Maharashtra
The long hand of ED and the rise of Maha’s ED (Eknath-Devendra)
At the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on July 3-4, during the voting the Opposition benches of the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress reverberated with catcalls of ‘ED’, ‘ED’ to at least one MLA in the House.
The jeering and taunts were directed at the Shiv Sena MLAs group which had revolted on June 20, leading to the collapse of the 3-party 31-month-old MVA alliance — headed by ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray — on June 29.
Ten days later on June 30, a new Bharatiya Janata Party-supported government headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in, making it one of the swiftest state political coups in recent decades, and the first of its kind in Maharashtra.
Sensing the �sour mood’ of the Opposition, the Deputy CM later �concurred’ with them, in a lighter vein stating that now, indeed – an �E’-�D’ government – comprising �E’knath Shinde and �D’evendra Fadnavis was in power here.
A harbinger of things to come in the future�?, as many legislators on both sides were left wondering� with central investigation agencies like the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, Narcotics Control Bureau, et al — once invisible lurking ghosts, but now common household names and the butt of many a joke and memes.
Back in September 2019, the ED had dropped its own IED by issuing a statement naming – of all persons, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar in an alleged money-laundering scam cooked up in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank Ltd.
Unfazed, Pawar took what he termed �the ED’s love-message’ in his stride, and �self-summoned’ himself, dressing up to report suo-moto at the ED office, and perhaps, give the investigators a sharp �love-bite’, too!
Aware of a possible law-and-order situation as thousands of NCP workers prepared to join Pawar’s �ED yatra’, the then BJP-led government of CM Fadnavis panicked.
He immediately deputed the then Police Commissioner to meet and cajole the irked Pawar to abandon his plans – and since that �masterstroke’, the 81-year-old Maratha has not heard from the ED, but recently, the IT department has sent him a notice.
After the BJP-led NDA government took over at the Centre, the non-BJP ruled states, including Maharashtra post-Nevember 2019, are feeling the heat as many of their prominent leaders are being fried on the griddle of one or multiple central agencies.
In fact, Maharashtra had become a favourite hunting ground of the central snoops during the MVA government and the three alliance partners screamed from the rooftops at how the BJP has let loose the ED, IT, CBI, NCB to terrorise and silence them.
However, concealing a smile on a straight face, the BJP leaders airily dismissed all allegations and the central agencies remain freely on the prowl.
The past few years have seen over a dozen Sena-NCP-Congress leaders under microscopic scrutiny, playing havoc with the politicians, their political careers and parties, and lately, even an entire state government.
The targets so far: ex-CM Thackeray’s brother-in-law Shridhar M. Patankar, close associates of son and ex-Minister Aditya Thackeray, while ex-Minister Anil Parab was closeted inside the ED office and outside, his government was crumbling in late-June, Sena MPs Sanjay Raut and Bhavana Gawali – the latter, sacked as the party’s Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, several legislators like Pratap Sarnaik, MLA Yamini Jadhav’s husband and BMC leader Yashwant Jadhav, Arjun Khotkar, and many more.
In the NCP, those in focus were the close relatives of ex-Deputy CM (new Leader of Opposition) Ajit Pawar, four former ministers — Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik (both arrested), Prajakt Tanpure and Eknath Khadse — the last one faced the ED ire after he switched over from the BJP to the NCP and several more coming onto the radar.
Some Congress leaders have complaints against them though the agencies have not yet hounded them. Ex-Congress minister Harshvardhan Patil said on record that after joining the BJP, “there are no enquiries” and he “enjoys sound sleep !”
Post-MVA collapse, there were political murmurs hinting that a couple of top rebels and more than two dozen MLAs who flocked together were reportedly under the lens of one or more agencies.
Some bitter MLAs have also pointed fingers at the MVA leaders for “failure to protect them” from the ceaseless assault of the investigation agencies and felt it �safer’ to ally with the BJP. Pawar once complained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the harassment.
Probably a telling indicator of the dreadful reputation of the probe organisations, which are now perceived as the most effective �ammunition’ against the Opposition.
Maharashtra
7 accused arrested in cyber fraud case of over Rs 1 crore in Mumbai

Mumbai: The Cyber Police Station has claimed to have solved the mystery of a cyber crime in which the complainant was threatened with digital arrest on WhatsApp from April 2 to April 18, 2026, and was involved in a money laundering case and was defrauded of Rs 16.74 crore online by sending fake electronic documents. During the technical investigation, the police have arrested 7 accused, identified as Sanjay Hiralal, 57, who used to generate OTPs, the 32-year-old female accused used to hide the fraudulent money, Rishi Ramchandra Meena, 38, who used to transfer the fraudulent money to bank accounts, Naushad Ali, 31, who digitally arrested the complainant and the victim and worked in this gang digitally, Muhammad Khalid Hafeezuddin Saif, 27, a digital expert, Jogesh Mehta, 43, and Zubair Hussain, 27, who helped them deposit the fraudulent money in their accounts. 613 mobile phones, 2 laptops, 5 digital sign devices were recovered from the possession of the accused. SIM cards of several companies, 10 cheque books, 2 passbooks and 2 ATM cards have been seized. DCP Bajrang Bansode told the press conference that there is no such thing as digital arrest and in such a situation, do not keep in touch on unknown social media accounts. If someone threatens digital arrest, do not believe them.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: Mystery of Santa Cruz robbery solved during police operation, person who deposited stolen money in bank also identified, one arrested

Mumbai: After solving the mystery of a robbery in Santa Cruz area, the police have claimed to have seized cash and other jewelries worth Rs 76.36 lakh. According to the details, between June 20 and June 27, an unknown thief broke into a house on Juhu Tara Road in Santa Cruz area for the purpose of robbery and escaped with the jewelries, cash and gold biscuits in the cupboard. In this case, the police arrested the accused Chandan Kamlesh Mukhiya, 26, a resident of Darbhanga, during technical investigation. His transit remand was obtained and he was produced in Mumbai. In this case, another absconding accused is being sought. During the investigation, it has been revealed that with the help of the absconding accused, the thief had asked his acquaintance Kailash Shah to buy land with the money and stolen property. Therefore, Kailash Shah collected the cash and transferred it to a bank account. During the investigation, the police found that Kailash Shah had collected the stolen money of Rs 46.31 lakh, therefore, the police have issued a notice to him. 200 grams of gold jewelry and Rolex watches have also been recovered. This operation was carried out under the guidance of Mumbai Additional Commissioner Abhinav Deshmukh and DCP Mohit Kumar Garg, while Santa Cruz Senior Police Inspector Dattatreya Masvekar played an important role in solving the mystery of this theft.
Maharashtra
Demand for immediate installation of bus shelters in Govindi Shivaji Nagar, Abu Asim Azmi submits memorandum to BEST administration, concerned about safety of passengers

Residents of Mumbai, Shivaji Nagar and Govind (M-East Ward) areas face significant hardship during summer, monsoon and inclement weather due to lack of bus shelters and seating arrangements at major bus stops. In this backdrop, Samajwadi Party Maharashtra state president and MLA Abu Asim Azmi has submitted a memorandum to BEST Committee Chairperson Trishna Vishwasrao, demanding immediate installation of robust bus shelters and seating facilities at these locations. Shivaji Nagar depot is one of the largest depots in Mumbai, serving a large number of passengers daily. Around 132 BEST buses ply in this area, and thousands of school and college students, women, senior citizens, pregnant women, disabled persons and workers rely on BEST services. In his memorandum, Azmi said that essential passenger amenities are missing at many of the six major bus stops in the area. Specifically, these include stops at Shivaji Nagar Depot Junction, Konkan Bank and Sai Mandir, Jafri School, 10 Feet Road No. 2, Sant Nirankari Nagar, and New Bus Depot. Due to the lack of safe waiting areas, passengers are forced to stand on the roadside and wait for buses. The memorandum highlights that this situation is especially bad for women, senior citizens, pregnant women and disabled passengers. Azmi also observed that local residents have been continuously following up with the depot manager and the civic department since 2023. Although the approval for the bus stop on Road No. 2 was reportedly given in 2024, the work has not yet started, leading to dissatisfaction among residents. Demand for joint inspection of all bus stops Azmi has demanded that the issue be taken seriously and a joint inspection of all bus stops be conducted immediately with representatives of local citizens. He further stressed that the work should be completed by installing robust bus shelters and seating arrangements at the relevant locations using BEST’s infrastructure fund.
BEST serves as a vital lifeline for the daily commute of millions of Mumbaikars, and it is essential that commuters have access to safe and dignified travel facilities. Hence, Azmi has demanded immediate action on the matter.
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