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NCB lets off Aryan: MVA feels ‘vindicated’, says its a ‘slap’ for BJP

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The ruling 3-party Maha Vikas Aghadi government on Friday said it stands ‘vindicated’ after the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) gave ‘clean chit’ to Aryan Khan and five other accused in the sensational raids on a cruiser in October 2021.

The MVA allies — Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress — had slammed the NCB from day one for the swoop carried out by the agency’s then Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.

NCP Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik — currently in custody of the ED — had run a major expose-campaign against the NCB city head Wankhede and termed the Cordelia Cruise ship raid as a “farjiwada (fraud)” perpetrated in collaboration with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

NCP Chief Spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said that Malik’s observations of how the entire raid was conducted and selection of witnesses having ‘close affinity with BJP’ was valid and now is laid bare by the NCB.

“We have always maintained that NCB is a very credible organisation with an impeccable track record, but recent actions put a question mark on its reputation. Malik’s serious allegations against Wankhede earned the ire of some powerful people in New Delhi and he is now paying the price for speaking the truth,” said Tapase.

Congress Chief Spokesperson Atul Londhe said the cruiser raid and subsequent happenings were part of the “huge conspiracy by the BJP government misusing the central probe agencies to discredit and topple the MVA government” which have failed.

“Now, they have got a slap on their face… Instead of continuing to indulge in such tactics, it will be better if the BJP learns now that it works for the welfare of the people,” Londhe said, terming the development as ‘Satyameva Jayate’.

Sena’s MoS Kishore Tiwari said that his statements in the PIL filed by him stand ‘fully vindicated” that the entire raids was a ‘fake’ perpetrated by Wankhede and his BJP supporters to tarnish the MVA regime and hog publicity.

“I will pursue the PIL and seek criminal proceedings against Wankhede, all the BJP men who were exposed later by Minister Malik, how innocents like Aryan Khan were trapped in their extortion rackets and the fake raids, etc., till its logical conclusion,” said a grim Tiwari.

Following the NCB’s statement giving a ‘clean chit’ to Aryan and others, Malik’s Team demanded to know: “Will the NCB take action against Wankhede, his team and the private army, or will it shield the culprits.”

An NCB official said that it will prosecute only the 14 against whom solid evidence along with circumstantial evidence has been found, and charges will be dropped against the remaining (six).

He also said there was no evidence of any ‘conspiracy’, ‘international drug syndicate’, ‘common intent’, based on WhatsApp chats, etc., as claimed by the previous team led by Wankhede which probed the case.

The matter started a furious debate on social media with the NCB coming under fire for the ship raids and how its credibility lay shattered, though no prominent BJP leaders have reacted so far.

Maharashtra

Pahalgam Terror Attack Interrogated from Eyewitnesses of Dombivali

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Mumbai: The NIA, IB have also started interrogating the tourists from Maharashtra who witnessed the Pahalgam Terror Attack. A team has reached Dombivali to interrogate these tourists. The family of Atul Mane, Hemant Joshi, and Sanjay Lele from Dombivali had gone to Kashmir for tourism. In Pahalgam, the terrorists opened fire after asking who was a Hindu. During this, Atul Mane, Hemant Joshi, and Sanjay Lele died and this family has seen these terrorists very closely and is also an eyewitness to this matter.

Therefore, the investigation agencies have entered Dombivali, adjacent to Mumbai, to interrogate them. All the teams first appeared at the Dombivali police station and then left for the family’s house. The police have also intensified their operation against the terrorists and a reward of Rs 20 lakh has been placed on the terrorists. In addition, their identity has been established and a sketch has also been released. NIA sources said that these eyewitness statements can also be recorded to make progress in the case of the terrorist attack and the investigating agencies are also hopeful of getting more clues. After the painful incident, the NIA and the investigating agencies have now started collecting details from tourists from Maharashtra and tracing them.

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Crime

Blaze kills woman in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala; 10-day infant among 6 injured

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Mumbai, April 26: A woman was killed and six people, including a 10-day-old infant, were injured in a fire in an high-rise building in Mumbai’s Lokhandwala in Andheri (West), early on Saturday, said the Mumbai Fire Brigade.

Abhina Kartik Sanjanvalia, 34, died on the way to Cooper Hospital. Her family member Kartik Sanjanvalia, 40, is undergoing treatment for smoke inhalation, said an official.

Five fire tenders fought the blaze, which started at around 2.40 am in Broke Land Building near Ashok Academy Lane, and restricted it to room number 104 on the first floor before extinguishing it at 5.30 a.m, said an official.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade suspect that the fire in the eight floor building was sparked by an electric short circuit. However, the exact cause of the blaze is yet to be confirmed.

The blaze burnt down furniture, mattresses, clothes, split and window air-conditioners and electrical installations in the flat on the first floor, said an official.

The other injured residents taken to Kokilaben Hospital were identified as 10-day-old baby boy Pradumna Gupta, Rihan, 3, Daya Gupta, 21, Aparna Gupta, 41 and Polam Gupta, 40.

The incident revived painful memories of another fire incident in a 15-storey building in Lokhandwala last October which claimed the lives of three people, including a visually impaired citizen.

Soon after the fire in Riya Palace building, a 37-year-old building at Cross Road Number 4 of Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri, there were demands for opening a fire station on a plot allotted for the purpose in the area three decades ago.

The October 2024 blaze that broke out on the 10th floor of the building started around 8 am and was doused around 9 p.m. The victims were identified as Kanta Soni, 74, Chandraprakash Soni, 74, and Pelubeta, 42.

In another fire incident on Saturday in Maharashtra, a plywood godown was gutted in Thane district. The fire started around 3.30 a.m, in a three-storey building in Rahnal village in Bhiwandi and four fire tenders continued to battle the flames for hours.

A firefighter of the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) got a fracture in his leg during the operation to douse the blaze.

An official said due to a huge pile of plywood the blaze had posed a challenge to fire-fighters.

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Maharashtra

Pahalgam terror attack: Visas of Pakistanis in the state cancelled, 55 Pakistani citizens in Maharashtra, CM Devendra Fadnavis directs action, police alert

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Mumbai: After the terrorist attack on Mumbai Pahalgam tourists, the process of collecting records of Pakistani citizens has now started in Maharashtra, along with which an order has been issued to leave India for Pakistani citizens. Regarding this, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that orders have been issued regarding Pakistani citizens, in addition, an investigation of Pakistani citizens has also been started. If any Pakistani citizen is residing in India or Maharashtra illegally, action will be taken against him. He said that after the Pahalgam attack, Pakistanis have been ordered to leave the country, in addition, their visas have also been cancelled, along with this, cancellation of medical visas is also being considered. He said that after the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, this will also be followed in Maharashtra.

Devendra Fadnavis said that the government has decided to cancel visas of Pakistani citizens. No citizen with a Pakistani visa should stay in India for more than 48 hours. Action will be taken against those Pakistanis who are staying illegally. Discussions have been held with the Home Ministry regarding this. They will strictly follow it. We have no sympathy for Pakistani actors or other artists. He said that when the enemy treats us like this, all the parties of the country unite. Atal Bihari Vajpayee had supported the then government in the Bangladesh issue. We are united. Fadnavis has said that Modi ji has announced to crush the terrorists. I am sure that Modi ji does what he says. He has kept his promise even before this. After the Pahalgam attack, Maharashtra Police is also on alert. Along with this, the police have started action in other cities including Mumbai. Devendra Fadnavis has also now given a 48-hour ultimatum to Pakistanis living in Maharashtra and the work of expelling all Pakistanis from the country has been started.

There are 55 Pakistani citizens living in Maharashtra, they are residing in different districts of the state. A senior official of the Home Department said that out of them, 19 are Pakistanis, 18 in Thane city, 12 in Nagpur, three in Jalgaon, one in Pune city, one in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai and Raigad. The state Home Department is very strict regarding Pakistanis and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has also issued strict orders on this.

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