination with Pune police, carried out extensive search operations across the city on Thursday.

The raids targeted the residences and offices of 19 suspected individuals in Kondhwa, Khadak, Khadki, Wanwadi, and Bhosari, officials said. ATS teams from Mumbai and Pune conducted simultaneous searches to uncover digital evidence, documents, and communication devices linked to the module’s network. Several suspects were taken into custody for questioning, though authorities did not confirm any fresh arrests or seizures. Investigations are ongoing.

According to ATS, the operations were linked to C.R. No. 7/2023, investigating individuals previously arrested for alleged involvement in a sleeper ISIS module operating in Maharashtra. Sources said the raids targeted the residences and offices of the suspects, who are believed to have close links with ISIS operative Talha Liyakat Ali Khan (37). Khan was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after a two-year international manhunt. He was intercepted at Mumbai airport in May this year while attempting to return to India from Indonesia.

On June 4, 2025, the Maharashtra ATS arrested Khan from Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, where he was held in NIA custody, in connection with the April 8, 2023, Satara saree showroom robbery. Khan is alleged to have raised funds and facilitated the purchase of firearms used in the heist, in which Rs 1 lakh was looted and the perpetrators escaped on a motorcycle. He is the fourth individual to be arrested in the case. Officials said the stolen proceeds were reportedly channelled to finance ISIS-linked terror activities.

Sources said that during custody, Khan made several significant disclosures aiding the investigation. Following his statements, the ATS conducted search operations on Thursday. The individuals whose premises were searched are under ATS scrutiny and are believed to be close associates of Khan. Some suspects were reportedly in contact with him during the two years he was absconding and are believed to have been involved, directly or indirectly, in radicalisation and providing logistical support to the ISIS-linked terror module.

Investigations by NIA and ATS revealed that Khan, along with co-accused Fayaz Shaikh, played a key role in raising funds for the Pune ISIS terror module and in organising a secret IED workshop in Pune’s Kondhwa area in April 2022.During this workshop, members of the ISIS module allegedly fabricated and tested improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The session was reportedly attended by several accused, including Zulfikar Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Abdul Kadir Pathan, Simab Kazi, Shamil Nachan, Akif Nachan, and Shahnawaz Alam, among others.The suspects were reportedly involved in radicalisation, recruitment and fabrication of explosive devices as part of a larger terror conspiracy.

The plot, which could have posed a serious threat to national security, came to light in 2023 when Pune police detained two suspects from Kothrud in a bike theft case after searches of their residence and subsequent investigation revealed their alleged links to ISIS operatives, leading to the case being transferred to the Maharashtra ATS and later to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Officials said Khan and Fayaz Sheikh went underground after the Pune ISIS module was dismantled in 2022. Between July and August that year, the duo left India with their families, reportedly seeking employment in Oman. After being declared wanted by Indian agencies, Omani authorities ordered them to leave the country or face deportation. The pair then traveled to Iran, where they were detained on December 8, 2024, and interrogated for five months until May 5, 2025. In the following days, they reached Indonesia but were initially denied entry. While attempting to return to India secretly from Jakarta in May 2025, they were intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration at Mumbai International Airport (T2) and subsequently taken into NIA custody.

The ATS has said that the investigation into Khan’s network is ongoing, Further questioning and analysis of the seized digital evidence are expected to provide more leads in the case.