Mumbai: The Amboli police have booked three individuals for allegedly embezzling Rs 1.41 crore from Hari Media Network Private Limited through a series of fake projects and forged documents. The accused are Rishbh Sureka, a former senior manager–client servicing (influencer marketing) at the company, Yash Nagarkoti, CEO of Hooray Movies, and Ashay Shastri.

Sureka is accused of forging actress Athiya Shetty’s signature and creating a fake email ID in the name of actor Arshad Warsi to execute the fraud. Hari Media Network, which provides advertising and marketing services, has its head office in Haryana and a branch in Andheri West, Mumbai, opposite Yash Raj Films. Sureka joined in July 2023 and was authorised to handle influencer branding, project coordination, and communications with the finance team and CEO.

Soon after joining, Sureka received an interest-free loan of Rs 15 lakh from the company for his mother’s medical treatment. The fraud came to light through multiple fake invoices. In August 2024, Sureka claimed a Havells project featuring actress Dia Mirza required Rs31 lakh for Hooray Movies, which was approved. He allegedly told Nagarkoti the payment would be Rs 62 lakh.

After completion, Nagarkoti withheld the video and demanded the extra amount, citing a forged email from Sureka. The company paid an additional Rs 19 lakh to release the video. Investigations revealed Sureka, Nagarkoti, and Shastri conspired to submit forged bills in the names of brands like Havells, Mahindra Lifespaces, Realme Number Series, and Birla Estates. These fake claims totalled over Rs 52 lakh, transferred to Sureka’s personal account.

In January 2024, Sureka misused the company’s email to approach Matrix Entertainment, Athiya Shetty’s talent managers, and independently secured a Rs40 lakh advertisement with Khanna Jewellers. He forged Shetty’s signature on a fake agreement, collected Rs15 lakh from the jeweller, and did not pass it to Matrix. He also created a fake Zomato invoice involving Shetty and cricketer KL Rahul.

Kolkata, Jan 5: Allegations of irregularities have surfaced regarding appointments to non-academic and administrative permanent posts at Visva-Bharati University, the central university founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore and located in Santiniketan, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.

Sources within the university stated on Monday that several job applicants have lodged complaints via email with the Chancellor of the university, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as the Ministry of Education and the University Grants Commission (UGC). Visva-Bharati is the only central university in the country where the Prime Minister serves as Chancellor.

According to the complainants, the final merit list for non-academic and administrative permanent positions was not uploaded on the university’s official website. They alleged that appointment letters were instead issued through personal email IDs, bypassing established recruitment procedures. While details of appointments to several non-academic posts, including Registrar, Director of Studies and Director of the Publication Division, were made public, no information regarding the merit list for Deputy Registrar and Assistant Registrar (General) posts has been disclosed so far.

The applicants further claimed that although the written examination was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in accordance with directives issued by the Ministry of Education, the agency has not published the preliminary results on its website. This, they argued, raises serious questions about how Visva-Bharati authorities published the final professional merit list on October 27, 2025.

On these grounds, the candidates have alleged that the merit list is legally untenable and suffers from procedural lapses.

A senior university official, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that, unlike during the tenure of former Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarti — when recruitment processes were transparent — a “malicious group” is now influencing appointments. “Relatively unqualified candidates are being given opportunities by bypassing rules, which has raised serious concerns about the integrity of recent appointments,” the official claimed.

However, Visva-Bharati authorities have categorically denied the allegations. According to sources, the Registrar of the university, in a written reply to the Ministry of Education dated January 1, 2026, stated that all eligible candidates were selected strictly in accordance with rules outlined in the recruitment notification issued on April 17, 2023. The appointments were also approved by the university’s Executive Council on December 5, based on the recommendations of the duly constituted selection committee.

Visva-Bharati’s Public Relations Officer, Atig Ghosh, told media persons, “The recruitment has been carried out in complete compliance with all rules and regulations. The allegations made by the complainants are entirely baseless.”

Mumbai: A disturbing incident of communal harassment and criminal intimidation has come to light at a D-Mart outlet in the Yashwant Nagar area of Virar, which is an hour’s drive away from Mumbai. A local Muslim woman, a resident of Nalasopara West, has alleged that she was barred from entry and threatened with rape because she was wearing a hijab.

According to the victim’s testimony in a viral video, the confrontation began when she was shopping at the retail chain. She alleges that individuals at the store made derogatory remarks about her attire, telling her to ‘stay back’ because she is a Muslim.

The situation escalated when a group of men reportedly threatened her with sexual assault, stating, “You are Muslims, get out, we will rape you”. The victim expressed deep distress over the encounter, noting that the verbal abuse was specifically tied to her religious identity and her choice to wear the hijab.

The victim reported major issues when she first attempted to seek justice. She stated that she remained at the police station until 12:30 am on the night of the incident, but no First Information Report (FIR) was registered at that time.

Following the delay, the victim released a video documenting her ordeal, which quickly went viral on social media platforms like. The video caught the attention of social activist Ahmed Memon, who accompanied the victim back to the police station to ensure legal action was taken.

Memon confirmed that after discussions with the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and the Senior Police Inspector (PI), the authorities have now formally accepted the complaint and an application for further legal action has been filed.

In the wake of the public outcry and the intervention by local activists, the management of the Virar D-Mart has reportedly tendered an apology to the victim for the incident. Ahmed Memon has called for communal harmony and urged the community to stand together against such discrimination, while the police have assured a thorough inquiry into the conduct of the store’s staff and the individuals involved.