Chequered year: Mass surrender of Naxalites offers hope, rising crime poses challenge before cops

MUmbai, From mass cede of Naxalites to developments linked to the unrelenting remove of a sarpanch in Beed, from assail on Bollywood doer 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 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 ₹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 ower 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 ₹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.The cyber fraudsters are increasingly using the 'digital arrest' method to dupe people.A 72-year-old man lost ₹58 crore in a digital arrest case, wiping out his entire life savings. It is said to be the biggest digital arrest case reported in the state.In a shocking turn of events, social entrepreneur Rohit Arya was shot dead during the police’s operation to rescue 17 children and two adults held captive by him at a recording studio in Mumbai on October 30.A case was filed against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for allegedly targeting Deputy CM Eknath Shinde through a parody song. The Mumbai police had issued three summonses to him. Several incidents raised question marks over the safety of women in the state.In February, a 26-year-old woman was raped inside a state transport bus in the busy Swargate area in the heart of Pune city, triggering an outrage.A woman doctor committed suicide in Satara, leading to the arrest of a police sub-inspector and a software engineer. Before ending her life at a hotel room, she had written a note on her palm, in which she alleged that she was repeatedly raped and subjected to mental and physical abuse.In October, the ATS arrested software engineer Zubair Hangargekar from Pune for his alleged links with outfits such as Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and for his suspected involvement in radicalising people.Pune-based gangster Nilesh Ghaywal allegedly fled India by fraudulently obtaining a passport earlier this year. The British High Commission in India has confirmed that he is in London on a 'visitor' visa.Saksham Tate, a 20-year-old man, was murdered in Nanded by the family members of his girlfriend over an inter-caste relationship in the last week of November.This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.