BJP MP from Pune, Girish Bapat was critically ill and on life support in the city's Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, a statement from the hospital said on Wednesday.Mumbai News Highlights: BJP MP from Pune, Girish Bapat passed away due to prolonged illness on Wednesday. He was critically ill and on life support in the city’s Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, a statement from the hospital said earlier in the day.
In other news, With the Opposition displaying a rare show of unity in the fallout of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) MP Sanjay Raut indicated that the Thackeray camp will “definitely” attend the Congress-led Opposition meeting, and the protest today. “We give utmost priority to the unity of Opposition. The opposition is united in Maharashtra and also in the country,” Raut told ANI.
On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court had issued summons to Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, party MLA Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut in a defamation case filed by Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s leader Rahul Shewale, Bar and Bench reported. Shewale has sued Uddhav, Aaditya and Raut for their statements that the Shinde faction bought the Shiv Sena symbol for Rs 2,000 crore.
The accused (right) being brought to Bandra police station on Monday. (ANI)
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes after Pune MP Girish Bapat’s demise, remembering the “humble and hardworking leader” who “worked extensively for the development of Maharashtra”.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and former CM Uddhav Thackeray spoke in one voice to remember Bapat’s “people-oriented leadership” who worked tirelessly for workers and farmers.
Here is how leaders across political lines remembered Girish Bapat
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes after Pune MP Girish Bapat’s demise, remembering the “humble and hardworking leader” who “worked extensively for the development of Maharashtra”.
In order to avoid malpractices in their recruitment process, the Mumbai police this year started using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips to measure the speed and timings of the applicants during 100m and 1,600m races. However, 16 candidates have been booked for swapping their RFID chips to cheat in the physical tests.
Modus operandi: Police said the aspirants who they suspect belong to the same place had swapped their RFID chips.
Read the full story here
Several areas in Mumbai’s island city and suburban belt will face a 15 per cent water cut for 30 days, starting March 31 (Friday), due to a water pipeline getting damaged, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
Read the details of the water cut here
The students’ union president of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) who has chosen to be identified as queer has claimed discrimination at an event on the campus over “inappropriate” dress.
A TISS professor said the institute is known for its inclusive nature and they will look into the matter if there has been any incidence where any student was made to feel discriminated against. Read more
The sales tax department of Maharashtra Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that actor Anushka Sharma is “the first owner of copyrights” in every artistic performance where she received consideration, including her performances at award functions or stage shows, and therefore she is liable to pay sales tax for the same.
Read more
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.
Read the full story here
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is geared up to hold a special ceremony and celebrations as the first consignment of teakwood from the forests of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra is being despatched to Ayodhya on Wednesday for the construction of Ram temple. Read more
Amid recovery of a purported ‘suicide note’ by the SIT, written allegedly by Darshan Solanki, who died by suicide on February 12, Solanki’s parents — Ramesh Solanki and Tarlikaben Solanki — met Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi president Prakash Ambedkar in Mumbai on Tuesday and apprised him of the development in the case.
Confirming the meeting, the grandson of B R Ambedkar told The Indian Express, “The parents told me they were called by police to record their statements and said that if they don’t record the statement against the boy named in the suicide note, he would get bail.”
Read the full story here
An environmental activist on Tuesday filed a fresh public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court, challenging the permission granted by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Tree Authority on March 15 to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) for felling 177 trees at Aarey Colony for the Metro 3 car shed project.
Pending hearing in the plea, the petitioner has sought from the court a stay for further processing of the permission given by the Tree Authority. Read more
THE 23-YEAR-OLD man arrested for allegedly running over a 58-year-old woman at Worli Sea Face last week approached the sessions court for bail, stating that the spot of the incident was a blind spot with a sharp turn and the jogger was running in the wrong direction.
The metropolitan magistrate in Dadar had on Monday rejected the bail plea of Sumer Merchant, stating that photographs of the spot submitted by the police show that there is no such blind spot. Read more
Opposing bail to bookie Anil Jaisinghani, arrested for alleged blackmail and extortion of Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Mumbai Police on Tuesday told a special court that the accused may threaten Amruta again or defame her or Fadnavis via the news media or social media.
The police also opposed the bail application of Anil’s cousin Nirmal Jaisinghani, another accused in the case. Read more
As many as 18,869 farmers have lost their crops and agricultural produce due to unseasonal rains between March 1 and 19 in Palghar district of Maharashtra, as per an official release.
Due to the spell, winds, and dew, crops and agriculture produce on 3502.83 hectors of land were destroyed. The destruction is more than 33% of the agricultural and horticultural produce, the release said.
An assistance of Rs 7,87,36,125 has been sought from the government for the farmers affected by the unseasonal rains and other calamities, it said. (PTI)
A witness who is related to an absconding accused turned hostile in the 2008 Malegaon blast trial. He became the 31st prosecution witness to be declared hostile in the case in which BJP MP from Bhopal, Pragya Singh Thakur, is one of the key accused.
The witness, in his statement to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), had allegedly said that this absconding accused had met Pragya Thakur on multiple occasions.
The Bombay High Court granted interim protection from any coercive action to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Executive member and its Mumbai unit president Preeti Sharma Menon and another party worker in connection with a case filed against them under the stringent SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A division bench of Justices S B Shukre and Miling Sathaye also stayed investigation into the case for four weeks. The bench was hearing a petition filed by Menon and her party colleague Manu Pillai seeking to quash the FIR (first information report) registered against them.
The FIR was lodged on March 16, 2023, at the the Andheri police station in suburban Mumbai on a complaint of AAP member Sanjay Kamble. (PTI)
The illegal dredging of sand from the Vaitarna river is threatening the safety of the rail bridge between Vaitarna and Saphale stations in Palghar district of Maharashtra.
A criminal offence was registered against two persons recently at Mandvi police station under section 151 of the Railways Act (Damage to or destruction of certain railway properties), various sections of the Indian Penal Code, and the Environment Protection Act for illegal sand mining. No arrest is made so far, a police officer said.
Toll for vehicles on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway will increase by 18 percent from April 1.
A senior MSRDC official told PTI that though the toll increases by six percent annually, it is implemented cumulatively at 18 percent after every three years, as laid down in a government notification of August 9, 2004.
Here is how much you will have to pay from April 1 onwards
BJP MP from Pune, Girish Bapat is presently critically ill and on life support in the city’s Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, a statement from the hospital said on Wednesday. “A team of doctors is monitoring him very closely”, the statement added.
With the Opposition displaying a rare show of unity in the fallout of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from the Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) MP Sanjay Raut indicated that the Thackeray camp will “definitely” attend the Congress-led Opposition meeting, and the protest today. “We give utmost priority to the unity of Opposition. The opposition is united in Maharashtra and also in the country,” Raut told ANI.
He added, "Whatever our issues with Congress, we have held talks internally and gotten a satisfactory response."
It is a common sight around Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Parel—the biggest cancer hospital in Asia -- to see patients and their kin take shelter on footpaths. To provide some relief to these needy patients who come to the hospital from across India, TMH on Tuesday inaugurated a new patient hostel called Dharamshala in Parel which can accommodate 100 patients and their kins.
“We already have over 1,000 beds that run outside our hospital to provide accommodations to patients who come from outside Mumbai. Despite this, we see patients on footpaths. So, we are hoping to provide some relief to the patients who will be given accommodation in these flats during the course of their treatment,” said Dr Rajendra Badwe, Director, Tata Memorial Centre.
Dr Shailesh Shrikhande, gastrointestinal cancer surgeon and deputy director at the hospital who spearheaded the project, said that at present, the hospital receives 50 inquiries daily for accommodation out of which only 50 percent requests can be fulfilled.
Considering the growing incidences of cancer and the rising footfall at TMH, the administration is also making alternative arrangements of 300 flats inside the Haffkine Institute, located nearby.
A 40-year-old male patient died by suicide at Nair Hospital on Tuesday morning. The patient, who was under the cardiology department, was admitted on March 1, and operated upon on March 8. An FIR in the case has been filed.
Maharashtra has reported a total of five H3N2-related deaths between January and March, confirmed state health reports.
The Bar Association of Maharashtra and Goa has suspended the licence of advocate Gunratan Sadavarte for two years after finding him guilty of misconduct, an official from the lawyers' body said on Tuesday. (PTI)
A woman who had consumed poison outside Mantralaya, the headquarters of the Maharashtra government here, died in hospital on Tuesday, police said.
The condition of another woman who too had consumed poison along with her was serious, said an official. The incident had taken place on Monday. (PTI)
A special court on Tuesday allowed an application filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking that a Letter of Request (LR) be issued to Nepal for collection of evidence related to three accused in the Antilia terror scare and Mansukh Hiran murder case.
The NIA through its special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves made an application stating that NIA wants to gather evidence with relation to where three of the accused had stayed in March 2021 after allegedly murdering Hiran, a man linked to the SUV planted with gelatin sticks was parked near the residence of industrialist Mukesh Ambani. The NIA had alleged that after Hiran's murder on March 4-5, 2021, accused Santosh Shelar, Satish Mothkuri and Manish Soni had fled the city and went to Nepal and then to Dubai to evade arrest. The NIA submitted that if the LR is not issued as per provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, there are chances of tampering of evidence.
"Considering the request....and the evidence required, application is allowed. Issue letter of request in the name of competent authority of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal and seek all the evidences as required by the NIA in this application," special judge A M Patil said.
Ten persons were booked in connection with the case including three dismissed Mumbai policemen. The NIA had filed its chargesheet against the ten in September 2021. The trial in the case is yet to begin.
Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar Tuesday said he has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanding an SIT probe into allegations of corruption in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
He claimed that a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India report has exposed corruption to the tune of Rs 8,485 crore in several works executed by the civic body. Read more
For over two years, the male students of the Topiwala National Medical College and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are deprived of a canteen facility on their hostel premises situated 2-3 kilometres away, thanks to the delay in tendering process for the canteen. Due to the distance between the hostel and hospital, around 400 residents of the gents’ hostel are forced to depend on street food. Read the story here
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said Tuesday that NCP chief Sharad Pawar spoke to Rahul Gandhi in the wake of the issue over the Congress leader’s remarks on VD Savarkar and added that he advised Rahul to refrain from commenting on the Hindutva ideologue while reminding him that the current fight is against autocracy.
Raut, who is currently in Delhi, also said that during the meeting of Opposition party leaders at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Monday, many including the Nationalist Congress Party president asked Rahul to refrain from making statements on Savarkar. Read more here
NCP senior leader Chhagan Bhujbal has tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he said, "I have tested Corona positive. All those who came in my contact in last two to three days should exercise caution and get tested. No reasons to worry. I am otherwise fine".
The Bombay Lawyers Association on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against a high court decision dismissing its PIL against Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for their remarks on judiciary and the collegium system for appointment of judges.
What does the Association claim?
The Bombay Lawyers Association had claimed that Rijiju and Dhankhar showed lack of faith in the Constitution with their remarks and conduct. It had sought orders to restrain Dhankhar from discharging duty as the vice president, and Rijiju from discharging his duty as the cabinet minister for the central government. Read here
The Mumbai police have opposed bail to Anil Jaisinghani and his cousin, Nirmal, who were arrested in connection with the alleged blackmail and extortion of Amruta Fadnavis.
In the reply filed to their bail applications before the special court now, the police have said that investigation in the case is still ongoing and if released on bail, the two will obstruct collection of evidence.
Amid strains in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi alliance over Rahul Gandhi’s strident criticism of V D Savarkar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar has stepped in to play the peacemaker by conveying the Shiv Sena’s concerns on the issue to the Congress leadership.
Opposition leaders said Congress has agreed to tone down its criticism of Savarkar, which has led to unease among the NCP and Shiv Sena, its alliance partners in Maharashtra. Read more here
The Bombay High Court while hearing a petition filed by an animal lover against the resolution of the housing society’s managing committee to hire bouncers to stop members from feeding strays, observed that “to hate stray dogs and/or treat them with cruelty can never be an acceptable approach from persons of civil society”.
A day after the court’s warning, the society on Tuesday made a statement that there were no bouncers in its area for such purposes. Read the story here
Mumbai saw the highest residential property sales over the last five years in the calendar year 2022. The total sales of residential real estate in the city stood at 51,390 units in 2022, up by 37 per cent from the previous year, according to a report by PropEquity, a real estate data and analytics company.
Ranjit Savarkar told the media, “Does Rahul Gandhi have any proof to establish V D Savarkar had apologised to the Britishers?”
“The Congress leader has repeatedly indulged in such false statements against Savarkar. We have condemned them and filed police complaints in the past also,” said Ranjit. Read More
The construction of a 21-metre-high simulator building comprising a three-story structure with a total 3,278.66 square metre built-up area at Mandale depot has been completed. The simulator, on the lines of aircraft simulators, will offer training to Metro train pilots and operators, through real-time simulation.
Earlier, the Mumbai Metro drivers or pilots were sent to Hyderabad due to a lack of infrastructure, said an official from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the nodal agency appointed by the state for metro construction work. Read More
Savarkar said, “Every time Rahul Gandhi says something disrespectful, we’ve pushed for a legal investigation.” Sometime back in Maharashtra, he said, Gandhi made a similar statement for which he filed a complaint with the Maharashtra police. Similarly, five years ago, he said he filed a case in Bhoiwada Court upon which the court directed police to send a notice to him. “So, now, I will yet again file an FIR,” Savarkar asserted. Read More
The Bombay High Court recently dismissed a writ plea seeking to investigate the alleged role of former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in the Antilia terror scare case registered in 2021 and the murder of businessman Mansukh Hiran. The court observed that the material relied upon by the petitioner was mere “hearsay evidence.”
A division bench of Justices Sunil B Shukre and Kamal R Khata on March 23 passed an order in a plea by one Parshuram Rambhilakh Sharma who claimed to be a social activist. Read More
Commuters using the Mumbai Pune Expressway will have to shell out more toll from April 1.
At a time when the city is reeling under unusually high air pollution in summer, data shows that a total of 1,220 people have succumbed to bronchitis between 2016 and 2021. Doctors warned that worsening air quality works as a trigger for respiratory disorders and contribute to more fatalities.
On an average, between 2016 and 2021, annually 203 people in Mumbai have succumbed to bronchitis — an inflammation of the lining of bronchial tubes, which carry air to and from the lungs. Interested in reading more? Here you go
The Maharashtra government has constituted a seven-member committee to formulate a policy framework and device a roadmap for the development of Integrated Health and Educational Hubs in the state.
The government aims to set up three such hubs, at Nagpur, Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad) and Navi Mumbai, each on about 1,000 acres of land parcels, with the aim of “empowering medical and educational services of Maharashtra, to make it a desired and trusted medical tourism destination”, according to a government resolution (GR). Read More
The Bombay High Court on Monday allowed a plea related to the death of 22-year-old Altaf Kadir Shaikh at Ghatkopar police station in September 2009, and directed that murder charges be framed against the three accused police officials under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The High Court also directed that the trial be concluded in the case in an expeditious manner, preferably within a year in accordance with law. The court asked the three accused police officials to appear before the trial court on April 24. Read the full story here.
With the Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 causing yet another spurt in new Covid cases, Maharashtra health authorities have appealed to the public to take precautionary doses.
As many as 17.5 crore Covid vaccine doses have been administered across Maharashtra. However, to date, less than a crore have taken booster shots.
Maharashtra has 2,212 active cases of Covid-19 infection and Pune leads among the districts with the most number of cases. Read More