Thane gangrape case accused held in Pune after year-long hunt
Thane (PTI): Police have arrested a 22-year-old man from Pune who had been absconding for more than a year after being accused in a gangrape and robbery case in Maharashtra’s Thane district, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Nagesh Keshav Gaikwad, was part of a group that allegedly confined a woman and sexually assaulted her under the pretext of getting her a job in November 2024, Naigaon police station's senior inspector Sanjay Hazare said.
The accused had been evading arrest by hiding his identity since the case was registered. Following a tip-off and technical surveillance, the police tracked him to Kamshet and took him into custody on Sunday, he said.
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The case dates back to November 27, 2024, when the victim went from here to Pune seeking employment. After missing an interview, she contacted her husband's friend Pawan Rajendra Prasad Sabbat (29), who promised to help her find work.
Sabbat then lured her to come to Mira Road in Thane, where he allegedly confined her in a room, the official said.
The investigation showed that Sabbat and two of his accomplices - Dhanraj Chavan (21) and Abhishek Pujari (22) - allegedly sexually assaulted the victim over several days. They also allegedly robbed the woman of her mobile phone, gold jewellery and cash, collectively valued at Rs 75,000, he said.
Sabbat also allegedly created a fake Instagram profile using the victim's name and uploaded her photographs to harass her.
Gaikwad was accused of molesting the victim and being involved in the robbery, Hazare said.
The Naigaon police had earlier arrested Sabbat, Chavan and Pujari.
"We have booked the accused under various Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections, including 64(2)(m) (rape), 309(1) (robbery), 70 (gang rape) and 75(1)(4) (sexual harassment), and relevant provisions of the Information Technology. During preliminary interrogation, Gaikwad has confessed to his involvement," Hazare said.
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5.8 magnitude quake hits Afghanistan killing 8
Kabul (AP): An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 rattled parts of northern and eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan late Friday, killing at least eight people in Afghanistan, authorities said.
The region is highly seismically active, and quakes have caused thousands of deaths in recent years. Friday's earthquake had an epicentre in the Hindu Kush mountain range, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of the Afghan city of Kunduz, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center and the US Geological Survey.
Hafizullah Basharat, a spokesman for the Kabul governor, said eight people were killed and a child was injured when a house collapsed on the outskirts of the capital. He said all were members of the same family.
Kabul is roughly 290 kilometres (180 miles) southwest of the epicentre. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries from areas closer to the epicentre. The area is remote, and it can often take several hours before local authorities can relay information back to Kabul.
With the epicentre at a depth of over 180 kilometers, the quake jolted a wide swath of Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Pakistan, it was felt in the cities and towns of Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral, Swat and Shangla, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries in Pakistan.
Afghanistan's Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said Kabul and provincial health authorities had been put on alert.
Last August, a 6.0 earthquake that struck a remote, mountainous part of eastern Afghanistan killed more than 2,200 people, levelling villages and trapping people under rubble. Most casualties were in Kunar province, where people typically live in wood and mud-brick houses along steep valleys.
In November, a 6.3 earthquake struck Samangan province in northern Afghanistan, killing at last 27 people and injuring more than 950. It also damaged historical sites, including Afghanistan's famed Blue Mosque in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, and the Bagh-e-Jahan Nama Palace in Khulm.
On Oct 7, 2023, a 6.3 quake followed by strong aftershocks in western Afghanistan killed thousands of people.
Impoverished Afghanistan often faces difficulty in responding to natural disasters, especially in remote regions. Many homes in rural and outlying areas are made from mud bricks and wood, with many poorly built.
M5.9 earthquake strikes Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region in Badakhshan. Widely reported at 08:42 pm, depth 171 km. No immediate casualty or damage reports from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, India or nearby areas. #sismo pic.twitter.com/Lhddad9Uwr
— GeoTechWar (@geotechwar) April 3, 2026
