Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. (Source: X/@Dev_Fadnavis)Mumbai News Today Highlights: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed a joint press conference in Mumbai on railway and other important projects on Friday. “I am very happy to announce, that in the recent cabinet meeting, PM Modi has sanctioned, doubling of railway line from Gondia to Ballarshah of worth Rs 4819 crore. In the historic third time of PM Modi, several railway projects have been sanctioned for Maharashtra. Like Manmad- Indore line, Bhusawal- Khandwa line and now this line. Projects associated with Maharashtra, along with freight corridor, Bullet train and railway station development – a total of Rs 1 lakh 73 thousand, 804 crore have been sanctioned,” said Ashwini Vaishnaw. Fadnavis also said, “MUMBAI-1 single card system for all public transportation in Mumbai region to be launched soon”
Reactions on Tahawwur Rana extradition: Political leaders have hailed the extradition of the mastermind of 26/11 attack Tahawwur Rana to India. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis “thanked PM Modi” on behalf of citizens of Mumbai for bringing Rana to India. He also said that NIA and the Union Home Ministry will decide where 26/11 terror attack conspirator Tahawwur Rana will be taken for probe. DyCM Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar also hailed the move, saying that there is no doubt that Rana would get severe punishment. In a post on X, Shinde extended his appreciation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar for the extradition. Pawar termed Rana’s extradition a major ‘breakthrough’ and said it would help unravel the crucial details of the conspiracy behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut demanded that Rana should be hanged immediately and claimed the government will do so during Bihar elections.
Mumbai Water Tanker Association strike: Mumbai Water Tanker Association went on an indefinite strike from Thursday to protest amid a dispute with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) over their notices to the owners of private wells which supply water to the tankers. The state government has sought from the Union Jal Shakti ministry. In a letter to Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, state Minister Ashish Shelar said that local authorities have started harassing Mumbai’s tanker operators in the name of fresh licenses from Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA).
E-transit (electric transport) is a good option for urban transport and officials must examine its financial viability and submit a report, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday.
He was speaking at meeting with representatives of HESS-AG company regarding the pilot launch of e-transit in Pimpri-Chinchwad civic area in Pune district.--PTI
“Phule”, based on the lives of social reformers Jyotirao Govindrao Phule and his wife Savitribai Phule, has been delayed due to objections raised by the Brahmin community and not because of the censor board suggested amendments, the film's director Ananth Mahadevan said on Friday.
The biopic, featuring the “Scam 1992” star Pratik Gandhi in the central role and Patralekhaa as his onscreen wife Savitribai Jyotiba Phule, was set for release this Friday but it will now arrive in theatres on April 25.--PTI
BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale, who is the descendent of Chhatrapati Shivaji, said he urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to announce the construction of a Shivaji memorial at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.
This comes ahead of Shah's visit to Raigad on the death anniversary of the Maratha ruler.
“It was decided to have a monument for Maratha king Shivaji in the Arabian Sea near Mumbai. Its foundation stone was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and we were also present on the occasion. However, the work did not start, most likely due to environmental issues,” Bhosale said.
Regarding the 50-acre land at Raj Bhavan, Bhosale said, “What will the state Governor do with so much land? Part of it can be used for developing the proposed memorial for Maratha king Shivaji. I have already discussed the same with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. I hope that they will declare the same tomorrow at Raigad.”
The Mumbai police has arrested four for allegedly attacking and killing a person and injuring others over a property dispute related to a dargah land in Bandra.
Imran Khan, 35, his wife Fatima Imran Khan, 37, Usmanali Shaikh, 31 and his father Zakir Ali Shaikh, 62 -- all residents of Dargah Galli, behind Badi Masjid, Bandra (West) – attacked Shakir Ali Shaikh with choppers after a heated argument over the property dispute.
Three relatives of the deceased who tried to save him were also injured in the ordeal.
Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal on Friday demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe led by a retired judge into the death of Tanisha Bhise who was allegedly denied admission by Pune-based Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital for Rs 10 lakh deposit.
Speaking to reporters in Pune, he said a case of culpable homicide must be registered against the doctors and hospital staff concerned.--PTI
Amid outrage over the death of a Tanisha Bhise in Pune after she was denied admission at a hospital, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Maharashtra condemned vandalism at healthcare establishments in the aftermath of the incident.
The state unit's president, Dr Santosh Kadam, said, "It is deeply disheartening that amidst mourning, mob justice has found a foothold."
Earlier the unit condemned what it considered "irresponsible" public statements in connection with the case made by political leaders.
(With PTI Inputs)
The Maharashtra Police on Friday rescued more than 60 Indian nationals forced into cyber slavery in Myanmar and arrested five agents, including a foreign national.
The racketeers contacted the victims through social media and promised them high-paying jobs in Thailand, among other East Asian countries.
The agents had sent the victims to Thailand on tourist visas, following which they were sent to a guarded compound at the Myanmar border where they were forced to commit cyber fraud.
238 new AC trains to be sanctioned for Mumbai suburban network: Railway minister Vaishnaw at presser with CM Fadnavis.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said that the first World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) will take place in Mumbai from May 1 to 4.
The chief minister said Mumbai will be the permanent venue for the yearly summit, which will boost the "creative economy", the fastest-growing in terms of wealth and job creation, adding that more than 5,000 delegates from 100 countries are expected to attend the summit.
(With PTI inputs)
A 40-year-old man was killed, and two members of his family sustained injuries as a group of people attacked them with sharp weapons after he opposed the peddling of drugs in Bandra here, police said on Friday.
The police have arrested four persons in connection with the attack that took place in the Dargah Gali area on Thursday night, an official from Bandra police station said.
He said the accused allegedly entered the house of the victim, Shakir Ali Cendole, and attacked him and his family members. Shakir died, while his sister-in-law Shirin and nephew Afzal sustained injuries.
The official said the police arrested Imran Pathan, his wife Fatima Zakir Ali alias Kaynat, Usman Zakir Ali and Zakir Ali Cendole.
Pathan and his wife had multiple cases to their name, and they supplied drugs in Bandra, he said, adding that further probe was underway.
The deceased man's sister Feeroza claimed, "Drug peddlers Salman Malik and his wife Soni supplied drugs to the Pathan couple, and my brother Shakir opposed peddling activities in the Dargah Gali area." She said the family had previously lodged a complaint against the accused, who kept issuing threats.
(PTI)
The Mumbai police have rescued a 15-year-old girl from a prostitution racket and arrested a woman in the western suburbs, an official said on Friday.
Based on a tip-off, a team from the crime branch's unit 8 set up a decoy customer at a hotel in Andheri on Thursday and apprehended a woman, the official said.
"With the help of social workers, we rescued a minor girl. A case under relevant provisions of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Prevention of Immortal Trafficking Act (PITA) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act has been registered against the woman accused," he said.
The official said the Sahar police are probing the case further
(PTI)
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday called the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana's extradition a major breakthrough and said it would help unravel the crucial details of the conspiracy behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The 64-year-old Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin, a key accused in the case, landed in Delhi in a special plane from Los Angeles Thursday evening. A special court subsequently remanded him in the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for 18 days.
Rana is accused of conspiring with David Coleman Headley alias Daood Gilani, and terrorist organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami (HUJI) along with other Pakistan-based co-conspirators, to carry out the three-day terror siege that killed 166 people.
(With PTI inputs)
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday hailed the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, and said there was no doubt that the person responsible for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks will get a severe punishment.
Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was brought to India on Thursday evening after being extradited from the US. The 64-year-old Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin landed in Delhi in a special plane in the evening.
In a post on X, Shinde congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi over Rana's extradition.
Nearly a month back PM Modi and US President Donald Trump held discussion. Accordingly, the US handed over to India the most wanted criminal of the country, he said. — PTI
Shiv Sena leader Rahool Kanal on Thursday said comedian Kunal Kamra, who has kicked up a major political storm in Maharashtra for taking a jibe at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, will be welcomed in “Shiv Sena style” when he comes to Mumbai.Kanal was part of the group of Shiv Sainiks that on March 23 vandalised the studio in Khar where Kamra had performed. Kanal was among those arrested for vandalism.
“If we (Shiv Sainiks) come to the police station to appear before the police every Monday and Thursday, we are also enquiring with them about the status of Kunal Kamra. I think Mumbai police will bring Kamra here,” he said.
“We have the policy of Athithi Devo Bhava in Mumbai and we will do Shiv Sena style welcome in Mumbai,” Kanal said. — PTI
Politicians from Maharashtra have sought the intervention of the Centre after the Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) went on an indefinite strike on Thursday in protest against the civic body’s recent notices to private ring well and borewell owners. Read Full Article Here
In a first for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, a four-hectare plot of buried mangroves at Vashi in Navi Mumbai has been brought back to life after a massive debris clearance operation by Maharashtra’s forest department. Situated close to the railway station, the patch had for long remained buried under truckloads of debris. Read Full Article Here
A year after the first phase of the Mumbai Coastal Road — a 10.5-km stretch that connects Nariman Point to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link— was opened to the public, a draft report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged several financial and operational discrepancies observed between 2020 and 2024. Read Full Article Here
Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has said delays in receiving government subsidies, particularly those related to concessions provided to select groups of passengers, have adversely affected state-run MSRTC's financial health.
He emphasized that timely release of funds from the state finance department is crucial for the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) to overcome its financial losses.
Sarnaik was speaking to reporters on Wednesday after conducting his first 'Lok Darbar' (meeting where ministers or officials address citizen grievances) in Palghar district since becoming a cabinet member in December last year.
"If the funds are disbursed on time by the finance department, the losses incurred by MSRTC can be compensated. There are instances where delayed payments create serious operational challenges for us (corporation)," the Shiv Sena minister maintained.
Sarnaik said he has raised the issue with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance portfolio, and requested that MSRTC receive the same priority in fund allocation as other departments. — PTI
Police have registered an FIR against a contractor after a 12-year-old boy drowned in an open pit dug for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project in Bhiwandi town of Thane district, an official said on Thursday.
The tragic incident took place at Kopar village on Monday evening when the boy fell into the unprotected excavation site filled with water, he said.
Senior inspector Bharat Kamath of the Narpoli police station, under whose jurisdiction the incident took place, said they have registered the FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) section 106 ( causing death by negligence) against the contractor who has undertaken the work at the site. (PTI)
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said the Maharashtra government has not taken vindictive action against any person for re-sharing or re-uploading stand-up comic Kunal Kamra's video in which he indirectly passed a "traitor" jibe at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice M S Karnik made the observation while refusing to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a 25-year-old law student questioning the government's action against Kamra and also the Mumbai hotel where the controversial comedy show was shot.
The court also noted the aggrieved person (Kamra) has already filed a petition in the HC seeking to quash the FIR lodged against him at a Mumbai police station over his critical comments against Shinde, who heads the ruling Shiv Sena.
"The person aggrieved is before this court. He is not poor or illiterate. Why are you (present PIL petitioner) fighting his cause? He has taken action for relief," the HC observed. (PTI)
Amid the protest by MWTA due to their dispute with BMC, water tanker supplies in south Bombay are expected to be massively hit today.
The association has around 1,800 registered tankers having a capacity of 500-20,000 litres. They supply around 350 MLD water to different parts of the city, including the upscale south Mumbai, MWTA spokesperson Ankur Sharma told PTI.
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