Mumbai: Matarambai Ambedkar Marg Police Station has claimed to have unmasked a gang that buys stolen Apple mobiles from different districts of the state and from other states, removes their Apple ID, sells the mobiles outside the state and abroad, and sells the stolen mobile parts separately. A case of Apple mobile theft was registered in Matarambai Ambedkar Marg Police Station, Mumbai, in the year 2026. Technical examination conducted in the mobile theft case revealed that a SIM card was used in the stolen mobile. In a detailed technical examination conducted on this, 21 stolen Apple mobiles and 12 SIM cards were recovered from him after searching for the accused who used the SIM card in the stolen mobile. Further investigation into the case led to the arrest of four suspects of a gang that purchased stolen Apple mobile phones from different districts of the state and other states, removed their Apple IDs, sold them in other states and abroad, and, if the Apple IDs were not removed, separated all the parts of the stolen mobile phones and sold them in the market at a low price. A total of 64 stolen Apple mobiles and 20 stolen mobiles with separated middle body, display, battery, motherboard, logic board, etc., worth Rs. 44,78,400/- were recovered from them and cases of Telangana – 11, Delhi – 3, Maharashtra/Mumbai – 19, Karnataka – 2, Rajasthan – 1, Tamil Nadu – 1, Uttarakhand – 1 were revealed after recovering the stolen mobiles. The said operation was conducted under the guidance of Shailesh Balkode, Additional Commissioner of Police, South Regional Department, Mumbai, Manish Kalwaniya, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Mumbai, Nilesh Bagley, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Azad Maidan Department, Mumbai, Anil Molay, Senior Police Inspector, Farid Khan, Police Inspector (Crime), Matarambai Ambedkar Marg Police Station, Sub-Inspector Sushil Kumar Vanjari, Sub-Inspector Jalandhar. The team of Lambhe, Police Sub-Inspector Raju Salunkhe, Police Sub-Inspector Amul Chure, has carried out the operation.

Pune, Sep 7: Thousands of aspirants preparing for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examinations took to the streets of Pune on Monday, staging a massive Akrosh Morcha to protest alleged exam irregularities, recurring paper leaks and corruption in the state’s recruitment process.

The march, which began at Omkareshwar Temple and culminated at the District Collectorate, drew widespread participation from students and support from opposition parties including the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), the Indian National Congress, and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray).

Clad in a black shirt as a symbol of protest against the state administration and the commission, MLA Rohit Pawar addressed the overflowing crowd of candidates from atop a vehicle, launching a fierce attack on MPSC leadership.

Highlighting recent revelations surrounding the MPSC Excise (Departmental) Examination, Rohit Pawar alleged direct institutional complicity in administrative malpractices, pointing to reports implicating a high-ranking joint secretary-level officer in leaking exam marking patterns.

“It is deeply shocking that while students dedicate 20 hours a day to rigorous preparation, officials within the commission are allegedly selling exam materials. This injustice against hardworking candidates will not be tolerated. This march is not political; it is a fight for the future of our youth,” he stated.

The protesters have demanded the immediate removal and replacement of the current MPSC Chairman and Secretary and press for their replacement with officers of unblemished integrity, comprehensive criminal investigations and strict legal proceedings against all officials and middlemen implicated in scam allegations and pattern leaks and complete structural reform and cleansing of the MPSC examination and recruitment frameworks.

Dismissing allegations that opposition parties are politicising the issue, Rohit Pawar emphasised that the protest represents genuine public outrage. “Are the demands of students seeking fair opportunities political? These candidates have assembled of their own accord to protect their rights. People paying 50 to 60 lakh rupees to secure posts through corruption will not be accepted by these students or by the state of Maharashtra,” he added.

The massive turnout underscores the rising discontent among competitive exam aspirants in Maharashtra, with student bodies affirming that the agitation will persist until the state government addresses their demands and ensures an uncompromised recruitment process.

The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee president Harshwardhan Sapkal said that due to the paper leak, the hard work and future of lakhs of students have been reduced to ashes. With the resignation of the MPSC Chairman, the Congress firmly supports the massive outrage march in Pune for the students’ rightful demands, he added.

“It is essential that the functioning of an autonomous and sensitive institution like MPSC be transparent, impartial, and credible. Congress will not tolerate any compromise on the transparency and credibility of this process, which is linked to the future of students. Congress’s clear stance is that the exam must be transparent, the recruitment process must be fair, and students’ hard work must receive justice. To hold the government accountable for playing with students’ futures, Congress will stand shoulder to shoulder with the students and join this struggle. The students’ voice cannot be suppressed; their fight for justice will now become even louder,” said Sapkal in his post on X.

Further, the Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar alleged that the MPSC President and Secretary are responsible for the paper leak and the mega scam. This scam could not have happened without the direct patronage of the government. The paper leak has been government-sponsored. If this system had worked honestly, the paper leak would never have happened. He told reporters that the Mahayuti government has betrayed the trust of honest students by playing with their future! We will never tolerate this injustice.

“We fully support the students’ movement against the corrupt functioning of MPSC and against the government. For the rights of the students and until these corrupt officers are removed, we will not sit quietly. We will participate in this student movement with full force,” he said.

The state BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban claimed that the MPSC protest is not for the students but for Rohit Pawar’s political career. He further said that the Congress is firing guns off the shoulders of students.

Speaking to the media, Ban noted, “Rohit Pawar’s love for MPSC students is merely hypocritical affection. We will fulfil legitimate demands of the students; however, a fitting response will be given to political drama.”

Mumbai/Jalna, Sep 7: As Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil’s hunger strike at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna on Monday entered its tenth consecutive day, the Maharashtra Government issued four key Government Resolutions (GRs) and official directives providing major educational, financial, and employment benefits to the Maratha, Kunbi, and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) categories.

The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) issued immediate instructions to all divisional offices and universities across the state. Starting from the 2026–27 academic year, students from the Maratha community will receive all educational concessions and benefits on par with the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The Higher and Technical Education Department sanctioned and released Rs 200 crore to address pending hostel maintenance allowances for students under the Economically Backward Class (EBC), Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and SEBC categories. The funds were approved and allocated via supplementary demands during the Monsoon Session of the Assembly.

The Planning Department has revised the foreign scholarship framework operated by Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Research, Training and Human Development Institute (SARTHI) to align with the Social Justice Department’s policy.

Under the updated norms, tuition fees will now be directly remitted to foreign universities, effectively removing upper caps on benefit amounts. Students will receive an additional annual living/contingency allowance of $1,500 (£1,100 GBP for UK students). Selection will now follow a revised merit process based on QS World University Rankings.

SARTHI, Pune has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Institute of Driving Training and Research Services (IDTRS) Pimpri-Chinchwad to launch specialised Light Motor Vehicle (LMV), Heavy Motor Vehicle (HMV), and conductor training programs for 1,440 Maratha and Kunbi youth. Commencing on October 1, 2026, the program mandates securing employment or self-employment for at least 1,000 beneficiaries.

In a parallel development, Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil convened a high-level review meeting with divisional commissioners and district officials from across Marathwada to expedite the verification of Kunbi records based on the Hyderabad Gazetteer.

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar District Collector confirmed that all identified records have been uploaded to the official district website for public viewing via mobile devices. Other district collectors have been instructed to follow suit.

Authorities have been directed to publish verified village-specific records directly on the notice boards of respective Gram Panchayats to ensure complete transparency at the local level.

Meanwhile, Jarange Patil on Monday issued a passionate appeal to the Maratha community across all districts of Maharashtra to gather at Antarwali Sarati in Jalna district on September 12 for a key strategic meeting, urging everyone to refrain from heading to Mumbai immediately.

Emphasising the importance of physical presence, Jarange Patil urged community members from every corner of the state — ranging from Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Navi Mumbai, and Mumbai to Nagpur, Kolhapur, Nanded, Sangli, Satara, Hingoli, Parbhani, Latur, Dharashiv, Beed, Jalna, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar — to attend the meeting in person rather than following updates from home.

Jarange Patil stated that the final date and plan for the Mumbai march will be formalised during the September 12 gathering. Large-scale arrangements, including seating, LED screens, and sound systems, are being put in place to accommodate the incoming crowds, regardless of whether attendance reaches thousands or lakhs.

Placing the blame for ongoing tensions entirely on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, pro Maratha quota activist Jarange Patil absolved the police department of blame, reiterating that the movement’s grievance is strictly with the Maharashtra government, not law enforcement.

Demonstrators were advised not to panic, flee, or cause stampedes if confronted by police action. Jarange Patil instructed supporters to maintain peace and ensure that law enforcement personnel are not targeted or harassed under any circumstances.

Issuing a stern warning to the state administration, Jarange Patil declared that if any Maratha demonstrator is injured during the movement towards Mumbai, a complete shutdown (Maharashtra Bandh) would be enforced across the state within 10 minutes.

The upcoming September 12 meeting is expected to determine the next major phase of the Maratha quota agitation as pressure mounts on the state government.