A 48-year-old Mumbai Police constable posted at Navghar police station was allegedly cheated of Rs 4.12 lakh after an unknown person fraudulently raised a personal loan in his name and siphoned off the entire amount through online transactions. The complainant, Pradeep Mahadev Wadekar, is a resident of Mulund East and has been serving in Mumbai Police since 2001. On January 16, he was deployed on election-related duty. Around midday, he began receiving multiple SMS alerts from his bank, which he found suspicious. The messages indicated financial activities that he had not authorised. Alarmed, Wadekar immediately contacted his bank and visited the branch. After checking his account, bank staff informed him that a personal loan of Rs 4,12,045 had been sanctioned on his savings account without his consent. The entire loan amount had already been transferred in three online transactions to an account in the name of Manish Kumar. “The complainant stated that he had not applied for any loan, had not completed any loan-related process, and had not shared his banking credentials with anyone. Despite this, the loan was processed and disbursed, leading to financial loss,” a police official said. Following the incident, he registered a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Portal through the 1930 helpline and later approached the Navghar police station to lodge a formal complaint. Based on his statement, police registered on January 23 under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and Sections 319(2), 318(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. “We are now examining the digital trail, bank transaction records and KYC details linked to the beneficiary account to identify the accused and establish how the loan was processed without the complainant’s authorisation,” a senior official said.
26 January,2026 09:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Aishwarya IyerA routine morning walk turned fatal for Asha Vijaykumar Patil, 73, who was allegedly run over by an unidentified vehicle on the Pashan Road-Panchavati-NCL stretch early Saturday, January 24, in a suspected hit-and-run case. Speaking to mid-day, her son Atul Patil, 51, said his mother had followed the same routine for over 10 years. “She would leave home around 5.30 am and return by 6.30-6.45 am. On Saturday, she went alone,” he said. Patil added that his mother regularly walked in the Panchavati and NCL areas, as well as along Pashan Road, and was well-known in the neighbourhood. When Asha did not return even after 7 am, her husband, Vijay Patil, 83, searched her usual routes but could not find her. Soon after, the family learnt through WhatsApp messages that an elderly woman had been injured near University-Pashan Road, opposite Asara Mandir, and taken to Sassoon General Hospital. “When we saw the photo being circulated, we identified her and rushed to Sassoon,” Atul said. Doctors told the family that she had been brought in by a 108 ambulance but had died before treatment could begin. Police later conducted an inquest and sent the body for a post-mortem. The preliminary cause of death was recorded as “multiple injuries”. An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Motor Vehicles Act for rash and negligent driving and failure to render assistance. Atul said passers-by and cyclists helped his mother after the accident and alerted the police. “We were told she was hit around 5.55 am. The ambulance arrived around 6.23 am, and the police reached the spot around 6.29 am. I lodged the FIR at about 9.30 pm,” he said. Patil also pointed out what he described as disturbing gaps in the sequence of events. “There were no tyre skid marks at the spot. Normally, if a driver notices someone ahead, there are signs of braking. In this case, it appears the vehicle did not slow down at all. Later, police found blood at the spot,” he said. Amol Dhas, assistant police inspector, Chaturshringi police station, told mid-day, “Based on the routes shared by the family, we believe she may have been crossing the road when she was hit by an unidentified vehicle. There are no CCTV cameras in the internal lane, but we are checking footage from nearby roads and junctions. Efforts are on to trace the vehicle and identify the accused.”
26 January,2026 08:37 AM IST | Mumbai | Amarjeet SinghThe Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) dismantled a mobile mephedrone manufacturing unit in Maharashtra's Satara district, seized drugs worth Rs 55 crore and arrested five persons, officials said on Sunday, reported news agency PTI. Acting on inputs, DRI officials conducted 'Operation Sahyadri Checkmate' on Friday in a remote village at Karad tahsil, an official said, reported PTI. Teams from the country's premier anti-smuggling agency carried out a raid and unearthed a fully operational laboratory, equipped for mephedrone production, camouflaged as a poultry farm. The unit was frequently shifting locations to evade detection, officials said. The seizure included 11.848 kg of the drug in liquid form, 9.326 kg in semi-liquid form and 738 grams in crystalline form, along with 71.5 kg of raw material capable of yielding another 15 kg of mephedrone, collectively worth about Rs 55 crore, the official said, reported PTI. Mephedrone is a synthetic stimulant and is commonly described as a party drug. It carries serious health risks. Three persons, including the manufacturer or "cook", the "financer-consigner", and the poultry farm owner, were apprehended at the spot, an official said, adding that the first batch of the contraband had been hidden at the farm owner's residence, reported PTI. In a follow-up operation, DRI officials nabbed two more persons, en route to collect the final product, near an old octroi toll naka in a densely forested area, he said. Of the five arrested, four had prior arrests under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act or prosecution under MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act), the official said, reported PTI. This is the second raid on a drug manufacturing unit in Satara district in the last two months. Last month, the Mumbai Crime Branch conducted a raid at Jawali and busted a clandestine drug manufacturing unit. Navi Mumbai cops bust drug racket with Punjab link; 15 held In another case, the Navi Mumbai police's Anti Narcotics Cell has arrested 15 persons after busting a racket in which heroin and opium were being brought here from Punjab, an official said on Friday, reported PTI. Drugs worth Rs 1.19 crore have been seized in this operation, the official added. "The racket's mastermind Kulmeet Singh Dalvir Singh Randhawa alias Fauji, was arrested on January 21, while his sons Sunny Randhawa and Vicky Randhawa were held earlier. The accused were procuring heroin and opium from Punjab and transporting these to Navi Mumbai through truck drivers before selling it in various parts of the city," he said, reported PTI. All those arrested are lodged in Taloja jail, the official said. (With inputs from PTI)
26 January,2026 08:12 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentA brief argument lasting barely 90 seconds inside a moving local train ended in the death of a 31-year-old mathematics professor at Malad railway station on Saturday evening. The victim, Alok Kumar Singh, was stabbed in the abdomen following a minor dispute over space inside a crowded compartment, railway police said. The accused has been identified as Omkar Shinde, 27, who works with his father at a diamond-manufacturing company in Marine Lines. Fatal argument According to police, the incident occurred after the train crossed Goregaon station. Singh asked Shinde to make space near the door as he wanted to alight at Malad station. Shinde, who was standing near the gate, claimed he too intended to get down at Malad. The exchange soon escalated into verbal abuse. “The argument lasted barely one-and-a-half minutes,” said Senior Inspector Dutta Kumbhare of the Borivali GRP. “Both men were unknown to each other. As the train entered Malad station at around 5.45 pm, the accused suddenly took out a chimta and stabbed the professor in the abdomen before fleeing,” Kumbhare said. Stabbed with tool The accused was carrying a ‘chimta’, a metal tool commonly used in the diamond trade to hold stones during processing. The spot on the Malad platform where Alok Kumar Singh sat bleeding while waiting for help. Pic/Satej Shinde After stabbing Singh, Shinde jumped off the train and escaped from the station carrying his bag. The entire incident was captured on the station’s CCTV cameras. Initially, passengers were unaware that Singh had been stabbed. It was only after he collapsed on a bench on platform number 2 that commuters realised the seriousness of the situation and alerted the railway police. Timeline of operation Police received the information at around 5.55 pm and rushed to the spot. The station master reached with medical assistance by 6 pm. Singh was rushed by ambulance to Shatabdi Hospital at 6.05 pm and reached the facility at 6.25 pm, where doctors declared him dead during treatment. Accused walks home After fleeing the station, Shinde walked back to his residence in Kurar Village, reaching home nearly an hour later. “He did not inform anyone about the incident. He had dinner and behaved normally,” Inspector Kumbhare said. “The accused was unaware that the victim had died due to the stabbing,” he added. Arrest next morning A police source said that on Sunday morning, the accused left home for work as usual. “Our team reached his locality and learned that he had left just five minutes earlier and was heading towards Malad station,” the officer said. Railway Protection Force and GRP teams were alerted, and Shinde was arrested near Malad’s platform number 1 at around 10.30 am. Weapon destroyed Police said the accused destroyed the weapon used in the crime. “We searched his residence but could not find the chimta. Efforts are underway to recover it,” Inspector Kumbhare said. Cause of death According to the preliminary post-mortem report, Singh suffered a deep abdominal wound measuring approximately 6 cm by 2 cm. “He lost a large amount of blood, which caused his death,” Kumbhare said. The accused, who is unmarried and lives with his parents, was produced before the Borivali holiday court and remanded to five days of police custody.
26 January,2026 08:07 AM IST | Mumbai | Shirish Vaktania | Madhulika Ram KavatturIt was my birthday. My husband told me he would leave early, take me out for dinner and celebrate with me. I was waiting at home, but he never came,” said Pooja Alok Singh, the wife of 31-year-old mathematics professor Alok Kumar Singh, who was stabbed to death inside a local train on Saturday evening. “Instead, the police called and said my husband had met with a train accident. When we reached the hospital, he was already dead. My family initially hid the truth from me — that he had not died in an accident, but had been killed by someone inside the train,” she said, breaking down while speaking. Birthday plans failed Alok Singh lived with his wife at Pratap Nagar SRA Society in Kurar Village, Malad East, where the couple had been renting a flat for the past three years following their marriage. He was born in the same building and lived there all his life. Alok Kumar Singh, the mathematics professor who was stabbed to death inside a local train at Malad “He left college one hour early that day because we had planned to go out,” Pooja said. “Usually he reaches Malad around 6.30 pm, but that evening he arrived at 5.30 pm.” She said she collapsed after learning of his death at the hospital. “All my happiness has been taken away. The accused killed my husband. He deserves the strictest punishment,” she said. Alok was the son of Anil Singh, who works for Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. ‘He never fought’ Alok’s sister, Pooja Sandeep Singh, described him as calm and soft-spoken. Relatives and neighbours gather to perform Alok Singh’s final rites at Vadarpada in Kandivli East on Sunday. PIC/Satej Shinde “My brother was not someone who got into arguments or fights. He was gentle by nature. We cannot understand how something like this could happen to him,” she said. “It has been only three years since his marriage. Just a few days ago, I was teasing him and telling him I wanted a niece. Today we are left asking how to live without him.” Aunt echoes grief “He was a quiet child even while growing up. He had an MSc degree, was highly educated and taught mathematics. We cannot understand what anger drove someone to stab him,” she said. Family questions delay The victim’s family has questioned whether delays in medical assistance contributed to his death. Pooja Alok Singh, wife of the deceased, who got married to Alok three years ago (right) Pooja Sandeep Singh, sister of the deceased. Pics/Shirish Vaktania “He was alive for a long time after the stabbing,” said a relative. “Why was he not rushed to the nearest hospital immediately?” Pooja Sandeep Singh, sister of the victim, asked, “How did he die? Why wasn’t he taken to hospital faster? How was he allowed to bleed for so long?” According to relatives, Singh remained seated on the platform for nearly half an hour while waiting for an ambulance. “If he had been taken immediately to the hospital outside Malad station, he might have survived,” said his brother-in-law Sandeep Singh. The family also raised concerns over security lapses, questioning how the accused was able to carry a sharp metal tool inside a local train. Police explanation Responding to the allegations, Senior Police Inspector Dutta Khupekar of the Borivli GRP said there was no procedural delay by police. “Our officers did not conduct any formalities at the platform. The victim was made to sit only while waiting for the ambulance,” he said. “The ambulance arrival was delayed by 15 to 20 minutes due to peak-hour traffic. Another 10 minutes were required to shift the patient inside the ambulance, followed by 15 to 20 minutes to reach the hospital.” “We would never ask an injured person to wait for procedures,” Khupekar added. Remembering Alok Alok Singh had completed his MSc in mathematics and was known as a brilliant student since childhood. His wife, also a teacher, had resumed her postgraduate studies this year after being encouraged by him. “He used to help her with every academic doubt,” said a close family member. Childhood friend Deviprasad Shukla remembered him as quiet and kind. “We studied together. He always scored above 90 per cent. He rarely spoke much, but everyone respected him. Saturday was his wife’s birthday and they had planned to celebrate. A cousin’s engagement was held at his home just a day earlier. None of us imagined this would happen.” Neighbour Sambhapat Pandey said Alok inspired many youngsters from their native village in Jaunpur to pursue education. “He was helpful, educated and lived peacefully with his wife. Our entire village is in shock,” he said. Women residents from the society echoed the demand for justice. “He never fought with anyone. We have known him since childhood. The accused must receive the strictest punishment,” they said. On Sunday, large crowds of relatives and friends gathered at Pratap Nagar SRA Society in Kurar Village for Alok Singh’s final rites. Voices Pooja Alok Singh, wife of the deceased mathematics professor, at their residence in Malad East‘All my happiness has been taken away. The accused killed my husband. He deserves the strictest punishment’ Deviprasad Shukla, childhood friend of Alok Kumar Singh, who described him as quiet and kind‘We studied together. He always scored above 90 per cent. He rarely spoke much, but everyone respected him. Saturday was his wife’s birthday and they had planned to celebrate. A cousin’s engagement was held at his home a day earlier’ Pooja Sandeep Singh, sister of Alok Kumar Singh‘My brother was not someone who got into arguments or fights. He was gentle by nature. We cannot understand how something like this could have happened to him’ Sambhapat Pandey, neighbour and relative of Alok Kumar Singh, at the family residence in Kurar Village‘He was helpful, educated and lived peacefully with his wife. Our entire village is in shock. He never fought or argued with anyone. We have known him since childhood. The accused must receive the strictest punishment for this crime’
26 January,2026 07:35 AM IST | Mumbai | Shirish Vaktania | Madhulika Ram KavatturThe Mumbai Division of Western Railway on Sunday said that its railway cops have busted an alleged 'posters gang' active in Mumbai local trains and seized 42,000 stickers from them. According to the officials, the gang was allegedly involved in sticking posters inside local trains. The action was taken based on a tip-off received by the police, leading to the arrest of the alleged gang leader and four accomplices, they said. "A special team formed by the Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, Mumbai Division, Western Railway carried out the operation," officials said. Team of cops busted the gang The team was led by Sub-Inspector Santosh Soni and included Assistant Sub-Inspector Vivekanand Mali, Head Constables Ravindra Gayakar and Pushpendra, and Constables Priyadarshan, Arjun Singh, Hemant, and Pradeep Faujdar, the officials said. According to the officials, the team received information from a confidential informer and raided Laxmi Nagar in Kashimira, Mumbai. They prime suspect, identified as Baba Riaz Chaudhary (also known as Akram Baba), along with Salim Baba (also known as Sallu). Three other accomplices — Irshad Chauhan, Mohammad Shoaib, and Mohammad Shakir — were also detained, the officials said. 42,000 posters seized The team seized a total of 42,000 posters from the group, which were being used to stick inside local trains. The seized posters were documented in a seizure report and handed over to Bhayandar Police Station for further investigation and legal action.
25 January,2026 10:30 PM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarMumbai Police on Sunday said that it has seized 384 e-cigarettes and 2,880 pods worth Rs 42 lakh in Kalbadevi's Chira Bazaar and arrested one person in connection with the matter. According to the police, the operation was conducted by the Property Cell of the Mumbai Police's Crime Branch. During the operation, the Property Cell seized a large quantity of prohibited JUUL e-cigarettes in the Chira Bazaar area. "The operation took place near the Chira Bazaar bus stop on J.S.S. Road," said an official. The police said that during a routine patrol, police officers stopped a suspicious person and conducted a search. The searches revealed 384 JUUL devices (e-cigarettes) worth Rs 23,04,000, JUUL pods worth Rs 18,00,000, one black e-bike worth Rs 1,00,000, an official said. "The total value of the seized items is Rs 42,04,000," the official said. Action under prohibition law Following the seizure, the police registered a case under The Prohibition of e-cigarettes Act, 2019. The case has been filed at LT Marg Police Station under sections 3, 4 and 7 of the Act. The investigation is ongoing by the Property Cell, Crime Branch, Mumbai. Police credit leadership and team The successful operation was carried out under the guidance of senior Mumbai Police officials and the team that made the seizures was led by Raj Tilak Raushan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch (Detection), along with Sadanand Rane, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch. The key officers involved in the operation included Police Inspector Mangesh Desai, Police Inspector Dada Gaikwad, Senior Police Inspector Prataprao Bandgar, Police Constable Tushar Sawant, Police Constable Vinod Padman, Police Constable Tambe, Police Sub-Inspector Kolekar, Police Sub-Inspector Gadhve, Police Constable Babar, Police Constable Burde, officials said. DRI Mumbai foils courier gold smuggling, seizes Rs 2.89 crore Meanwhile, in a significant breakthrough against organised gold smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, foiled a novel attempt to illegally import gold into the country through an international courier channel. Acting on specific intelligence, DRI officers seized 1.815 kg of foreign-origin gold valued at approximately Rs 2.89 crore from a courier consignment that arrived at the International Courier Terminal (ICT), Mumbai, from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to officials, the consignment was declared as a household appliance and contained a meat-grinding machine. However, a detailed examination of the parcel raised suspicion, prompting DRI officers to carry out a thorough inspection. Upon dismantling the meat grinder and breaking open its internal gear mechanism, officers recovered 32 cut pieces of gold of varying sizes that had been ingeniously concealed within the gear assembly. The concealment method was designed to evade conventional scanning and detection processes at courier terminals. The total quantity of gold recovered weighed 1,815 grams.
25 January,2026 05:47 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentMalvani police arrested a fraudster who would lie in wait at ATMs, posing as a helpful passer-by when he saw customers struggling. He would offer to assist them, but would end up helping himself to their money after swapping their ATM cards out with fakes. The accused, Mohammad Irfan Abbas Ansari, 31, was arrested from Jaunpur district in Uttar Pradesh. According to investigators, Ansari has over 10 criminal cases registered against him across Mumbai, the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar region, and other nearby cities. They said he was earlier employed in a film production house. However, after he stopped getting regular work, he reportedly came in contact with a gang involved in ATM fraud and learnt their tricks. He then allegedly began committing the crimes on his own. An officer told mid-day, “The accused carried out multiple offences in the Malvani area. On December 9, at an HDFC Bank ATM, he swapped a woman’s ATM card and withdrew Rs 51,000 from her account. In another case from the same month, he allegedly cheated another complainant of Rs 90,000.”
25 January,2026 08:37 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah KhanActor Nadeem Khan, who was most recently seen in the film Dhurandhar, has been arrested on charges of repeatedly raping his domestic worker for nearly 10 years under the false promise of marriage. Khan played the character of Akhlak, who serves as the dacoit Rahman’s cook in Dhurandhar. Malvani police confirmed that the accused was arrested on Thursday and is currently in police custody. According to police sources, the complainant is a 41-year-old domestic worker who had worked at various actors’ homes before coming into contact with Khan years ago. A still from Dhurandar. Pic/Instgram@nadeemactor In her statement to the police, the woman said she came into contact with Khan in 2015. Over time, they became close. The accused allegedly promised to marry her and, on that assurance, repeatedly had physical relations with her at her residence. She further alleged that for the past 10 years, she continued to maintain a physical relationship with him, both at her home and at his residence in Versova, believing that he would eventually marry her. However, when he later refused to marry her, she approached Versova police and lodged a complaint in early January. “Since the alleged physical relationship took place for the first time at the complainant’s house within the jurisdiction of Malvani police, and the victim resides in that area, Versova Police transferred the case on zero FIR to Malvani police,” said an officer.
25 January,2026 07:48 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah KhanThe Mumbai Police on Saturday arrested three persons in connection with a housebreaking and theft case at a cloth shop in Dadar East and recovered cash worth Rs 97,000. According to the first information report (FIR) registered at Bhoiwada Police Station, the shop owner stated that the burglary took place between 7.30 pm on January 12 and 9 am on January 13 at Vivekanand Mansion on BJ Devrukhkar Road. Unknown persons allegedly broke open the shop’s shutter and decamped with 170 notes of Rs 500 denomination (Rs 85,000), 50 notes of Rs 200 denomination (Rs 10,000), and 20 notes of Rs 100 denomination (Rs 2,000), taking the total stolen amount to Rs 97,000. Based on police inputs, crime detection officers traced the suspects to the Kashimira area in Mira Road near Mumbai. Acting on specific information, police laid a trap with the help of informants and arrested the accused — Barakat Shaikhulla Sheikh (20), Ismail Aslam Shah (25), and Arbaz Ismail Shah (25). Mumbai Police probing if accused are involved in more cases Police said the trio, who work as garage labourers, are also booked in cases registered at VP Road Police Station in Girgaon and Matunga Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Officers said further investigation is underway to ascertain whether the accused are involved in other similar offences in the city.
24 January,2026 09:43 PM IST | MumbaiThe Railway Protection Force (RPF), in coordination with the Government Railway Police (GRP) Borivali and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), arrested an alleged 32-year-old drug courier and recovered narcotics worth over Rs 2.19 crore from the Mumbai-Amritsar Golden Temple Express. The accused, identified as Lalfakmawaia, is a resident of Hnahthial in Mizoram’s Lunglei district. He was detained from the air-conditioned (AC) coach B4 of train 12904 when it arrived at Borivali station in Mumbai around 11 pm on Thursday. The arrest followed specific intelligence shared by NCB officers. During a search, officers recovered 436 grams of cocaine concealed inside dog food packets, along with other narcotics from the accused’s backpack and trolley bag. During interrogation, Lalfakmawaia claimed he works as a domestic help and currently lives in Delhi with his sister. He alleged that a Nigerian woman known to his sister had given him the packet, asking him to deliver it in Mumbai, and promised Rs 3,000 and travel expenses for the task. Accused already wanted in Bengaluru NDPS case The officers recovered 436 grams of cocaine worth Rs 2.18 crore, 19 grams of Yaba (methamphetamine) worth Rs 1.5 lakh, 640 grams of Codeine-based cough syrup worth Rs 7,500, and 8 grams of Alprazolam tablets worth Rs 3,200. The total value of the narcotics is worth Rs 2,19,60,700. Further probe revealed that Lalfakmawaia is already wanted in an earlier Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act case registered by NCB’s Bengaluru Unit this year. He was produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Borivali, which granted transit remand. Lalfakmawaia was later handed over to NCB and taken to Bengaluru for further investigation. Officers suspect the involvement of an interstate and international drug syndicate, and further probe is underway.
24 January,2026 08:43 PM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah KhanADVERTISEMENT
