Blog

The email was received at the email address of the Airport Police Station on Friday morning, an official said.

Mumbai Police received an email threatening to blow up the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in the city and Hotel Taj Mahal Palace with a bomb but it turned out to be a hoax, an official said on Saturday.

The email was received at the email address of the Airport Police Station on Friday morning, he said.

A thorough search was conducted at the airport as well as the luxury hotel located in suburban Santacruz but nothing suspicious was found, the police official said.

“Urgent: 7 RDX IEDs at TAJ Hotel/Airport, Evacuate All Public/Staffs Soon!” “The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai and the Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Airport will fall victim to a devastating pipe bomb blast. This act commemorates the unjust hanging of Afzal Guru and Savukku Shankar!”, the email read.

A case was registered against an unidentified person for criminal intimidation, public mischief and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and further probe was underway, the official said.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) will report to the Commissioner of Police and will be responsible for overseeing intelligence gathering, including keeping track of sleeper cells.

Mumbai has faced multiple terror attacks, and many security experts have pointed out that some of these attacks could have been tackled better or even prevented if the intelligence inputs had been taken note of, processed, and acted upon. The Mumbai Police is now starting a new position, with a Joint Commissioner of Police handling intelligence specifically. Dr Arti Singh, an IPS officer of the 2006 batch, will be taking charge as Mumbai’s first Joint Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) today.

This is the sixth post of a joint commissioner in the Mumbai Police organisational structure, which already has Joint Commissioners of Police for handling Law and Order, Crime, Administration, Economic Offences Wing and Traffic.

The Joint Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) will report to the Commissioner of Police directly and will be responsible for overseeing intelligence gathering, including keeping track of sleeper cells, officials said. Mumbai Police already has the Special Branch that monitors every development in the city, collects intelligence inputs as well as keeps track of the activities of sleeper cells and (terror) sympathisers.

“Under the new mechanism, the joint commissioner of Special Branch will report directly to the commissioner and will also coordinate with the joint commissioner (law and order), an official said.

Earlier, the Additional Commissioner (special branch), who gathered intelligence, reported to the Joint Commissioner (law and order). Now, the Additional Commissioner (special branch) will report to the Joint Commissioner (Intelligence).

The Home Department of Government of Maharashtra in its order to create the post said that Mumbai is the financial capital of the country, with several vital installations that need to be safeguarded, and a large number of VIPs who have a high threat perception.

The new post will primarily remove the bottlenecks in real-time intelligence processing and create a clear channel of actionable intelligence for the Mumbai Police, experts say.

With illegal infiltrators often heading to the city, the police hope the time lags in processing intelligence will be addressed.

The latest development comes after transfers and postings of top officers were announced following the appointment of Deven Bharti as the Commissioner of Police for Mumbai city earlier this month. Till now, the Mumbai Police had no specific Intelligence Unit, and the Special Branch of the Mumbai Police was largely responsible for intelligence gathering. Each department and its officers had a network of informants, but with the lack of a structured intelligence gathering and processing unit in an era of new crimes and targets, the need for a specific intelligence unit within the Mumbai Police was felt.

At least 14 persons have died in rain-related incidents as thunderstorms, along with strong winds and dust storms, battered several parts of Gujarat, officials said on Tuesday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms with lightning and strong winds of up to 50-60 kmph across the state for the next few days.

As many as 168 out of 253 talukas in the state received unseasonal rains in the last 24 hours, with Kheda, Gandhinagar, Mehsana and Vadodara districts getting 25 to 40 mm rains, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said in its update.

Officials said strong winds uprooted trees, hoardings, and pillars, and parts of houses collapsed in several districts, leaving many injured.

According to the SEOC, thirteen persons died in rain-related incidents such as lightning, electrocution, and collapse of trees, houses and hoardings in Ahmedabad, Anand, Kheda, Dahod, Aravalli and Vadodara districts of Gujarat on Monday, and one person died in lightning strike in Ahmedabad’s Viramgam on Sunday.

Four deaths were reported in Kheda district, three in Vadodara, two each in Ahmedabad, Dahod and Aravalli, and one in Anand district, it stated.

Four persons died as trees fell on them, while two were killed after coming under hoardings. Two died due to electrocution, three due to lightning, and three others after parts of houses fell on them, the SEOC said.

More than a dozen huts were destroyed in a fire as strong winds caused it to spread rapidly at Limkheda in Dahod district, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast thunderstorms with lightning and strong winds of up to 50-60 kmph across many parts of the state over the next few days.

Isolated parts of Banaskantha, Kutch, Sabarkantha, Aravalli and Anand districts are likely to receive heavy rainfall in the next three days, it said.

Daytime temperatures dropped in parts of Gujarat due to unseasonal showers.

Temperatures are likely to fall by 3-5 degrees Celsius over the next few days, the IMD said.

Justice Nirzar Desai noted that the medical opinion indicated that termination of pregnancy is possible though the procedure carries high risk of complication as the girl suffers from anemia.

The Gujarat High Court on Monday allowed the termination of 33-week pregnancy of a 13-year-old rape survivor, nearly a week after a special POCSO court rejected her plea for the same.

Justice Nirzar Desai noted that the medical opinion indicated that termination of pregnancy is possible though the procedure carries high risk of complication as the girl suffers from anemia.

The survivor, who hailed from Rajkot, was allegedly repeatedly raped by her neighbour when her mother and step-father were away at work.

A First Information Report was registered on May 3, 2025.

But the special court for the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) cases rejected her plea for permission to terminate the unwanted pregnancy.

Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, abortion after 20 weeks of gestation period is generally prohibited, but a court can allow it in certain cases such as the foetus suffering from abnormality, health risk to the expecting mother, or she being a survivor of sexual assault.

The high court noted that it considered the fact that the survivor is only 13 years old and has a long life before her.

As MTP (medical termination of pregnancy) is possible, it should be carried out after obtaining written consent from her parents stating that they understand the risk, the court said.

The court directed the in-charge Medical Officer and Medical Superintendent, PDU General Hospital, Rajkot, to perform the procedure while ensuring that all possible care is taken and arrangements are made for necessary medical facilities such as blood supply, possibly on Monday itself.

Addressing a press conference at Calangute in North Goa, Lobo said the government alone cannot be blamed if fewer foreigners visit the coastal state as all stakeholders are equally responsible.

The sale of idli-sambar in beach shacks is causing a “decline” in international tourist footfall in Goa, claimed BJP MLA Michael Lobo on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference at Calangute in North Goa, Lobo said the government alone cannot be blamed if fewer foreigners visit the coastal state as all stakeholders are equally responsible.

Mr Lobo rued that Goans have rented their beach shacks to businessmen from other places.

“Some people from Bengaluru are serving ‘vada pav’ in the shacks, some are selling idli-sambar. (That’s why) International tourism has been declining in the state for the past two years,” he said.

The legislator, however, did not elaborate on how the popular South Indian breakfast dish is affecting tourism in his state.

“There is a hue and cry because of the drop in tourist numbers. In the coastal belt, be it North or South, there has been a sharp fall in the arrival of foreign visitors. A lot of factors are responsible for this,” Mr Lobo said.

Everyone, as stakeholders, should bear the responsibility of it, he said.

Mr Lobo said some foreigners visit Goa every year, but younger tourists from abroad are going away from the state.

“The tourism department and other stakeholders should hold a joint meeting and study the reasons why foreign tourists are not ready to come to Goa,” he said.

Mr Lobo said because of the war, Russian and Ukrainian tourists have stopped coming to Goa. “The tourists from former USSR countries have stopped visiting Goa,” he said.

The MLA said the state should sort out the crucial issues concerning tourism, including differences between the cab aggregators and local tourist taxi operators.

“If we don’t put a system in place, we will see dark days in the tourism sector,” he cautioned.

The development comes at a time when Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi has been facing an FIR in Maharashtra and criticism from the ruling alliance members there over his comments eulogising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

The Goa police on Tuesday filed a case against Maharashtra SP MLA Abu Azmi’s son Abu Farhan Azmi and others on charges of indulging in a fight at a public place in the state and disturbing peace, officials said.

Restaurateur and entrepreneur Abu Farhan Azmi the is husband of actor Ayesha Takia.

The development comes at a time when Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi has been facing an FIR in Maharashtra and criticism from the ruling alliance members there over his comments eulogising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.

The Goa police in a release said their control room received a call at 11.12 pm on Monday, informing that a fight was taking place at a super market in Candolim (North Goa district).

During the fight, Abu Farhan Azmi reportedly told the rival group that he had a licensed firearm which he was carrying, Calangute police inspector Paresh Naik told PTI.

When police arrived at the scene, it was informed that there was a fight between two groups – including that of Farhan Azmi – over a petty matter, the official said.

Both parties involved in the altercation were later brought to Calangute police station. They were given the opportunity to file complaints, but both parties refused to do, the police release said.

“As per protocol, they were sent for medical examination at District Hospital, Mapusa, but they refused the medical examination,” the release said.

Abu Farhan Azmi produced a valid arms licence, issued by the authority concerned, along with a permit to carry it in Goa, it said.

The statements of all the accused were recorded by the Calangute police on Tuesday morning.

“Since the individuals involved were fighting in a public place, disturbing public peace and causing affray, a state-initiated complaint was filed by PSI Paresh Sinari of Calangute police station,” the release said.

A case was registered against Abu Farhan Azmi, Zeon Fernandes, Joseph Fernandes, Sham, and others under section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the police said.

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!