The vacancies have created major difficulties for investigating agencies

Mumbai: Eight of the nine metropolitan magistrates of Esplanade court in Fort have been transferred and elevated as ad hoc district judges without immediate replacements, leaving only one to handle the busy court alone since June 19.Officers seeking remand are being compelled to produce those arrested before the 28th court or three in-charge courts at Mazgaon.The vacancies have created major difficulties for investigating agencies, including crime branch, central agencies such as directorate of revenue intelligence, ED, customs, directorate general of GST intelligence, CBI, and police stations across south Mumbai.The crisis erupted after Bombay HC’s June 19 notification, under which eight judicial magistrates serving at Esplanade were elevated as ad hoc district judges and additional sessions judges with effect from June 23. “These magistrates immediately handed over charge and left and since then, the load of these courts has fallen on the 28th court and the Mazgaon courts. There is confusion as there is no information on the matters listed and we have to urgently rush to the Mazgaon court 4km away, sometimes during peak traffic hours. Often, the matter is over before we reach or is kept back for hearing,” said an advocate.The magistrates promoted are A K Mandavgade, B N Ichpurani, V R Patil, V V Kulkarni, S K Fokmare, K S Zanwar, S V Nikam and S S Parave. Six of them have been posted to the city civil and sessions court, Nikam at Dindoshi, and Parave at Mazgaon.Members of the bar said the sudden transfer of remand work without simultaneous posting of replacement magistrates has disrupted the daily functioning of one of Mumbai’s busiest magistrate courts.

Roshan Suvarna was remanded in police custody till July 6 in connection with the murder of a co-traveller, Mayank Lohar, on a local train

Mumbai: A 17.5cm knife used to stab to death a 21-year-old passenger in a local train last week was recovered on Monday and the accused had carried it around in his bag for four to five months, GRP told a magistrate court on Tuesday.The court extended the police custody of the accused, Roshan Suvarna, till July 6 as police said they are yet to establish the motive behind carrying the knife.The victim, Mayank Lohar, had an altercation with Suvarna over shutting the door amid heavy rain on June 23. Suvarna later knifed him three to four times in the chest and the abdomen.In their remand application, police said Suvarna claimed to have thrown the knife away after getting out of the subway at Borivli West following the crime. They checked surveillance camera footage but couldn’t locate it. The manager of a local restaurant approached them on Monday and said a staffer had found the knife in a lane after exiting platforms 2-3 in Borivli West the night of the murder. The staffer and his colleagues placed the knife in a box and informed their employer. The manager claimed they recognised the knife from the now viral video clip of the murder. Police have sent the knife for forensic tests to check if the bloodstains match the victim’s sample.The knife has a 12cm long blade. Suvarna told police he had picked up two knives—one small and another larger that was used in the murder—from the godown of an e-commerce platform at Mira-Bhayander, where his friend works. Police have recorded the friend’s statement. Suvarna claimed he used the small knife at his workplace for making barcodes and labels, while he kept the large knife in his bag for protection. Police are verifying his claims and are ascertaining whether he used the knife to threaten or harm anyone else in the past seven months.Lohar’s mother broke down in court during Suvarna’s production.Suvarna’s lawyers, Surendra Landge and Azad Gupta, said in court police had failed to apply Arms Act in the case.

Police recovered the firearms along with 50 live cartridges and extra magazines from their possession

Mumbai: The city crime branch has arrested two men from Punjab and seized a cache of illegal Turkish-made pistols and ammunition during a trap operation near P D Mello Road in South Mumbai. The duo had come to Mumbai to supply the foreign origin weapons to a local gang and investigators are probing possible links between the accused and the Lawrence Bishnoi crime syndicate, said police sources.The accused, identified as Ranjeet Singh (36) and Amrut Pal Singh (23), were allegedly caught while attempting to sell the pistols. Police recovered the firearms along with 50 live cartridges and extra magazines from their possession.Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Raj Tilak Roshan, said preliminary investigation revealed one of the accused has a previous case registered under the NDPS Act. Police have registered offences under relevant provisions of the Arms Act. “Now we have asked the Anti Extortion Cell to probe why the duo brought the weapons, who was likely to purchase it and whether they are connected to any gang,’’ said Roshan.