Mumbai: In a major crackdown on fraudulent advertisements inside Mumbai’s suburban railway network, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Western Railway’s Mumbai Division intensified its campaign against fake ‘tantriks’ and ‘vashikaran babas,’ whose posters had been illegally plastered across local trains and platforms. On October 14, an accused and his two accomplice were arrested with more than 22,000 posters.

According to an official, posters, often promising supernatural fixes to personal, health, and financial issues, have not only misled commuters but also defaced railway property.

Following a spate of complaints received via social media and the Rail Madad portal, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Santosh Kumar Singh Rathod formed a special enforcement team. The drive gained momentum under the leadership of Sub-Inspector Santosh Soni.

“On October 14, acting on a tip-off, Soni and his team apprehended Abdul Samad, son of Irshad Khan, red-handed while he was pasting such posters inside a stationary local train at Platform No. 2 of Andheri station. Over 600 posters were recovered from his possession at the scene” further added official.

During interrogation, Samad disclosed the whereabouts of the main culprits — a self-styled so called godman and his accomplice — who were later arrested from their hideout in Mira Road. A subsequent search led to the seizure of an additional 22,000 posters. All three individuals, along with the confiscated materials, were handed over to the RPF post at Andheri for further legal proceedings.

“This is part of an ongoing operation to cleanse the railway premises of illegal and misleading advertisements,” said an RPF official. “The actions are aimed at curbing fraudulent practices and improving the aesthetics and safety of local trains.”

In just the past month, RPF teams have nabbed 29 offenders caught red-handed while putting up such posters. A total of 49,100 posters have been seized during this period, and fines amounting to Rs 13,000 have been imposed by the court.

This drive follows a similar operation conducted in May 2025, during which 53 offenders were booked, and 37,400 posters were confiscated. That campaign led to penalties totaling Rs 26,500.

New Delhi, Oct 14: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has restructured its partial withdrawal regulations, combining 13 distinct clauses into three main categories: Essential Needs, Housing Needs, and Special Circumstances. This change aims to make it easier to access provident fund savings.

For the nearly 30 crore members who collectively own a corpus of about Rs 30 lakh crore, the reform aims to make the withdrawal process quicker, simpler, and more transparent.

The revised framework, referred to as EPFO 3.0, has standardised withdrawal limits.

Depending on the goal, members can now access up to 100 per cent of their eligible provident fund balance, which includes employer and employee contributions. However, at least 25 per cent of the EPF balance needs to stay in the account in order to maintain a safety net for retirement.

This implies that members can keep the required balance while withdrawing up to 75 per cent of their total corpus.

Additionally, the new regulations standardise the requirements for services. In the past, there were specific requirements for each type of withdrawal, such as five years of service for housing purposes and seven years for marriage-related withdrawals.

All partial withdrawals are now subject to a single 12-month minimum service period, which streamlines the procedure and removes any ambiguity.

Members will no longer need to provide documentation of their withdrawals under the “Special Circumstances” category, which is a significant relaxation. In the past, withdrawals under this heading required proof of emergencies, such as natural disasters or job loss.

The new clause, which permits members to leave without giving a reason, is anticipated to reduce red tape and expedite approvals.

The EPFO has also increased the withdrawal limits for marriage and education-related withdrawals. Instead of the previous cap of three combined withdrawals, members can now make up to 10 withdrawals for education and five for marriage.

Stricter guidelines for final settlements are also introduced by the reforms, though. In contrast to the previous two-month eligibility window, members can now only apply for an early final settlement 12 months after quitting their job and for pension withdrawal 36 months later.

In the event of a job loss, the 25 per cent minimum balance requirement only applies to partial withdrawals; it does not apply to full settlements.

While it is anticipated that the simplified framework will increase efficiency and transparency, workers who are laid off or have experienced extended periods of unemployment may find it difficult to obtain their provident fund savings immediately during a time when they may need it most, due to the revised settlement timelines.

New Delhi, Oct 14: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a decision of the Karnataka High Court that had nullified the election of Congress MLA K.Y. Nanjegowda from the Malur Assembly constituency in the 2023 polls.

However, a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi did not interfere with the direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding recounting of votes but ordered the poll body to keep the revised results in a sealed cover.

“Issue notice. In the meantime, the operation of the impugned order of the Karnataka High Court, to the extent it set aside the election of the appellant (Nanjegowda), shall remain stayed. Resultantly, the appellant shall continue as the elected Member of the Legislative Assembly,” ordered the Justice Kant-led Bench.

However, the ECI is directed to comply with the directions to the extent of recounting of votes and submit the result in a sealed cover, and the recounting results shall not be disclosed without the permission of the Supreme Court, it added.

In an order passed on September 16, the Karnataka High Court had nullified Nanjegowda’s election but granted him 30-day timeline to file an appeal before the Supreme Court. If the apex court does not give any relief, the Congress legislator will lose his seat, clarified a bench of Justice R. Devdas, while pronouncing the verdict on a petition filed by the defeated BJP candidate K.S. Manjunath Gowda.

Manjunath Gowda has moved the Karnataka High Court, seeking a recount of votes polled in the Assembly elections, as the margin between him and Nanjegowda was just 248.

The BJP candidate had claimed that counting officials called him on the phone and said that he had won the elections. But later, it was announced that the Congress candidate had won by a margin of 248 votes. Hence, he had moved the Karnataka HC, seeking a recount of the votes polled.

The election petition was presented under Section 81 of the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951, and Rule 4 of the Karnataka Election Petition Rules.

Manjunath Gowda has prayed the Karnataka High Court to call for records, documents, videos, computers, including the one where the rejection order was drafted, and all further material and data regarding the election, including the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the postal ballots, the videography and computations relating to elections, and to hold them in custody.

The petition further demanded to set aside the election of Nanjegowda on the grounds mentioned under Section 100 (1) (d), (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) as enumerated therein and to declare him as the elected candidate from the Malur constituency.