Mumbai: The judicial remand of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana was extended till September 8 by a special NIA court on Wednesday. Rana’s earlier judicial custody is set to expire today, August 13. He was produced before the court by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) via video conferencing.

The federal agency has filed a supplementary chargesheet in the case. At present, the case is reportedly at the stage of document scrutiny.

Rana has been granted permission by the court for three phone calls with his brother to discuss engaging a lawyer for his defence. The calls will be recorded and take place in the presence of a senior jail officer. Notably, conversations will be allowed in Hindi or English.

Palghar: Police have arrested four men, including two auto-rickshaw drivers, from Gujarat for allegedly stealing Rs 11.25 lakh cash collected as student fees from the treasury of a college in Maharashtra’s Palghar city, officials said on Wednesday.

About The Theft

The theft took place between 5.30 pm on July 23 and 7.45 am on July 24 at the Dandekar College located on Boisar Road here, a police release said.

An official from the college later reported that Rs 11.25 lakh kept in the college’s accounts department treasury had been stolen by unidentified persons.

Based on technical analysis and intelligence inputs, the police here identified the four accused and arrested them from Umbargaon in neighbouring Valsad district of Gujarat on Monday with the help of local police, the release said.

“During interrogation, they confessed to committing the theft. Out of the stolen cash, Rs 4.05 lakh has been recovered,” it said.

The accused have been identified as Shubham Virendra Singh (21), Murali Manohar Pawar (23), both auto-rickshaw drivers, Arun Lakhan Chavan (19), a mason, and Farooq Firoz Khan, all hailing from Valsad, the release said.

They have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 305(A) (theft in a dwelling house) and 331(3)(4) (house trespass or house break), the police added.

Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday hit out at the Maharashtra government over its decision to close meat and fish shops in certain municipal areas on August 15, Independence Day, citing historical examples to question the logic behind the move.

Raut argued that legendary Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his soldiers, as well as Peshwa Bajirao, were non-vegetarians, and that meat consumption was essential for warriors. “Shivaji Maharaj and his Mavlas did not go to war after eating only dal-rice and ghee; they consumed meat. Bajirao Peshwa also ate meat. Even our soldiers at the border cannot fight wars on shrikhand and puri. Devendra Fadnavis, you are making Maharashtra weak and impotent,” he said.

The UBT leader questioned the basis for the August 15 ban, calling it a new gimmick with no historical or cultural relevance. “August 15 is our Independence Day, not a religious festival. This freedom was not given to us by Modi, Shah, or Fadnavis. Who demanded the closure of chicken and mutton shops? Who is the mastermind of this drama?” he asked.

Raut accused the government of hypocrisy, recalling that those in power had once sacrificed bulls and goats at the Kamakhya Devi temple as part of religious tradition, and even consumed the meat as prasad. “If the creators of this government can do that, then telling people today to be vegetarian is nothing but hypocrisy,” he remarked.

Meat Ban Enforced By KDMC

His comments followed the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation’s (KDMC) order to shut all slaughterhouses for 24 hours from midnight of August 14 to midnight of August 15. The decision, affecting goat, sheep, poultry and large animal slaughter, was based on a 1988 administrative resolution and approved by Deputy Commissioner Kanchan Gaikwad. Notices were issued to all slaughterhouse operators.

Similar restrictions were announced in other municipal areas, including Nagpur. While ruling party leaders defended the ban as a harmless, symbolic gesture, Opposition leaders accused the government of moral policing and diverting attention from core civic issues.