Mumbai News LIVE Updates: Police file FIR, launch probe into threat to blow up Eknath Shinde’s car

Mumbai News LIVE Updates: Man held for cheating several women under pretext of marriage after posing as cop

Police here have arrested a man who allegedly posed as a Delhi crime branch officer and cheated several women after befriending them on a matrimonial site and promising to marry them, officials said on Thursday. The accused, Himanshu Yogeshbahi Panchal (26), was caught on Tuesday from his native place Ahmedabad after a probe into a case registered by Valiv police in Maharashtra`s Palghar district following a woman`s complaint, according to a police release. During the interrogation of the accused, it came to light that he had duped around a dozen women in the same way after connecting with them through the matrimonial site, the release said. The accused used to pose as an officer from the cyber security cell of the Delhi Police`s crime branch, it said. He duped the woman in Valiv after connecting with her through the matrimonial site and promising to marry her. The accused allegedly called the woman to various hotels and lodges and raped her on multiple occasions. He also gave her a fake diamond as gift, the Valiv police said. Based on the woman`s complaint, the Valiv police had registered an FIR against the man under sections 64(2)(m) (rape) and 318(4)(cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The police probe team worked on several leads and arrested the man from Ahmedabad on Tuesday, the release said.

Mumbai News LIVE Updates: Youth murdered in Nashik Road area, probe on

A 24-year-old man was bludgeoned to death in Maharashtra`s Nashik city on Thursday, a police official said. The body of Ajay Shankar Bhandari also bore injuries inflicted with a sharp weapon, the official said. "He was killed at a ground near Navale Chawl in Nashik Road area. His two-wheeler was found nearby. He was last seen at the Shivaji Jayanti procession on Wednesday. He had contacted his mother by phone at around 1:30am today," the official added. A case of murder was registered and further probe is underway, the Nashik Road police station official added.

Mumbai News LIVE Updates: Hiranandani enters Pune real estate landscape; revenue potential is Rs 7,000 crore

Hiranandani Group has made its much-awaited foray into the Pune real estate market by inking its first-ever joint development deal of 105 acres with renowned Krisala Developers. The project is located at North Hinjewadi, and will be developed under Integrated township policy, comprising of residential, commercial, and retail development, a joint statement said Thursday.

The total investment for the land assets of 105 acres, is valued at Rs 2,000 crores with an estimated revenue potential of Rs 7,000 crores, the statement asserted. The joint development currently launches Phase I development spanned across 30 acres of land with a minimum potential of delivering 3 million square feet of real estate spaces. As part of the joint development deal, the investment in phase 1 development is estimated at approximately Rs 500 crore, with a projected turnover pegged at approximately Rs 2,100 crore. The proposed development comprises apartments, villa plots, branded residences, and recreational amenities to enhance homebuyers` holistic living experience, the joint statement said. This "strategic joint development" aims to leverage the strong local expertise of Krisala Developers and the "extensive brand experience" of the Hiranandani Group.

Mumbai News LIVE Updates: Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate gets two years` jail term in 30-year-old cheating case

Maharashtra Agriculture Minister and NCP leader Manikrao Kokate was on Thursday sentenced to two years` imprisonment by a court here in a 1995 case where he was charged with submitting fake documents to get flats under a government quota. The minister told reporters later that the court had granted him bail, and he would move the High Court against the judgement. The Nashik district and sessions court also convicted his brother Sunil Kokate in the same case, registered in 1995 on the complaint of former minister, late T S Dighole. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on the two brothers.
The court acquitted two other accused in the case. Kokate could possibly attract disqualification as an MLA if he does not get any relief from the high court. Talking to reporters, the minister said the case was filed by Dighole with whom he had political enmity.

"I have decided to file an appeal against the verdict. We will do everything in accordance with the law....we will go to the High Court. I have been granted bail by the sessions court," he said. As per the prosecution, Kokate and his brother were allotted two flats meant for the Low Income Group (LIG) on College Road in Yeolakar Mala area here under the Chief Minister`s 10 per cent discretionary quota. To be eligible, they made false claims of belonging to the LIG category and not owning a house in the city, it was alleged. After Dighole approached the police, a case of cheating, forgery and other offences under the Indian Penal Code was registered against the Kokate brothers and two others at Sarkarwada police station here. The rival NCP (SP) demanded that Kokate should resign following the verdict. He would be the second minister of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP in the BJP-led state government to find himself in trouble. NCP leader and cabinet minister Dhananjay Munde is facing the heat after his close aide was arrested in an extortion case related to the brutal murder of a village sarpanch in Beed district in December 2024.