Fire rages for 28 hours at chem godown, 1 worker dead
Bhiwandi: A massive fire broke out at a chemical godown in Bhiwandi Saturday evening, claiming the life of a 48-year-old worker. The fire, which continued for 28 hours until Sunday evening, was yet to be put out as it spread to 15 chemical godowns in the area.
The deceased was identified as Samadhan Bhojale, a resident of Kalyan (east), who leaves behind his wife and a son. He was employed at one of the chemical godowns in the complex. During the firefighting operation, a charred body was found around 1.30 am on Sunday.
A fire official said that the body was sent to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Bhiwandi. Senior inspector Vijay Kadbane of Narpoli police station, told TOI, "The man was identified from an Aadhaar card found near the body."
A probe suggests that due to the fire, a chemical drum kept in the godown exploded, and flames engulfed Bhojale, who tried to escape collapsed. Multiple chemical drums reportedly exploded during the incident, intensifying the fire.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Being scammed doesn't mean you're stupid — it means you're human
It starts — like so many things in the digital age — with a message that feels too good to be true. The message instils hope, and then takes away everything. And if you don't fall for the financial trap, it leaves you with a psychological wound — a quiet rupture in trust. This is India's scam epidemic: not merely a crude phishing attempt, but a full-blown performance, often targeting people who think they're too smart to fall for one. The stories span from QR code cons to elaborate job interviews, fake police calls, and investment apps mimicking the Reserve Bank. One particularly chilling format is the digital arrest scam. Victims get a call from someone posing as a narcotics or police officer. The caller ID is spoofed to show a legitimate number. There's mention of a suspicious parcel, a legal case. The victim is told they're under watch. Sometimes, they're ordered to stay on a video call, mimicking police custody. Legal notices follow. Bail money is demanded. It's a theatre — designed to provoke not just fear, but obedience. And it works. Digital scams are not amateur crimes. These are like corporate productions — with scripts, actors, and direction. These 'scam factories' operate like call centres, many allegedly run out of China, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Some are staffed with trafficked workers, including Indians, forced to impersonate officials using CRM tools and call scripts. Why is this happening now? India is in the throes of a digital awakening. UPI crossed 118 billion transactions last year. Over 800 million Indians carry smartphones. However, while access has grown exponentially, digital literacy has not. We know how to scan QR codes, but not how to check if a payment link is real. We know how to email résumés, but not always how to verify a recruiter. Scammers know this. And more importantly, they understand emotion. Behavioural economists call it 'loss aversion' — the tendency to fear losing what we already have more than we value gaining something new. That's why scam messages often begin with a threat: 'Your account will be suspended. Your Aadhaar is under investigation.' Beyond the threats, they dangle fantasy: a foreign job offer, a lottery win, a fellowship at Harvard. Scammers understand aspiration as well. Most scams build incrementally: a message, then a call, then a request. Each small 'yes' nudges the next. Psychologists call this the 'commitment and consistency principle' — once we've started engaging, we feel pressure to stay consistent with our previous actions, even if doubt creeps in. In the mid-2000s, Carnegie Mellon researchers tested phishing susceptibility on undergraduates. The students were tech-savvy. But over 90 per cent clicked at least one malicious link — not because they didn't know better, but because they were confident they wouldn't be fooled. The researchers concluded that overconfidence, not ignorance, made them vulnerable. India's scam economy has weaponised this insight. As Maria Konnikova writes in The Confidence Game, the best cons work not by showing us who we are, but by reflecting who we want to be: the informed citizen, the desirable job candidate, the savvy investor. That's the unsettling part. Scams don't happen despite your intelligence. They happen because of it — because you've learned to trust systems. And that's also why people don't talk about it. There's shame. Especially in the age of personal branding, where we're all trying to be smart, credible, bulletproof. But when we only hear about 'other people' getting scammed, we reinforce a dangerous myth: that these things happen to the gullible. They don't. What we need is a cultural shift — to normalise the idea that being scammed doesn't mean you're stupid; it means you're human. We need to build scam literacy into our digital education. Teach it in schools. Embed it in banking systems. Say it in public campaigns. And above all, we need people to speak. The writer is a consultant at AON
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Probe into ‘kidnapping' blows lid off cricket betting racket with foreign links in Noida
An international cricket betting syndicate operating out of Greater Noida was uncovered following an investigation into a ransom call related to the kidnapping of two youths, the Gautam Buddh Nagar police said Sunday. The Kasna police and a SWAT team, in a joint effort, arrested eight people allegedly involved in the illegal online betting operation using a mobile app managed from Dubai and Thailand. The investigation began on June 12, when Subhash Chandra, a resident of Alwar, Rajasthan, claimed his son Bhim Singh, 22, and nephew Narayan, 25, had been kidnapped. He said he received a call demanding Rs 7 lakh for their release. The two had arrived in Noida for work from their village approximately 15 to 20 days prior. This was not their first time working in Noida, but their family had no information about the nature of their job, the police said. When the police tracked Bhim's phone location to Cherry County and later to White Orchid apartments in Gaur City, the truth began to unravel. Officers discovered a group of young men closely associated with Bhim living in rented flats. Upon raiding one of the apartments, the police apprehended four people and recovered laptops, dozens of mobile phones, SIM cards, fake Aadhaar cards, chequebooks, and registers — all pointing to a sophisticated operation through an app, Rudra Cric Live. The arrested accused confessed to conducting ball-by-ball betting during live cricket matches — on everything from runs to wicket falls. The racket was allegedly being run internationally, with handlers based abroad supplying fake documents and SIM cards. The team reportedly handled daily transactions of Rs 30 lakh, which they transferred to accounts provided by their overseas handlers, according to the police. The four arrested accused guided the police to Radha Sky Gardens, where Bhim and Narayan were present in the racket's second racket. 'All eight of us do cricket batting work; all our work is done through laptops and mobiles. We are provided with SIM cards using fake names and addresses, fake accounts and related documents by our boss, who resides in Thailand and Dubai and oversees us from there. We transfer the daily sum of around Rs 30 lakh to the accounts given by him,' Bhim was quoted as saying by the police. During questioning, he also admitted that the kidnapping story had been fabricated to scare and extort money from his own family, said the police. Addressing the press, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Saad Miya Khan said, 'Those two men for whom the kidnapping complaint was filed are also involved in this betting racket. They made a miscalculation, which led them to devise a plan with their managers. The plan involved staging their own kidnapping and demanding money from their family members. This way, they hoped to recover a loss of Rs 10 lakh.' Giving information on the betting racket, he added, 'They have almost 20 branches in Delhi-NCR, and they operate on cricket match days; there are three boys in every branch who initiate this betting, and there are some managers. All this is salary-based. This app is banned in India, but it is being promoted through some influencers and online pop-ups, to whom notice will be served.' The police filed a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Public Gambling Act, and the Information Technology (IT) Act at the Kasna police station.
The Wire
4 hours ago
- The Wire
Man From West Bengal Working in Maharashtra Sent to Bangladesh Despite Govt Submitting Citizenship Proof
Menu हिंदी తెలుగు اردو Home Politics Economy World Security Law Science Society Culture Editor's Pick Opinion Support independent journalism. Donate Now Top Stories Man From West Bengal Working in Maharashtra Sent to Bangladesh Despite Govt Submitting Citizenship Proof The Wire Staff 2 minutes ago Despite the fact that the West Bengal police and the Migrant Welfare Board intervened with proof of Sheikh's citizenship, he was pushed across the Bangladesh border by the Border Security Force (BSF). Border Security Force (BSF) personnel stand guard along the India-Bangladesh border, at Phulbari, on the outskirts of Siliguri. Photo: PTI Real journalism holds power accountable Since 2015, The Wire has done just that. But we can continue only with your support. Contribute now New Delhi: A man from West Bengal's Murshidabad district who had gone to work as a mason in Maharashtra was picked up by the Mumbai police in suspicion of being an undocumented Bangladeshi migrant, and subsequently pushed across the border of Bangladesh. The man, Mehbub Sheikh, 36, has a wife and three children residing in Hossainnagar village in Mahisasthali gram panchayat area of Bhagabangola in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, reported Indian Express. Despite the fact that the West Bengal police and the Migrant Welfare Board intervened with proof of Sheikh's citizenship, he was pushed across the Bangladesh border by the Border Security Force (BSF). The Maharashtra police had handed Sheikh over to the BSF. 'After Sheikh's family approached us, we contacted the Maharashtra Police. All the (required) documents were sent to them. They didn't even bother to inform the West Bengal government, and Sheikh was pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF,' said Samirul Islam, chairman of West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board. Sheikh's brother Mujibur told the newspaper that for the past two years, he was working in Maharashtra. 'While he was having tea, police picked him up, suspecting him to be a Bangladeshi, and took him to Kanakia police station,' said Mujibur. The family members said that they had sent all documents to Maharashtra Police, including Sheikh's voter card, Aadhaar Card, ration card, and his family tree, running generations and certified by the panchayat. On Saturday (June 14) Sheikh called his family informing them that BSF pushed him into Bangladesh at 3.30 am. 'He said that he was pushed into Bangladesh by the BSF around 3.30 am on Saturday. He took shelter in a village from where he made the call. He was crying. He has a wife and three children. We just want him back. We don't know how long he can survive in Bangladesh,' said his brother Mujibur. Defending their actions, the Maharashtra said that Sheikh 'failed' to give documents to prove his nationality, adding that they don't consider Aadhaar and PAN cards for proving citizenship. At the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, hundreds of people suspected to be undocumented migrants have been sent to Bangladesh through the eastern border as part of India's 'push back' strategy. Across the country, the police have been conducting drives to identify undocumented migrants. The Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh had earlier sent a letter to India on May 8 'raising concern over people being pushed into the country and urged New Delhi to adhere to established repatriation mechanisms'. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments. Make a contribution to Independent Journalism Related News Assam Govt's Recent Actions Are Similar to the Anti-Muslim Atmosphere Witnessed in the State in 1965 Amid Bangladesh's Objection, India Continues to 'Push Back' Undocumented Migrants Across Border Activists, Lawyers, Academics Condemn 'Push Back' of Persons to Bangladesh From Assam 'Spent Last Few Days In Terror': Assam Women Allegedly Pushed Into Bangladesh Speak Up Pahalgam Attack and the Impact of Populism on National Security Assam's Policy of Push Back To Handle Alleged Foreigners Is Illegal: Sanjay Hegde Over 700 Undocumented Bangladeshi Migrants in Delhi Sent Back in Last Six Months Fighting Terrorism Demands Partnership, Not Primacy Perhaps, This is Why The Innocent Men-Tourists Died in Pahalgam About Us Contact Us Support Us © Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
