Navi Mumbai, May 9: Panvel City Police solved a Rs 1.5 crore theft of materials belonging to Tata Projects Limited, stored on railway land, within six hours, arresting three accused and recovering stolen property and cash worth Rs 1.6 crore.

The police recovered 100 per cent of the stolen material and also exposed the involvement of an insider in the case.

The theft took place on April 28 from a site in Karanjade Sector-1, where Tata Projects Limited had stored construction materials for a railway bridge project on railway premises.

Unknown persons had stolen materials worth Rs 1.5 crore from the location.

After a case was registered at Panvel City Police Station, special teams were formed under the guidance of Senior Police Inspector Nitin Thackeray.

Acting on technical analysis, intelligence inputs and local inquiries, the police arrested three accused within six hours and recovered the entire stolen material in the following days.

During the investigation, the main accused was identified as Vijaykumar Babulal Verma, a supervisor with the company, who allegedly instigated the theft and facilitated the crime.

He had reportedly taken Rs 10 lakh from the co-accused in return. The police later recovered the cash amount from his residence.

“We were able to crack the case within six hours using technical inputs and local intelligence. The entire stolen property has been recovered and further investigation is underway,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhausaheb Dhole.

A total of Rs 1.6 crore worth of property, including Rs 1.5 crore in stolen materials and Rs 10 lakh in cash, has been seized, police said.

Mira Bhayandar: In a significant crackdown on the narcotics trade, the Crime Detection Branch (Unit 4) of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police has dismantled a major drug trafficking gang. Officials seized 6.773 kg of Mephedrone (MD), valued at approximately ₹13.61 crore in the international market.

The operation began on May 4, following a precise tip-off received by a team led by Police Inspector Pramod Badakh. The information suggested a large stockpile of drugs at the Chedda Adarsh building in the Naya Nagar area of Mira Road.

Upon raiding the premises, police recovered 1.324 kg of MD worth ₹2.66 crore from the residence of a woman identified as Firdos Arbaz Qureshi. Investigators determined that the contraband belonged to her husband, Arbaz Vakil Qureshi. Both were immediately taken into custody.

During the interrogation of the Qureshi couple, the police uncovered a wider network of suppliers and distributors. Subsequent raids led to the arrest of several other accomplices across different regions

Moiz Javed Khan (Behram Baug, Jogeshwari), Arman Ali Kalam Ali Rain & Sunil Kamal Yadav (Oshiwara), Mohammad Wasim Yusuf Sheikh (Shanti Park, Mira Road), Irfan Anwar Kudiya (Rajkot, Gujarat), Mohammad Arafat Shamsuddin Ansari (Byculla), Khalda Arafat Ansari (Madanpura, Byculla), Akash Satyaram Yadav (New Link Road, Jogeshwari)

The total recovery stands at 6.773 kg, with the largest portion of the drugs being traced back to and seized from the Agripada area in Mumbai.

Total Value of Seized MD is ₹13,61,38,480

The MBVV Police are currently investigating the “forward and backward linkages” of this syndicate to identify the original manufacturers and the end consumers to whom the gang intended to sell the illegal substances.

Shiv Sena UBT Leader Priyanka Chaturvedi has strongly criticised the alleged involvement of an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) elected corporator, Mateen Majid Patel, in hiding Nida Khan in the Nashik TCS case. Nida Khan is the alleged mastermind of the TCS religious conversion and sexual exploitation case. She was arrested in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Taking to X, Chaturvedi questioned how an accused in the case was helped by an elected corporator, evading law and order. She further questioned, “Besides booking him, shouldn’t he be stripped of his public responsibilities?” Notably, currently, Nashik city police have booked Patel for allegedly sheltering Nida Khan.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Police used a strategy to arrest Khan after receiving a tip-off that Patel was sheltering her. Patel’s phone was under surveillance after learning Khan was in contact with him.

To avoid suspicion, police summoned several corporators from different parties under the pretext of reviewing their security arrangements. As he arrived, Police Commissioner Pravin Pawar asked crime branch officers to apprehend him, and he was questioned about Nida Khan’s whereabouts.

Though Patel initially denied any knowledge, he later admitted that Khan’s parents were staying in the Naregaon area and claimed that Nida left the city on May 2. After interrogation, he finally told police that Nida Khan, along with her family members, was hiding in his flat in Kausar Park for the last couple of days.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday also made strong remarks regarding the alleged role of Patel. Fadnavis said the investigation is underway and all angles will be examined to uncover those behind the alleged conspiracy. “It is clear that the AIMIM corporator (Mateen Majid Patel) had a hand in hiding Nida Khan. Who was behind all this will be found out. Are they in the conversion racket? Did they help? It will be discovered,” he said.