Mumbai Today LIVE Updates: Navi Mumbai airport to be renamed ‘Loknete DB Patil Navi Mumbai International Airport’; IMD forecasts rain for parts of city

Five people were arrested with LSD and ganja worth Rs 6.18 lakh in Maharashtra's Palghar district, an police official said.

The Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police made the seizures last week as part of their anti-narcotics campaign, the official said.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime), Madan Ballal said, "The Vasai crime branch executed two major operations in Palghar district, and arrested five accused and seized narcotics worth Rs 6,18,442." Based on a tip-off, a team intercepted two suspects near Vasai West on September 27, and found 0.440 mg of LSD paper, a synthetic hallucinogenic drug, worth Rs 4.40 lakh in their possession.

The accused Dev Pankaj Modi, 27, and Sohel Yusuf Syed, 28, were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, Ballal said.

(PTI inputs)

Shivani Gandhi, Raksha Joshi, Durgavati Gupta, Janaki Gupta, Nitu Gupta, and Punita Gautam. Led by Shivani, the six, members of a catering unit in Mumbai’s Kandivali, had a lot in common — besides the practised ease with which they rolled out theplas, took breakfast and lunch orders, and passed on thalis with barely a spill.

Most of them lived in the Ram Nagar slums nearby. So whenever they stole some time off their hardscrabble lives back home, they would walk down to the catering unit, where they were paid by the hour.

In the cheque bouncing case against former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa, a sessions court has set aside a summons issued to him and sent the case back to the magistrate court for inquiry.

On June 7, 2019, a magistrate court in Mazgaon had passed an order issuing summons to Uthappa in a case involving an agreement between two companies over distribution of merchandise.

A day after a 52-year-old man was allegedly attacked by two robbers on his face with a sharp object, the Navghar police managed to arrest two accused, identified as Deva Pandey, 22, and Gopi Thevar, 25. The two have past criminal records with Deva been externed from the city in the past. The injured man needed 15 stiches after reaching the hospital.

“Deva used to live in Navghar area in Mulund but two years ago he shifted to Diva. While he still has his house there and some family members live there, he often visits the area. There are five robbery cases registered against him and he was externed from the city earlier. Eight months ago, in a similar incident, Deva had attacked a person during robbery attempt in Mulund area… Gopi too has been booked in two previous cases of robbery,” said a police officer.

read the full report HERE

In a step towards modernising high-value import and export transactions in the state, the Maharashtra government has launched an electronic bond system, or ‘E-Bond’, to replace paper-based bonds. The move is part of the state government’s efforts to streamline trade processes and improve ease-of-doing business.

Maharashtra has become the 17th state to launch the ‘E-Bond’ system, replacing traditional paper bonds for import-export transactions.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday announced that the Navi Mumbai International Airport will be officially named ‘Loknete DB Patil Navi Mumbai International Airport’ in honour of the late politician and social activist DB Patil, credited for ensuring project-affected persons received fair compensation. Fadnavis said the renaming has been approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the official announcement to coincide with the commencement of passenger operations, while technical readiness and advance bookings will continue during the interim “dry run” period.

Fadnavis also said approvals for renaming Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar airports are in progress, with the state proposing Pune airport be named after Jagadguru Sant Tukaram and Aurangabad airport after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. He added that cases against activists who had protested the airport’s naming will be withdrawn to safeguard their employment opportunities, and cases filed during the COVID period will similarly be cleared following judicial procedures.

The long-delayed redevelopment of South Mumbai’s Kamathipura neighbourhood has finally moved forward, with MHADA’s Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) receiving two bids for the project.

The bids have been submitted by J Kumar Infraprojects Limited and AATK Construction, thereby clearing the way for technical evaluations and the next phase of the redevelopment.

Officials said the financial bids will be opened shortly, and the proposals will then be sent to the state government for final approval.

full report HERE

Just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the final stretch of Mumbai’s flagship underground Colaba–Bandra–SEEPZ Metro-3 corridor, a train on the line broke down near Santacruz station on Friday afternoon. The incident forced the evacuation of passengers and raised concerns about the preparedness of the much-delayed project.

The breakdown occurred at 2.44 pm when a train heading towards Acharya Atre Chowk developed a technical snag while approaching Santacruz, according to officials.

The affected train was subsequently taken to the Bandra-Kurla Complex loop line for inspection.

While the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRC) confirmed that all other trains continued to run as per schedule, passengers reported delays and overcrowding on adjoining services. 

Read the full report HERE

In a setback to industrialist Anil Ambani, the Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed his plea challenging the State Bank of India (SBI) order that classified his account as fraudulent. The account was related to his firm, Reliance Communications, which is under insolvency.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela K Gokhale rejected Ambani’s plea and observed that there was no merit in the same. Read the full report HERE

A 12-year-old boy died after getting stuck in a lift at a residential building in Pune, police said on Friday.

The accident took place around 5 pm on Thursday at Ram Smruti Cooperative Society in Charholi Budruk, where the child became trapped inside the elevator.

Authorities said further details on how the incident occurred are being investigated.

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar on Friday revealed that his teenage daughter was targeted by an online predator while playing a mobile video game. Speaking at a cyber safety awareness programme in Mumbai, attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and senior police officials, Kumar said his daughter was initially engaged with friendly messages before being asked to share her nude photo. Showing presence of mind, she immediately switched off her device and informed her mother, preventing a potential cybercrime.

Kumar stressed that such incidents highlight the urgent need for cyber awareness among children, noting that many cases lead to extortion and, in some instances, victims taking their own lives. He urged the state government to introduce mandatory cyber safety lessons for students in classes 7 to 10, calling cybercrime “bigger than street crime.” Kumar said children must be educated about online threats just as they are taught core subjects like maths or history. (PTI)

A special court sentenced a man to 12 years in jail along with fine of Rs 1.37 lakh for the possession of over 200 grams of cocaine. Honare Igwe Gwahi, an Ivory Coast national, was found guilty under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, for possession of a commercial quantity of drugs.

According to submissions made before the court, on December 31, 2020, the Anti-Narcotics Cell had carried out checks for suspected sale of drugs since it was New Year’s Eve. On January 1, 2021, around 1.20am, the department claimed its officers saw a man sitting in a Nano car in Santacruz.

In a veiled attack at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena leader and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday termed him as the one who conspired against the leaders of his own party despite being its chief. Shinde added that the Mahayuti will win the upcoming local body polls and told workers to start working by setting aside any differences.

“No where in the world is there a party whose chief wanted to end the careers of its own leaders. Have you ever seen a party president who conspires against his own party leaders? I don’t think his shadow will even remain with him after the local body elections, given the way people are leaving him,” said Shinde without naming Thackeray. He was addressing Shiv Sena’s Dussehra rally at Goregaon’s Nesco ground.

A state consumer disputes redressal commission directed a property company and its directors to refund a part payment along with 9 per cent interest after failing to give possession of a flat to a buyer.

The complaint before the consumer commission said that two joint buyers had booked a flat in Wadala at Rs 71.72 lakh in 2014 and paid Rs 45.35 lakh towards part payment.

They were however not given possession of the flat. They then sent the company a notice in March 2018 to which they did not receive any response. In August 2018, they received a letter from the builder which said that their allotment was being cancelled due to several legal and technical difficulties. The paid amount, however, was not refunded, after which the couple approached the commission.

The property firm opposed the complaint claiming that they had offered the refund along with a 9 per cent interest rate as agreed at the time of the booking but the couple had refused, wanting more interest. The firm claimed that the couple had approached the commission to fulfil their demands against the agreed upon terms of refund and they were, even today, willing to refund at 9 per cent interest.

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When the Charkop police began investigating the recent murder of a Malad-based businessman, Mohammad Ayub Sayyed, what initially proved challenging for them was that the CCTV footage from the crime spot showed two assailants, but their identities were unknown. However, there was one visual showing one of the assailants making a phone call, and the police latched on to that opportunity and traced the accused, including the businessman’s son and his business partner.

Ayub Sayyed, 69, who lived in Malad with his family, owned a business in metals and operated factories in Vasai and Charkop, located in the Kandivali area. He had two sons; the elder son managed the Vasai factory, while the younger son assisted his father at the Charkop factory.