Jun 11 2014 : The Times of India (Mumbai) Facebook posts: Police say leads did not pan out, trail gone cold S Ahmed Ali Mumbai: TNN   A day after home minister R R Patil announced that the police have identified the persons responsible for posting morphed pictures of Bal Thackeray and Maratha warrior Shivaji on social media, the trail has gone cold. Police officers said the team sent out to follow leads did not find anything incriminating.Sources said a team of cyber crime investigation cell went to a town in a north Indian state on Monday to quiz two suspects. But the interrogations and the investigations of their computers suggested they were innocent. “Nothing was discovered that could indicate their involvement in the posting of the offensive pictures. They are innocent,“ said a police officer on condition of anonymity on Tuesday . On Monday , Patil had said that the culprits who uploaded the derogatory posts containing morphed pictures of Shivaji and Bal Thackeray on social networking websites have been identified and will be ar rested soon. He added that the Maharashtra government is considering action against not only those who uploaded the posts but also those who “liked” and forwarded them. “Social media is used all over the world. It is used for good purposes, but anti-social elements are using it for evil purposes as seen from recent incidents in Maharashtra,“ Patil said. Riots broke out in several parts of Maharashtra after the objectionable posts appeared online. Earlier this month, an IT professional, Mohsin Shaikh, was beaten to death, allegedly by members of a radical Hindu outfit, as he was returning home during one such riot in Pune.The police say they are still waiting for a response from Facebook to their request for assistance in identifying the IP address and server from which the morphed images were uploaded. They have been informed by cyber experts that the posts may have been uploaded using proxy servers in three countries, including Russia and Georgia. Four new cyber crime cells to be set up Mumbai: The Maharashtra police have sought the Union home ministry's help to close in on those involved in uploading objectionable photos of Shivaji and Bal Thackeray on Facebook. State home minister R R Patil told the legislative council on Tuesday that he had discussions in this regard with Union home minister Rajnath Singh after the recent killing of a Pune-based IT professional. “We have sought the help of cyber experts. If need arises, we will sound out foreign experts too.“ He had said on Monday that the culprits had been identified. Patil announced on Tuesday that cyber crime investigation cells will be set up in Nagpur, Aurangabad, Kolhapur (city) and Kolhapur (rural); nine cells are already active in the state. He said the police have made arrests in connection with the Pune techie's murder and arrested the youths involved in violence. These cases will not be withdrawn, he declared. -Ambarish Mishra

Jul 01 2014 : The Times of India (Mumbai) Gangster's close aide deported from Thailand S Ahmed Ali Mumbai:   Former gangster Santosh Shetty's close confidante Anil Chandra has been deported to Mumbai from Thailand. Chandra, who looks after the gang's finances, runs a discotheque in Bali.Sources said that Chandra has a couple of cases against him, including the murder of advocate Shahid Azmi. Chandra, initially associated with Chhota Rajan, later joined slain gangster Bharat Nepali. “Chandra, Santosh Shetty , Nepali and Vijay Shetty held a conspiracy in Bangkok and killed Azmi in 2011. We will book him for Azmi's murder,“ said an officer. Police said Chandra's deportation is bad news for Shetty as he has been denying his role in Azmi's murder.  

Jul 02 2014 : The Times of India (Mumbai) REDEVELOPMENT ROW IN BANDRA - FIR against MLA accused of threatening woman S Ahmed Ali Mumbai TNN   A row over redevelopment of a Mhada colony in Kherwadi has landed Shiv Sena MLA from Bandra (E) Prakash Bala Sawant in trouble. The police regis tered an FIR against Sawant on Tuesday for abusing and threatening a woman.In accordance with the rules, the police let assembly speaker Dilip Walse-Patil know about the FIR. Sandhya Tendulkar, a resident of MIG Colony in Bandra (E), on Tuesday filed a case of criminal intimidation, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace, and uttering words or gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of women against the MLA. Tendulkar said Sawant and his men confronted her on Monday near her colony . He allegedly abused her and threatened to assault her for posing hurdles in the proposed redevelopment. Sources said there was a long-standing dispute in the colony over which builder to appoint for redevelopment.  

Jul 02 2014 : The Times of India (Mumbai)

FORCEFUL SWAP OF CONNECTIONS - Spl team to probe `cable war' plaints

S Ahmed Ali

Mumbai TNN





City police chief Rakesh Maria has formed a special investigating team (SIT) to probe complaints of “cable war“ in Andheri. The move comes following the arrest of two operators of Hathway , who had forcefully swapped Digicable connections with that of their network.The duo were also charged with stealing 80,000 Hathway set top boxes worth Rs 12 crore over within three months. The accused have been identified as Amir Gabaji and Ravi Pasi, younger brother of Chhota Rajan's aide Kasi Pasi. The police have also recovered 8,000 set top boxes from the duo.
During the course of the probe, the name of Shiv Sena MLC Anil Parab, who has a distribution agreement with Hathway , has cropped up.
The cops are likely to call him for questioning. “We don't want any allegations of a biased probe. Hence we formed the SIT,“ said Milind Bharambe, additional CP . The complaint was filed by Digicable director Jagjit Singh Kohli with MIDC cops against Hathway promoter Viren Raheja, Santosh Ankolekar and others. In May , the police had registered an FIR for criminal breach of trust, theft and criminal intimidation. The matter is likely to come up in court on July 3.





Jul 01 2014 : The Times of India (Mumbai) Preity meets Maria, gives him more witness names S Ahmed Ali Mumbai TNN   Preity Zinta on Monday met police commissioner Rakesh Maria and gave the names of a few more people who were witness to the alleged incident between her and Ness Wadia. Six of those named by Zinta were foreigners.Zinta also sought permission to go abroad to fulfil her commitments. Maria told her that as she was complainant, there was no need for permission. The police, after scanning around two dozen CCTV footages, did not find anything to come to a conclusion on what had happened between Zinta and Wadia. At the meeting with Maria, Zinta was with her mother. Sources said that in a new application she gave six additional names of people who could be witnesses in her case. The police also received via email statements of two eyewitnesses, both foreigners, previously named by Zinta. One of the two statements is of a person named Jean, a friend of Zinta's. So far, nine witnesses statements have been recorded. “The new application contains more details pertaining to the alleged incident that took place between Zinta and Wadia,“ Maria said. “She has also named more witnesses in the application and we will record the statements of all those named as having witnessed the incident.“ Maria rubbished rumours that Zinta wanted to withdraw the complaint. Maria stated that the police were investigating three separate incidents listed by Zinta. While two of the incidents took place at Wankhede stadium during a match on May 30, the third incident had taken place during the auctioning of IPL players in Bangalore, much before the T20 tournament.

Jul 01 2014 : The Times of India (Mumbai) Colleagues at bldg's security agency helped nail murderer S Ahmed Ali TNN July 1,2014   Mumbai: Proper collection of evidence, protecting witnesses and swift reports from the Forensic Science Laboratory helped secure a conviction in the Pallavi Purkayastha murder case, but crime branch officials said accused Sajjad Ahmed Mughal alias Pathan's own colleagues played a major role in nailing him.His immediate supervisor Khalid Khan and security agency owner Aslam Khan, of Ahmed Hameed Enterprises (AHE), deposed against him. However, during the probe it was found that Pathan had given Lal Chowk, Srinagar as his address but he was a Baramulla resident. It was also learnt that AHE did not verify his address or register antecedents of any of its 40 security guards with the police station. The agency has been booked for negligence. On the night of the murder, when Pathan switched off the electricity supply to Pallavi's flat, she initially called her friend Avik, who asked her to inform the security office. Khalid, supervisor with AHE Secu rity, went to Pallavi's flat to check when Pathan sneaked along and told him it will be fun if they flirt with her. Khalid told the court he got angry at the suggestion and pushed him out. Another supervisor Shabbir Khan, in an extra-judicial statement, said Pathan wanted to flee to Kashmir and called him saying he killed Pallavi and urgently needed Rs 10,000. Later, Pathan called Aslam for money but disconnected when asked about his location. “We deposed against him as he de famed Kashmiris and our security contract with the building got cancelled due to him,'' an AHE personnel said. His colleagues also tipped off police about Pathan's plan to flee to Delhi. “I traced his cell location to Mumbai Central station. After searching for over an hour, I saw a man who seemed to be Kashmiri, waiting for a train with his head bowed. I asked him his name and he immediately replied `Sajjad','' said investigating officer Mahesh Tawde.