Moshi Plant Collapse Traps Workers as ATS Raids Target Pakistani Gangster Links in Pimpri-Chinchwad
An overnight rescue operation pulled nine survivors from the rubble of a collapsed waste-to-energy plant at Moshi in Pimpri-Chinchwad, with search teams continuing to look for an estimated ten to twelve workers still unaccounted for after decades of accumulated rain-soaked garbage brought down a nearby municipal building. State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan visited the site and personally directed officials to accelerate rescue operations and ensure immediate medical treatment for all those injured. In a separate security development on 14 July, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad conducted simultaneous raids across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad targeting individuals with alleged links to Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti.
Rescue teams pull nine from Moshi waste-to-energy plant collapse; ten workers still missing
Nine people were rescued from the debris of a collapsed waste-to-energy plant at Moshi in Pimpri-Chinchwad following a highly technical overnight operation, while search teams continued working to locate an estimated ten to twelve employees still believed to be trapped. The waste-to-energy plant is operated by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation and has served as the city's primary dumping facility since 1982, a span of nearly 47 years. On the day of the collapse, approximately twenty-two to twenty-three employees were inside a building that the municipal department had constructed near the depot. Continuous rain over the preceding two days caused the long-accumulated garbage mound to slip like a landslide, bringing down roughly half of the structure. Five workers managed to escape on their own as soon as the building gave way; the remainder were trapped in the debris. A joint team drawn from the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the municipal administration, police and medical personnel coordinated recovery efforts on what officials described as a war footing, with all possible efforts underway to reach every trapped individual as quickly as possible. State Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan personally inspected the site, telling reporters: 'Our priority is that no life should be lost. We will make every effort to ensure everyone is safe.' Mahajan confirmed that discussions had been held with senior officials and rescue agencies to carry out operations more swiftly and effectively, and that clear instructions had been issued to the administration to provide immediate medical treatment to all those injured. The collapse also disrupted routine waste collection across Pimpri-Chinchwad, as heavy machinery movement and safety restrictions around the Moshi Garbage Depot halted normal garbage unloading and disposal operations citywide. Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi directed officials to issue formal notices in connection with the incident. [10]
🗳️ Maharashtra ATS conducts simultaneous raids in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune over alleged links to Pakistani gangster Shahza
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad launched simultaneous raids across locations in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad on 14 July 2026, targeting individuals with alleged ties to Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti. The coordinated operations, reported by news agency IANS, covered both cities simultaneously, reflecting the ATS's assessment that persons with alleged links to Bhatti were operating across more than one urban centre in the Pune region. Bhatti is identified as a Pakistani gangster, and those targeted in the 14 July raids were individuals whose alleged connections to him prompted the coordinated enforcement action. The simultaneous deployment across both Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad underscores the multi-jurisdictional scope of the alleged network that the Maharashtra ATS was pursuing. The raids in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Pune on 14 July 2026 represent coordinated law enforcement action by Maharashtra's anti-terror agency against alleged associates of Shahzad Bhatti across both cities, as the ATS sought to disrupt any network linked to the Pakistan-based criminal operating in the wider Pune district. [2]
Sources: [10] Deccan Herald · [2] Telangana Today