Mumbai: A 57-year-old man from Ulhasnagar fell victim to an online share trading scam and ended up losing Rs1.14 crore, Thane police reported. On August 22, the complainant received a call from a woman promoting an investment opportunity in share trading. She directed him to join a WhatsApp group for trading tips and tricked him into downloading a fraudulent trading app.

Initially, the complainant successfully transferred small amounts from the app to his bank account, gaining trust in the platform. Between August 27 and September 26, he transferred Rs1.14 crore to various beneficiary accounts. The app later displayed his earnings at Rs11.29 crore, but his attempts to withdraw Rs50 lakh were denied. The scammers demanded an additional Rs2.26 crore as a service fee, prompting him to realise that he had been deceived.

On Sunday, the victim approached Thane police, who registered a case under sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.

Thane: A major fire broke out at a cotton godown in Maharashtra’s Thane district on Wednesday morning, officials said.

There was no report of any casualty so far, they said.

The blaze was reported around 6 am at the godown located at Rahnal village in Bhiwandi town. Thick plumes of smoke were seen rising from the warehouse.

Multiple fire engines from the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation were rushed to the spot and firefighting was currently underway, the civic body’s disaster control cell chief Saquib Kharbe said.

The cause of the blaze was yet to be ascertained.

Mumbai: A fresh rift has surfaced within the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ahead of the crucial Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections. BJP MLA Ram Kadam on Wednesday took a sharp dig at the alliance, calling it an “alliance only in name,” after Congress confirmed that it will not ally with Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for the upcoming civic polls.

Kadam’s comments came a day after Congress MLC and former Mumbai Congress chief Bhai Jagtap announced that his party would contest the elections independently, without forming any alliance with either Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) or Raj Thackeray’s MNS. Jagtap said that while discussions were held in a recent meeting with Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, no consensus was reached on a unified front.

“The Congress has never spoken about including Raj Thackeray and never will,” Jagtap said, making it clear that his party intends to go solo in Mumbai. He added that the MVA was originally formed when Shiv Sena was united under Uddhav Thackeray, but “now there are two Shiv Senas,” implying that the alliance’s structure has changed drastically since its inception.

Jagtap’s remarks have exposed growing cracks within the opposition bloc, which was formed to jointly challenge the BJP’s dominance in Maharashtra. Political observers say the Congress’s decision to stay away from MNS and UBT could weaken the MVA’s prospects in Mumbai, where the BJP has been making consistent inroads.

Reacting to Jagtap’s statement, Shiv Sena UBT spokesperson Anand Dubey said the final decision on alliances will be taken by senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Uddhav Thackeray. “It is not up to individual leaders to decide on alliances. The high command will take a collective decision,” Dubey clarified, attempting to downplay speculation of internal discord.

The internal disunity comes at a critical juncture as Mumbai braces for its high-stakes BMC elections, where the balance of power among regional parties could shape Maharashtra’s political landscape.