Mumbai: As per the instructions of the Commission of India, the Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme is being implemented for the electoral rolls in Mumbai city and suburban districts of Mumbai. District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has appealed to the public representatives and political parties to cooperate in implementing this programme in Mumbai in a very effective manner.
In connection with the Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme, a meeting was held with representatives of various political parties at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters today (April 24, 2026). Leader of Opposition Kishori Pednekar, group leaders of various parties, representatives of various political parties were present at the Mumbai Municipal Corporation House. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma, Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Eastern Suburbs) Dr. Avinash Dhakne, District Collector (Mumbai City) Aanchal Goel, Joint Commissioner of Municipal Commissioner (Mumbai City) and Local Government Commissioner etc. were present.
At the beginning of the meeting, detailed information about the Special In-Depth Review Programme was provided to the representatives of political parties through a computer presentation. Apart from this, various issues were discussed in detail.
District Election Officer and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide said that earlier a Special In-Depth Review was conducted in Maharashtra in the year 2002, i.e. about 24 years ago. The change in the voter list is necessary due to migration, double registration, illegal registration of dead voters or foreign nationals. In this regard, a Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme is being implemented in the Brihanmumbai region along with other parts of Maharashtra. This Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme will be implemented in a total of six phases, namely, pre-review period, counting period, preparation of AASD (Already Enrolled, Absent, Transferred, Dead) list, publication of draft voter list, claims and objections period and publication of final voter list. The work of voter mapping in the Brihanmumbai region (Mumbai city and Mumbai suburbs) is underway under the pre-review period. Accordingly, voters in the Special In-depth Review 2002 electoral roll are being mapped in the BLO app by searching the details in the 2024 electoral roll. Meanwhile, the cooperation of political parties is important for more effective implementation of the Special In-depth Review (SIR) programme in the Mumbai region. The Municipal Corporation has appointed Polling Station Level Officers (BLOs) for this work. On this basis, Mrs. Ashwini Bhide also appealed to the political parties to appoint Polling Station Level Assistants (BLAs) in the respective local bodies so that the revision process can be completed more efficiently, transparently and expeditiously.

Panaji: The Goa Cyber Police apprehended a 48-year-old man from Maharashtra for his alleged involvement in a major cyber fraud case amounting to Rs 61.84 lakh, police officials said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Dayanand Baburao Devalkar, a resident of Ajara in Kolhapur, was traced following an in-depth technical investigation, the office of the superintendent of police (cyber crime), Raibandar, said in a statement.

Police officials said that the funds were transferred into Devalkar’s bank account before being routed to multiple accounts belonging to his associates.

An investigation was initiated after a complaint filed by a resident of Quepem on April 13. According to the police, the fraudsters, acting as Mumbai Crime Branch officers through a WhatsApp number, allegedly threatened the complainant with fabricated allegations of money laundering linked to the banned organisation, PFI.

The accused shared fake documents, including a fraudulent bank statement and an arrest warrant, to intimidate the victim, the police said.

The complainant was subjected to a ‘digital arrest’ and coerced into transferring Rs 61,84,200 to settle the alleged case, the police statement said.

A team led by Sub-Inspector Navin Naik, alongside constables Sidaramaiyya Math and Vinay Amonkar, conducted the raid in Ajara to secure the arrest of the accused.

The investigation is being conducted by Inspector Deepak Pednekar under the supervision of Assistant Superintendent of Police BV Sridevi and Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) Raju Raut Desai.

This arrest follows a surge in ‘digital arrest’ scams across the coastal state.

In February, a Porvorim resident lost nearly Rs 15 lakh in a similar ruse involving fake narcotics officials. In late 2023, the Goa Police issued a public advisory after several professionals reported being held on video calls for hours by individuals posing as officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The arrested accused is being produced before the court to seek police custody.

The police are currently tracking the secondary bank accounts to identify the wider network involved in the syndicate.

Mumbai: After Nashik TCS, now an attempt has been made to give a corporate and religious color to the sexual assault case in Mumbai. Here, the Agripara police station in Mumbai has claimed to have arrested a 25-year-old youth named Ashraf Siddiqui in the case of harassing a 19-year-old telemarketer. The police are now investigating this case, but the families of the victims are also trying to call it corporate jihad and love jihad, but the police have also denied it. A case has been registered against one Ashraf under sections BNS 75, 78(2) and 70 and IT Act 2000 in the Agripara police station for sending obscene messages to a female colleague working as a third-party telemarketer in a large corporate company.

According to the victim’s statement and the police, the accused not only sent her several messages for sexual intercourse but also sent obscene pictures using derogatory language about his female colleagues.
In her statement to the police, the victim said that when she told Ashraf that she was Hindu, he replied, “Nowadays, Hindu girls prefer Muslims.” After this, the victim’s family has filed a complaint against him. The police have started an investigation into the matter. At the same time, her relatives have demanded that this is a case of love jihad, so an SIT investigation should be conducted into it and at the same time, bulldozer action should be taken at the accused’s house.