Superstar Aamir Khan recently married Gauri Spratt

MUMBAI: Superstar Aamir Khan, who recently married Gauri Spratt, has been threatened in the name of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang accusing him of promoting ‘love jihad’.The social media post, purportedly by gangsters Tyson Bishnoi and Aarzoo Bishnoi on Facebook, alleged Khan and others were promoting ‘love jihad’, which they said was against their culture. The post and an audio clip of the threat are being examined by Mumbai police.“We will not tolerate this act and will give a befitting reply very soon. This thing is against our Sanatan Dharma and the country,” said the post, adding that the breath of those who are promoting this alleged act using their stardom would be choked.

Police examining veracity of Aamir threat post, voice clipWhile actor Aamir Khan has received a threat issued in the name of the Bishnoi gang accusing him of promoting “love jihad” in the country, a senior crime branch officer said, “No complaint has been registered.” A senior IPS officer said, “We are examining the veracity of the social media post and voice clip.”The crime branch and cyber police personnel were trying to find out the origin of the social media post.Lawrence Bishnoi is currently lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail.In their post, the fugitive gangsters stated that such actions would not be tolerated and threatened to “choke the breath” of anyone using their stardom to promote these alleged acts.The Bishnoi gang is facing several criminal cases in the city, including the firing at actor Salman Khan’s flat in the Galaxy Apartments in Bandra West, firing at filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s Juhu bungalow, the murder of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Ziyauddin Baba Siddique, and threat to actor Ranveer Singh for extortion. More than two dozen people, allegedly linked to the Bishnoi gang, have been arrested by the Mumbai police so far. Several other fugitives of the gang are hiding in foreign countries.In addition to the threats directed at Aamir Khan, the post also highlights a crime recently committed against a girl in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. It praised the administration for swift action. The post alleged that some political people were protecting some of these criminals. “This is our first and last warning. We will certainly punish anyone who is even slightly involved in what happened to that innocent girl and has escaped the law, but the politicians who are trying to protect them should immediately stop interfering in this, otherwise they will face the same fate as those they are protecting. Show some humanity,” the post said.The post concluded by paying tribute to two deceased associates, Parvesh and Himanshu, referring to them as martyrs. “Our two martyred brothers, Parvesh and Himanshu, will always remain in our hearts, and we will not let your sacrifice go in vain. We will give a befitting reply to the enemies. May God give peace to both your souls.”Bishnoi’s younger brother, Anmol, was deported in Nov 2025 from the US. Anmol is facing 18 criminal cases in India, including the murder of Baba Siddique in Oct 2024.

Mumbai’s football fans are transforming homes into viewing parties for the late-night World Cup final. Many are setting up big screens and gathering friends to avoid pub closures. Some professionals will watch the match from their offices due to late work shifts. The event includes a Super Bowl-style halftime show with major international artists. Mumbai residents show divided support between Spain and Argentina for the championship game.

For a city that usually spills onto the streets, into pubs, sports bars and rooftop screenings, this World Cup night will look different. With the summit clash between Spain and Argentina kicking off close to midnight on Sunday, and most restaurants and pubs shutting well before that, Mumbai’s football faithful are not waiting for the city to open up. Instead, they are turning their own drawing rooms into fan zones, and settling in for a night that will stretch well past 3am. Across the city’s homes, the ritual is the same: a big screen, a loud television, familiar faces, and a match too big to sleep through.THE STADIUM IS WHEREVER THE TV IS ONFor Mithun Dasgupta, a finance professional from Vikhroli, the timing of the final has turned into an unlikely excuse for an upgrade. “We recently bought a massive TV, and now my son and I are looking forward to watching the match on our big screen. My friend and his sons will come over too,” he says.While some Mumbaikars have plans to watch the final at sports bars and pubs, others are trying to recreate the mood at home. Tanukripa Pal, an educator from Andheri (E), shares, “I am hosting a house party and my friends will come over. We plan to wear our favourite team colours. The idea is to bring some of the carnival energy of a stadium, the colours, the noise, the nervousness, into our drawing room.”THE OFFICE BECOMES THE OTHER FAN ZONENot everyone is watching from home, though. For those already pulling late shifts, the office has doubled up as an impromptu fan zone through the knockout rounds. Ashish Patil, a media professional based in Santacruz, says his workplace in South Mumbai has essentially been running its own tournament-long viewing party. “I stay far from office, so after work, it is impossible to reach home in time for the match. Due to my profession we usually have to stay in office till midnight. For the quarter-finals and semis, we had our office TVs on, and watched matches with the team. This Sunday too, we will be in office, and we will catch the finale tonight.”BEYOND THE MATCH: The festivities will begin even earlier with FIFA’s World Cup closing ceremony, scheduled to start 90 minutes before the kickoff and featuring appearances by Tom Cruise, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Hudson, Laura Pausini, Post Malone and others.For the first time, the World Cup final will have a Super Bowl-style halftime show. The lineup includes Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira, BTS, Burna Boy, Gustavo Dudamel and the PS22 Chorus, with Coldplay’s Chris Martin serving as the creative curator.Messi or Yamal? Mumbai can’t decide Interestingly, there is strong support for both teams. Entreprenuer Rohan Mehta, who is hosting a watch party at his Bandra home, says, “I’m backing Argentina because this could be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup final, and I want to see Argentina lift the trophy one more time. Most of my friends, though, are rooting for Spain and Lamine Yamal. It’s become a friendly rivalry, and I know the celebrations- or the teasing- will go on till sunrise.” Suman Chakraborty, art director, shares, “I will be watching the final at a friend’s place with a group of fellow football fans. Football is simply better when watched with friends. I’m a Cristiano Ronaldo fan, but for the final I’ll be supporting Spain. I’ve really enjoyed watching Marc Cucurella throughout the tournament, and I’m hoping Spain finishes the job.”

Mumbai: Bindu Goswami (name changed), a BA student from a city college, along with many of her classmates, planned to pursue the fourth year of the undergraduate programme. When she enrolled in 2023-24, the course was marketed as a four-year degree with the flexibility to exit after three years. Aspiring to build a career in clinical psychology, she was convinced that the four-year honours programme would help her academic and global career prospects.In April, though, the college informed students it would not be able to admit all eligible aspirants to the fourth year. Faced with limited options, Goswami is now considering taking a gap year.While Mumbai University was among the first few universities in the country to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) in its entirety in 2023-24, the rollout of its four-year undergraduate programme for the first batch has fallen short of expectations. Initially, colleges reported limited student interest, with only around 15%-20% of each batch opting to pursue the fourth year. However, even colleges that were willing to offer the programme to these students were unable to do so after the university issued its implementation guidelines.In April, a college principal said, instead of devising a way to make the implementation smoother across colleges, the university stated that colleges with postgraduate departments in those majors will only be allowed to offer the fourth year. “The govt and the UGC policy recommended that the university should come up with a mechanism for courses where colleges do not have postgraduate departments. Instead, the university made it mandatory for autonomous colleges to seek permission from the university’s academic council to start PG programmes, which it never did to date,” said the principal.MU has more than 950 affiliated colleges, including around 130 autonomous ones. When NEP was introduced in 2023-24, it was implemented only in the autonomous colleges at the time, estimated to be around 65-70. While less than 10% of the university’s affiliated colleges have their first NEP batch reaching the fourth year this academic year, these colleges account for a large share of the university’s student population.In another circular, the MU directed colleges to restrict the intake of fourth year within the sanctioned capacity of the PG programmes. “With this condition, colleges will be forced to prioritise their PG admissions, as we would not want our seats to go vacant in the second year,” said a principal.Principal of Jai Hind College Vijay Dabholkar said the college planned the fourth year for self-financed programmes, even tie-ups with foreign universities, as initially there was no mandate on having PG departments. “But when this was made a prerequisite, we decided not to offer it this year. It was a setback for students who were interested. We do not wish to disturb our master’s programmes, which are doing well,” he said.At Mithibai College, the administration divided the PG intake proportionately for master’s students and the ones who are keen on exiting after fourth year. “There was a demand for courses such as psychology, microbiology and computer science, but we had to limit the intake,” said principal Krutika Desai. She also is unsure why the fourth-year admissions are being considered as fresh admissions and students’ details are being uploaded on the portal when it is expected to be a natural progression.Anushree Lokur, principal of Ramnarain Ruia College, said the college has reserved a few seats across all postgraduate programmes, as most seats are filled during the master’s admissions process. “For many courses, the number of applications for the fourth-year honours is low. In others, such as psychology and some science programmes, we have seen a decent interest among students, but we are unable to accommodate everyone because very few seats remain after master’s admissions,” Lokur said.A university official, though, said there was not much demand and for students who are keen on pursuing the fourth-year honours programme, there are other options, including the Mumbai University departments, where seats were available. He added detailed guidelines for courses without PG departments will be issued next year and approval will be granted in advance, when a majority of colleges will have their fourth-year batch.