With the seizure of 28 illegal fire-arms and 57 cartridges, registration of 4,712 liquor cases, and a sharp rise to 862 NDPS cases , the Nagpur Rural Police delivered one of their toughest crackdowns on crime in 2025. Along with this, preventive action was taken against 2,178 accused involved in illegal activities. Large-scale operations against crime and unlawful businesses led to seizures worth Rs 7.7 crore by the police during the year. Preventive action against 1,496 According to official records, preventive action under Section 126 of the BNSS increased sharply from 569 cases in 2024 to 1,496 cases in 2025 which marked a 163 per cent rise. Preventive actions under Section 129 BNSS also increased from 1,644 cases to 1,965 cases. Violations of preventive bonds rose from 85 cases in 2024 to 201 cases in 2025, and fines recovered through courts jumped from Rs 11,600 to Rs 23,66,200. The number of externed accused increased from 42 to 106, while detentions under the...
The State Information Commission (SIC), Mumbai headquarters, has strongly criticised the Maharashtra Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (Maharail) for failing to respond to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by former Minister of State and ex-MLA Dr Avinash Warjukar.
The SIC Rahul Pande has directed Maharail to provide complete information within a fixed time and has expressed serious concern over the way RTI applications are being handled by the corporation.
Dr Warjukar had filed RTI applications on February 15, 2024 and again on January 23, 2025, seeking information on 12 points related to the formation of Maharail, appointment of its Managing Director, approvals of works and the scope of development projects undertaken by the corporation. As he did not receive any reply within the stipulated time, he filed a first appeal on February 25, 2025. When no hearing was held on that appeal either, he approached the State Information Commission with a second appeal.
During the hearing held on October 14, 2025, Dr Warjukar alleged that when he personally followed up, Maharail officials told him that the RTI Act was not applicable to the corporation. SIC Pande termed this allegation serious and noted with regret that Maharail had failed to submit a report sought earlier by the Commission on August 14, 2025.
At the hearing, the current Public Information Officer Vineet Toke and First Appellate Authority Abhibhrat Das admitted that the RTI Act is applicable to Maharail and expressed regret if any official had conveyed otherwise. The Commission observed that most of the information sought by the appellant falls under mandatory suo motu disclosure under Section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act and should already have been available on the Maharail website.
The Commission partially allowed the appeal and directed Maharail to provide all available information related to points 1 to 12 free of cost within two weeks. It also asked the corporation to submit RTI application registers to the Commission for scrutiny.
Contractual officers handling RTI creating confusion
Taking serious note of lapses, the SIC said confusion arising due to contractual officers handling RTI matters cannot be an excuse. It asked the General Administration Department to issue clear guidelines and stressed that Maharail’s Director must ensure strict compliance with the RTI Act in future.
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