Mumbai: Observing that no innocent or peace-loving citizen would possess and spread radical literature, a special NIA court rejected the bail plea of a 29-year-old senior programmatic executive in a US-based company, accused of being a central figure in a conspiracy linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Seemab Kazi is alleged by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to have used his professional position as a cover to facilitate the procurement of materials for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to radicalise youth. While his lawyer argued the literature seized from his residence was common religious material, the judge found the content to be of a radical nature designed to spread extremist ideology. “If the... accused Seemab claims himself to be innocent and a peace-loving citizen, he should not have possessed and spread such hate literature, extremely radical in nature. Nature of that literature is not purely religious, as claimed by him and on his behalf,” special judge Chakor S Baviskar said. The judge further said the statements of witnesses revealed that radical ideology was being spread by the accused amongst gullible Muslim youths. “Many of the witnesses whose names are disclosed appear to be Muslims. Still, they attribute the specific role played by the accused in commission of the offence,” the judge noted. Seemab was arrested in July 2023 after his name was allegedly revealed by his two co-accused Mohammed Imran and Mohammed Unis, arrested earlier.The prosecution argued that Seemab was not merely an associate but a “main conspirator” who had taken an oath of loyalty, or ‘Bayth’, to the Khalifa on multiple occasions in Pune. The agency further argued that acting on instructions from co-accused Zulfikar Barodawala, Seemab purchased specific laboratory equipment, including thermometers, pipette pipes, and pipette bulbs, which were later used in the preparation of bombs. Investigators further alleged that Seemab utilised encrypted communication platforms like Signal and Threema through virtual private networks (VPNs) to maintain contact with other members of the module while concealing his identity. The judge expressed skepticism regarding the defence’s claim that the laboratory items were purchased for an online perfume business. The judge noted Seemab’s professional background as a high-level corporate executive made the repeated purchase of such specific equipment highly suspicious.“It is surprising that why the Senior Programmatic Executive purchased all such muddemal (material evidence) articles for multiple times, which are not at all even remotely concerned with the nature of his work.”The judge held that the stringent conditions for bail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) had not been met. “After considering the material discussed up till now in totality, I am of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the accused appears to be prima facie true.”

Navi Mumbai: Two women were rescued from a prostitution racket by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) team of the crime branch after raiding a spa-cum-salon in Roadpali, Kalamboli node, after sending a decoy customer on Friday.The police have arrested a husband-wife duo for providing the women employed as masseuses to customers visiting the spa for sexual favour by charging Rs 4,500.Pruthviraj Ghorpade, senior inspector of AHTU, said, “The arrested accused are Salim Ansari (33), working as manager, and his spouse Salma Ansari (26), who owns the spa at the rented premises. Both reside in Taloja Phase-1 and hail from Uttarakhand. Acting on a tip-off about a prostitution racket at Golden King Salon and Spa in Neelkanth Dham Society, Sector 16, Roadpali, we sent a decoy customer who demanded a woman for sexual favour. The manager, Salim, accepted Rs 4,500 from the decoy customer and produced two women to select for sexual favour. Subsequently, the decoy alerted our police team waiting outside the building and, raiding the spa, the two women were rescued and the duo accused were arrested.”An FIR was registered against the arrested accused couple at Kalamboli police station. They were booked under BNS section for aggravated human trafficking and under relevant sections of the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act, 1956, for keeping, managing, or allowing premises to be used as a brothel, punishment for living on the earnings of prostitution, and procuring, inducing, or taking a person for prostitution. The Panvel court has sent them to police custody remand till April 6. They took the commercial shop on rent last month and started the spa-cum-salon, but operated sex trade. The rescued women in their 20s are from Mankhurd and Raigad. As per court order, they have been accommodated at women’s shelter home at Deonar, Mumbai.

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Tushar Deshpande (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan Royals pulled off a thrilling win over Gujarat Titans in a high-scoring IPL 2026 clash, with the match going right down to the final ball. Chasing a big target of 211, Gujarat kept fighting till the very end but fell just short, handing Rajasthan a narrow 6-run victory in a nail-biting finish. With this victory, Royals climbed to the top of the table. They have now garnered 4 points from 2 matches, keeping an emphatic net run rate (NRR) of +2.233.The game came down to the last over, with Tushar Deshpande given the responsibility to defend under immense pressure.