Thane: Crime Branch Unit 2 busted an interstate burglary gang with the arrest of two habitual offenders from Gujarat and recovered stolen gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 7.4 lakh. Police said the operation led to the detection of six criminal cases registered across multiple police stations.The arrested duo was identified as Azad Singh alias Dhanari Madhusingh Tak (33) and Ajay Singh alias Mamu Bhurasingh Dudhani (28). During interrogation, the accused allegedly confessed to their involvement in a series of house-breaking and theft cases in the Thane district and adjoining areas.

Police said the recovery of stolen ornaments helped crack six FIRs. Of these, four cases were registered at Narpoli Police Station — three in 2026 and one in 2025 — under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to house-breaking and theft. Only one case each was registered at Kongaon Police Station in 2025 and at Virar Police Station in 2023.

Navi Mumbai: A 5-feet-long spectacled cobra was rescued from the premises of a Rabale-based school of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. The cobra was later released far away in a forested area.The snake rescuer of Sahyadri Group, Akshay Dange, said, “The adult cobra accidentally entered the school premises since there are several patches of wilderness around the hilly slopes at Rabale. Our rescue team quickly reached the spot and safely rescued the cobra, which was already in an alert, defensive posture with its hood up.”

Navi Mumbai: The Nhava Village Committee fearing loss of around 650 jobs, has opposed the ONGC starting the transfer of material movement from Nhava Supply Base to Pipavav Supply Base in Gujarat. A protest followed by two meetings held last week -at Bandra on Tuesday and Nhava on Thursday with the ONGC officials yielded nothing.

One of the committee members alleged, “Around 70% work will be reduced at Nhava, causing loss of jobs employed under a dozen of contractors”. ONGC was unresponsive and unavailable for comment.

Navi Mumbai: A 34-year-old man, a software engineer residing in Kamothe, was arrested by Kharghar police after a police complaint was lodged by a 32-year-old married woman, also from Kamothe, on Thursday. She alleged that the accused forcibly established a sexual relationship with her after promising marriage, by taking her to different hotels, and later reneged on his marriage promise. The complainant also alleged that the accused impregnated her multiple times between June/July 2021 and Jan 2026 and, by physically assaulting and threatening her, forced her to undergo abortions every time by taking her to different hospitals. Sanjay Joshi, senior inspector of Kharghar, informed that the arrested accused was identified as Abhishek Singh, who is unmarried. He was produced before the Panvel sessions court on Thursday and was remanded to police custody until Feb 23.

Inspector Joshi said, “As of now, we did not invoke relevant BNS sections for forcible abortion by the accused, since we are yet to gather documentary evidence from the concerned hospitals where she underwent abortions to ascertain her allegations. The five-star hotel in Kharghar and other hotels where she claims that Singh took her and allegedly had a sexual relationship with her will be checked for collecting technical and documentary evidence. As of now, the accused Singh was booked under relevant sections of BNS that criminalises sexual intercourse obtained through deceitful means, such as a false promise of marriage, sexual harassment, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and criminal intimidation.”

Navi Mumbai: The vigilance squads of the Mumbai Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) carried out a special drive in Jan and Feb against traders and importers evading APMC cess and market fees. In two months, agricultural produce worth Rs 17.5 crore was seized, and a total penalty of Rs 59.9 lakh was recovered from tax evaders.The special drive was carried out in the areas of JNPT, Turbhe, Nerul and along the Thane-Belapur Road, where several vehicles transporting agricultural produce were checked to ascertain that the APMC cess was paid for trading agricultural produce at the APMC market.

APMC member secretary Sharad Jare said, “The traders at the APMC markets were warned in advance of penal action if found indulging in evasion of 1% cess and market fees. It was found that several traders were selling spices without obtaining a licence from the market committee and also without paying cess and maintenance costs. However, some miscreants bypassed the market yard to evade the tax. Their modus operandi was to stock the goods in cold storages and warehouses and stealthily transport them, followed by selling them off, allegedly with the help of miscreant agents, it is presumed.”Jare added, “It was also found that some traders were directly trading pulses by evading cess. Some importers of agricultural produce did not give any prior notice before bringing the imported agricultural produce for trading within the limits of the APMC. It was also found that many did not have an importer’s licence as well. After the vigilance team was convinced that there was an intention to evade APMC cess and maintenance cost fees, penal action was taken against the tax evaders under Section 32(9) of the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development-Regulation) Act, 1963.“Jare continued, “The cess, market fees, maintenance costs and ancillary charges, along with a three-fold penalty, were recovered from the offenders. Those who paid the three-fold penalty were returned their seized vehicles. If the tax-evading traders do not produce valid documents of the traded commodities seized and fail to pay the penalty within 10 days, their entire seized commodities will be auctioned officially.”

Navi Mumbai: A study, highlighting evidence of an ancient naval battle at Kharepatan in Sindhudurg district has drawn attention from historians. This new evidence strengthens Konkan’s maritime history. At the temple complexes of Kapileshwar and Kalbhairav at Kharepatan, the researchers identified the hero stone (Veergal) depicting a vivid naval battle scene.

The sculpture portrays two boats engaged in combat. This visual evidence suggests that organised naval warfare once took place at Kharepatan, indicating not only active maritime trade but also the presence of structured naval power and coastal defense mechanisms in the region. The research was conducted by local scholars Murari Bhalekar and Rishikesh Jadhav under the guidance of historian Dr. Anjay Dhanawade. Their research findings were presented at the 15th National Annual Conference of the ‘Konkan Itihas Parishad’ held at Vasai. A Veergal is a commemorative memorial erected in honor of warriors who sacrificed their lives while defending their village or region from enemies. Dr. Dhanawade estimates that the naval battle likely dates back to the mid-12th century. Researchers have expressed hope that with proper conservation and scientific preservation, the neglected heritage of Kharepatan could transform the region into an important historical and heritage tourism destination.

Mumbai: The environmental NGO Vanashakti has recently lodged a complaint with various state authorities including the forest department and the BMC about the destruction of trees and other vegetation within the Royal Palms township in Goregaon (E) for the construction of huge sheds over two-acres area.“This site near the Windsor Gate of Royal Palms complex, near SGNP, is an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ). Hence, no major construction activity can be allowed here without the permission of the ESZ monitoring committee and the forest and civic bodies. However, it is disturbing to see several trees and vegetation cleared from the area in order to build huge sheds which will be rented out for film shoots. We are demanding that this illegal construction be stopped immediately,” said D Stalin, director of Vanashakti.

On Feb 17, a formal site inspection was carried out, based on the Vanashakti complaint. “The inspection team confirmed the destruction of trees, and have now communicated to BMC to take cognizance of the case, since this happens to be in ESZ,” said Stalin. He added that for the past many months, the biodiversity of this region, including wild animals, birds, has been affected.