Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has made startling revelations in the chargesheet filed in the special MCOCA court regarding the high-profile murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique. According to the chargesheet, the ₹17 lakh contract killing was majorly funded from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, with the Bishnoi gang playing a crucial role.

Details Revealed

Crime Branch sources revealed that the money trail investigation pointed to Anmol Bishnoi and Shubham Lonkar, who orchestrated the funding through accounts opened at Karnataka Bank’s Anand branch in Gujarat under the name of accused Salman Vohra. Lonkar was tasked with handling deposits into this account, while sleeper cells of the Bishnoi gang in Uttar Pradesh transferred funds using Cash Deposit Machines (CDM) into different accounts linked to the conspirators.

Approximately 60-70% of the funding came from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, and no evidence of foreign funding has been discovered so far. However, a portion of the funds reportedly reached the accused via hawala networks.

While the Maharashtra funding trail has been traced, investigators are still piecing together the financial connections from Uttar Pradesh.

The chargesheet also details the meticulous planning and surveillance carried out by the shooters. According to shooter Shiv Kumar Gautam, after two months of reconnaissance, frustration was building as they failed to find the right moment to attack. The final opportunity came on October 12, and the assassination would have been abandoned had it not materialized that day.

The chargesheet states that the shooters anticipated a police chase post-shooting. To evade capture, they purchased a pepper spray worth ₹13,000, which they kept handy. Evidence gathered by the Crime Branch supports the claim that Gautam fired at Baba Siddique, while Gurmel Singh used the spray on pursuing police officers. The planning, weapons procurement, and use of unconventional tactics like pepper spray demonstrate the sophisticated strategy behind the murder.

This chilling case continues to unfold as police pursue additional leads in the money trail and remaining accomplices linked to the Bishnoi gang.

Mumbai: An editorial published by the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamna has slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing the party of neglecting serious national issues to focus on the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

According to the editorial, “The schedule for the Delhi Assembly elections has been announced. Voting will take place on February 5, and the results will be declared on February 8. Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Shah, and central ministers of the BJP have fully thrown themselves into this election.”

“The BJP’s goal is to defeat Arvind Kejriwal and take control of the Delhi Assembly. Meanwhile, China has infiltrated Ladakh and settled two villages. Naxals have killed 10-15 police officers in Chhattisgarh. Violence continues unabated in Manipur. In a state like Maharashtra, daylight murders are happening, and the killers have the government’s protection,” the Saamna editorial read.

Editorial Accuses BJP Of Resorting To Extreme Measures To Defeat AAP

The published editorial accused the BJP of resorting to extreme measures to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

“All in all, the BJP’s policy seems to be that focusing on these serious issues is foolish, and defeating the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi is the most important matter. The BJP has decided to go to any lengths to achieve this. The BJP’s approach is that they will win everywhere and sit in power.”

Argument Made By The Editorial

The editorial argues that a “new form of democracy” has taken root in India, one that focuses on eliminating every political rival through questionable means.

“A new form of democracy has emerged in the country, one that doesn’t want to leave a single political opponent alive, and the direct example of this was seen in Maharashtra and Haryana. Now, it is Delhi’s turn,” the editorial added.

Allegation Made By The Editorial

The editorial alleged that there are “discrepancies in the voter list of Delhi” and that “Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has complained that citizens from Eastern Uttar Pradesh have been removed from the list by labelling them as Rohingyas or Bangladeshis.”

According to the editorial the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar is in denial and questioned, “What world is Rajiv Kumar living in? Wasn’t Trump elected as US President after an EVM scandal?”

The editorial referred to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s claims that EVMs can be hacked and pointed to various instances in the U.S. where the integrity of the electoral process was questioned.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece went further, alleging the BJP of securing victories through dishonest means. “The victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party, i.e., Modi-Shah, is never straightforward. They have achieved every win through crooked means, often by rigging the system,” the party stated. It cited the 2019 Maharashtra elections, where the BJP reportedly contested 132 seats but ended up with 120, a performance the Shiv Sena (UBT) described as an “anomaly”.

“What extraordinary work did the Shinde faction do in Maharashtra to win 58 seats?” the editorial remarked, referring to the Shiv Sena faction that defected to the BJP.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) further accused the Election Commission of playing a biased role in the Maharashtra political crisis, specifically over the decision to award the Shiv Sena’s “bow-and-arrow” symbol to the rival faction in Thane.

Editorial Takes A Dig At ECI

The editorial taking a dig at ECI wrote, “They gave the clock symbol of the Nationalist Congress Party to Ajit Pawar during Sharad Pawar’s lifetime, should not speak of transparency and morality.”

According to the editorial, “However, they (ECI) should remember that Modi and Shah are not immortal; they will have to account for their actions. Hence, times will change, and everyone will have to answer for their sins. The Delhi Assembly elections could prove to be the spark for BJP’s downfall”

Editorial Takes A Potshot At The Congress Party

The editorial also took a potshot at the Congress party, questioning its priorities. “While the country is fighting against the Modi-Shah dictatorship, the Congress is throwing mud at AAP rather than the BJP,” the mouth piece read, expressing bewilderment over Congress’s decision to focus on Kejriwal’s AAP rather than targeting the BJP.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece voiced concerns about the role of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor. “The Lieutenant Governor is currently acting as an agent of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Once the Model Code of Conduct is enforced, all powers of the Chief Minister and Ministers in Delhi are supposed to be stripped, but the Lieutenant Governor is doing the BJP’s bidding. This is dangerous,” them editorial warned.

Mumbai: A massive investment scam involving the foreign-based Torres Jewelry company allegedly duped around 1.25 lakh investors. New details have surfaced in the alleged scam. Three days after the alleged fraud surfaced, the police said that its head accountant had alerted cops, reported Media.

As per the media report, Abhishek Gupta had filed complaints with several authorities, including the Mumbai Police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He alleged fraudulent practices by the firm. The accountant further claimed that despite complaints, no action was taken by the authorities.

Gupta first submitted his complaints on December 30, the police said as reported by Media. He also reportedly tried to meet officials to report the alleged fraud. However, the main accused managed to flee before a raid by the Navi Mumbai Police at the jewellery chain’s Sanpada store in the city. Gupta approached the Shivaji Park Police Station and also sought police protection on Wednesday after he reportedly received threatening calls.

“Gupta also visited Byculla police station on Tuesday night to report the threat calls.,” a police officer told the media house. Meanwhile, the jewellery chain alleged that Gupta and its CEO, Tausif Riyaz, were involved in vandalising and robbing the stores.

The sophisticated fraud known as the Torres Jewellery scam was initiated in February 2024 and targeted a specific economic group. The jewellery chain operated six stores in and around Mumbai.

It allegedly floated schemes that promised incredible returns on jewellery purchases, generous rewards for referrals in a Ponzi scheme, and huge lucky draws that gave away expensive cell phones and cars in an attempt to instil confidence using what turned out to be fake jewellery.

The firm allegedly continued to increase the payout margins on its extravagant investment schemes from 6 per cent to 13 per cent in the run-up to the Christmas and New Year’s holiday in 2024.

The company reportedly even introduced new schemes to entice even more investments. Then it suddenly closed. Thus, an estimated 1.25 lakh investors have been defrauded by Torres. The majority of them have very low incomes.

The company is blaming few rogue employees who duped investors for large some of money. On Wednesday, it announced to resume its operations. The announcement in this regard was made by the firm on its ficial Youtube and Instagram channel.