Mass surrender of Naxalites offers hope, rising crime poses challenge before cops
Mumbai: From mass surrender of Naxalites to developments linked to the brutal murder of a sarpanch in Beed, from attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan by a Bangladeshi man to high-profile fraud cases, including the Pune land deal, Maharashtra witnessed a chequered year in terms of crime and security in 2025.
The previous year had ended on a tragic note with the brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed. The barbarity of the killing shook the conscience of not only the state but the entire nation.
Its repercussions continued to reverberate this year.
In January this year, the prime accused in the case, Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, was booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and sent to judicial custody.
In March, Munde, who was a minister at that time, had to step down due to mounting political pressure.
In October this year, major success was scored in the anti-Naxal operation after key Naxalite Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias ‘Bhupathi’ surrendered with 60 cadres in Gadchiroli.
The Centre has set March 31, 2026 as the deadline to eliminate Naxalism from the country.
Mumbai police’s strategic move helped the National Investigation Agency in the deportation of 26/11 terror attacks case mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana and gangster Anmol Bishnoi from the USA.
Rana was extradited in April, while Bishnoi was brought to India in November.
Bishnoi, the younger brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, was the mastermind of late NCP leader Baba Siddique’s murder.
But the police also faced setbacks in some major cases this year.
The trial court’s verdict acquitting all seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case on 31 July came as an embarrassment for the Anti-Terrorism Squad.
Just 10 days before that, the Bombay High Court had acquitted 11 accused in the 2006 Mumbai serial train blasts case probed by the ATS.
In January, Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan was seriously injured after being stabbed at his residence in Mumbai by an intruder. The police later arrested Bangladeshi national Shariful Islam Shehzad Mohammad Rohilla Amin Fakir from Thane for the attack.
The accused had changed his name to ‘Bijoy Das’ after entering India, the police said.
The incident not only highlighted the rising crime, but also the issue of infiltration from Bangladesh.
Several high-profile financial and other fraud cases also came to light this year.
In February, embezzlement of Rs 122 crore in the New India Cooperative Bank was unearthed. According to police, the money was siphoned off from the safes of the bank’s offices in Mumbai.
Former top official of the bank, Hitesh Mehta, was arrested along with several other accused.
In Pune, alleged irregularities were found in a land deal involving a firm owned by state Deputy CM Ajit Pawar’s son Parth.
The now-scrapped deal is related to a 40-acre government plot in Mundhwa area.
Police arrested Sheetal Tejwani, who held power of attorney for the land that was later sold to Parth Pawar’s company, Amadea Enterprises LLP, and sub-registrar Ravindra Taru, who was suspended after irregularities emerged in the deal.
Actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra were in news for allegedly duping a businessman of Rs 60 crore. The Economic Offences Wing, which is probing the case, has questioned the couple.
The EOW is also investigating alleged Mithi desilting scam, and questioned Bollywood actor Dino Morea and his brother for their alleged involvement. Police have so far arrested five accused persons in the case. with agency inputs
