Three days after a sarpanch from the Gondia district was kidnapped by Naxals, his body was found abandoned on a road with bullet injuries on Thursday.

The flying squad of the state excise department on Monday raided a godown in Khar and seized 276 bottles of Real Seven Star, a brand of whiskey available in Goa for `69.50 a bottle.

Senior crime branch officers on Monday indicated that the noose around inspector Sanjay Shinde has tightened and he is likely to be dismissed from service for allegedly helping Vijay Palande escape from police custody. The incident took place while Palande was being brought to Mumbai from Karad on April 10. Officers said that they were also contemplating whether he could be made an accused in the case.

Crime branch sources on Tuesday said multiple murder accused Vijay Palande, working at the behest of underworld don Chhota Rajan, had given information on gangsters like Santosh Shetty, Bhadresh Shah and Guru Satam, all of whom had fallen out with the Rajan gang. When he was rearrested, he had even offered to give information on Chhota Rajan’s hideout to an IPS officer in exchange for being allowed to escape.

On Tuesday, Maharashtra Day, a zilla parishad member and five panchayat samiti members in the Naxal-affected Bhamragarh tehsil of Gadchiroli submitted their resignations, citing threats from the Naxals. Earlier last week, several representatives of political parties too had tendered their resignations.

The seven Indian crew members onboard the Italian flagged Enrico Levoli arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday. Hijacked by Somali pirates in December 2011, the ship was released last week after the ransom amount was handed over to the captors.

The crime branch on Monday arrested a person who kidnapped a
three-month-old baby and sold him to a couple, who in turn tried
selling the child to begging racketeers. The trio has been arrested.
Jaggu, the main accused in the case, is the neighbour of the child,
and had kidnapped him from Mahim in March this year. The accused had
slapped the elder brother of the infant Maqdum Shaikh and escaped with
the baby on March 23. Maqdum’s mother, who worked as a domestic help
in the area, was at work at the time of the incident.

Earlier this week, families of seven Indian seafarers on board the Italian flag vessel MT Enrico Levoll heaved a sigh of relief. The men had been held hostage for four months after their ship was hija

Vikram, commander of the Chatgaon Naxal guerrilla squad, who operates along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border, has emerged as a prime suspect in the blast that killed 13 CRPF personnel last month.

A tiger was killed and another severely injured by poachers’ traps at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.