Meerut, Sep 30: The verdict in the sensational Saurabh Rajput murder case, which made headlines, is set to be delivered by a Meerut court on Wednesday. Ahead of the judgment, the victim’s family reiterated its demand for the harshest punishment for the accused.

Saurabh’s elder brother Rahul spoke to media and said, “We just want one thing: whatever they did to my brother, the same thing should happen to them.”

“Since the beginning of this case, we have been hoping to get justice. We have just demanded one thing — whatever they did to my brother, the same should happen to them. The least they get should be a death sentence.”

Speaking about the case, he said, “It is more than 17-18 months. My business has come to a standstill because of this case. We used to leave for court at 11 in the morning and return only by 5 in the evening.”

He added that he was summoned to court on 11 days, and his mother had to appear nine times. Rahul said 22 witnesses gave testimony. “If the accused is awarded anything less than the death sentence, we will approach the High Court or the Supreme Court,” he said.

The case has seen 126 hearings and testimonies, with the prosecution and defence presenting their arguments before District Judge Arvind Kumar Mishra.

Saurabh’s wife, Muskan Rastogi, and Sahil Shukla, whom the prosecution has described as her alleged lover and co-accused, are standing trial in the case. The prosecution has sought the death penalty for both, while the defence has argued that there was no eyewitness to the murder and has sought leniency for the accused.

The case was brought before the court on 17 March 2025, while Muskan and Sahil were sent to Meerut jail two days later. The trial was transferred to the district judge’s court in July 2025, with arguments continuing for around 13 months.

The prosecution alleges that the murder was premeditated and that the accused purchased a knife, razor, cement, sand and a large blue drum before committing the crime. Police and forensic witnesses told the court that the body was recovered from the drum, while post-mortem evidence recorded injuries allegedly inflicted with sharp-edged weapons.

Reportedly, Saurabh’s mother, Renu Rajput, also accused Muskan and Sahil of killing her son. She told the court that Saurabh had married Muskan despite opposition from his family and alleged that Muskan kept meeting Sahil even after the marriage.

Thane, Sep 30: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, Pradeep Purnekar, was shot dead in Maharashtra’s Thane on Tuesday night, with police intensifying their investigation into the killing on Wednesday.

One suspect has been formally arrested, while another is being questioned in connection with the case.

The attack took place at around 9 p.m. in the Manpada-Manorama Nagar area, near Purnekar’s office and within the jurisdiction of the Kapurbawdi police station.

According to police, unidentified assailants opened fire at Purnekar, hitting him twice. He was rushed to a hospital on Ghodbunder Road, where he died while undergoing treatment.

CCTV footage examined by investigators showed that one of the two detained suspects was present at the scene during the firing and was allegedly involved in the conspiracy, while the other reportedly provided a vehicle to the two accused who carried out the shooting.

One of the suspects has been formally arrested, while the other is being questioned by police. Investigators are also looking for other people who may have been involved in the attack and are examining CCTV footage from the area and surrounding roads to establish the sequence of events and trace the suspects’ movements.

Pradeep Purnekar’s body was sent to Mumbai’s JJ Hospital on Wednesday morning for a post-mortem examination, DCP Prashant Kadam said. “After the post-mortem, a detailed report will be available,” he said.

Reacting to the killing, Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Anand Dubey raised concerns over the law-and-order situation in Maharashtra.

“What has happened to Maharashtra? There are so many criminals, mafias, and murderers roaming freely that I cannot even tell you. Whether it is Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Mumbai, and now Thane, late last night, a senior leader of our party, Shiv Sena (UBT), was shot dead…” Dubey told MEDIA.

Reports said the attackers were wearing helmets and masks. Police are examining footage from multiple cameras and other evidence to identify all those involved and determine how the accused fled the scene.

The killing has also raised questions about a possible connection with a proposed agitation against a local builder.

Purnekar had reportedly announced plans to stage a protest over alleged irregularities by a local builder and had sought permission from the Kapurbawdi police for the demonstration. However, police have not confirmed any link between the proposed protest or the builder dispute and the killing.

Investigators are examining multiple possible motives, including political rivalry and personal enmity. The exact reason behind the attack remains under investigation.

Surat, Sep 29: The Surat City Cyber Crime Branch has arrested three men from Mumbai in connection with an alleged Rs 1.10 crore share market investment fraud, with police finding that the bank account used in the case had been linked to complaints from multiple states.

The arrested accused have been identified as Rahul Rajak (27), Ashish Sonar (37), and Bhushan Sendane (34).

Police said Rajak allegedly created a firm in his name, obtained an Udyam certificate and opened a current account with IDFC Bank, which he handed over to Sonar for Rs 10,000.

Sonar allegedly passed the account to Sendane for Rs 30,000, while Sendane subsequently handed it to another accused for Rs 20,000.

According to the police, transactions worth Rs 2,41,03,506 were carried out through the current account between October 18, 2025 and January 9, 2026.

A check on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) found 29 complaints from different states linked to the account, involving alleged fraud of Rs 16,13,44,790 or about Rs 16.13 crore.

DCP (Cybercrime Cell) Bishakha Jain said, “The three arrested accused had together received Rs 60,000 as commission for facilitating the bank account.”

The case began after the complainant was allegedly contacted in the name of share market investment and promised high returns.

Police said the accused sent him an APK file of a fake Axis Bank application and falsely claimed to be calling from the bank’s customer care service.

The complainant was allegedly asked to download the application, create a demat account and carry out trading through it.

After the account was created, the complainant was instructed to transfer money to different bank accounts for trading.

Police said he transferred Rs 1,10,90,000, but when he later sought to withdraw his investment and the purported profits, the accused demanded additional payments towards withdrawal and other charges.

“The complainant was allowed to withdraw only Rs 5,000, while Rs 1,10,85,000 remained blocked, following which he realised that he had been defrauded,” police said.

A case was registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under Sections 318(4), 336(2), 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008.

Police said efforts are continuing to trace other accused persons allegedly involved in the fraud.

The Cyber Crime Branch has appealed to people to be cautious of advertisements promising high returns through online share market investments and not to transfer money to unknown persons without verification.