Mira Bhayandar: A 37-year-old housemaid was brutally stabbed to death by an unidentified person inside a residential flat in Mira Road on Thursday night. The accused fled the scene immediately after the attack.The deceased has been identified as Suman Kamble, a resident of Kashimira, who was working at a flat in Chandresh Accord society. Upon receiving information, Mira Road police along with a forensic team rushed to the spot. The victim was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival. According to police officials, the victim sustained four stab injuries on the neck, below the chest, and on the stomach, indicating a violent assault. Police sources confirmed that multiple teams have been formed to trace and apprehend the accused. Preliminary investigations suggest that the crime may have been committed by someone known to the victim, although other angles are also being probed. The exact motive behind the murder remains unclear.

TOI correspondent from London: The judges who ruled against fugitive jeweller Nirav Modi’s attempt to reopen his appeal against extradition said their judgment “presents a worrying picture of the use of proscribed treatment to obtain confessions, which was characterised as ‘commonplace and endemic’”.Lord Justice Stuart-Smith and Justice Jay said in their order: “Were it not for the statements made and assurances given by the govt of India, we would be minded to re-open this appeal.”Nirav Modi could be extradited to India within a month after losing his final roll of the dice. He cannot go to the Supreme Court as permission to reopen his extradition appeal was refused at the high court on Wednesday. He could approach the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to try and get an injunction under Rule 39 preventing removal. Such requests are granted on an exceptional basis, when applicants would face an imminent risk of irreversible harm.Barrister Ben Keith, of 5 St Andrew’s Hill, told TOI: “The timetable for removal is 28 days from the decision of the HC. This might be delayed by an application to the ECHR, or if there is an ongoing immigration application, or other logistical difficulties. However, it seems that it is likely to be the end of the line.”Nirav’s barrister, Edward Fitzgerald KC, had argued that Nirav’s appeal against extradition should be reopened after defence middleman Sanjay Bhandari won his appeal on the basis that he would face a real risk of torture at the hands of the investigating bodies in India.

SRINAGAR: J&K police’s economic offences wing (EOW) raided three locations in Srinagar and Budgam districts on Thursday in connection with an alleged fraud involving two men who allegedly issued fake medical procurement orders to siphon off govt funds during Covid-19 pandemic.Delhi-based M/s Sanjay Trading Company’s proprietor, Sanjay Kumar Sahu, filed a written complaint with police, alleging that Emad Muzafar Makdoomi, alias Imran Shah, and Vikar Ahmad Bhat, both from Srinagar, “dishonestly induced the firm on the pretext of procuring medical supplies during Covid-19.”The accused impersonated govt officials and issued fake allotment orders of various departments and institutions. They created fake email IDs of the complainant firm and opened fraudulent bank accounts in its name to divert payments.Police said searches were carried out to collect evidence, including digital records and financial documents. The crime branch said a preliminary probe found the accused used deceit to obtain large sums, including funds from Deputy Commissioner’s office in Anantnag, and attempted to siphon off crores of rupees from Government Medical College, Srinagar.

Mumbai: Seventy-two Mumbaikars have filed their living will with civic officials so far, according to BMC public health department. A living will is a written, legal document that provides instructions for medical care, or for the termination of medical support, in certain circumstances.“These 72 living wills have been submitted to the appropriate officials in our various ward offices,” BMC executive health officer Dr Daksha Shah said on Thursday. There is a surge in interest in living wills following the death of Harish Rana, India’s first passive euthanasia case, in Delhi.However, even two and a half years after the Supreme Court simplified guidelines for passive euthanasia, there is still a lack of clarity over how these living wills will be processed and handled at the state or corporation level. City gynaecologist Dr Nikhil Datar, who was the first to file a living will in Feb 2023, said that the state govt’s work on digitising living wills for online registration is still incomplete.In 2024, the Maharashtra govt appointed custodians in all civic bodies to receive and safely keep the living will documents of citizens. There are 417 custodians across municipal corporations and other local bodies. These custodians have to safekeep the advanced medical directives or living wills. “After I filed a petition in the high court in this regard, the state said that it would complete digitisation of the living will process within three months. The deadline was July 2025, but the process is incomplete,” said the doctor.A senior civic official said that state-level guidelines are still trickling in. “We need uniformity in the guidelines across the country. What if a person who has filed a living will in Mumbai travels to another state and the provisions have to be implemented?” said the official.

TOI correspondent from London: Nirav Modi appeared defiant in the dock in his Bank of India (BOI) trial on Thursday, saying that the banks, together with the CBI and ED, had destroyed the business he had spent 20 years building up and that he had committed no fraud against Punjab National Bank.Nirav was giving evidence in a separate civil trial at which he is accused of owing BOI in excess of $10.7 million (Rs 100 crore) via a personal guarantee he allegedly gave on a loan given to Firestar Diamond FZE. He denies he “knowingly and intentionally” signed the guarantee and says he does not owe BOI anything.Dressed in a smart suit, he arrived from prison and looked unfazed by Wednesday’s adverse extradition judgment. He took his oath on the Bhagavad Gita and put both hands through the dock bars as he read from a laptop.Beasley, representing BOI, asked him why he claimed there was no material adverse event for BOI to call in the BOI loan in 2018 given the allegations that appeared in the media about his companies and his alleged fraud against PNB at that time.“It started Feb 5,” Nirav replied. “That is when the media reported on it,” he said. “I remember the date. It was a life-changing event,” he said. “They said Rs 11,000 crore, it was Rs 6,000 core, there was no fraud, and I don’t think his amount would make the top 20 in India.”He then accused PNB of colluding with the CBI. “Normally there would be preliminary investigation and then an FIR — it is unheard of for an FIR to be filed without hearing from the complainee. On Feb 2 , I don’t think anyone was aware except the CBI. Maybe PNB was working with CBI as PNB put it on social media on Feb 3. On Feb 15, the ED pulled the plug on everything — no manufacturing or finance could continue. My business stopped and the ED and CBI seized and attached everything.”After the hearing, he told TOI he can’t comment on the extradition judgment.