Mumbai: Even before the controversy over the waiver of stamp duty worth Rs 21 crore in a Rs 300 crore Pune land deal involving Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s family has cooled, another case is waiting in the wings — this time for a hefty Rs 17.94 crore waiver sought by the Pune Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC).

The APMC, which has long been under the influence of Pawar through its board of directors, has sought exemption from paying stamp duty for registering the sale deed of a 99.27-acre land parcel purchased from the Yashwant Cooperative Sugar Mill near Pune. The sugar mill was declared a sick unit nearly two decades ago. What raises eyebrows is the price — the APMC purchased the land for Rs 299 crore, even though several auction attempts had failed earlier when the highest bid hovered around Rs 120 crore.

The state government, in September, cleared the sale of land by the sugar mill, but notably refrained from approving the APMC’s purchase proposal. Records show that the APMC had first sought approval for the purchase in December last year from the director of the state marketing department. The director, after forwarding the proposal to Mantralaya, was told by the government to decide as per existing policies and legal provisions. Eventually, the director gave his go-ahead, enabling the APMC to proceed with the purchase.

The APMC is expected to take a bank loan for the transaction even though it already holds deposits of Rs 135 crore. After receiving the director’s nod, the APMC made a formal representation to Deputy CM Pawar last month seeking a waiver of Rs 17.94 crore in stamp duty — a request directed to the Revenue Department headed by BJP’s Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The Free Press Journal has a copy of this representation. As per established rules, the authority to grant a stamp duty waiver lies exclusively with the state cabinet — not with any minister or bureaucrat.

Whether the Devendra Fadnavis-led government approves this waiver, especially after the earlier Mundhwa land deal worth over Rs 2,000 crore drew sharp scrutiny, will be closely watched in the coming days.

Mumbai: A fresh tussle has erupted between the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Central Railway (CR) over a technical report that formed the basis of an FIR filed against two CR engineers in connection with the June 9 Mumbra train accident, which killed five passengers and injured nine others.

According to sources, Railway officials claim they had sought access to the report, but the GRP allegedly refused to share it. The GRP, however, has refuted these allegations, asserting that no formal request for the document was ever received from the railway authorities. According to GRP officials, the investigation into the Mumbra tragedy is still in progress.

A senior GRP source said: “The investigation is underway. Once the chargesheet is submitted in court, the entire report and related documents will be accessible to everyone,” the source said.

The controversy centres around a detailed technical assessment conducted by the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Matunga, which was commissioned by the GRP to ascertain the cause of the accident. The VJTI report, submitted on October 14, reportedly highlighted lapses in track maintenance and inspection practices. According to the FIR, the GRP had written to VJTI on July 15, seeking a comprehensive technical analysis after initially urging the institute on July 7 to coordinate with the concerned government departments.

Based on the report’s findings, the GRP alleged that Assistant Divisional Engineer Vishal Dolas and Senior Section Engineer Samar Yadav failed to conduct necessary maintenance work on the affected track section. The FIR was registered on November 1, holding the two Central Railway officials responsible for negligence leading to the accident.

New Delhi, Nov 11: The initial investigation into the car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort Metro Station has hinted that this could be a suicide attack to cause maximum damage, said sources on Tuesday.

The blast occurred on Monday evening when a Haryana-registered car, a Hyundai i20, parked near Gate No.1 of the Red Fort Metro Station exploded, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens. High alerts have been issued in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Mumbai, with security around crowded public places and religious sites enhanced.

Initial investigations suggest the suspect’s motive was to carry out the blast. As soon as he learned that the Faridabad module had been busted, he planned a suicide attack to cause maximum damage and avoid being caught by the police, sources said.

Currently, the agencies are working on every theory and trying to determine the motive behind the blast.

This incident came just hours after police busted a terror module linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind terror outfits in Faridabad and seized 2,900 kg of explosives and a huge cache of arms and ammunition.

Police also announced that over the past few days, they have arrested two Jammu and Kashmir doctors, Adil Ahmad Rather and Muzammil, who were linked to these terror outfits, which, according to the sources, panicked the module and led to the blast.

Officials said that nothing is being ruled out at the moment, while adding that all angles point towards an act of terror. Sources said that the car in question was purchased by one Tariq, a resident of Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. His links to the Faridabad module are under investigation, the police added.

The police said that the car blew up at around 6.52 p.m. This triggered a fire that engulfed the vehicles that were nearby. Officials said that investigations point towards the involvement of the Faridabad module.

This module is suspected to have played a major role in supplying the explosives and also planning the attack. The police also suspect that one Dr Umar Mohammad, who was part of the Faridabad module, was present in the car at the time of the explosion.

A DNA test would help the investigators ascertain who was present in the car at the time of the blast. The agencies have been on the trail of Mohammad for several days now. He had been on the run, and the police say that he was clearly linked to the Faridabad module. Mohammad was an active member of the module and was involved in terror funding and the smuggling of arms and ammunition.

The trail of ownership is also crucial to the probe. Investigations have found that the car was first registered in the name of Mohammad Salman. He then sold it one Nadeem, who then handed over the vehicle to a car dealer in Faridabad. The car was then sold to Tariq before it finally landed up in the hands of Dr Umar Mohammad. Tariq is currently being questioned by the police.

It is, however, unclear if the car was meant to explode when it was parked or if the attackers drove it out in panic after the Faridabad module was busted.

However, an official part of the probe agency said that all angles currently suggest that it was a Fidayeen (suicide) attack. The sources added that the attack was carried out in haste and may not have gone as per the intended plan.