Industrialist Mukesh Ambani. (File Image)Mumbai News Highlights: The Gamdevi police have arrested a 19-year-old man from Telangana for sending multiple threatening emails to industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The accused, identified as Ganesh Ramesh Vanpardhi, was arrested on Saturday and produced before the court. He has been remanded in police custody until November 8.
Eariler, Industrialist Mukesh Ambani received two more email threats, threatening to eliminate him if he fails to pay Rs 400 crore money. The email sender was suspected to be the same person who previously sent three threat emails on different occasions. The sender had sent emails on October 31st and November 1st. The Gamdevi police and Mumbai Crime Branch officials are investigating the matter. Ambani received threatening emails on the company’s email IDs — first on Friday evening and the next one on Saturday, last week.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to deploy 121 tankers in service along with manpower across 650 km of roads around the city to carry out regular cleaning, in order to combat dust pollution. The move comes along the heels of the publication of the ongoing series—Death by Breath—by The Indian Express which has put the spotlight on the rapidly worsening of Air Quality Index (AQI) levels amidst unmonitored construction projects.
In other news, in a significant crackdown on industrial sources of air pollution. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has slapped ‘closure notices’ to the city-based units of CEAT Tyres and the Deonar-based ready-mix cement (RMC) plant of JSW Green Cement for violating the air pollution standards set by the governing bodies.
Serving the top bosses in Ballard Estate its popular butter-slathered bun maska and crispy patti samosa with a generous filling of potato, onion and coconut is the 87-year-old National Hindu Restaurant.
Helmed by third-generation restaurateur Sudesh Kini, the restaurant was started in 1936 by his grandfather Kodi Narahari Kini, a farmer who migrated to Mumbai from Kodi, a village near Dakshina Kannada, about 60 km from Udupi.
Over the years, the restaurant changed many hands, including that of a restaurateur in the same neighbourhood when Kodi Narahari passed away at a young age, leaving behind a wife and three young sons. Read more
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will visit Mumbai on Monday where he will interact with students of IIT-Mumbai, his office said.
An official statement said on Saturday that Dhankhar will interact with the students and faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay. (PTI)
The Thane police in Maharashtra have arrested two journalists and an “RTI activist” for allegedly trying to extort money from a government official by defaming him and orchestrating a fake protest, an official said on Saturday.
The police have identified the trio as Santosh Bhikan Hirey (44) of the weekly ‘Navasfurti', published from Ambernath in Thane district, Samsad Sajjadkhan Pathan (48), editor of the weekly ‘Lok Rajkaran' in Nashik, and Subash Nathu Patil (40), a Nashik resident who acquired information under RTI.
The three were arrested on the complaint of a sub-registrar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shivraj Patil told reporters.
The accused told the government official that they would print reports in their publications that corrupt practices were going on in his office and would demand his dismissal if he didn't pay up Rs 2 lakh. (PTI)
The stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has been invoked against five robbers by the Latur police, an official said on Saturday.
The robbers are part of a gang involved in several crimes across the state, he said.
Acting on a tip-off, a police patrol team had busted the gang, comprising five adults and a minor, on May 15 when it was trying to rob an apartment in Latur.
A case was registered at Vivekananda Chowk police station in the city. During their probe, the police found that the gang had committed several serious crimes in Latur district and parts of Maharashtra.
A proposal was then sent to higher authorities to add MCOCA provisions in the chargesheet and permission was received recently, the official said. (PTI)
Eight bodies have been recovered till Saturday afternoon following the fire that broke out at a pharmaceutical company in Maharashtra's Raigad district a day ago, while search for three missing persons continued, an official said.
The blaze at Blue Jet Healthcare in MIDC Mahad in Raigad district, some 170 kilometres from here, started at 11am on Friday, the National Disaster Response Force official added.
"While four bodies were found till 7am, another four were recovered till 5pm. These are part of the 11 persons who had gone missing following the fire. Search operations with personnel from local agencies as well as NDRF for the remaining three continue," he said.
As per initial probe, the fire may have started due to a short circuit, leading to barrels filled with chemicals at the site exploding, which further intensified the blaze, the official said. (PTI)
Maharashtra ministers Sandipan Bhumre and Atul Save on Saturday met Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange and handed him a copy of a document extending the scope of the Shinde Committee formed to study the feasibility of giving Kunbi certificates to community members.
Among the demands of Jarange is that Marathas be given Kunbi certificates so that they can get reservation under the Other Backward Classes segment. The Eknath Shinde government had appointed a committee under retired judge Sandeep Shinde to study this demand and how it can be implemented.
"The Shinde committee's scope has been extended from Marathwada to all of Maharashtra," Bhumre told reporters after meeting Jarange, who broke his hunger strike on November 2 after starting it on October 25 in Jalna, and is recuperating in a private hospital. (PTI)
To facilitate construction work on the upcoming Vidyavihar Railway Over Bridge (ROB), the BMC has announced a special traffic and power block at the eastern suburb’s Vidyavihar railway station between 1.10 am and 4.20 am on Sunday. Over five months after the launch of the first girder, the civic body is set to launch the second girder of the ROB, a project which had been conceived seven years ago.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said state police personnel with drug links will not just be suspended but also dismissed from service.
Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said anyone involved in the manufacturing and peddling of drugs will be booked under harsh laws.
“People involved will face strict action, but those police officials found to be involved (in drug trade) will not just be suspended but also dismissed under (Article) 311 (of the Constitution),” Fadnavis said.
Constitution's Article 311 pertains to the dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil capacities under the Centre or a state.
The state police have undertaken a campaign to make Maharashtra drug-free and raids are being undertaken in every district, he said.
Work is happening at the national level and the inter-state movement of gangs involved in the drug trade is being monitored, he said.
The state police have confiscated drugs worth hundreds of crores of rupees, the deputy CM said. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tribute to BJP MLA Govardhan Sharma who died in Maharashtra's Akola after battling cancer.
In a post on X, Modi wrote, "Pained at the passing away of MLA in Maharashtra Assembly Shri Govardhan Sharmaji. He will be remembered for his notable efforts to serve the society. He made a mark as an effective legislator, who always highlighted issues of public welfare. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti." Sharma (74), popularly known as 'Lalaji, represented the Akola West Assembly seat six times since 1995. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said the drive of tracing documents of Kunbi antecedents of Marathas, which is currently being implemented in the Marathwada region, will be carried out across the state. This campaign should be implemented in a mission mode, Shinde directed all divisional commissioners and district collectors during a meeting held in Mumbai on Friday.
His direction a day after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange called off his indefinite hunger strike seeking reservation to Marathas, but vowed to lead a massive march to Mumbai if no decision was taken on the emotive issue within two months.
Speaking after the meeting, CM Shinde said, "The campaign that was implemented in the Marathwada region for searching the Kunbi records will now be extended to the entire state." The Justice (retired) Sandeep Shinde committee will work for the entire state, he said. He also announced that an officer of the additional chief secretary rank has been appointed to monitor the work.
Divisional commissioners and district collectors across the state attended the meeting via video conferencing.
While taking stock of the work of tracing the Kunbi documents, the chief minister issued directions to the divisional commissioner of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division to conduct a workshop of divisional commissioners and district collectors in the entire state and give information about the functioning of the Shinde committee.
He directed the district magistrates to make the required information available on war footing within a month so that it becomes convenient for the Backward Class Commission to collect the empirical data of the community.
On Friday, CM Shinde also held another meeting at his official residence 'Varsha', which was attended by state chief secretary Manoj Saunik, additional chief secretary of the general administrative department Nitin Gadre, additional chief secretary of finance department Nitin Kareer, additional chief secretary of the revenue department Rajgopal Devra and secretary of the social justice department Sumanth Bhange.
The CM said the records related to Kunbi registration should be authenticated and digitalised. He said these records should be translated from Urdu and 'Modi' script (which was used to write Marathi language in earlier times), and uploaded on the website.
Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture, are grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Maharashtra and enjoy reservation benefits in education and government jobs.
The Maharashtra cabinet last month decided that Kunbi caste certificates will be issued to those Marathas hailing from Marathwada region who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis. Earlier this week, the government published an order asking officials concerned to issue fresh Kunbi caste certificates to eligible Maratha community members, paving the way for them to avail reservation benefits under the OBC category. (PTI)
The fire that broke out at a pharmaceutical company in Maharashtra's Raigad district a day ago has killed four persons and left seven others injured, and a search operation is underway to trace seven missing individuals, an official said on Saturday.
The blaze erupted at Blue Jet Healthcare at the Mahad MIDC in neighbouring Raigad around 11 am on Friday, the official of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said.
"Till 7 am today, the bodies of four persons have been recovered. These deceased were among the 11 persons who had gone missing after the fire at the factory. Our search operation is still underway to trace the seven persons who are missing," he said.
As per the initial investigation, the fire broke out due to a short circuit, the official said.
Officials on Friday said that the blaze erupted following a blast at the factory. The fire then led the barrels containing chemicals to explode. (PTI)
Industrialist Mukesh Ambani received two more email threats, threatening to eliminate him if he fails to pay Rs 400 crore money. The email sender is suspected to be the same person who previously sent three threat emails on different occasions. The sender has now sent emails on October 31st and November 1st. The accused has not changed the ransom amount of Rs 400 crore, mentioned in the previous email, said a police source.
The Gamdevi police and Mumbai Crime Branch officials are investigating the matter. Ambani received threat emails on the company’s email IDs — first on Friday evening and the next one on Saturday, last week.
Read more.
Seven persons were injured and 11 others went missing after a fire broke out following an explosion at a pharmaceutical company in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Friday, police said.
The blast occurred at Blue Jet Healthcare Company in the Mahad MIDC area around 10.30 am. It triggered a blaze, due to which barrels containing chemicals, which were kept on the premises, exploded, he said.
The authorities had earlier said that the fire broke out first and led to the blast at the factory.
Workers were inside the factory at the time of the incident. Seven of them sustained serious burns and were rushed to a hospital, he said. (PTI)
There is sufficient material at this stage to prima facie show involvement of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita in a money laundering case linked to an alleged fraud of Rs 538 crore at Canara Bank, a special court here noted while taking cognizance of the Enforcement Directorate's chargesheet against the couple in the case.
Besides the Goyals, the central probe agency has named four companies --Jet Airways (India) Ltd (JIL), Jetair Pvt Ltd, Jet Enterprises Pvt Ltd and Jet Airways LLC, Dubai -- as accused in the case.
M G Deshpande, the special judge hearing cases filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), took cognizance of the chargesheet on November 1, while a detailed order was made available on Friday.
The court also asked the Goyals to remain present before it on November 9. (PTI)
Mumbai police has registered an FIR against actor-influencer Urfi Javed for making a fake video of her arrest to attract more followers and views by impersonating policemen on the video. The video has gone viral on social media platforms. The police said that she defamed Mumbai police by creating wrong image of the police force in the public.
Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule and NCP MP from Ajit Pawar group Sunil Tatkare have written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking to expedite the disqualification proceedings against each other.
Sule said on Friday that she had filed a disqualification petition on July 4, seeking Tatkare's disqualification as MP as per the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
“It has been four months but no action has been taken on this issue,” Sule said in a statement. She pointed out that the Supreme Court has directed timely resolution of such petitions to uphold the Constitution and democratic principles.
“I request no further delay in adjudicating the petition,” said Sule in the letter to Birla. The Speaker's office is yet to issue notice to Tatkare, she said. (PTI)
A man was booked for allegedly submitting fake documents to lay claim to the historic Durgadi Fort in Kalyan in Maharashtra's Thane district, a police official said on Friday.
Suyash Shirke claimed he was the descendant of some of the yesteryear rulers who had possession of the fort, on the basis of which he submitted an application to the local revenue office on September 11, 2022 seeking transfer of the ownership of the land on which the structure stands, Assistant Commissioner of Police Kalyanji Gethe told reporters.
Since the land in question had a historical structure on it, the application was forwarded to the collectorate, while at the same time the police too approached authorities seeking details since the fort was in a dilapidated condition and in urgent need of repairs, the official explained.
When the Kalyan tehsil office verified some of the documents related to the fort on February 24 this year, officials found the documents submitted with Shirke's application were fake with bogus signatures, letter head, rubber stamps etc, he said. (PTI)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has served notices to more than 100 contractors and real estate firms engaged in executing private and government projects, asking them to adhere to dust mitigation norms or face action, civic officials said as the metropolis battles poor air quality.
The BMC communication covers contractors and real estate firms in the P North civic ward in western Mumbai, mainly suburb of Malad, as the civic body seek to improve Mumbai's Air Quality Index (AQI).
Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner (P-North ward), told PTI on Friday that there are 97 under-construction private sites and 27 under-construction government projects such as roads, stormwater drains and bridges in the Malad area (total 124).
“We have issued (identically worded) letters to all of them to follow (dust mitigation and other anti-pollution) guidelines failing which necessary actions will be initiated,” Dighavkar said. (PTI)
The state transport authority (STA) in Maharashtra has not convened a single meeting in the last one year due to which several important issues concerning public transport have been left unresolved, officials said on Friday.
According to officials, the transport authority, chaired by state transport secretary Parag Jain Nainutiya, has failed to organise a single gathering despite the rule requiring at least two STA meetings in a year.
The STA is responsible for coordination among regional transport authorities (RTA), revising fares of state transport buses, granting interstate permits, and making decisions about other transport-related issues.
As per section 60 of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rule 1989, it is mandatory to convene at least two meetings of the STA within a year.
Some transporters have expressed disappointment about the functioning of the department, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. (PTI)
On a day when the Noida police named YouTuber and Bigg Boss winner Elvish Yadav in an FIR for allegedly organising a rave party where prohibited snake venom was used, the Maharashtra Congress on Friday released a photo of him at the official residence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Yadav had allegedly been invited to perform puja during the Ganesh festival.
“Is the chief minister’s residence now a tourist spot for criminals? A…YouTuber like Elvish Yadav who is accused of organising rave parties with snake drugs was specially invited for a puja at the CM’s official residence,” Atul Londhe, the chief spokesperson of Maharashtra Congress, posted on X, formerly Twitter. Read more
The Bombay High Court's public information officer has refused to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act about the structural audits of the court's heritage building in south Mumbai, claiming that revealing such details would endanger the lives of judges and other officials.
Environmental activist Zoru Bathena had last month filed an RTI application seeking copies of the last three structural audits conducted for the main and annexe buildings of the Bombay High Court. Bathena said he had sought the information to use in another matter about the reconstruction of the 135-year-old reservoir at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai.
The activist claimed that he had sought the structural audit reports of the BMC building and had received the information, but the high court refused to provide the same.
The high court's public information officer, in the response dated November 1, rejected Bathena's application, noting that the information sought cannot be furnished as it has no relation with larger public activity or interest. (PTI)
Activists of the Agri Sena on Friday showed black flags to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Friday to protest the delay in the inauguration of a water supply scheme.
The activists waved black flags at Gadkari, who arrived in Vasai town for an event in the morning, even as the police tried to restrain them.
They were protesting the delay in the inauguration of a water supply scheme, which will provide 185 MLD water to the Vasai-Virar region from Surya dam.
When contacted, an official from the civic control room said they are yet to receive information about the number of persons detained during the protest. (PTI)
Opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule on Friday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reminding him about her petition she filed four months ago seeking the disqualification of Sunil Tatkare, who represents Maharashtra’s Raigad in the Lower House.
Tatkare has joined hands with rebel NCP leader Ajit Pawar and is now the state unit chief of that faction.
“I had filed a Disqualification Petition on 4 July 2023 seeking the disqualification of Sunil Tatkare under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India. It’s been 4 months with no action taken. The delinquent MP’s actions are a blatant attack on the Tenth Schedule & the Hon’ble Supreme Court has directed timely resolution of such petitions to uphold the Constitution & democratic principles in true spirit. I request no further delay in adjudicating the petition please,” Sule wrote on X. She has written a new letter dated November 3, seeking no further delay from Birla. Read more
The air quality of India’s financial capital, Mumbai, has deteriorated in the last few weeks due to weather conditions and emissions from various sources. Dust emissions from construction activities have surfaced as a key contributor. Construction activities play a significant role in increasing the levels of PM10 – a pollutant with a diameter of 10 microns or less (one-tenth the diameter of human hair) – that can enter human lungs. In the last few weeks, PM 10 has been consistently responsible for the poor readings in the air quality index in Maharashtra’s capital.
Mumbai is undergoing a massive transformation which requires the construction of infrastructure. A review of recent reports shows that construction activities in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) area have increased by 68 per cent since 2022 and 142 per cent compared to 2021. In the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), it has grown 36 per cent since 2022 and 98 per cent since 2021. With over 11,000 private building construction sites and public projects such as the Metro, Mumbai Trans Harbor Link (MTHL), Navi Mumbai Airport, roads and other utility infrastructure, the construction sector has emerged as a major contributor to dust emissions in the city. Read more
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