{
  "id": 761864,
  "title": "Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan’s relative booked in Kumbh tender fraud case; he promises strict action",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/maharashtra-minister-girish-mahajans-relative-booked-in-kumbh-tender",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-13T11:40:15.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/maharashtra-minister-girish-mahajans-relative-kumbh-tender-fraud-10831647/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A relative of Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan, Tanay Anant Mahajan, has been arrested in a Rs 2.17 crore fraud case involving fake work orders for the 2027-28 Nashik Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela. The Nashik City Police booked Tanay, his father Narendra Totaram Mahajan and Shakeel Ahmad Salimuddin Shaikh for allegedly deceiving contractors by providing forged government documents and promising Kumbh Mela-related contracts. The accused allegedly used fake digital signatures of the Nashik Divisional Commissioner on the forged work orders. The contracts included services like housekeeping, supply of essentials and solar power installations. Both Tanay and Narendra Mahajan reportedly admitted to the offence during questioning. Minister Girish Mahajan assured strict action against the accused despite his personal relationship with them. The arrests are significant as Mahajan is the guardian minister for Nashik and oversees Kumbh preparations, which have faced criticism from opposition parties.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}