Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has apprehended a notorious fugitive wanted in connection with murder, robbery, and extortion cases registered in Jammu.

The accused, identified as Royal Manjeet Singh (37), a resident of Dalpatian Mohalla, Pir Mitha, Jammu, was wanted in Crime registered at Bus Stand Police Station, Jammu under Sections 333, 111, 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

According to officials, the Crime Branch’s Unit 8, Unit 9, and the Criminal Intelligence Cell received a tip-off that Singh would be arriving at Lucky Hotel, Bandra West, Mumbai, on September 23. Acting swiftly on this intelligence, a joint team of the three units carried out a raid and successfully apprehended the accused.

During interrogation, Singh’s direct involvement in the Jammu case was confirmed. Following due procedure, the Mumbai Crime Branch informed the Bus Stand Police Station, Jammu, and the accused was formally handed over to their custody for further legal action. This operation highlights the coordination between state police forces in tracking and capturing fugitives attempting to evade justice by moving across states.

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24: A day after a joint raid conducted by the DRI and Customs officials into the luxury car smuggling racket through its ‘Operation Numkhor’, which exposed tax evasion worth crores through illegal imports routed via Bhutan, the Enforcement Directorate is mulling joining the probe.

On Tuesday, the raid confiscated about 36 cars from various people, including Mammootty’s actor son Dulquer Salman, upcoming actor Amit Chakalackal and others.

The high-profile inspections began Tuesday morning and are being carried out simultaneously at nearly 30 locations across Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, and Malappuram districts.

Meanwhile, notices have been served to all the wrongdoers.

Salman and Chackalackal’s vehicles were seized. Even though the raid team reached Prithviraj’s home, they were unable to go further. However, the probe team is likely to serve a notice to Prithviraj.

ED officials collected case files and intelligence directly from Customs officers, following revelations that large-scale financial irregularities were linked to the racket.

The top Customs official had confirmed the need to examine possible money laundering angles, leading to ED’s intervention.

Investigators suspect that funds generated through these vehicle transactions could have been diverted.

Along with ED, other central agencies are also expected to probe.

Initial Customs findings indicated that multiple individuals engaged in financial fraud through the vehicle trade, with deals worth several crores.

ED is examining violations under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Documents relating to these violations have already been collected.

The ED believes that luxury cars were purchased by influential individuals to launder illegally earned money.

Customs had earlier revealed that the racket caused significant Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion.

The Central GST Department has also initiated a separate investigation.

Meanwhile, Customs is preparing to share details with the Ministry of External Affairs, as forged embassy documents are suspected to have been used in registering some vehicles.

The Kalyan police have arrested seven individuals for allegedly gang-raping a 17-year-old girl on multiple occasions in Kalyan.

According to the police, the incident began in March this year when the victim received a friend request on Instagram from one of the accused, who is a relative. She accepted the request and began conversing with him, including over regular calls. Later, the accused introduced her to another man, and she also began communicating with him. Eventually, a physical relationship was established between them.

The accused later recorded intimate moments with the girl and shared the video with his friends. Subsequently, the other six accused sexually assaulted her after threatening to make the video viral. Following this, the girl became pregnant and later suffered a miscarriage.

The incident came to light when a relative informed the victim’s father about an intimate video of his daughter that had gone viral on social media. Thereafter, the father along with the victim approached the Mahatma Phule Police Station on Monday and filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the accused.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was lodged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (formerly the Indian Penal Code), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the Information Technology Act.

Baliaram Pardeshi, Senior Police Inspector from Mahatma Phule Police Station, said, “So far, seven accused have been arrested and produced in court, where they were remanded to police custody until September 30. We have formed a team to trace the one absconding accused.”