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A Village Burnt Overnight: Tears, Loss and Survival in Dhamangaon Blaze

  Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...

Crime Branch raids Ambekar’s house, seizes vehicles and silver throne collectivelly worth Rs 2.51 crore


Five cars including a BMW, four motorcycles and a silver throne collectivelly worth Rs 2.51 crore of gangster Santosh Ambekar were seized by Crime Branch of City Police. “The seizure is the part of investigation in Maharasthra Control of Organised Crime Act that was invoked against Ambekar in an cheating and extortion case,” informed Additional Commissioner of Police (Addl CP) Nilesh Bharne on Monday.
“Our teams have carried out the searches at the house of Ambekar in Itwari are for two-days and seized his immovable properties. Many other properties would be seized in upcoming days,” claimed Addl CP Bharne. 
MCOCA was invoked against Ambekar and his 11 accomplices last week by Crime Branch for duping a businessman of Rs five crore in a property deal and also issuing threats to him for extortion of Rs one crore. Soon after, a series of offences were registered against him within a fortnight at Lakadganj, Ambazari, Sonegaon and Tehsil police station. 
Along with Ambekar, Nilesh Kedar (34), Darodkar Chowk; Chandan Choudhary (44), Mumbai; Juhi Choudhary (39), Mumabi; Ankit Patel (31), Gujarat; Ajay Patel (39), Mumbai and Rajendra Armarkar (53), Sitabuldi were arrested by the police so far. 
The cops have also seized Rs 13.66 lakh cash from Juhi Choudhary, Rs 45 lakh cash from Arvind Patel, currency counting machine from Ajay Patle and Rs 84 lakh cash from gold ornaments worth Rs 1.36 lakh from Rajendra Armarkar. It means that the police have seized properties worth Rs 5.30 crore including Rs 1.42 crore cash. 
Add CP Bharne said that the police have collected concrete evidence in all the cases registered against Ambekar and his accomplices this months. “More than 30 criminal cases were registered against him in the city in last 20 years including brutal murder cases of Balya Gawande, Ananta Soni and Anil Ninawe and firing at a jewellery shop,” said Bharne. 
The police investigation revealed that Ambekar had invested money in properties and business at Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore. He was also rotating money among businnesmen and criminals and charging them hefty rate of interest per month. 
MCOCA was invoked against Ambekar four times in the past. But he was acquitted by court in all the cases.
Ambekar was first time arrested by police this month for duping a businessman of Rs five crore in a property deal and also issuing threats to him for extortion of Rs one crore. The complaint was lodged against Ambekar by Jigar Pareshbhai Patel, a resident of Kapadvanj, District - Kheda, Gujarat with Sitabuldi police on Saturday accusing Ambekar and his accomplices for duping him of Rs five crore and demanding extortion of Rs one crore.
Under the guidance of CP Dr. B K Upadhyaya, Joint CP Ravindra Kadam, the action was made by ACPs Sudhir Nandanwar, Kishore Jadhav, PIs, Santosh Khandekar, Narendra Hiwre and staff. 
Contact Addl CP Bharne for 
complaint against Ambekar  
Addl CP Nilesh Bharne apealed the citizens to approach the police or contact him on his mobile number 750001666 if they have any compalint against Ambekar. “The ganster have duped hundreds of citizens in the past. People can now approach the police and should not harbour any fear,” said Bharne. 

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