Mumbai, Jan 5 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Western Region at 1700 HRS.

BOM8 DEF-ICG-LD SHIP

Rajnath commissions ICG's 1st indigenously built pollution control vessel 'Samudra Pratap' Panaji: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissioned the Indian Coast Guard's (ICG) first indigenously designed and built pollution control vessel 'Samudra Pratap' in Goa on Monday.

BOM11 CG-NAXAL-BLAST

Teenage boy injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur Bijapur: A 15-year-old boy was injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Monday, police said.

BOM14 MP-WATER CONTAMINATION-CLAIMS

Indore man says kin died of diarrhoea linked to contaminated water; officials deny claim Indore: A man on Monday said his 69-year-old relative died due to diarrhoea after drinking contaminated water in Indore's Bhagirathpura area, though local officials denied the link to the tragedy in the area that has claimed six lives so far, citing his hospital admission date and "pre-existing conditions".

BOM12 GJ-IAS OFFICER-SUSPENSION

Bribery-linked money laundering case: Gujarat IAS officer suspended after arrest by ED Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government has suspended IAS officer and former Surendranagar collector Rajendrakumar Patel following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a bribery-linked money laundering case, officials said on Monday.

BOM7 MH-CIVIC POLLS-NARWEKAR

BMC polls: JD(S) withdraws complaint; ex-MP Rathod to pursue fight against Narwekar Mumbai: The Janata Dal (Secular) has withdrawn its complaint over alleged irregularities in the nomination process in the Colaba area of Mumbai for the upcoming city civic polls, Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar said on Monday.

LGB4 MH-HC-LD POLLS-COURT STAFF

BMC chief admits mistake in deploying court staff for poll duty; get HC rap Mumbai: Admitting it was a "mistake" to overstep his jurisdiction, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani on Monday informed Bombay High Court that he withdrew directives that had asked subordinate court staff to report for election duty.

BOM13 MH-CIVIC POLLS-SAPKAL

Unopposed civic poll wins: Mahayuti's greed for power 'swallowing democracy', says Sapkal Mumbai: The BJP-led Mahayuti's greed for power has reached the point of "swallowing democracy", Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhav Sapkal said on Monday amid a fierce debate over unopposed wins of 68 candidates of the ruling alliance even before voting for the January 15 civic polls.

BOM9 MH-CIVIC POLLS-UNOPPOSED-BAWANKULE

Unopposed wins in polls good for democracy; Oppn free to seek legal remedy: Bawankule Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday said unopposed wins in the civic polls were "good for democracy", and Opposition parties wishing to seek justice for themselves were free to do so.

BES6 MH-CIVIC POLLS-JALNA-CM

Decades of neglect under Cong made urban life unbearable, says Fadnavis Jalna: Life in cities had become unbearable due to lack of development under Congress rule as the party neglected civic issues for decades, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday.

PTI RSY

Bribery-linked money laundering arrest prompted suspension; election staff redeployment withdrawn after jurisdictional overreach, legal challenges possible. An enforcement investigation into alleged bribery and money laundering led to the arrest and suspension of a senior administrative officer, triggering criminal-investigative proceedings and administrative discipline. Separately, a municipal commissioner withdrew directives assigning court staff to election duty after recognizing a jurisdictional overstep and receiving judicial censure; unopposed civic poll victories were noted as amenable to legal challenge by opposition parties.