After the incident, supporters of a right-wing organisation gathered outside the Malvani police station and demanded action against those who allegedly pelted stones, news agency PTI reported. (Photo: ANI)Mumbai Highlights, March 31: Twenty people were arrested and a case was filed against more than 300 unidentified people in connection with a clash between two groups during a Ram Navami procession in Mumbai’s Malvani area on Thursday night. “One person suffered minor injuries in the incident. But the police handled it & the situation is under control. Legal action is being taken & further probe is underway,” Mumbai DCP Ajay Bansal, was reported saying by news agency ANI. The incident occurred when the procession was going on and some people objected to high volume DJ and loud music accompanying it.
Maharashtra has seen a 15-fold rise in active Covid cases in the last 30 days, sparking a fresh worry about the spread of the virus. As per the official data, the weekly positivity rate in the state has surged from 1.2% in mid-February to over 6% between March 22-28. Pune and Mumbai account for 53% of the Covid-19 cases in the state. On Thursday, 694 Covid cases were reported in the state, of which 192 were from Mumbai
In other news, Mumbai is expected to face low water pressure for the next few days as another water pipeline was damaged in Thane while the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) was carrying out excavation for piling works. Mumbai is already set to face a 15% water cut from March 31 for 30 days due to the repair work on a pipeline that supplies water to the island city and suburbs from the Bhandup water filtration plant. This water pipeline was also punctured during an excavation work taken up by authorities.
The Bandra police on Friday arrested a Rajasthan-based man for allegedly 'molesting' a Bengaluru woman in a cafe at Bandra. The accused Shrey Jain (22) was detained from his home in Rajasthan's Jaipur and was brought back to Mumbai where he was formally placed under arrest.
The incident took place on March 25 when the complainant was partying with her colleagues at a Cafe in Bandra, West Mumbai, a man groped her. The complainant alleged that she was asked to leave the cafe. Later she put up a post on social media platforms.
Eventually, the Bandra police contacted her and on March 29 and FIR was registered against the unidentified person. The police then checked the CCTV footage from the cafe and managed to trace the accused to Rajasthan from where he was arrested.
The police said that the accused is an MBA and was currently working from home. (PTI)
Three ancient idols have been found in Akola in Maharashtra while digging was underway to build a house and the Archaeological Survey of India has been informed, an official said on Friday.
The idols, which were found in Mana village in Murtizapur taluka on Friday and are connected to Jainism, have been kept safely by the police, he added.
"The Archaeological Survey of India has been informed about the idols as they are experts in the field," Inspector Kailas Bhagat of Mana police station said. (PTI)
The purpose of being granted pardon will be "vitiated", if a person continues to be in prison under the guise of being protected, former policeman Sachin Waze told a special court here, while seeking formal release in a corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh is one of the accused in the case. He, along with the other accused, are currently out on bail.
Waze, who has turned an approver in the case, continues to be in judicial custody.
The former policeman has moved an application before the court seeking dropping of charges and release from the case.
Waze submitted before the court on Friday that the other accused in the case have been granted bail, but he continues to be in detention. (PTI)
Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Friday alleged that the Adani group has invested Rs 20,000 crore through shell companies and asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi will show “courage” to probe it.
He was speaking to reporters here after taking part in a demonstration against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre.
Patole said the Modi government has in the past nine years made “arrangements for his friends to grab public money”. The senior Congress leader said several government contracts have been given to companies of businessman Gautam Adani. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Friday recorded 425 new coronavirus cases, a drop of 269 cases from the day before, and zero deaths, the health department said in a bulletin.
The state's COVID-19 infection tally rose to 81,44,111, while death toll stood unchanged at 1,48,441.
The number of active cases stand at 3,090.
On Thursday, Maharashtra had recorded 694 infections and zero deaths.
State capital Mumbai recorded 177 cases on Friday, followed by Pune city which recorded 50 new cases.
As many as 351 persons recovered in 24 hour since previous evening. The recovery rate in the state is 98.14 per cent.
The case fatality rate in the state is 1.82 per cent. (PTI)
As many as seven persons have been arrested following a mob attack on a police station in central Maharashtra's Aurangabad city while an injured man died in hospital, police said on Friday.
Normalcy returned to the city, recently renamed as `Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar', even as the government deployed five companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) as a precaution.
At least 12 persons including 10 policemen were injured after a mob of around 500 people hurled stones and petrol-filled bottles when the cops tried to control the situation following a clash between two groups near the Ram temple in Kiradpura locality of Aurangabad, on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
The police used tear gas and fired some plastic bullets as well as live rounds to control the mob. (PTI)
The commercial operations for the first phase of Mumbai’s first underground metro – Aqua Line – will be carried out with nine trains, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) has told The Indian Express. The arrival of the trains, each having eight coaches, is expected by July. It will be a key step forward for the Aqua Line Phase-1 launch, targeted to be completed by December. Read more
The 110-year-old Mumbai General Post Office (GPO) is in the midst of a massive makeover which will conclude with the illumination of the dome that is the second largest one in India-after the Gol Gumbaz.
Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar
After years of delay, the Banganga tank beautification project is set to take off as the BMC, along with the GSB Trust, which manages the tank, and the state government, is set to give a major facelift to this century-old heritage structure.
Banganga, a rectangular-shaped water tank, contains a spring that is considered to be a natural source of water.
Located at Walkeshwar in Malabar Hill, the structure’s origin dates back to the 12th century. The tank, known to store fresh water though it is in close proximity to the Arabian Sea, is protected as a heritage site by the state archaeological department. Its steps are built with black basalt stones while the ‘Deepastambhs’ in the periphery are constructed with lime plaster and bricks. Read more
With the majestic Gateway of India serving as the perfect backdrop, Thursday (March 30) evening saw a celebration of Indian craftsmanship as luxury fashion house Dior unveiled its pre-fall 2023 collection in Mumbai in the presence of who’s who of the city and beyond.
Heralded as a tribute to Indian textile and handicraft, the collection marked the three-decade long partnership and friendship shared between Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director of Women’s Collection, Dior and Karishma Swali, Creative Director, Chanakya International and Chanakya School of Craft. Read more
Maharashtra cabinet minister Girish Mahajan on Friday said, ' The CM Eknath Shinde and DyCM Devendra Fadnavis who is also home minister is closely monitoring developments in Sambhajinagar (earlier Aurangabad) city. If the state government is informed situation is not conducive for large gathering by the police department and intelligence department state government can intervene.
Based on the police department reports decision will be taken regarding MVA rally on April 2.
The MVA has convened a rally its first rally after the renaming of Aurangabad city as Sambhajinagar on April 2. All three political parties Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena ( UBT) leaders and party workers will attend the rally.
However, riots in Sambhajinagar following clashes between two groups had led to tension with additional police force deployed in the city. The AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel who represents Sambhajinagar has repeatedly urged both Hindus and Muslims to maintain communal harmony.
Special court to pass order on the bail application of bookie Anil Jaisinghani and his cousin Nirmal Jaisinghani on Saturday. The court today heard arguments on bail by the accused's lawyers and the Mumbai police and reserved it for orders tomorrow. The two are booked on allegations of blackmail and extortion of Amruta Fadnavis, wife of deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Meanwhile, the special court has allowed a transit remand plea filed by Madhya Pradesh police seeking Anil Jaisinghani's custody in a Excise Act case filed in the state. The court directed the MP police to return Jaisinghani to the jail in Maharashtra after his police custody is concluded. Goa Police officials also came before court seeking his custody in a case filed there. The plea is likely to be heard on April 5.
To bring down Land Surface Temperature (LST) and to tackle the industrial dust as well as carbon footprint, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) controlling Mumbai city is creating an urban forest at Marol industrial estate at Andheri (east) in the Western suburbs.
Ever since the construction of Metro Railway lines had begun, an increase in land surface temperature was recorded in the area. Between 2005 and 2010, the average LST alongside land parcels of Metro line 1 stretch ranged between 29 and 33 degrees Celsius. However, after the construction began, the average maximum LST temperature varied between 34 and 38 degrees. Read more
A man was killed and a couple injured when three persons attacked them with sharp weapons over a property dispute in Maharashtra's Thane district on Friday, police said.
The incident took place in Ulhasnagar town of the district in the early hours of the day, an official said.
Manveer Marotia, a resident of Fire Line, was heading to work around 7 am when the accused attacked him and killed him on the spot, he said.
The trio also attacked Rampal Karotia and his wife Rakhi, who were present at the scene, and injured them, the official said.
The couple was rushed to a hospital, where they are undergoing treatment, he said. (PTI)
Reacting to the violent clash that broke out between two groups during the 'Ram Navami' Shobha Yatra, Maharashtra minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said that the procession was taken out after permission from the police and such incident is unfortunate.
"The procession was taken out after permission from the police, it was stopped in between during the time of namaz. Despite that such incident is unfortunate. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the probe. Normalcy was restored and many people were arrested," said Mangal Prabhat Lodha on the Rama Navami incident in Malad.
Earlier in the day, Mumbai Police arrested 20 people after a scuffle occurred on Thursday between two groups during the 'Rama Navami' Shobha Yatra in Malad's Malvani area. (ANI)
The Mumbai police conducted a lathi-charge in the city’s Malwani area on Thursday night to avert communal clashes following sloganeering after a Ram Navami procession passed through the area. Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Satyanarayan Choudhary and other senior police officers reached the spot to oversee the situation, officials said.
A police officer said that the area was peaceful on Friday morning and there was a massive police presence to ensure that no untoward incident takes place. (Read More)
? As many as 20 people were detained on Thursday after a scuffle broke out between two groups during the 'Ram Navami' Shobha Yatra in Malad's Malvani area
? Situation was tense for a while but it is under control now. A case has been filed against more than 300 unidentified people for jeopardising the atmosphere in the area," said Police.
? Some of the participants alleged stone pelting, which created panic among people, DCP Bansal said. "One person suffered minor injuries in the incident. Legal action is being taken," he added.
? A case has been registered under IPC sections 324, 353 and several other sections at Malvani police station in Mumbai.
A man injured in the police firing that took place in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (previously Aurangabad) on Wednesday night after communal clashes broke out in the Kiradpura area succumbed to his injuries on Thursday night.
The incident occurred on Wednesday night after an argument outside a Ram Mandir on the eve of Ram Navami escalated into violence. Two groups squared off and indulged in stone pelting leading to the intervention of the local police. Subsequently, the police were also targeted with a mob attacking police officials. Around 14 police vehicles were damaged and 17 police officials were injured. (Read More)
A day after the Supreme Court said hate speech “is happening because the State is impotent, State is powerless, State doesn’t act in time”, and will stop “the moment politics and religion are segregated,” while hearing a plea seeking contempt proceedings against Maharashtra Police for failing to take action against inflammatory speeches at rallies by right-wing outfits, the Congress on Thursday said the state government has no right to remain in power. (Read More)
The commercial operations for the first phase of Mumbai’s first underground metro – Aqua Line – will be carried out with nine trains, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) has told The Indian Express. The arrival of the trains, each having eight coaches, is expected by July. It will be a key step forward for the Aqua Line Phase-1 launch, targeted to be completed by December. (Read More)
The Mumbai Police on Thursday lodged an FIR against unknown persons for allegedly indulging in caste-based discrimination, resulting in the suicide of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student Darshan Solanki on February 13.
Even as the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Maharashtra government to probe the case had recovered a purported “suicide note” written by Darshan, where he had allegedly named a batchmate, the last few days had witnessed a disagreement between the SIT and his parents over what led the first-year BTech student to jump from his hostel on the IIT campus. (Read More)
The Maharashtra government on Thursday told the Bombay High Court it has decided to allot 30.16 acres of land in suburban Bandra for the construction of a new HC building.
A government resolution (order) to this effect would be issued soon, Maharashtra's Advocate General Birendra Saraf told a division bench of Acting Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne.
Saraf said the proposed complex in the upscale suburb would also house central tribunals and chambers for lawyers.
At present, the Bombay HC, one of the oldest in India, is located in south Mumbai.
The bench was hearing a petition seeking contempt action against the state government for non-compliance of a 2019 HC order on the issue of land allotment for a new building. (PTI)
Mumbai is expected to face low-water pressure for the next few days as another pipeline in Thane has been damaged by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), while carrying out excavation for piling works.
It is pertinent to note that there will already be a 15% water cut in Mumbai starting March 31, for 30 days owing to the repair works of water-pipeline, that supplies water to the island city and suburbs from the Bhandup water filtration plant. The said water pipeline was also punctured during an excavation work taken up by authorities.
Also, earlier between March 27 and 29, the BMC had imposed a 15% water cut in 15 municipal wards in suburbs and island city after another underground pipeline was damaged in Thane.
Senior civic officials on Thursday said that a 2,345 mm diameter of a water-supply pipeline was damaged which would affect the flow of water. Civic officials said that this site is a few meters away from the site where pipeline damages had occurred three weeks back.
The civic officials have alleged that the TMC which is supervising the works had knowledge about the alignment of the pipeline yet it was damaged.
“The entire water supply to Mumbai will be affected and the period of repair will take at least two days,” said the official.
Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said the ongoing work on the Mumbai-Goa national highway will get over by December this year, which would cut the travel time between these places to four-and-a-half hours and give a huge boost to development in Maharashtra's Konkan region.
He was speaking to reporters at Ratnagiri, around 340 km from here.
"The Mumbai to Goa highway stretch has been divided into 10 packages (phases) and road construction activity in all packages, except two, is almost over. Most of the pending construction work on the road and one tunnel will be completed by December this year," the Minister of Road Transport and Highways said.
"By December, the entire stretch will be available for vehicular movement and the distance can be completed in four-and-a-half hours," he said. (PTI)
Two orphaned tiger cubs rescued from the Pandharkawada forest range in Maharashtra's Yavatmal district have been moved to Pench Tiger Reserve for “rewilding”, an official said on Thursday.
Rewilding involves the reintroduction of a tiger cub into the wild when it becomes apparent that the big cat is capable of surviving in the jungle independently.
The tiger cubs were rescued on March 14 from Ghatanji forest, a few weeks after the death of their mother, tigress PKT-7, said officials.
According to a release by Prabhu Nath Shukla, deputy director of Pench Tiger Reserve-Maharashtra, the 8-month-old tiger cubs were on Wednesday released into the Titralmangi enclosure at the protected forest for rewilding. (PTI)
Maharashtra reported 694 new cases in the state today and no deaths were recorded today. Active case count was pegged at 3,016 today and 192 cases were recorded in Mumbai.
The Bombay High Court asked actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and his ex-wife Zainab Siddiqui to appear before it along with their two minor children on April 3 to explore the possibility of settling their issues amicably for the sake of the children.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh was hearing a habeas corpus (produce the person) petition filed by the actor seeking a direction to his former wife to reveal the whereabouts of their 12-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.
The actor had claimed his wife had brought the children from Dubai to India without informing him and this was affecting their education as they were not attending school.
Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, sought for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, has approached a US court for a status conference after waiting for an order on his extradition to India for more than 20 months.
Rana, 62, a childhood friend of David Coleman Headley, was re-arrested on June 10 in Los Angeles on an extradition request by India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which 166 people, including six Americans, were killed. He is a declared fugitive in India.
US District Court Judge in Los Angeles Jacqueline Chooljian held the last hearing on the extradition issue in June 2021 and the last set of papers was filed in July 2021. The court is yet to give a verdict on the US government's request to extradite Rana to India.
In a motion moved through his lawyer, Rana has asked for a status conference. “The last pleading in the case was filed on July 21, 2021. Given the passage of time and Rana's continued incarceration, it appears appropriate for the court and counsel to discuss the current status of the matter,” his lawyer said.
A man was arrested in Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra for allegedly kidnapping a 5-year-old girl, a police official said.
The child was kidnapped on Wednesday from near her house in Taloja, Deputy Commissioner of Police Pankaj Dahane said. "After being alerted by the child's parents, four police teams began a probe and zeroed in on an abandoned scooter belonging to the accused. A search was mounted in the area, with personnel from the RAF nearby as well as dog squad being deployed," he said. (PTI)
The Supreme Court has told the Maharashtra government why it should order for a CBI probe into the alleged lynching of three persons in Palghar in 2020 when the state has no objection to such an investigation.
The court asked the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit to this effect. "Why should we pass the order that you (Maharashtra) give it to CBI," a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala told the counsel for the Maharashtra government on Wednesday when he said the state has no objection to the submissions of the petitioners that the case be probed by the central probe agency.
Earlier, the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had opposed the plea for CBI probe into the case. (PTI)
AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel, who represents Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency, urged people to maintain peace. He also appealed people not to believe in any rumours. "This is a pious month of Ramadan. And today is Ram Navmi festival," he said. The AIMIM leader himself visited old Ram temple. He reassured people that there was no damage to temple. Therefore, people should not fall prey to falsity.
Fadnavis, who also holds home portfolio, said, "There was some unfortunate incident that happened yesterday night (in Sambhaji Nagar). But the situation is under control. It is my appeal to everybody not to politicize the incident. Nobody should make provocative statements."
A clash broke out between groups in the Kiradpura area of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (earlier known as Aurangabad) on Wednesday night. Several police vehicles were set on fire and pelted with stones amid the violence.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the situation has been brought under control by the police and action would be taken against those involved in the arson. He also appealed all to maintain peace. Read more
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis flagged off a bike rally on the occassion of Ram Navami on Thursday.
Communal violence broke out in Paldhi in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, 400 km north of Mumbai, on Tuesday night after a religious procession accompanied by DJ music was taken out in front of a mosque.
The incident occurred when a ‘dindi’, a religious procession, en route from Jalgaon to Vani in Nashik district passed Paldhi village. An argument over the music being played in front of the mosque led to a scuffle which escalated into stone pelting, the police said. While locals alleged that the houses of Muslims were looted and the property was damaged, the police denied the charges. Read more
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday blamed the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra for the clashes that broke out in Sambhaji Nagar (previously Aurangabad) on Wednesday evening and alleged that the government was “working to ensure that there would be riots in the state”.
Hitting out at Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio, Raut said that the home minister and home ministry are “invisible” in the state and alleged that Fadnavis was looking “frustrated and depressed”.