Buoyed by success in the recently held Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, the Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav took a jibe at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday, suggesting that all the hoopla has gone off and the party has fallen flat, tasting the success of defeat.

“MLC results are just the beginning, the BJP has now become a flopshow,” the SP supremo said in his first reaction on the elections to the Legislative Council.

The Legislative Council elections for 11 seats in Uttar Pradesh saw a close contest, with BJP winning 6 seats and SP walking away with victory in 5 seats, including some of BJP’s strongholds, thus raising an alarm in political circles.

“The BJP has not just lost five seats; it has faced defeat across 50 districts and towns. The message has gone to the public that the SP gained public support but the BJP managed to secure six seats only through deceit and conspiracy,” Akhilesh Yadav said in a direct charge aimed at the BJP.

Addressing the media, the SP supremo also accused the BJP of trying to manipulate the MLC polls through deceit and trickery, saying that the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh was resorting to dishonest means to influence the elections.

Akhilesh Yadav made these remarks while speaking to media, after the felicitation ceremony for the newly elected Legislative Council members.

He alleged that had the BJP government not resorted to deceit, his party (SP) would never have managed to sweep those seats as well.

“While the BJP relies on the power of money, the Samajwadi Party counters it with the power of the people,” he remarked.

Affirming his party’s commitment for the ‘PDA’ (Pichde, Dalit, Alpsankhyak – Backward classes, Dalits, and Minorities), he said that his party will continue to work with same dedication to strengthen democracy, guided by B.R. Ambedkar’s Constitution and seek to establish a system rooted in social justice.

Taking a swipe at Gorakhpur, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s constituency, the SP supremo claimed that desperate attempts made to defeat the Samajwadi Party resulted in downfall of the BJP itself.

Prior to this, Akhilesh Yadav congratulated all the newly elected Legislative Council members from Samajwadi party and extended his gratitude to the voters as well as party workers.

He said that the victory of SP candidates in constituencies like Varanasi and spirited fight in other BJP’s bastions sends a clear message that the democracy can’t be extinguished despite brazen attempts by the ruling dispensation.

In a crackdown against cyber fraud, the ED collected digital evidence and seized Rs 6.40 lakh in cash and froze 11 bank accounts with a balance of Rs 14 lakh during search operations at three premises in Hyderabad, an official said on Friday.

The Directorate of Enforcement, Kochi Zonal Office, conducted searches in Hyderabad on October 28, 2026, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The searches were at the premises related to Allamraju Satyanarayana Murthy and were conducted in connection with a cyber fraud case registered at Ernakulam, the official said in a statement.

The ED investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by the Cyber Police Station, Ernakulam.

As per the FIR, the complaint was lodged by Nimesh alleging that he was induced by the accused through telephonic communications and chat messages using the Telegram app to make investments by promising high returns, the ED said.

It was represented to the complainant that he would secure high returns by trading through the website www.capitalix.com, it said.

Accordingly, the accused deceived the complainant into transferring an aggregate sum of Rs 24,76 crore in several instalments to various bank accounts maintained by or under the control of the accused, it said.

Thereafter, the accused failed to return either the assured profits or the principal sum so received, thereby committing cheating and criminal breach of trust, causing wrongful loss to the complainant, it said.

The investigation revealed that the complainant was cheated of Rs 26.02 crore during the period from May 23, 2023, to May 27, 2024. After receiving the money, the accused transferred it to various mule accounts operated by them, the ED said.

The layering was done deliberately to avoid detection of the source of funds. Investigation revealed that one Allamraju Satyanarayana Murthy floated several entities in the name of his family members and employees from which funds were layered, it said.

These entities included BTR Industries, Velugu Trading Company, Aasritha Mega Solutions Pvt Ltd., Aasritha Infra Projects and Aasritha Infra Projects Pvt Ltd, it said.

The ED said a Villa Project in Hyderabad was launched in the name of Aasritha Infra Projects and Aasritha Infra Projects Pvt Ltd. The accused has acquired multiple immovable properties from the Proceeds of Crime, the ED said.

During the search, incriminating evidence in the form of documents and digital evidence was seized. The ED said it also identified immovable properties, plots and a villa, valued at about Rs 5 crore.

Two men were arrested in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district for running a WhatsApp group through which they shared information about the movements of government officials with people involved in illegal mining, helping them to evade checks by authorities, officials said on Friday.

The Bhavnagar Local Crime Branch (LCB) arrested the accused on October 29 after the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Bhavnagar Rural suspected that they were keeping watch on the movements of government officials from near the old Collector’s office.

According to the police, the two men were allegedly operating a WhatsApp group named ‘Jai Ramadhani’, to which they had added people involved in illegal mineral excavation and transportation.

They monitored the movement of vehicles used by the SDM and other government officials and relayed information through audio messages in the group.

“The accused allegedly charged each member Rs 1,000 a month for sharing information about the officials’ movements,” the police said.

The SDM alerted the police after suspecting that the two men, who were sitting near the entrance of the old Collector’s office, were keeping watch on his movements and those of other officials to help people involved in illegal mining evade enforcement action.

An LCB team reached the spot and detained the two men. During questioning, they allegedly admitted to running the WhatsApp group and sharing information about the movement of government officials with its members.

The SDM, M D Parmar, subsequently lodged a complaint at Nilambaug police station, following which an offence was registered. The accused were handed over to the police station for further investigation.

The arrested men have been identified as Bhagirathsinh Vala, a resident of Shramjivi Society near Shivaji Circle in Bhavnagar, and Rohit Rathod, a resident of Ruva village on Airport Road. The police seized a motorcycle and a mobile phone from them.

“The operation was carried out by the LCB under Inspector H B Chauhan, with Sub-Inspectors R A Vadher, V C Jadeja, P D Zala and V B Chaudhary, along with other personnel,” officials said.

The operation followed instructions from senior officials to identify those involved in illegal mining and those allegedly helping operators evade government officials.