Mumbai News Highlights: IMD issues severe heat wave alert for 4 Maharashtra districts; woman accuses Shiv Sena MP Rahul Shewale of rape

Ahead of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray's rally in Aurangabad, the Shiv Sena on Friday said it can give a befitting reply to any kind of aggression.

Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with party spokespersons here, two days before his estranged cousin Raj Thackeray's scheduled rally. "The Sena always has the capacity to give a tit-for-tat kind of response to any aggression. He (Uddhav Thackeray) made it very clear to us in today's meeting," said party spokesperson Sachin Aher. 

Some people are trying to change the narrative. We as spokespersons of the party should be ready for such tricks. We also need to talk about the work done by the Sena, the CM told us," he added. (PTI)

Mumbai on Friday reported 93 Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 10,59,728, while the death toll remained unchanged at 19,562, a civic official said. Incidentally, it was the second consecutive day when the addition to the tally was less than 100, as the metropolis had seen 90 cases on Thursday, while the figures for Tuesday and Wednesday were 102 and 112 respectively, he pointed out.

Of the 93 new cases, 91 were asymptomatic, while the two admitted in hospitals did not need oxygen support, the civic official added. So far, 10,39,579 persons have been discharged post recovery, including 68 during the day, leaving the country's financial capital with 562 active cases, he said. (PTI)

The fare of air-conditioned local trains in Mumbai will be reduced by 50 per cent, Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve announced on Friday.

Following a long-pending demand, the existing minimum fare of Rs 65 for a distance of 5 km for AC trains will be reduced to Rs 30, he said, without specifying when the change would come into effect.

Danve was speaking at the inauguration of the restored heritage building of the Byculla railway station in central Mumbai in the presence of BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis. The railway ministry had received suggestions that the existing fare be reduced by at least 20-30 per cent, the minister said. 

As per Danve, the fare between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT)-Thane (34 km) would be slashed to Rs 90 from the existing Rs 130. That between CSMT-Kalyan (54km) would be reduced to Rs 105 from Rs 210, between Churchgate-Borivali (34km) to Rs 90 from Rs 1.

The life and work of Indian cinema legend Satyajit Ray will be celebrated through a three-day film festival to be held next month at various locations across the country, the National Museum of Indian Cinema on Friday said.

Born on May 2, Ray is regarded as one of the finest filmmakers India has ever seen. He helmed classics like "Pather Panchali", "Charulata" and "Devi". The filmmaker died at the age of 70 on April 23 in 1992. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has initiated various activities to pay tribute to the legendary filmmaker on his birth centenary.

The Satyajit Ray film festival, which will take place from May 2 to 4, will be organised by the National Museum of Indian Cinema, Mumbai in association with the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), Films Division, National Film Archives of India (NFAI) and Doordarshan with the support of West Bengal government, Aurora Film Corporation and Friends Communication. (PTI)

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has deregistered Air India’s last four Boeing 747s this week. Stationed in Mumbai, the Boeing 747s were introduced in 1971 and were in bad shape. While DGCA Director General Arun Kumar said the aircraft were deregistered as a routine case, Air India spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said they “have no further comments on this”.

BJP MP Kirit Somiaya Friday approached the Bombay High Court with a PIL challenging the state cabinet resolution of January which gave a waiver of a fine of Rs 3.33 crore along with interest on penalty levied on illegal floors of a housing project called Chhabhaiya Vihang Garden. The residential project was built by Shiv Sena’s Thane MLA Pratap Sarnaik’s Vihang group. Sarnaik is presently facing an Enforcement Directorate probe in a money laundering case.

The Mumbai police Friday, opposing the bail of Independent MP Navneet Rana and her husband MLA Ravi Rana, claimed that their announcement to recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of the private residence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was with an intention to challenge law and order in the state to an extent where dissolution of the present government by the Governor of Maharashtra could be recommended.

The renovated Byculla railway station, which is over 169 years old, was inaugurated by Raosaheb Danve, minister of state for railways, and former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday. With the renovation, the heritage railway station in Mumbai has regained its original Gothic architectural glory, said an official.

The work to restore the ancient architecture of the railway station, one of India’s oldest, began on July 20, 2019 with a bhoomi poojan by then railway minister Piyush Goyal. Read More

The body of a 19-year-old teenager, dumped inside a sack, washed ashore Versova beach in Andheri (West) on Thursday evening. The police have identified the teenager as a college student from Goregaon and said that she was strangled to death. Read more

A Special PMLA court has extended the judicial custody of former Maharashtra Minister Anil Deshmukh for 14 days.

Special PMLa court extends judicial custody of former Maharashtra Minister Anil Deshmukh for 14 days pic.twitter.com/Ni1T1SKtag

— ANI (@ANI) April 29, 2022

Mumbai sessions court has agreed to hear the bail applications of MP Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana tomorrow (April 30) at 2.45 pm. "The police has strongly objected to their bail," said Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat. (ANI)

"I congratulate Mohan Bhagwat Ji that he has brought forward such an idea which should be debated across the country," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's statement that the society to which violence is dear is now counting its last days. Bhagwat's statement came in the backdrop of the recent clashes that were witnessed during the celebrations of Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti. (ANI)

A 25-year-old man from coastal Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra has embarked on an over 1,800-km journey on foot across a few states in India to interact with people over issues like farmers' suicide, water scarcity and increasing use of plastic, and to raise public awareness on these topics.

Ashutosh Joshi, a resident of Narvan village in Ratnagiri, began his journey on April 10, when Ram Navami was celebrated. His walking expedition, which started from native Narvan beach, will end at Puri in Odisha, covering a distance of 1,850 km.

Walking through places including Chiplun (Ratnagiri district), Koyna, Patan, Umbraj (Satara district), Solapur, Pandharpur (Solapur district), Joshi reached Latur on Thursday morning. He will continue his journey through Nanded, Parbhani, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts in the state before proceeding to Odisha.

He said that on his way, he has been interacting with people on issues like farmers' suicide, water scarcity, increasing use of plastics, global warming, among others. (PTI)

A woman tricked a 49-year-old man into doing an obscene act on a WhatsApp video call, which she then recorded and used to extort Rs 10,000 from him. When the woman threatened the man that she would circulate the video and asked for more money, the man approached Khar police station, where an FIR was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology Act. Read more

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Shiv Sena leader Bhavana Gawali on May 5th, in an alleged money laundering case. Earlier also, ED had summoned her 3 times but she did not appear for the investigation.

In case Shiv Sena leader Bhavana Gawali evades the May 5 summon in a money laundering case, ED is expected to approach court. (ANI)

A 26-year-old woman on Thursday accused Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP Rahul Shewale of rape, a charge denied by the parliamentarian. The woman lodged a complaint of rape against Shewale at the Sakinaka Police station in suburban Mumbai, according to news agency PTI. No FIR has been registered so far and the police are yet to start a probe into the complaint, an official said. Shewale issued a statement denying the rape charge and termed the complaint as a conspiracy aimed at maligning his political image. The Member of Parliament from Mumbai South Central maintained he was ready to face any police investigation and said people behind the conspiracy will be exposed.