Connect with us
Saturday,02-August-2025
Breaking News

Maharashtra

Probe NCB’s extortion racket, fake raids, Maha Minister to Supreme Court

Published

on

In another dimension to the sensational so-called rave party bust aboard a cruise ship last October, a Maharashtra Minister has appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognisance and initiate a probe into what he contended as “extortion and fake raids” perpetrated by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the past few years.

Prominent farmers leader and Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission President Kishore Tiwari, who holds minister of state status, has filed a PIL after Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan and others were let off the hook by the NCB in the infamous raid – on board the Cordelia Cruise ship – commanded by the then Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.

“The Hon’ble Supreme Court should institute a high-level judicial enquiry into the malafide style, approach and affairs of the NCB at Mumbai, and its officials targeting film celebrity and few models since last two years, now established upon absolute clean chit given to Aryan Khan by the NCB,” said Tiwari in his plea.

This is the second such appeal by Tiwari to the apex court after the first one on October 18, 2021, seeking to highlight how the fundamental rights of Aryan Khan and other “soft targets” – trapped by the NCB after the raids sparked off an embarrassing controversy – were infringed.

“Now, as the NCB itself has given complete clean chit to the innocent people who were first implicated in a false case by abusing the position… as such unfortunate incidents of abuse of powers and authority by NCB is a matter of grave concern for law-abiding citizens of the country..”, said the PIL

Tiwari further argued that the SC’s intervention was necessary to safeguard “the public faith and confidence” in the law enforcement agencies of India like the NCB.

He claimed that in recent times, the NCB is abusing its position and trying to deprive the basic human rights of persons like Aryan Khan or others, accused under the NDPS Act, put them behind bars illegally, and subjected them to immense public humiliation.

Referring to Wankhede, who was removed from his position – with grave allegations levelled against him on various counts from different quarters including by state Minister Nawab Malik – for selectively and vindictively targeting rich persons or celebrities like Aryan Khan ostensibly to “uproot the citadel of drugs in Bollywood”.

Tiwari added that now with the absolute clean chit given to Aryan Khan and others, “its crystal clear that it was a big game of abuse of power and authority” by Wankhede against whom allegations of “extortion” also came up, and all this needs to be probed independently by the apex court under Article 139/142 of the Constitution.

The NCB had taken note of these and shunted Wankhede to his parent department for allegedly “running an extortion racket with the help of politically influenced people linked to the ruling party” (Bharatiya Janata Party), and reportedly acquiring huge assets or properties disproportionate to his known sources of income, etc.

Tiwari’s PIL comes even as Wankhede was given a fresh transfer to a posting in Chennai, and more revelations of the case details emerged from the NCB’S voluminous charge sheet filed before a special court last week.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Fraud: Raigad CGST Officials Bust ₹9 Crore Fake Input Tax Credit Racket; 2 Arrested In Panvel And Dombivli

Published

on

Mumbai: A team of officers of Anti-Evasion, CGST & Central Excise Raigad Commissionerate, Mumbai Zone have arrested two persons involved in generating and passing on fake input tax credit (ITC) of more than Rs 9 crore by creating fictitious firms and issuing invoices without actual supply of goods/services.

Fake ITC Passed Using Fictitious Firms, Say Raigad CGST Officials

Acting upon intelligence, the team identified the fake firms being operated by the accused to avail and pass on fake ITC. The accused firm availed ineligible credit passed on by non-existent firms registered based on forged documents.

No Actual Goods Supplied, Yet Invoices Issued

The accused firm was found non-operational at the registered principal place of business evidencing no goods received or supplied. Thus, the firm had fraudulently availed/ passed on ITC in violation of CGST Act, 2017.

Panvel and Dombivli Residents Nabbed for Tax Evasion

The investigation revealed that the Directors of the firm, a resident of New Panvel and a resident of Dombivli (W) were actively involved in the fraud of government revenue.

Two Arrested for ₹9 Crore GST Fraud in Maharashtra

Both were arrested under section 69(1) of CGST Act, 2017 for offences punishable under Section 132(1)(b)/132(1)(c) of CGST Act, 2017 and produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Panvel. The Court has sent them to judicial custody.

Further investigation is in progress to identify other beneficiaries and operators of this fake invoice racket.

Continue Reading

Maharashtra

Good News For Mumbaikars! Now Book Mumbai Local Train Tickets Through WhatsApp; Ticketing Process Made Easier

Published

on

Mumbai: The Railways aims to improve the local ticketing system’s convenience and is exploring the possibility of launching a ticketing system via a chat-based app such as WhatsApp. Recently, a meeting took place with organisations that are interested in this matter. Officials mentioned that the tender process will be evaluated once all the details are finalised.

Within the framework of the Digital India initiative, the Indian Railways is emphasising on transforming the ticketing system through digital means. As a result, passengers are being offered fast tickets that are cashless. The shift to digital At present, 25 per cent of travellers are reserving tickets via digital methods, and its adoption is growing daily.

In addition to the current digital ticketing system, the Railways is working on a chat-based ticketing solution to enhance convenience in ticketing. Metro travellers favor using WhatsApp for ticket bookings in the metro. Upon scanning the QR code at the ticket window, a chat interface appears.

Upon sending a Hi message, you are presented with options for ticket booking, and afterward, digital tickets can be obtained upon making the payment. 67 percent of metro fares are being reserved in this manner. What difficulties are there? Several factors need to be addressed during the creation of the WhatsApp ticketing system.

Due to the current misuse of the QR-based ticketing system via UTS, caution must be exercised in developing the new system to avoid similar vulnerabilities. We aim to create a system that will be easy for the travelers. Several alternatives are under consideration for this, including the chat-based ticketing system, Vineet Abhishek, Chief Public Relations Officer.

Continue Reading

Crime

Mumbai Drug Bust: 24-Year-Old Arrested In Byculla With Mephedrone, Charas Worth ₹3.46 Crore In Car

Published

on

Mumbai: In a major anti-drug operation, the Mumbai Police arrested a 24-year-old man in the early hours of Wednesday and recovered a large quantity of narcotics valued at over Rs 3.46 crore. The accused, identified as Sahil Junaid Ansari, a resident of Bhiwandi in Thane district, was intercepted while driving through the Byculla area of South Mumbai.

Accused Found Driving Suspiciously In Byculla Area

The incident occurred around 4 am when a team of patrolling constables, Bhabad, Bhoye and Gangurde, spotted a Maruti Ertiga car moving suspiciously near Hume Church on B.A. Road. The team flagged down the vehicle and questioned the driver about his presence at that odd hour. Ansari, however, failed to give a satisfactory response, raising the officers’ suspicions.

Alerted by constable Bhabad, night duty in-charge Police Inspector Anup Dange immediately reached the location with PSI Kolekar, PSI Asade from the Anti-Terror Cell and other detection personnel.

Details On Drugs Found In Car

A detailed search of the vehicle was conducted, during which the police found 1,710 grams of Mephedrone, commonly known as MD, concealed inside. The street value of the seized MD is estimated at Rs 3.42 crore. Additionally, 17 grams of charas worth Rs 4.5 lakh were also recovered from the car.

Police officials confirmed that Ansari has been taken into custody and booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The contraband was seized and sent for forensic examination.

Continue Reading

Trending