In a swift operation, Thane City Police busted a sex racket operating under the guise of an orchestra bar business. The Wagle Estate Police acted on a tip-off from social worker Binu Varghese, who reported that two agents were luring young women into prostitution near Dheeraj Hotel in Louiswadi, Thane. The accused allegedly sent photos of girls working at local orchestra bars to potential clients through mobile phones.

Following the alert, the Wagle Estate Police Station team conducted a decoy operation by posing as customers. During the raid near Louiswadi, officers detained two male brokers and rescued five women who had been trapped in the sex trade. According to police sources, the rescued girls were originally employed in orchestra bars across Thane and Bhiwandi.

Preliminary investigations revealed that some of the rescued women were earlier booked in a 2021 prostitution case registered at Mira Road Police Station under the MBVV Police Commissionerate. The two arrested brokers had allegedly been running the illegal racket for the past four to five years, supplying girls to clients in Ghodbunder, Thane, and Kalher, Bhiwandi.

The police have registered a case under sections 143(1), 143(3), and 3(5) of the BNS Act, along with sections 4 and 5 of the PETA Act. Both accused have been taken into custody, and the rescued women have been sent to a government-recognised women’s shelter for counselling and care.

The operation was conducted under the supervision of Zone 5 DCP Prashant Kadam, Senior PI Shivaji Gaware, and PI Shivanand Devkar of Wagle Estate Police Station. Authorities have confirmed that investigations are ongoing to identify other individuals connected to the racket and to uncover the full network involved in exploiting women working in orchestra bars.

Mumbai: At Vivek Vidyalaya & Junior College in Goregaon West on Thursday, members of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and a few female students demonstrated against a purported hijab ban. The protest, which attracted much attention on social media after a video clip went viral, forced the college to come out with a clarification.

Following the protest, police had registered an FIR. A senior official said six female students, including three unidentified, were booked for unlawful assembly as they staged a hunger strike outside the college without prior permission and also argued with police personnel who tried to disperse the gathering.

However, the college administration moved quickly to address the controversy. According to the Times of India report, Principal Sheeja Menon stated in a statement that the college “has no reservation for Muslim girl students wearing hijab and, in fact, there is no ban on the practice.” It’s a “misrepresentation which has led to unnecessary issues which were totally avoidable” was the cause of the situation, she continued.

The protest’s leader, AIMIM Mumbai president Farooq Maqbool Shabdi, stated that the action was prompted by complaints from students who were allegedly requested to take off their hijabs before entering classrooms. “The college administration clarified that there is no ban on students wearing the hijab after we protested,” he stated.

This incident shows the continued tensions around dress codes at places of learning and the role of student activism in raising concerns about religious freedom. After discussions with the management of the college, the institution reportedly rolled back any instructions that could be interpreted as a ban on hijab, thereby bringing temporary closure to the controversy.

Mumbai: In a major crackdown on an international online fraud network, the Mumbai Crime Branch (Unit 9) has arrested eight individuals for allegedly running an illegal call centre that impersonated pharmaceutical companies and duped foreign nationals — particularly US citizens — by selling fake Viagra and other controlled medicines.

The Crime Branch Unit 9 has busted a fake call centre operating in the Amboli area, allegedly involved in illegally selling sex-enhancement drugs to US citizens. Eight accused have been arrested, while two more suspects are currently absconding.

Police received a tip-off that a call centre named “Team Grand 9 Security Services LLP” was being run from Kevnipada, S.V. Road, Amboli, Jogeshwari (West), where employees were posing as Americans and targeting foreign citizens through telemarketing.

Acting on the information, a raid was conducted around 2:00 am on 4 December 2025, during which police detained Maher Iqbal Patel (26) and Mohammad Amir Iqbal Shaikh (40), the alleged partners of the call centre.

According to police, callers used fake names such as Mike, Alex, James, Shawn and Steven while convincing US citizens to buy medicines such as Viagra, Cialis and Tramadol, and collected payments in US dollars.

Police seized multiple laptops, headsets, pen drives and hard drives during the raid. Two more suspects, including alleged partners Muzaffar Shaikh and Amir Shaikh, are currently on the run.

Police said the call centre had been operating for around six to seven months and used illegally obtained private data of American citizens. The seized digital equipment will be analysed to determine the extent of financial fraud and data theft.

The arrested accused have been identified as Mohammad Aamir Iqbal Shaikh (40), Mahir Iqbal Patel (26), Mohammad Shabib Mohammad Khalil Shaikh (26), Mohammad Ayaz Parvez Shaikh (26), Adam Ehsanullah Shaikh (32), Aryan Mushaffir Qureshi (19), Amaan Aziz Ahmed Shaikh (19) and Hashmat Jamil Jariwala (29), while the main accused Muzaffar Shaikh (43), along with Aamir Maniyar and others, are currently absconding.

Police said that the accused conspired together to falsely represent themselves as authorised sellers of Viagra and other regulated medicines without any licence or agreement from pharmaceutical companies; created a specialised computer system to reach foreign victims; used VOIP and other online calling platforms to contact citizens in the United States and other countries, offering controlled medicines for sale; collected payments from victims through illegal channels; and did not disclose the earnings nor pay the required taxes, thereby causing financial loss to the Government of India.

All eight arrested accused were produced before the Esplanade Court today. The court has sent the accused to police custody till December 10 for further investigation. Police said the search is ongoing to trace the absconding suspects and investigate the financial trail of the fraud.

Officials confirmed that further investigation is underway to trace the supply chain of the medicines and the international payments involved. The Crime Branch has also warned that more arrests are likely.