logo
Burglars break into actress's unguarded Maval farmhouse

Burglars break into actress's unguarded Maval farmhouse

Time of India19-07-2025
Pune: Thieves broke into Bollywood actress
Sangeeta Bijlani
's farmhouse near Pavana dam in Maval, about 60km from the city, and decamped with a TV set and Rs 50,000 in cash. The burglary came to light on Friday when Bijlani visited the farmhouse with her staff and found the window grilles broken.
Senior inspector Dinesh Tayade of the Lonavla Rural police, told TOI, "Bijlani had not visited the farmhouse since March, and its isolated location near Pavana dam made it vulnerable. With no security guard on site, authorities suspect the thieves may have cased the property before breaking in over the past two days."
In her complaint, Bijlani stated the the thieves made off with Rs 50,000 in cash meant for her father's emergency needs, which was kept in a cupboard.
"Upon visiting the farmhouse on around 11.30am on Friday with her staff, Bijlani was shocked to see the main entrance forcibly broken. Further inspection revealed damage to household items, including the fridge and decor," Tayade said, citing the complaint.
You Can Also Check:
Pune AQI
|
Weather in Pune
|
Bank Holidays in Pune
|
Public Holidays in Pune
The police suspect local robbers might be behind the break-in, given their potential familiarity with the area and the house. "A forensic team visited the farmhouse on Friday, collecting suspected fingerprints and other evidence to aid the investigation," the officer said, adding, "Based on this evidence, our team is investigating the case."
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You
Dubai villas | search ads
Get Deals
Undo
Police are also checking the CCTV cameras. "The robbers damaged some of the cameras, but the DVR is intact. Footage recorded before the cameras were damaged is still available. Our team is reviewing this footage to establish further connections in the case," Tayade said.
Bijlani's personal assistant Mujeeb Khan said the actor owned five acres of land and the bungalow, comprising more than six rooms and servant quarters, on 5,000sqft. "The burglars vandalized six CCTV cameras and used sharp weapons to cut sofa set, furniture and pillows to find out if valuables were concealed inside. The burglars also damaged electronic gadgets and fled," he said.
"Police told us that the burglary was well-planned because the bungalow had remained close for a long time. The actress's father, who often visited the bungalow, did not visit it owing to his ill-health," he added.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘Good cop, bad cop': How fake NCB officers duped 62-year-old woman of Rs 77 lakh
‘Good cop, bad cop': How fake NCB officers duped 62-year-old woman of Rs 77 lakh

Indian Express

time13 minutes ago

  • Indian Express

‘Good cop, bad cop': How fake NCB officers duped 62-year-old woman of Rs 77 lakh

Last August, a 62-year-old woman was surfing an online drug store's website for her monthly prescription of sleeping pills. It was a routine for her to order medicines online every month for a neurological ailment. However, her latest search landed her in trouble, which ended in an alleged digital arrest fraud of Rs 77 lakh as two men — allegedly posing as officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) — played 'good cop, bad cop', said police. After she reported her ordeal to the police, it took investigators nine months to trace the accused who had transferred a major portion of the money in his bank account. His arrest led the police to four more accomplices, all of whom were arrested by July 1, said officers. A resident of Vasant Kunj and a former teacher, the woman told police she had received the first call from the alleged fraudsters last August. A man posing as an NCB officer triggered alarm by claiming that she had ordered 'banned drugs'. The woman who lives alone panicked. 'The caller told her that the drug she ordered was banned in India and that the NCB suspected she was helping the supply of these drugs in Delhi,' a senior police officer, privy to the investigation details, said. Transfer a certain amount of money to verify the bank account details or face an arrest warrant — Neeru felt helpless when the caller gave her these two options. Desperate to prove her innocence, Neeru had transferred a total of Rs 3 lakh in separate tranches to multiple accounts by September 10, 2024,. 'She then waited for the next call, hoping to be cleared of all charges,' a police officer said. After 10 days, she got another call. But this time it was the 'good cop'. 'The man on the call, who also posed as an NCB officer, told her that he knew that she was innocent. He told her to stay calm and let him work with the NCB to get her money back,' the officer explained. The 62-year-old received Rs 20,000 back into her account two days later — she was allegedly assured that this was the first of the many transactions. 'The 'good cop' had gained her trust,' the officer added. She got a video call on WhatsApp after two days. 'This time, four men were on call. She was asked to share her screen and open her bank account after which all her money would be returned. As she trusted the man who had posed as the 'good cop', she followed the instructions,' the officer explained. Trouble, however, deepened for the elderly woman as her netbanking credentials were allegedly stolen. The video call ended with the fraudsters allegedly telling the woman that they were satisfied with the probe. Soon after, her worst nightmare turned true. Multiple debit messages flashed on her mobile phone — transactions of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and so on… When she called up the man posing as the NCB officer, his phone was off. She finally sought help from a relative and registered a complaint at the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSCO) Unit of the Delhi Police's Special Cell on September 26, 2024. A team under ACP Manoj Kumar and Sub Inspector Karamvir started a probe into the money trail. 'The call detail records and IMEI details of beneficiary account holders were obtained from the technical service providers and banks concerned. During further investigation it was found that around Rs 48 lakh from the duped amount was further transferred to a particular account,' the officer explained. This account belonged to Akhilesh (23), a resident of Nuh in Haryana. The police raided his home and found that he had left for Delhi—on the pretext of preparing for judicial services examinations. Multiple locations popped up when police tried to trace him through his mobile location. Investigators finally reached a breakthrough in June when his location was traced in the hub of government exam aspirants — Mukherjee Nagar. 'On June 24, Akhilesh was traced living at a rented apartment in Indira Vikas Colony, Mukharjee Nagar. He tried to flee but he was overpowered. He was arrested and his disclosure statement was recorded wherein he stated that he received the cheated amount on the direction of his associates — Amjad, Saahid and Shakeel. He also trapped the victim to share her phone screen on video call and gained access to the victim's bank account to transfer funds to his own bank account,' the officer underlined. On June 27, a raid was conducted in Punhana, Haryana, and Amjad and Shahid were arrested as well. Amjad, the police said, was the man who pretended to be the 'good cop and the woman's well-wisher'. 'Amjad disclosed that he and his brother-in-law Shahid, along with his friend Shakeel, called the victim and threatened her of arrest. They also disclosed involvement of the other accused, Hamid, saying that he was the fourth fake NCB officer,' the police officer added. On July 1, the police raided Hamid's home in Rajasthan's Deeg. Shakeel was also at his home. However, the police said that Hamid's family and the villagers tried to shield the duo, giving Shakeel a chance to flee. But the police chased them down and arrested the duo. So far, the elderly woman has got just Rs 3 lakh from the duped amount. The police are now tracking a string of bank accounts used by the accused. Some of the confiscated phones, as per officers, also have evidence of sextortion from other victims and investigation is on.

RO/ARO exam held peacefully, 60% skip test
RO/ARO exam held peacefully, 60% skip test

Time of India

time29 minutes ago

  • Time of India

RO/ARO exam held peacefully, 60% skip test

1 2 Lucknow: The examination for the posts of review officer/assistant review officer (RO/ARO) was conducted smoothly and peacefully at 2,382 centres across the state on Sunday. According to officials, nearly 60% candidates skipped the examination as around 4.5 lakh students took the test out of total 10.7 lakh who had registered for the examination. UPPSC secretary Ashok Kumar said that Ayodhya recorded highest attendance with 52.8% candidates appearing for the examination, while Rampur registered the lowest at 25.8%. Participation in other major cities included 47.6% in Prayagraj, 48.9% in Lucknow, 44.4% in Kanpur, and 49.2% in Varanasi. "The highest number of 139 examination centres were set up in Kanpur, followed by Lucknow (129) and Prayagraj (106)," he said. "Cutting-edge security measures — including AI-based alert system, biometric verification, CCTV surveillance, and monitoring by the STF— ensured zero irregularities across the state. Dedicated teams monitored coaching centres and flagged suspicious behaviour to the authorities," an official said. "A special social media monitoring cell also kept a close watch on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram to curb the spread of rumours or leaks," he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Timeless & Modern: Unveiling a 96-Year-Old's Vision! Read More Undo Armed security and senior officials oversaw every step, from retrieval of papers from the treasury to the submission of answer sheets. To ensure secure identification at the entry point, biometric authentication and facial recognition technology were deployed. A complete ban was enforced on electronic devices, while an AI-powered alert system monitored for any suspicious activity and triggered instant warnings. The candidate identification and admission process for the RO/ARO exam was made entirely digital and foolproof. Centre allocation was carried out through computer-based randomisation to eliminate any scope for bias. The e-admit card was integrated with a One Time Registration (OTR) system, which involved an eight-point verification process, including details such as candidate's name, father's name, date of birth, category, high school roll number, and year of passing. Candidates Neeraj Chandra and Sachin Mathur from Varanasi, who appeared for the exam at a centre in Prayagraj, and Pooja from Pratapgarh said that the multi-layered screening and security checks were systematic and the entire process was smooth and transparent.

78-year-old woman crushed to death by a speeding bus near Peeragarhi Metro Station
78-year-old woman crushed to death by a speeding bus near Peeragarhi Metro Station

Time of India

time29 minutes ago

  • Time of India

78-year-old woman crushed to death by a speeding bus near Peeragarhi Metro Station

New Delhi: In a hit-and-run incident, a 78-year-old woman was crushed to death after being run over by a speeding private bus near Peeragarhi Metro Station in west Delhi's Paschim Vihar area on Sunday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The victim, identified as Sayogita, a resident of Rohtak in Haryana, was found in a severely crushed state, with police confirming she was declared dead at the hospital. According to police, a PCR call was received around 1.35 pm on July 27, reporting an accident near Orabella Banquet Hall between Metro Pillars 277 and 278, along the Nangloi-to-Peeragarhi stretch. "Acting on the information, a police team rushed to the spot and found an elderly woman lying motionless on the road. Crime and forensic teams were immediately called for inspection and documentation," said a senior police officer, adding, "Her body was in a badly crushed condition and was transported to a government hospital where doctors declared her brought dead. " During inspection of the woman's belongings, police recovered an Aadhaar card identifying her as Sayogita, wife of Bal Mukund, a resident of Haryana's Rohtak. In her purse, officers also found a small personal diary containing a handwritten mobile number. The number was dialled, and officers were able to reach out to her brother Narender (70) to inform of the incident. "Sayogita was perfectly fit and healthy. She would often visit me and my brother in Delhi, usually getting off at the Peeragarhi bus stop where buses from Rohtak arrive. Since it was Teej, and Raksha Bandhan was coming up, she decided to come for a few days and stay with us. But the only call we received from her phone was from the police, informing us of her death," her brother, Narender told TOI. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now An eyewitness, Kuljeet Kumar, 60, a local resident of Peeragarhi Camp, told the police that a yellow and silver private bus with the marking 'RDT' had hit the woman and fled the scene without stopping. Based on his account and preliminary investigation, cops have registered a case under sections 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others.) and 106 (death due to negligence) of BNS at the Paschim Vihar West police station. The offending vehicle has been identified, and teams are working to apprehend the absconding driver. Investigation is ongoing.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store