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Vandal runs riot in 489-year-old Portuguese-built Mumbai church cemetery

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In a shocking incident, an unknown person sneaked inside the historic St Michael’s Church premises around dawn and vandalised 18 crosses in the graveyard of the 489-year-old church, near the Mahim station, officials of the Archdiocese of Bombay said here on Saturday.

According to the church’s Parish Priest, Fr. Bernard Lancy Pinto, the incident occurred around 6 a.m. when the unidentified miscreant entered the church premises and embarked on a damage-spree in the cemetery, sparking furious reactions among the Mumbai’s Catholic community.

“A FIR has been lodged at Mahim police station and investigations have begun. The police have assured us that they will arrest the person concerned based on the CCTV footage and the statement of witnesses,” he said.

He said the police have promised appropriate legal action against the vandal and they will also conduct a probe to check for any security lapses.

“It is regrettable and painful that the graves of the Catholics were vandalised at the St Michael’s Church. The sentiments of the community are deeply hurt as this act not only involved the destruction of religious objects but also disrespect for the dead,” said an Archdiocese spokesperson this evening.

“While the Church appreciates the support and assistance of various groups, we strictly do not wish to give this act a communal overtone. The police are investigating the incident and we remain hopeful that the perpetrator of this vicious crime will be brought to task,” the spokesperson added.

The St. Michael’s Church is the oldest Portuguese-built church in 1534 in its former colony of isles and the then sea-trading centre known as ‘Bom Bahia’ (later Bombay).

127 years later in May 1661, when Britain’s King Charles II married Princess Catherine of Braganza, the daughter of Portugal’s King John IV, ‘Bom Bahia’ was transferred to her husband as part of her wedding dowry.

The Mahim Church is famed for its Wednesday ‘novenas’ where people from all religions flock to attend and pray for miracles that are believed to take place.

The Catholic community in Mumbai and elsewhere has reacted sharply to the vandalism in Mahim Church and urged the police and government to take prompt action in the matter, besides ensuring security for the 125-odd churches in the city.

Many Christians – who number around 500,000 (or 3.30 per cent) of the city’s population – penned their sense of agony and outrage on social media posts, and recalled similar but smaller incidents of vandalism, theft of valuable church properties, etc, that have occurred in the past few years in different parts of Mumbai against the peace-loving community.

Saturday’s development came barely a day after the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation revoked a move to acquire a part of the cemetery besides the St Peter’s Church in Bandra west, for a road widening project, after Catholics from Mumbai raised an outcry and intervention of some local political leaders.

Crime

Mumbai Shocker! 40-Year-Old Man Allegedly Molests Minor Boy In Agripada; Hunt On For Absconding Accused

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Mumbai: A case under POSCO has been registered against a 40-year-old man who has been allegedly accused of showing pornographic films and molesting a 13-year-old boy in Mumbai’s Agripada area.

the shocking incident took place at the Classic Tower residential society located in the Agripada locality. The matter came to light after the traumatised minor confided in his family members about the ordeal.

Acting on it, his family immediately approached the Agripada Police, and a case under the POCSO Act and Section 351(2) BNS has been registered at Agripada Police Station.

The accused, identified as Adil Ishaq Latif, is currently absconding. A team of police have been formed and launched a manhunt to track his whereabouts.

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Crime

Delhi HC sentences YouTuber to six months jail for criminal contempt

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New Delhi, May 19: The Delhi High Court has sentenced YouTuber Gulshan Pahuja, who runs the channel “Fight 4 Judicial Reforms”, to six months’ simple imprisonment in two criminal contempt cases for making derogatory and scandalous remarks against the judiciary and judicial officers.

A division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 in each matter while observing that the contemnor had shown no remorse and had, in fact, compounded the contempt through further scandalous submissions made during the hearing.

However, the Delhi High Court suspended the sentence for 60 days to enable Pahuja to challenge its judgment holding him guilty of criminal contempt before the Supreme Court.

The Justice Chawla-led Bench said that despite being given an opportunity to make submissions on punishment, the contemnor questioned the conviction itself and, during oral arguments, made further scandalous remarks against the judicial system.

“He, in fact, compounds his contempt by making further scandalous submissions before this Court and thus, evidently, he is neither repentant nor deserves any mercy,” the order said.

Rejecting his plea to recall the conviction judgment, the Delhi High Court said it could not sit in review of its earlier order and that the contemnor was free to challenge the same in accordance with law.

“As far as his submissions on our judgment dated 21.04.2026 are concerned, we cannot sit in review of the said judgment and the contemnor has full right and had an opportunity to challenge the same in accordance with law,” the bench said.

It further recorded that during oral arguments, Pahuja made remarks such as “adaalaton ki manmarzi badhti jaa rahi hai aur main koi nyay ki umeed nahi kar raha (the wilfulness of the courts is constantly increasing and I am not hopeful of any justice)” and described the functioning of courts as “taanashahi (dictatorship)”.

Advocate Harsh Prabhaka, amicus curiae appointed in the matter, submitted that Pahuja had shown “no course correction or remorse” and continued uploading videos targeting judicial officers despite earlier directions restraining him from doing so.

Considering the nature of the conduct, the Delhi High Court observed that leniency in such circumstances could embolden similar conduct in the future and that the case warranted maximum punishment.

“We also find that by not imposing adequate punishment on him, we may encourage him to repeat these acts in future and to embolden him in doing the same. [W]e are of the opinion that these cases call for the imposition of the maximum punishment,” the bench observed.

Accordingly, the Delhi High Court sentenced Pahuja to six months’ simple imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2,000 in each case, directing that the sentences would run concurrently.

It further ordered that in case of default in payment of the fine, he would undergo an additional one month’s simple imprisonment.

However, taking note of the contemnor’s submission that he intends to challenge the judgment before the Supreme Court, the bench suspended the sentence for a period of 60 days.

“In case an order suspending the sentence… is not passed by the Supreme Court, the contemnor shall on his own surrender before the Registrar General of this Court forthwith on expiry of the above-mentioned period,” the order said.

The contempt proceedings arose from videos and online content uploaded by Pahuja on his YouTube channel, in which he made sweeping and unverified allegations against judicial officers and the judiciary. In its earlier judgment, the Delhi High Court had held that such remarks were intended to scandalise the institution and lower public confidence in the justice system, and were not protected under the right to free speech.

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Crime

Delhi Police bust gambling racket in Dwarka, 14 arrested

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New Delhi, May 19: Continuing its crackdown on illegal activities, the Dwarka District Police on Tuesday busted a gambling racket operating in JJ Colony in Sector-3, Bindapur, and arrested 14 persons allegedly involved in the operation, officials said.

Police recovered stake money amounting to Rs 6,810 along with gambling-related material, including writing pads, charts, satta slips, carbon papers, pens, mobile phones, and electronic devices used for maintaining gambling transaction records.

According to police officials, the operation was carried out as part of the district police’s ongoing campaign to curb organised crimes such as gambling and bootlegging and to maintain a safe and crime-free environment for residents.

To strengthen action against illegal activities, the Special Staff of Dwarka District had intensified intelligence gathering, activated local informers, and increased surveillance in vulnerable areas. A dedicated team was constituted under the leadership of Inspector Kamlesh Kumar, in charge of Special Staff, Dwarka District, under the close supervision of ACP Operations Subhash Malik.

The team comprised SI Dinesh Kumar, SI Topesh, ASI Vijay Singh, HC Jagat Singh, HC Jairam, HC Naresh, HC Rajesh, and Constable Manjeet, who were tasked with collecting intelligence and identifying hotspots where illegal activities were taking place.

On May 7, at around 10 p.m., the team received specific information regarding a gambling racket operating in the Sector-3 JJ Colony area of Bindapur. Acting swiftly on the information, the police team laid a strategic trap near the identified location.

At around 10:30 p.m., the police spotted several individuals gathered in a narrow lane and allegedly engaged in gambling activities. The team immediately conducted a raid and apprehended 14 persons at the spot.

During the search operation, police recovered stake money worth Rs 6,810, along with charts, satta slips, writing pads, carbon papers, pens, and registers allegedly used for maintaining gambling records and transactions. The local beat staff also reached the spot during the operation.

Following the recovery, a case vide FIR No. 255/2026 under Sections 12/09/55 of the Gambling Act was registered at Police Station Bindapur. All the accused were arrested after sustained interrogation.

The arrested accused have been identified as Sandeep (26), Ajay (25), Sartaj (42), Bappi Haldhar (60), Suresh (36), Neeraj Kumar (44), Abul Hasan (40), Chandan Sahni (35), Sudama (27), Maniyappan (42), Ashok (46), Diwari Sahni (37), Mathwef (41), and Jony (35), all residents of different areas of Dwarka, Uttam Nagar, Matiala, and nearby localities in Delhi.

Police said the recovery made during the raid included cash worth Rs 6,810, two charts, eight pads, five carbon papers, three pens, and around 350 satta slips allegedly used in gambling activities.

Officials stated that further investigation is underway to ascertain whether the accused were linked to a larger gambling network operating in the area.

The operation highlights the proactive policing efforts of Dwarka District Police in cracking down on unlawful activities and maintaining law and order in the national capital.

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