Mumbai: A teenager was arrested by the Cyber Police in connection with a case where a computer engineer was cheated of Rs 21 lakh in a task fraud combined with a cryptocurrency trading scam. Police said the teen accused, Shaad Chauhan, received a portion of the defrauded sum into his bank account and withdrew it.Chauhan has used the same mule bank account to receive and withdraw Rs 8 lakh so far, and the police are verifying the source of this income.The complainant holds a BTech degree in computer science. He currently works as a business analyst with a private firm.On June 3, he received a text from an unknown number on WhatsApp with an offer to make some extra money by fulfilling certain tasks online. The first task was to like a food recipe video on YouTube and share its screenshot. Once the complainant agreed to do so, he was contacted on Telegram by one Vishnu Sharma. On liking the food recipe video, the complainant received Rs 150 in his bank account. He was then asked by Sharma to join a Telegram group for receiving further tasks.On completing the next five to six tasks, the complainant received Rs 600 in his bank account. The tasks comprised giving movie reviews online. By now, the complainant trusted Sharma. Next, Sharma sent him a link to another Telegram group that had more than 200 members. In this group, the members were required to pay money if they wanted to receive further tasks.The complainant paid the money and completed the tasks. He was asked to connect with Anil Wadhva for his commission. Wadhva sent him a link for a bitcoin trading portal and asked for his Aadhaar card copy for registration. The complainant created his login and password on the portal and noticed various tabs on the portal, such as balance, profit, recharge, order record, and withdrawal. Between June 3 and June 8, he transferred Rs 21.16 lakh to the portal for bitcoin trading. But he was unable to withdraw any amount. The fraudsters kept demanding more money under various pretexts, such as helping to recover his account and technical errors. Eventually, the complainant realised he had been taken for a ride and complained to the North Region Cyber Police.

Mumbai: A traffic study commissioned by the BMC amid growing demand from groups of residents living in areas around Breach Candy, Malabar Hill, Nepean Sea Road and adjoining lanes for an additional exit from the Coastal Road at Nepean Sea Road has proposed a different solution: a two-way, grade-separated flyover along Bhulabhai Desai Road instead of a new exit.According to the report, such a link would provide a far more effective long-term solution, which it also says would primarily benefit vehicles travelling from the city’s northern suburbs towards south Mumbai. The proposed flyover is expected to segregate nearly 1,109 passenger car units (PCUs) during peak hours from the busy Mukesh Chowk intersection, improving traffic flow and easing congestion, states the report.It adds that a future traffic-growth assessment would be required to ensure the flyover remains adequate for the next three decades, up to 2055.“Overall, the results suggest there is a significant need for a direct, grade-separated connection to manage this high-volume traffic. The existing at-grade intersection forces commuter traffic to mix with local traffic, creating a major bottleneck,” the report states. It further notes that traffic surveys conducted at Mukesh Chowk confirmed a substantial two-way movement between the two corridors, strengthening the case for a dedicated flyover.A BMC official said the traffic study recommends a two-way, six-lane flyover (three lanes in each direction) as a long-term solution to cater to future traffic demand and prevent the corridor from becoming a bottleneck.The civic body has, for now, ruled out providing an exit on to Nepean Sea Road based on the general consultant’s recommendations and this traffic study. Officials said there is inadequate dispersal space at the location, with the road meeting Nepean Sea Road at a right angle. “The proposed alignment would also involve multiple sharp bends, making it difficult to design a safe exit,” said an official.Officials said an exit would come very close to residential buildings along Nepean Sea Road, raising concerns over noise. The issue assumes significance against the backdrop of the controversy over the Coastal Road’s Melody Road, where residents had complained about noise. Civic officials said they do not want to create a similar situation.Another concern is that the flyover ramp could split the existing landscaped open space, reducing its utility. Officials pointed out that the proposed geometry does not comply with the Indian Roads Congress (IRC) guidelines for a safe exit because of the sharp curvature and limited available space.While the study recommends a 3+3 lane flyover to accommodate future traffic growth, the exact alignment and connectivity options will be finalised only after detailed design and further consultations.The recommendation comes even as residents continue to press for a south-bound exit at Nepean Sea Road. In March, TOI reported on the growing campaign by a group of residents living in these areas demanding an exit that they claim featured in earlier planning stages but was omitted from the final 2016 detailed project report (DPR). The citizen movement, branded ‘Unlock the Exit’, argues that the missing link has shifted congestion on to local roads, particularly around Mukesh Chowk.Commenting on the study, the group said, “The UnlockTheExit team welcomes the BMC road department’s decision to commission a traffic study as an important first step towards solving the traffic congestion caused by the Coastal Road interchange at Amarsons Garden. The study validates what over 34,000 residents from Malabar Hill, Napean Sea Road, Breach Candy and Kemps Corner have been saying all along: Mukesh Chowk was never designed to handle the additional traffic from the Coastal Road, creating the daily bottleneck that residents and commuters now face. We now urge the BMC to make the traffic study findings and details of the proposed flyover public so that there can be adequate public consultation around proposed solutions before a long-term solution is finalised.”

Mumbai: A first-year MBBS student and Irish citizen, whose baggage containing clothes, cosmetics and other items went missing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in June, was left depressed after the bag was allegedly stolen from inside the airport, police and family members said.The student, Harshita Agarwal (19), was on a two-month vacation and travelled to Mumbai to visit her maternal uncle’s home in Jalna. The family said Emirates Airlines showed little interest in helping recover the bag even after informing them that CCTV footage showed a man, described as a seafarer from Saudi Arabia, taking the bag and boarding a flight to Duhai.The case was registered at Sahar police station on Aug 2 after Jalna police took Agarwal’s complaint two weeks earlier and transferred the case file to Mumbai for further probe. “As the incident occurred almost a month and a half ago, our team has sought the CCTV footage to track down the person who took Agarwal’s baggage,” said a police officer of the Sahar police station.Police said there were over half a dozen similar theft cases in the last year and a half registered at Sahar and Airport police stations, but none was solved, and an insider role was suspected in the theft.Harshita’s mother, Preeti, who said the family had been staying in Ireland for the last two decades, told TOI: “For the first time we tried the costlier airline, Emirates, for our travel and this happened. We are on a two-month vacation, and now we are running around to get my daughter’s baggage as she has been under depression for the last three weeks after losing the bag. The airline informed us that they saw a man from Saudi Arabia, a seafarer, carrying my daughter’s bag. We were made to wait for three hours after we landed at Mumbai airport in June before we left with three bags while the fourth was stolen. We had filed an online complaint with Emirates Airliners but no one responded.”Preeti said the airline contacted them after they raised the issue on social media. “Immediately, the airliner called and told that they are ready to compensate. We told we want our stolen property and not interested in compensation. They are not even sharing the person’s details who took away our baggage neither they are calling him to return the bag,” said Preeti.In her complaint, Harshita said: “Since my first year of education in Ireland was completed and it was holidays, I, along with my mother named Priti and younger sister Dishita, were coming to our maternal uncle’s place in Jalna. On June 24, we reached Mumbai and after completing immigration check went to collect four bags. However, the fourth one which was mine was missing. My mother is making at least 10 calls daily to the airliner to get updates but in vain.”

Thane: The family of 31-year-old NDRF jawan Vikas Gore, who died after his motorcycle hit a pothole on Mumbai-Nashik Highway, has accused local police of making an “insensitive remark” when they sought action against those responsible for the road’s condition.The family alleged that after the accident, they approached Shahapur police station demanding that a case be registered against the road contractor responsible for maintaining the highway. According to relatives, a police officer allegedly told them, “Couldn’t your son see the pothole? He should have been riding carefully.”Responding to the allegation, Thane Rural superintendent of police Vinaykumar Rathod told TOI that the complaint would be examined. “We will inquire into the family’s allegations regarding the police’s remark,” he said.Speaking to TOI, Vikas’s relative Datta Mali said the accident occurred around 4.30 am on Monday when Gore was riding to work amid heavy rain. “It was raining heavily and visibility was poor. The road is smooth on both sides, but there is a sudden pothole at the accident spot. How could he have noticed it in such conditions?” Mali said.Mali said Gore was a dedicated and committed member of NDRF. Just last week, he had participated in the rescue operation after the collapse of a residential building in Bhiwandi, where he and his team helped rescue injured victims from the debris.He alleged that the family’s experience at the police station was deeply hurtful and said action should be taken against those responsible for the poor road condition to prevent similar tragedies.Mali said Vikas’s father had died two and a half years ago and the deceased was the family’s main breadwinner. Besides supporting his widowed mother, he was also responsible for his wife and their one-year-old twin daughters, and contributed to his elder brother’s household, whose income from a private company was limited.The family has appealed to the state govt to provide a job to Vikas’s wife on compassionate grounds so she can support the children.Meanwhile, following the fatal accident, Shahapur DYSP Vishal Nagarguje convened an emergency meeting on Tuesday at Shahapur police station with officials from Highway Police, MSRDC and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to review the condition of the highway.SP Rathod said police identified several dangerous potholes requiring immediate repairs and informed NHAI officials, who assured that the most critical potholes would be repaired within two days. Police also directed the highway authorities to repair the remaining potholes to minimise the risk of further fatal accidents.Nagarguje told TOI that an Accidental Death Report (ADR) has been registered in the case and a detailed report has been sought from NHAI regarding the incident. Further legal action will be decided after examining the report. Meanwhile, NHAI have filled potholes that led to the accident of Gore, who died.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a man accused of carrying nearly 1.5 kg of cocaine, observing that authorities had committed a “gross violation” of procedure by failing to produce him before the trial court on most dates for more than two years.A division bench of Justices Sarang V. Kotwal and Ashish S. Chavan passed the order on July 29 while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by Satly Thomas, who is facing trial in an NDPS case arising from an investigation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).According to the prosecution, DRI officials intercepted Thomas at CSMI Airport, , early on August 18, 2023, after receiving information that he was carrying narcotics concealed in his luggage.A search allegedly led to the recovery of three packets containing 666 grams, 629 grams and 467 grams of cocaine.The total net weight was 1,496 grams, substantially above the 100-gram commercial quantity prescribed under the NDPS Act.Thomas challenged his continued detention, alleging that although he was arrested around 2.30 am on August 18, 2023, he was shown as arrested only at 10.30 am the following day and produced before a magistrate at 4.20 pm on August 19.The High Court, however, focused on a more serious issue concerning his production before the court during custody.The court noted that between August 2023 and December 2025, Thomas was physically produced before the court on only five occasions out of 70 dates.Apart from these occasions, he was not produced either physically or through video conferencing, barring four attempts at connecting through video conferencing.The court also noted that after the Special Court took cognizance of the case on February 9, 2024, there was no communication between the trial court and the jail authorities regarding extension of his remand until April 2025.“This, in our opinion, is gross violation of the procedure,” the bench observed, holding that there was no authority for the Superintendent of Taloja Central Prison to keep Thomas incarcerated during that period of more than one year.Referring to a Supreme Court ruling which stressed that production of an accused before court is a fundamental safeguard against abuse and enables a prisoner to raise grievances directly before the court, the bench held that Thomas’s non-production amounted to a violation of his fundamental right to a fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.“The court said the seriousness of the alleged offence could not justify ignoring mandatory procedural safeguards. It consequently ordered Thomas’s release on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one or two sureties of the same amount.” said advocate Prasanna Namboodiri.