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Rs 1000-crore ‘extorted’ from Bollywood in Mumbai, Maldives, claims Nawab Malik

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 In another sensational disclosure, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) national spokesperson and Minister Nawab Malik on Tuesday said at least an amount of Rs 1,000-crore has been ‘extorted’ in Mumbai and Maldives from Bollywood personalities.

Pointing the needle against the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, Malik released a 4-pager purported letter he received from a whistleblower within the agency.

The Minister said he received the letter which has been copied to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, state Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil, Director-General of Police Sanjay Pandey, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and MP Rahul Gandhi.

“My fight is not against the NCB… They have done a good job in the past 35 years… I am fighting against a person who has extorted money from people…My estimate is over Rs 1,000-crore. The NCB has already started a probe and they must look into the points raised in the 4-page letter,” Malik demanded.

Reacting promptly to the purported letter, the NCB Deputy Director-General, South West Region Mutha Ashok Jain said: “I have seen the letter. We will take necessary action.”

Dismissing the charges by Wankhede and his family on the birth certificate which he revealed on Monday, Malik issued an “open challenge” to them to file any case or criminal defamation, he would face arrest and put the matter before the Courts.

Hitting back, a Bharatiya Janata Party activist Mohit (Kamboj) Bharatiya slammed Malik and said the 4-pager letter was a fake, even the affidavit submitted by a NCB ‘Panch-witness’ Prabhakar Sail was bogus and demanded the Minister’s immediate resignation for misusing his ministerial status.

“The Minister has been lying since day one… Sail’s affidavit was made at Malik’s behest… All this is done to malign the NCB and the BJP. I fear for my life and I demand security. I am filing a defamation case against him today,” Bharatiya told mediapersons.

Making another grave accusation, the Minister said that Wankhede has been illegally tapping the phones of two persons, one in Mumbai and another in Thane.

“I have their full details… and will disclose more at the appropriate time. How did the officer ask for the CDR details of my daughter Nilofer Malik from the Mumbai Police? Is she a criminal? The police have rejected Wankhede’s demands,” Malik said.

The Minister reiterated his charge that Wankhede has allegedly submitted a bogus caste certificate to get a central government job in a reserved category and vowed to bring out more dope on this.

“The BJP has been trying to portray it as a Hindu-Muslim fight… In my 45 years in public life, I have never played politics in the name of religion and the people know this well. But Wankhede has deprived a poor Dalit boy by grabbing his job in the reserved quota on the basis of fake documents,” said Malik.

The Minister further said that since his first expose in early-October, many people have been coming to him with information on the NCB, including a witness who said that the agency made him sign 50 blank papers.

On the contents of the 4-pager, Malik said that it has alleged details of about 26 different cases in which people have been deliberately framed by the agency, and how money was extorted.

“I am forwarding it to the NCB Vigilance Committee for proper investigations and hope the truth will come out,” he said.

Maharashtra

Mosques Turn To Low-Volume Tech And Mobile Apps For Azaan Amid Noise Rule Enforcement

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Mumbai: With mosques adopting new ways to summon the faithful for prayers after the enforcement of noise levels on loudspeakers, the sound of the azaan, or call to prayers, in Mumbai has become fainter.

Yusuf Ansari, who has an office in Govandi, said he cannot hear the azaan from the Madina Mosque, which is just 100 metres away. The mosque has replaced the loudspeakers with sound boxes that have lower volumes. The police commissioner of Mumbai has said that loudspeakers have been removed from 1500 mosques and other religious institutions to comply with the Bombay High Court’s directions.

After the enforcement of the noise rules, mosques that used loudspeakers to call devotees for the five daily prayers said they are adapting to the new requirements. While many have subscribed to mobile applications that allow mosques to send a live broadcast of the azaans on their phones, others are using sound equipment with sound levels below the legal limit. 

Bilal Mosque on Maulana Shaukat Ali Road (Grant Road), one of the largest mosques in the city, said the shrine is planning to buy new sound equipment that have noise levels lower than 55 dB (decibels) during the day, the legally permissible upper limit according to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. Aslam Lakha, mosque trustee, said that they are using microphones inside the mosque for prayers, but have stopped using loudspeakers for azaan. 

“The ban on loudspeakers has affected us, but we will have to follow the law. The trust is meeting to decide the next step. There is sound equipment that features noise levels up to 54 dB. We will install that,” said Lakha, who thanked the Mumbai police commissioner for handling the issue with sensitivity. “We have been told that we will have permission to use loudspeakers for festivals.”

Mahim’s Bismillah Mosque, one of the first to employ a mobile application that helps mosques play their azaans live to subscribers, recently shifted from a New York-based service to an app developed in India called ‘OnlineAzan’. Trustee of the mosque, Moinuddin Ali, said that around 225 people have subscribed to the mosque’s live azaans. “We also have our sound equipment, but adjust the noise to meet legal requirements,” said Ali.

The largest mosque in Mahim, the Juma Masjid, has registered with the same app. Till Monday, around 1200 devotees had subscribed to the service. Fahad Pathan, the mosque’s managing trustee, said that they preferred to subscribe to the Indian app after concerns about data stored in the service. “People were concerned about where their personal phone numbers and other data were going. This app is free and is financed by a Tirunelveli-based philanthropist,” said Pathan.

The meticulous registration process for the app means that data on the app is less likely to be misused. “Another feature is that the app only provides a live azaan service from the mosque of your choice. There are no advertisements or other services. You can leave one mosque and move to one closer when you are traveling,” added Pathan.

The enforcement of the noise rules created friction between the police and the Muslim community, with the former being accused of acting arbitrarily without warnings. A few residents of the city have filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court, seeking relaxation in the rules. Ansari’s Hazrat Khwaja Garib Nawaz Maharashtra Committee has collected 40,000 signatures from Muslims who want lenient rules. “We are also hoping that the Bombay High Court listens to the petition filed by community members,” said Lakha.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Powai Police Book 7 For Using Fake Candidates, Forged Certificates In Currency Note Press Recruitment

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Mumbai: The Powai police, on Monday, registered a case against seven persons for allegedly obtaining jobs at the Currency Note Press (CNP) in Nashik through fake candidates and forged documentation.

The accused arranged for proxy candidates to appear for the recruitment examinations and submitted fake Industrial Training Institute (ITI) and diploma certificates to secure employment. A zero FIR was registered at the Nashik police station and was transferred to the Powai police station, as the examination was conducted in Powai.

The accused – Ravi Ranjan Kumar, Sandip Kumar, Shishupal Kumar, Ayush Raj, Rajeev Singh, Sandip Kumar, and Ashutosh Kumar, all residents of Nalanda, Bihar, are currently absconding. According to the police, examinations were held for the posts of junior technicians (print), junior technicians (electrical), and supervisors.

These examinations were conducted at Aurum IT Park on March 4 and March 13, 2022. The case has been registered under Sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board, and Other Specified Examinations Act.

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Maharashtra

Demand for action against Mankhurd, Shivaji Nagar, Kurla Scrap and SMS Company. Assurance of action by the Environment Minister in the House on the demand of Abu Asim Azmi

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abu aasim aazmi

Mumbai: Abu Asim Azmi demanded strict action against environmental pollution and illegal soap making in Kurla scrap factory in Mumbai Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Due to air pollution, public life has become unbearable. He told the House that due to pollution from legal Kurla scrap factories and SMS company in Mankhurd Shivani Nagar, the average life expectancy of the residents here has come down to just 39 years. Residents are forced to live amidst dirty, smelly water, air pollution and diseases. Despite this issue being raised in every meeting, the government has not taken any meaningful steps to resolve this issue and no action has been taken. Azmi drew the attention of the minister to this and demanded action as soon as possible, on which during the meeting, Environment Minister Pankaja Munde assured positive action on this serious issue and announced to call a meeting in this regard on Friday. She said that if any illegal activity or factory is going on, action will be taken against it. The local assembly member has also been invited to this meeting.

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