SIT formed to probe fake birth certificate racket in Maharashtra
Maharashtra has formed an SIT led by senior officer Yashasvi Yadav to probe a fake birth certificate racket exploiting the Civil Registration System (CRS) portal in Yavatmal and Jalgaon districts. Forged documents sold via digital means pose risks to national security, IDs, and government schemes
IMD issues yellow alert for parts of Maharashtra, predicts light rains
The warning, issued at 4 pm, covers Nashik, Ahilya Nagar, Pune, Satara and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. Separately, Dhule and Jalgaon districts are likely to witness light rain accompanied by the possibility of thunder and lightning in some areas
Maharashtra civic polls: 68 Mahayuti candidates elected unopposed, including 44 of BJP
This includes 44 of the BJP, with the highest number being from Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation in Thane district, followed by Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, Panvel, Bhiwandi, Dhule, Jalgaon and Ahilyanagar
BJPShiv Sena Split In 15 Municipal Corporations
The BJP and Shiv Sena have formed an alliance in Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli, Panvel, Nagpur and Jalgaon municipal corporations. In Mumbai, it has been decided that the BJP will contest 137 seats and the Shiv Sena 90 seats. In Jalgaon, the BJP will contest 46 seats, the Shiv Sena 23 and the Nationalist Congress Party 6 seats.
Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) will contest the Jalgaon Municipal Corporation elections together. The alliance has finalized seat distribution for the upcoming polls. Discussions are also underway with Congress and other like-minded parties. This move signals shifting alliances in Maharashtra's local body elections.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is among the 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra to which elections will be held on January 15, Wednesday. The counting of votes is scheduled for January 16, Friday, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced on Monday. Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar are among the other prominent civic bodies going to polls. He reportedly confirmed that the election code of conduct has now come into force in all 29 local bodies. As many as 2,869 seats in these municipal corporations will be up for grabs in these local bodies, where elections are due since early 2022. Maharashtra State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare said the nomination process will begin on December 23, Tuesday with candidates allowed to make their submissions for a week until December 30. Scrutiny of papers will be done on December 31, and January 2, Friday, will be the last date of withdrawal of nominations, he said. Symbol allocation and the final list of candidates will be published on January 3. Polling in the 29 municipal corporations spread across Maharashtra will take place on January 15 and votes will be counted the next day, news agency PTI quoted Waghmare as saying. He said these 29 civic bodies, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), have 2,869 seats on offer and 3.48 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in these major urban centres of the state. After long and tiring political blame games and court battles, the Supreme Court had finally given the deadline of January 31 to conduct the polls, reported Marathi media. Full list of local bodies heading to polls: BMC Pune Municipal Corporation Nagpur Municipal Corporation Solapur Municipal Corporation Kolhapur Municipal Corporation Thane Municipal Corporation Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Nashik Municipal Corporation Aurangabad Municipal Corporation Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation Amravati Municipal Corporation New Mumbai Municipal Corporation NandedWaghala Municipal Corporation Ulhas Nagar Municipal Corporation Sangli-Miraj-Kupwara Municipal Corporation Malegaon Municipal Corporation Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation Akola Municipal Corporation Bhayander Municipal Corporation Ahmednagar Municipal Corporation Dhule Municipal Corporation Jalgaon Municipal Corporation Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation Parbhani Municipal Corporation Chandrapur Municipal Corporation Latur Municipal Corporation Panvel Municipal Corporation Ichalkaranji Municipal Corporation Jalna Municipal Corporation Dates to remember: Application submission window: December 2330, 2025 Application scrutiny: December 31, 2025 Last date for withdrawal of candidature: January 2, 2026 Election symbol allocation and release of final candidate list: January 3, 2026 Polling date: January 15, 2026 Counting of votes: January 16, 2026
Video shows Shiv Sena MLA entering poll booth while woman votes in Hingoli; probe ordered
Election officials have launched a probe after a video purportedly showed Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar entering a polling booth while a woman was casting her vote during the local bodies election in Maharashtra's Hingoli district on Tuesday. Voting is underway across 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in the first phase of the local body elections in the state, where 6,042 seats and 264 posts of council presidents are up for grabs. A video surfaced on social media, in which Bangar can be seen entering the polling booth, peeking into the enclosure as a woman cast her vote and speaking to her. Talking to reporters, an election official said, I have seen the video. But it is incomplete. I have asked the concerned official at the booth to prepare and submit a report on this incident, as he was present on the ground. We will take action based on the report. It is stated that a member of Bangar's family is contesting the municipal council polls in Hingoli. Rs 6 lakh seized in Majalgaon In another incident, officials on Monday seized Rs 6 lakh in cash from an SUV on the last day of the campaigning for the local body elections in Majalgaon of Beed district. The cash found in the jeep has been seized. The person concerned has been asked to furnish proper accounting details, said Majalgaon Municipal Council chief officer Sundar Bondar.
BHOPAL:After being on the run for more than three weeks, the suspended government doctor, the alleged mastermind of the recently busted inter-state fake Indian currency notes (FICN) racket, has been arrested in Madhya Pradesh's capital, Bhopal. Acting on specific inputs, cops from the special investigation team (SIT) of Khandwa district police, raided a house in Bhopals Bagmugaliya area and arrested Dr Prateek Navlakhe along with his two aides. While the suspended government doctor, 43-year-old Prateek Navlakhe, hails from southwestern MPs Burhanpur district, the two other men arrested from the rented house on Sunday evening have been identified as 35-year-old Gopal alias Rahul (resident of MPs Harda district) and 43-year-old Dinesh Gore (who hails from Amravati-Maharashtra). Suspended MP doctor emerges as mastermind in inter-state fake currency racket busted in Maharashtra Dinesh Gore is the acting principal of a government school in Maharashtra, while Rahul is a property broker. FICN totalling Rs 25,000, nine cell-phones, a laptop, 32 ATM cards, 15 bank cheque books, a dryer machine and other incriminating material have been seized from the arrested trio, Khandwa district police superintendent Manoj Rai said on Monday. With this recent action, FICNs totalling over Rs 30 lakh have so far been seized by the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh police teams from the possession of the seven arrested members of the inter-state racket and their whereabouts since October 30. Importantly, the alleged inter-state FICN racket was busted in Malegaon town of Maharashtras Nashik district on October 30 following the arrest of a Muslim cleric, Maulana Zuber and his key aide, Nazir. The Malegaon cops had seized from the duo, Rs 10 lakhs FICN, which they were to route to various parts of the western state. With Zubair being the Imam of a mosque located in Pethia village of southwestern MPs Khandwa district, the Khandwa district police raided the room where he stayed in the Imambara in Pethia village and recovered Rs 19.78 lakh FICN on November 2. An SIT was subsequently formed by the Khandwa district police superintendent into the entire case, and the two men, including Maulana Zubair, arrested in Malegaon town on October 30, were later brought to Khandwa (MP) for questioning. It was their questioning that confirmed the direction of the police investigation, about the suspended government doctor Pradeep Navlakhe being the mastermind of the inter-state racket. Navlakhes arrest from Bhopal is a breakthrough for us in the case, as he has emerged as the real mastermind of the racket. The laptop seized from the rented house in Bhopal contains details and designs of the FICNs, SP-Khandwa district Manoj Rai said. As per sources associated with the ongoing police probe, investigations strongly suggest many more Maharashtra links in the racket, including some major links in the Vidarbha region. Probe till now suggests that Dr Navlakhe was into FICNs for 4-5 months. Before that, he had also tried his hand at FICN, but failed to succeed completely. Importantly, back in 2022, Navlakhe (who was posted at the Burhanpur district hospital) was accused of opening an account in a private bank in the name of the hospital's peon and then parked around Rs 24 lakh. The account was closed after withdrawing the money. In 2022, Dr Navlakhe was suspended after he sold the hospitals equipment worth Rs 25 lakh as scrap. He was also suspected to be involved in hawala business, cricket betting and human trafficking. The suspended doctor met Mohd Zubair while being lodged in Khandwa jail. Zubair was lodged there in multiple cases of robbery and investment fraud. The Khandwa polices SIT suspect that it was at the Khandwa jail that Navlakhe convinced Zubair to become part of his network of FICN supply racket. Dr Navlakhe had tried his luck with FICN printing in the past and is accused of two to three cases of counterfeit Indian currency notes in Jalgaon and Bhusawal in Maharashtra. Barring Dr Navlakhe, the six others arrested in the case so far were possibly working as agents who searched prospective buyers of the fake currency notes and then supplied them to the customers. For every Rs one lakh, the racket got Rs 30,000 in authentic currency notes from the customers, then distributed to operatives. Ongoing investigations suggest that the finest quality wire used in the FICNs was sourced from China, while the paper was sourced from Maharashtras Vidarbha region. On October 30, when Maulana Zubair, along with an aide, was arrested with Rs 10 FICN in Malegaon (Maharashtra), Dr Navlakhe was present in Pune. With the help of his girlfriend, Dr Navlakhe first came to Bhopal via Burhanpur and later went into hiding in Haridwar (Uttarakhand), before returning and hiding in the rented flat with Dinesh Gores help. While investigations till now have revealed that the income generated from the FICN business was parked by Dr Navlakhe in his girlfriends bank account, the seizure of 32 ATM cards and 15 bank cheque books strongly suggests that the rackets mastermind was also parking alleged crime money in mule accounts.
Alliance Air, under the Government of India, connectssmaller cities and Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns to the main aviation network,bringing remote regions into India's aviation network. Building on this regional focus, the state-owned carrier introduced the Fare Se Fursat (One Route, One Fare) model last month, marking a significant step towards affordable, uniform ticketing across its routes. The initiative covers sectors such as Delhi-Shimla, Shimla-Dharamshala, Hisar-Chandigarh, Jabalpur-Jagdalpur, and Jalgaon-Ahmedabad, among others. These routes underscore the enduring significance of a public airline in connecting diverse geographies and fostering balanced regional development. Further connections such as Vidyanagar-Bengaluru, Kochi-Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar-Rourkela, and those in the northern and northeastern regions, including Guwahati-Aizawl, Imphal-Dimapur, and Jorhat-Tezu, demonstrate the airlines expanding network. By bringing previously unexplored destinations into focus, Alliance Air supports the governments effort to strengthen regional air connectivity. Meanwhile, the introduction of Fare Se Fursat reflects a well-structured measure to encourage domestic air travel and reinforce Indias aviation ecosystem. Industry experts view this model, launched under the broader framework of the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) regional connectivity programme, as a potential turning point for affordable and inclusive air travel nationwide. Jaideep Mirchandani, Group Chairman Sky One The purpose of aviation itself is to make air travel more people-oriented. One of the major concerns for passengers has always been the airfare. During peak seasons, they often have to pay higher prices, and when booking at short notice, they bear the impact of volatility. And if the state comes forward to address this concern, it is undoubtedly a positive step , ,said Jaideep Mirchandani, group chairman of Sky One . According to the official statement, Alliance Air will introduce a single fixed fare that remains unchanged, regardless of the booking date, even on the day of departure. This pilot initiative will be in effect from October 13 to December 31, 2025. Although it will initially apply only to selected routes, further decisions will be taken after assessing its operational feasibility and passenger response. The key question however is just who stands to benefit the most from this move? I think passengers who travel frequently between Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities will benefit the most. Alliance Air generally operates on short and medium routes under the UDAN scheme. Its fleet mainly consists of ATR 72-600 turboprop aircraft, which are suitable for smaller airports and can carry up to 72 passengers. The airline also operates a few ATR 42-600 aircraft with a capacity of 48 passengers and one Indian-made Dornier 228 aircraft that can accommodate 17 passengers. Naturally, this approach will make air travel more people-friendly, added Mr Mirchandani . The aviation expert says that measures related to fares and amenities, which may seem insignificant to high-net-worth individuals, hold great value for the common traveller. Without assigning blame, he points out that initiatives such as UDAN Yatri Cafes, offering tea for Rs 10, coffee for Rs 20, and snacks for Rs 20 at airports, can make a real difference to regular passengers. Gone are the days when air travel was seen as a privilege of the elite. It should be accessible to more people, ensuring dignity and affordability. We are now addressing one of the biggest concerns of passengers: airfare. I am curious to see howthis move will impact private airlines in the country after the pilot phase. It will be interesting to observe how they adapt and incorporate similar measures within their domestic realms , concluded Mr Mirchandani .
Family first: BJP leads in dynastic politics in upcoming Maharashtra local body polls
MUMBAI: Maharashtra this year witnessed a disappointing trend of dynastic politics as at least 33 BJP leaders fielded their spouses, children and relatives in the upcoming local body elections scheduled on December 2, 2025. The BJP, the party that always speaks against dynastic politics, has fielded the largest number of candidates related to its leaders. A politicalobserver said that the fielding of candidates chosen from the families of ruling ministers and MLAs showsthat family bonds are valued more than commitment to the party. It means the dynastic politics, rather than ending, it is growing with leaps and bounds. And, interestingly, the BJP, which is most critical of dynastic politics, has fieldedalarger number of candidates from their family in this local poll. So, the power will not be decentralised, but it will be concentrated in a few people's hands only, he added. BJP ministers who have fielded their spouses for Panchayat president posts include: Girish Mahajan whose spouse Sadhana Mahajan is contesting in Jamner Nagar, Sanjay Savkare's spouse Rajani Savkare in Bhusaval Nagar Panchayat, and Mangesh Chavan's spouse in Chalisgaon Nagar Panchayat. In Dhule district, BJP minister Jaikumar Rawal has fielded his mother Nayan Kuwar Rawal, for the president of Shindekheda Nagar Panchayat elections. Interestingly, Nayan has been declared elected as the opposition candidate nomination paper was cancelled due to some reasons. BJP MLA Tanaji Mutkule from Hingoli has nominated the candidature of his son, Shivaji Mutkule. Shiv Sena MLA Kishor Patils spouse Sunita Patil is also contesting for the president of Pachora Nagar Panchayat post elections in Jalgaon district. Another Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwads spouse Pooja Gaikwad is also contesting the president post elections in Buldhana district. MLC Satyajit Tambes spouse, Maitheli Tambe, is contesting the Sangamner Nagar Panchayat president post elections. Priyadarshani Uike, daughter of Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike, filed her nomination in theYawatmal district. Labour Minister Akash Phundkars sister-in-law, Aparna Phundkar, is contesting from Khamgaon. NCP is not far behind the BJP, the NCP minister Indranil Naik has fielded his spouse Mohini Naik for thepresident post of Pusad Nagar Panchayat elections. In theBadalpur Nagar panchayat election, 12 couples are contesting the corporator elections, while the Shinde Shinde-led Sena has nominated six members from one family in the local body elections. Former Shiv Sena MLA Suresh Gore nominated his spouse, Manisha Gore, for the Chakan municipal council election in Pune district.
Ex-minister Eknath Khadse's house burgled in Maharashtra's Jalgaon
MUMBAI : Unidentified persons have allegedly broken into the bungalow of former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse in Jalgaon district, officials said on Tuesday. A man working at the bungalow, located at Ramanand Nagar in Jalgaon, found its lock broken and household items scattered on Tuesday morning. He then informed NCP (SP) leader Khadse and also alerted the police, an official said. A team from the Ramanand Nagar Police Station rushed to the spot and launched a probe into the incident, he said. The house was locked as Khadse primarily resides in the Muktainagar area of Jalgaon, the official said. Earlier this month, a robbery was reported at a petrol pump owned by Union minister Raksha Khadse, the daughter-in-law of Eknath Khadse, in Muktainagar.
'Jamtara 2' actor Sachin Chandwade dies by suicide
MUMBAI: Marathi actor Sachin Chandwade, who appeared in the popular Hindi OTT series Jamtara 2, has allegedly died by suicide, police said on Tuesday. The 25-year-old actor was found at his residence in Undirkheda village, located in the Parola area of Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, on the evening of October 23, an official said. His family members rushed him to a private hospital in Dhule (adjoining Jalgaon), where his condition deteriorated and he died in the early hours of October 24, the official said. The reason behind the extreme step was not yet known. Days before his death, Chandwade had shared a poster of his upcoming Marathi movie Asurvan on social media. The Parola police in Jalgaon registered an accidental death case and later transferred it to the Dhule police for further investigation, the official said. In addition to acting, Chandwade was an IT professional employed at a company in Pune. (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050, Tele Manas - 14416 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
