Latest news with #MCOCA
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
History sheeter on bail commits 11 robberies
MUMBAI: A 29-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly committing 11 robberies and house break-ins while out on bail in a Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) case involving 20 serious crimes, including attempt to murder, according to the Mumbai police's crime branch. The accused, Shiva Armogan Shetty, was earlier arrested in the MCOCA case in 2022. He was charged with committing 20 serious crimes, including attempted murder, house break-ins, robberies, and assault using arms. A court granted him bail in January this year on the condition that he record his attendance every week at the police station. However, Shetty allegedly stopped visiting the police station in February and also moved out of Kanjurmarg, where he used to live with his wife, said an officer from the crime branch. The crime branch then started searching for him and managed to track him down to Kalwa based on technical evidence and information gathered after speaking to several people related to him. Shetty and his wife were living in a rented house in Kalwa, the officer added. After interrogation, Shetty allegedly confessed that he had committed 11 more robberies and house break-ins in Navi Mumbai, Thane, Mira Bhayandar and Palghar after getting bail. The police verified the incidents and handed over the accused to the Kharghar police in Navi Mumbai for further action, as three of the cases were registered in Kharghar. According to the police, Shetty's modus operandi was to wear good clothes and enter a building by claiming he was visiting his relatives. Once he got access to the premises, he would target locked flats, break open the doors and make away with valuables. The 20 serious crimes registered against Shetty earlier included eight cases in Kanjurmarg, two at Park Site in Vikhroli, three in Kurla and one each in Sion, MIDC Bhandup and Vikhroli. According to the police, he was notorious in his vicinity. Considering his criminal activities and an Arms Act case against him, stringent provisions of MCOCA were invoked in the case against him three years ago, the officer said.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
CBI court refuses bail to gangster Chhota Rajan in 2005 arms seizure case
MUMBAI: A special court designated under the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of gangster Rajendra Sadashiv Nikalje, alias Chhota Rajan, in connection with a 2005 case involving a major arms seizure at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT). The court, in its order dated May 28, noted that the trial was nearing completion and the case was of a serious nature. 'All important witnesses have been examined, and the trial is likely to conclude within a few months,' said special judge A M Patil while denying the bail plea. The case dates back to May 21, 2005, when Mumbai police recovered a cache of firearms and ammunition concealed in drums filled with grease at a logistics facility near JNPT. The raid was triggered by the arrest of one Mukund Patel, who was found in possession of a loaded revolver at a bar near Kandivali West railway station. During interrogation, Patel allegedly disclosed that Rajan's aide, Bharat Nepali, had facilitated the smuggling of weapons into the city. Acting on this information, the Mumbai Crime Branch conducted a search at Trans India Logistic Park, recovering nine packets containing 34 revolvers, three pistols, one silencer, and 1,283 live cartridges. Following the seizure, police invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), citing the involvement of an organised crime syndicate. The CBI took over the investigation in 2015, after Rajan was extradited to India. In his bail application, Rajan contended that there was no direct evidence linking him to the arms haul and claimed he had been falsely implicated. His counsel argued that he has been in judicial custody since October 2015, and the delay in concluding the trial infringed on his constitutional right to a speedy trial. The defence also questioned the admissibility of call records purportedly linking Rajan to the other accused, arguing that the sanction to invoke MCOCA was vague and procedurally flawed. However, the prosecution strongly opposed the plea. The special public prosecutor maintained that the charge sheet contained sufficient evidence tying Rajan to the smuggling operation. It was also submitted that a police officer had identified Rajan's voice in an intercepted conversation and cautioned that given his history of absconding, he posed a flight risk if granted bail. Upholding the prosecution's arguments, the court ruled that Rajan's continued detention was justified and that the cited legal precedents in the defence's argument were not applicable at the current stage of the trial.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
MCOCA against dacoits who targeted windmill site in Beed
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Beed district police have invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against a gang of dacoits involved in a high-profile theft on April 7 when they looted equipment worth ₹12.9 lakh from Avada company's wind turbine installation site at Vida village in Kej taluka. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The site's watchman, Akash Bhaskar Jadhav (26), and his colleague, Abhijit Dundhav, filed a complaint in this regard. Jadhav said the incident occurred on April 7. Around 11.45pm, 14 unidentified people arrived at the location. When the complainants confronted them, four of them assaulted the duo with wooden sticks and tied them up. The remaining 10 climbed up a ladder into the wind turbine's structure and stole key components — including a rotor cable (Rs2 lakh), starter cable (Rs8.1 lakh) and earthing cable (Rs2.8 lakh) — together worth Rs12.9 lakh. An FIR was filed under IPC section 310 (2) at Kej police station and a detailed investigation launched. On April 14, the Kej police and Beed's local crime branch teams arrested four of the accused — Baban Sardar Shinde (40) of Nandurghat, Dhanaji Ravji Kale (23) of Terkheda in Dharashiv, Mohan Hari Kale (30) and Lalasahab Sakharam Pawar (26) of Dasmegaon. Six other members of the gang have been identified and are absconding. Police recovered stolen property — including copper wire and a four-wheeler — worth Rs9 lakh from the arrested men. Beed superintendent of police Navneet Kanwat said, "Investigations revealed that the gang has carried out 11 serious crimes in Beed and Dharashiv districts, including armed robberies, burglaries and grievous assaults within Kej, Neknur, Dhoki and Vashi police station limits." Kej police inspector Vaibhav Patil prepared a proposal to invoke MCOCA based on the criminal history and organised nature of the gang. The proposal was submitted to Kanwat on May 13 and forwarded to special IG Virendra Mishra at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, who granted the sanction on May 29. "Subsequently, MCOCA sections 3 (1) (ii), 3 (2) and 3 (4) were invoked. The case has been transferred to assistant SP Kamlesh Meena of Kej for further investigation," said Kanwat.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
Mumbai crime branch nabs man involved in 11 cases after getting bail in January
The Mumbai crime branch on Thursday arrested a history sheeter with nearly 20 cases against him including one under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The accused identified as Shiva Amogam Shetty (29) was released in January this year after being behind bars for over two years and allegedly was involved in 11 crimes ever since being out on bail. The accused was handed over to the Navi Mumbai Police where several of these cases have been registered. An officer from Mumbai crime branch (unit VII) said that they had a tip-off about the accused Shiva Armogam Shetty (29), a Kanjurmarg resident, who had stopped reporting to the local police station, one of the conditions set by the special MCOCA court while granting him bail in January this year. The police nabbed him from Kalwa where he was residing with his wife under another identity. After detaining him and interrogating him, the police found his alleged involvement in 11 cases – since he was released in January this year. Several of these cases were registered in Navi Mumbai following which he was handed over to them. An official said that since his previous cases were in Mumbai, he targeted areas like Thane, Mira Road, Navi Mumbai and Palghar An official said that Shetty had created a reign of terror in the eastern suburbs and in January 2022, his men had also stabbed two police constables who had been chasing him. It was in order to reduce his influence that sections of the stringent MCOCA had been applied against him in which it is difficult to secure bail. 'Earlier this year he had been granted bail. While initially for a few months he would report to the local police station following which he stopped coming suddenly. We suspected he was up to no good and when he was not found at his house, we had started looking for him,' said a crime branch officer.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Arms haul case: Court refuses bail to gangster Chhota Rajan, says offences serious
A special court here has refused bail to gangster Chhota Rajan in a 2005 arms case noting that the offence is of a serious nature. Special judge A M Patil, in his order of May 28, also refused to accept Rajan's argument of delay in trial. "The present matter is of serious nature. Prosecution has already examined a total of 45 witnesses and as per the prosecution, the trial is likely to be completed soon," the court said. Rajan is not entitled to bail in the present case, the court said. A huge cache of 34 revolvers, three pistols, one silencer and 1283 live cartridges meant for use by Rajan's henchmen as part of a crime syndicate was seized by police in 2005. The prosecution's claim is that the arms were imported by Rajan's close aide Bharat Nepali. Live Events Rajan was booked under various provisions of Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, Customs Act and Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act (MCOCA). Rajan, in his bail plea, said he has been implicated in the case despite no evidence and that he has been in judicial custody since his arrest in 2015. Rajan, who is presently lodged at the Tihar jail in Delhi, also cited delay in the trial in the case. PTI Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
