Woman Shiv Sena leader cheated of Rs 9 lakh; 4 booked
Thane, Feb 4: A woman Shiv Sena leader has been allegedly duped of over Rs 9 lakh by four persons in Thane district of Maharashtra, police said on Monday.
Jyoti Thakare, chairperson of the Maharashtra government-run Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal, which helps women entrepreneurs, said in her complaint that she owned a petrol pump and another business and needed about Rs 7 crore loan to run them properly.
Two of the accused last year offered to arrange loan through a private financial firm and sought Rs 60,000 from her as their charges, Thane police spokesperson Sukhada Narkar said.
However, even after taking the money from her they did not facilitate loan disbursal, the official said.
Later, two other men offered to help the Sena leader and allegedly took Rs 8.5 lakh from her but failed to arrange the loan, Narkar said.
When they gave evasive replies after several reminders, Thakare lodged a complaint against all the four men at the Naupada police station here Sunday late night.
Based on the complaint, the police registered offences against Amit Koli, Prashant Kadam, Balchandra Palva and Omkar Hatle alias Amit Patil, all hailing from Thane district, under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust), Narkar said.
No arrest was made so far, she said, adding that a probe was into the matter.
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
