Thursday, July 3, 2025 | 28 Pages | `5 & for State (+4 pages) `6 Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 68 No. 232 | Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) NATION Nitish will be NDA’s CM candidate in Bihar, alliance will contest poll under him: Rajnath GAMES Ravi Shastri expresses disbelief at India's decision to rest a fully fit Bumrah for the second Test Cinema Shanaya Kapoor debuts in an unique love story PM on 5-nation CYBER MENACE | Mumbai accounted for `2.95 lakh crore loss, tour, reaffirms affecting 2.71 lakh investors, CM Fadnavis informs Upper House BRICS pledge Agencies NEW DELHI PM Narendra Modi has reached Ghana, in his a week-long visit to 5 countries inlcuding Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia. The visit aims to strengthen India’s ties with the Global South and reinforce India’s commitment to BRICS, the African Union, ECOWAS, CARICOM. Modi’s first stop is Ghana, where he will be on July 2–3 at the invitation of President John Dramani Mahama. He described Ghana as a key partner in the Global South and praised its role in the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). 4Contd on | nation Maha fraud: 1 cr duped of `3L crore in 10 years Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI In a shocking revelation, over 1.07 crore investors across Maharashtra have been defrauded of a staggering ₹3.18 lakh cr through various phoney schemes in the last 10 years. The alarming figures were disclosed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a written reply to the state legislative council on Wednesday. They expose the widespread reach of cybercrime and financial fraud in the state. According to the data, Mumbai alone accounted for ₹2.95 lakh crore of the total loss, affecting 2.71 lakh investors. The rest of the state saw 1.05 crore individuals being duped of ₹22,552cr. The question, raised by Congress MLC Satej Patil along with 14 other members, could not be discussed due to time constraints. However, the written reply from the state home department painted a grim picture of organized financial crime operating across Maharashtra. Between 2016 and 2025, cyber police registered 46,321 cybercrime cases involving a total of ₹11,033.97cr. In 2024 alone, 58,157 cybercrime complaints were lodged on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, with losses amounting to ₹1,186cr. Of these, Mumbai reported 31,583 cases, followed by Pune with 13,971 and Thane with 12,582. Currently, Maharashtra has 50 police stations dedicated exclusively to handling cybercrime cases. The state government has also established Financial Intelligence Units under each police commissionerate and district police chief to strengthen its response to financial fraud. The government informed the Upper House that advanced technologies are being deployed in an effort to curb the rising tide of cyber and financial crimes. NATIONAL CHOCOLATE WAFER DAY Quad takes aim at Pahalgam terror attack perpetrators Agencies WASHINGTON The Quad grouping has called for bringing the perpetrators, organisers and financiers of the Pahalgam terror attack to justice without any delay and urged UN member nations to extend cooperation for it. The statement came as the foreign ministers of the fournation grouping met in the US capital on Tuesday to firm up a broad agenda for the bloc's annual summit in India later this year. The Quad condemned the April 22 attack in the strongest terms and strongly pitched for action against cross-border terrorism. 4Contd on | nation PORTS OF FUTURE The Quad plans to launch the Quad Ports of the Future Partnership in Mumbai this October This is to coordinate, exchange information & best practices, and mobilize government & private sector investments in quality port infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific region. This will complement the work Quad partners have done to boost infrastructure expertise across the Indo-Pacific region through the Quad Infrastructure Fellowships Program. Psych test for teacher Heir won’t be from China: Dalai Lama HASINA GETS ICT in sexual assault case PRISON SENTENCE BEIJING REJECTS PLAN Agencies DHARAMSHALA Avdhoot Kharade MUMBAI The 40 year-old former teacher of Bombay Scottish High School, Mahim, Bipasha Kumar, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a male student is to undergo a psychological evaluation test. She was arrested by the Dadar police on Saturday following a com- plaint lodged by the student's shocked parents. It is alleged that Bipasha Kumar, who is a mother of twins, was attracted to the student and persuaded him to accompany him to five star hotels and an isolated spot where she allegedly served liquor and had sex with him. 4Contd on | nation The 14th Dalai Lama, just days before turning 90, has ended years of speculation by announcing that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue after his death and that his successor will not be chosen from China. In a video message released on Wednesday, the Tibetan spiritual leader said that the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a foundation set up by him, will have the sole authority to identify the next Dalai Lama. “No one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” he stated. "I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue.” 4Contd on | nation China responded sharply, stating that the next Dalai Lama must be chosen through the “golden urn” method and be approved by the central government. A selection ritual, in which the names of possible reincarnations are drawn from a golden urn, dates to 1793, during the Qing dynasty. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “The central government must approve the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist leaders.” In 1995, after the Dalai Lama identified a boy as the 11th Panchen Lama, Chinese authorities abducted him and appointed their candidate, who remains rejected by most Tibetans. Agencies DHAKA Bangladesh’s former PM Sheikh Hasina has been sentenced to six months in prison by International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) in a contempt of court case, according to multiple local media reports. A three-member panel led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Mozumder delivered the verdict on Wednesday. The case revolved around a leaked phone call last year in which Hasina is allegedly heard telling a party leader, “I have had 227 cases filed against me, so I have received a licence to kill 227 people.” 4Contd on | nation DGIPR 2025-26/1480