Mumbai News Highlights: Mumbai on Friday reported 78 new Covid-19 cases, said a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official. For the eighth day in a row, the financial capital of the country recorded zero pandemic-related deaths. The tally of infections in the city reached 10,56,807, while the death toll stood at 16,691. On the same day, the state of Maharashtra recorded 525 new coronavirus cases and nine pandemic-related deaths, the health department said. The new cases included 206 Omicron variant infections, all reported from Pune city.
Meanwhile, a special NIA court here while denying bail to dismissed policeman Riyazuddin Kazi, arrested in the Antilia bomb scare case, has held that he had knowledge of the conspiracy hatched for placing explosives near the residence of businessman Mukesh Ambani.
In other news, observing that the filing a PIL “at the eleventh hour raises suspicion about his bonafide”, the Bombay High Court Friday directed BJP leader and MLA Girish Mahajan to deposit by Monday Rs 10 lakh as precondition to hear his PIL that has challenged the amendments made to the procedure of the election of the Speaker in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
The Bombay High Court Friday directed its registry to give a list of cases against legislators (MPs and MLAs) wherein trial court proceedings against them have been stayed by the court through interim orders.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sandeep K Shinde initiated proceedings through suo motu PIL in view of Supreme Court directives seeking expeditious disposal of such cases.
The Supreme Court had passed various judgements for “decriminalisation of politics” by concluding criminal prosecutions against the legislators in view of “rising wave of criminalisation occurring in politics”. Read more
A mock drill was conducted at the Gateway of India Friday at 3.15 pm to check the effectiveness of security systems in the eventuality of a bomb blast.
At least 10 agencies, including the fire brigade, state disaster management authority, police and ambulance services, were present while the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was kept on alert. As many as 200 volunteers participated in the drill.
The NDRF has been directed to conduct mock exercises at 75 major historical places in the country. The Gateway of India was identified as one site in Mumbai. The purpose of this exercise is to strengthen coordination between different systems and check their disaster preparedness, said BMC.
A mock drill was conducted at the Gateway of India today Friday afternoon to check the effectiveness of security systems in the eventuality of a bomb blast. Agencies such as the fire brigade, police and ambulance were present. The NDRF was kept on alert. pic.twitter.com/nWZkqeSTCM
The Central Railway (CR) has detected a total of 3.41 lakh cases people travelling without tickets in February and collected a total fine of Rs 20.88 crore.
From April 2021 to February 2022, a total of 31.10 lakh such cases were detected by the CR and Rs 186.53 crore revenue was collected over this period, which is highest in terms of revenue among all zonal railways.
“During the drive, 52,765 people not adhering to Covid norms were identified and Rs 84 lakh was recovered as penalty,” said Shivaji Sutar, Central Railway CPRO.
A special NIA court here while denying bail to dismissed policeman Riyazuddin Kazi, arrested in the Antilia bomb scare case, has held that he had knowledge of the conspiracy hatched for placing explosives near the residence of businessman Mukesh Ambani.
The court further noted that Kazi had destroyed the evidence at the behest of co-accused Sachin Waze and thus aided in the offence committed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Special Judge A T Wankhede had rejected Kazi’s bail plea on March 1, and the detailed order was made available on Friday. (PTI)
Mumbai | Fire breaks out in Dreams Mall located in Bhandup West, 8 fire engines present at the spot; No casualty reported
The anti-evasion wing of the Thane CGST Commissionerate in Maharashtra has arrested an exporter for fraudulently claiming input tax credit of Rs 15.26 crore by issuing bogus invoices of Rs 85 crore, an official said on Friday.
Based on inputs shared by Delhi Customs, a probe was initiated against M/s. Corvette Tradelink Pvt. Ltd based in the western suburb of Borivali in neighbouring Mumbai, he said.
The investigations revealed that the firm involved in exporting footwear had allegedly availed input tax credit fraudulently on the basis of bogus invoices issued by non-existent fake entities from Delhi, the official said. (PTI)
The Maharashtra cabinet on Friday approved a proposal to enact two laws that would empower the state government to decide on the number of members and ward delimitation in local bodies.
The decision comes in wake of the Supreme Court rejecting the interim report of the state backward commission recommending 27 percent quota to OBCs in local body elections, an official said.
The cabinet has also decided to set up a dedicated commission to compile empirical data on the political backwardness of OBCs, he added. (PTI)
Mumbai on Friday reported 78 new Covid-19 cases, said a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official.
For the eighth day in a row, the financial capital of the country recorded zero pandemic-related deaths. The tally of infections in the city reached 10,56,807, while the death toll stood at 16,691.
The count of recoveries rose to 10,36,634, after 127 patients were discharged from hospitals or recovered at home during the day, leaving the city with 600 active cases. (PTI)
Maharashtra on Friday recorded 525 new coronavirus cases and nine pandemic-related deaths, the health department said. The new cases included 206 Omicron variant infections, all reported from Pune city.
On Thursday, Maharashtra had reported 467 new coronavirus cases and 12 deaths. The state’s COVID-19 case tally rose to 78,67,916, and death toll reached 1,43,727.
So far, a total of 5,211 Omicron cases have been reported in the state. Of these, 4,629 patients have fully recovered, the health department said. There are now 4,476 active coronavirus patients in Maharashtra. (PTI)
Several Congress functionaries from Maharashtra’s Latur district on Friday joined the NCP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar here. State Minister and the NCP’s state unit chief Jayant Patil was also present at the event held at the party’s head office here.
“Let’s strengthen the NCP in Latur with new vigour. Everyone should ensure that party workers don’t do anything wrong. They should ensure their comments don’t hurt any section,” Pawar said in a statement.
Stressing that the NCP is committed towards the development of Latur in Marathwada region, the deputy chief minister said the state government has undertaken work on water schemes worth Rs 15,000 crore. (PTI)
Former Latur Municipal Council chief Venkat Bedre quit the Congress and joined the NCP along with others in an event held in Mumbai on Friday.
Bedre, who was Congress district chief for 10 years till 2021, and others were inducted into the NCP in the presence of senior leaders, including Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state unit chief Jayant Patil.
Bedre said he was with the Congress for the past 40 years but the party had changed now and was unable to solve the problems of people. The NCP under Sharad Pawar works for those on the ground, he added. (PTI)
A mock drill was conducted at the Gateway of India today Friday afternoon to check the effectiveness of security systems in the eventuality of a bomb blast. Agencies such as the fire brigade, police and ambulance were present. The NDRF was kept on alert. pic.twitter.com/nWZkqeSTCM
Observing that the filing a PIL “at the eleventh hour raises suspicion about his bonafide”, the Bombay High Court Friday directed BJP leader and MLA Girish Mahajan to deposit by Monday Rs 10 lakh as precondition to hear his PIL that has challenged the amendments made to the procedure of the election of the Speaker in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Makarand S Karnik was hearing two PILs by one Janak N Vyas through advocate Vishal Acharya and Girish Mahajan which said that the amendments made to the procedure after the proposed changes suggested by the rules committee to Rule 6 and Rule 7 of the MLA Rules, for the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively, are “arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional”. Read more
The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has invited applications for the post of chief executive officer. The five-year term of its current CEO, Vikram Limaye, will end in July.
Limaye is eligible for another term. However, as per the norms of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, he will have to compete with other candidates for the top job.
The notice has come at a time when the NSE is at the centre of a controversy, with Sebi penalising its two former CEOs, Ravi Narain and Chitra Ramkrishna, last month for alleged lapses in corporate governance during the appointment of its group operating officer, Anand Subramanian. Read more
A sessions court here on Friday denied bail to accused Shweta Singh in the Bulli Bai app case.
The Bulli Bai app had made the details of several Muslim women public in a bid to malign them by allowing users to take part in their “auction”. This was the second attempt by Singh to seek bail, the earlier plea being rejected by a magistrate court.
Singh’s bail plea was rejected by Additional Sessions Judge S J Gharat, though a detailed order was not made available as yet. (PTI)
The BJP-led opposition on Friday attacked the Maharashtra government in the Legislative Council alleging that the latter had failed to protect quota for OBCs in local bodies.
The tussle between the opposition and the government on the issue led to the Council being adjourned for the day.
“The state government has failed to protect political quota for OBCs in local governing bodies. We are not satisfied with its current assurance that necessary steps would be taken to protect this quota,” Pravin Darekar, Leader of Opposition in the Council, said. (PTI)
Leaders of Maharashtra’s ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Friday called on state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari here and urged him to approve the schedule for Legislative Assembly Speaker’s election on March 9.
The budget session of the state legislature commenced from March 3 and will continue till March 25.
A delegation of MVA leaders, comprising Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, PWD minister Ashok Chavan, Industries Minister Subhash Desai, Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Transport Minister Anil Parab, Minister of State for Home Satej Patil, state Congress chief Nana Patole and state NCP president and Water Resources Minister Jayant Patil, met the governor at the Raj Bhavan here. (PTI)
An FIR has been registered against senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla in connection with alleged phone tapping at a police station in south Mumbai, an official said on Friday.
Earlier in the day, the Bombay High Court granted her protection from arrest in a similar case registered in Pune. Shukla is currently on central deputation and posted as Additional Director General of Police (Central Reserve Police Force) at Hyderabad.
The new First Information Report was registered at Colaba Police Station under the Indian Telegraph Act besides relevant sections of the IPC, a police official said. (PTI)
Mumbai police on Wednesday arrested a 27-year-old man who works as a domestic help for allegedly clicking naked pictures and videos of his employer’s 13-year-old daughter and 11-year-old niece.
The police said the accused, who lived at his employer’s house in south Mumbai, would often click photos and shoot videos while the minors were changing their clothes.
According to the officers, the incident came to light on Tuesday when the employer’s daughter was playing a game on the youth’s mobile phone. Read more
A court here on Friday granted interim protection from arrest till March 10 to Union minister Narayan Rane and his MLA son Nitesh Rane, in a case wherein they are accused of making defamatory and misleading statements about Disha Salian, late actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s former manager.
Fearing arrest in the case, the father-son duo filed an anticipatory bail before a Dindoshi sessions court in suburban Malad through their lawyer Satish Maneshinde.
As the matter came up for hearing, special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat sought time to file their reply. Read more
The Maharashtra government has further eased Covid-19 restrictions, allowing shopping complexes, restaurants, cinema and theatre halls in 14 districts, including Mumbai, to operate at 100% capacity. However, the state government said unvaccinated persons will still not be allowed to use public modes of transport like trains and buses.
The Bombay High Court expressed displeasure over a Maharashtra government decision to continue to bar unvaccinated and partially vaccinated passengers from public transport, and lamented that the government did not “respect” the sentiments expressed by the court when it had first heard petitions challenging the vaccine mandates for local trains, malls and workplaces in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Meanwhile, newly-appointed Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Pandey took to social media to invite suggestions for improving the police force’s functioning. Pandey took over as the city’s top cop on February 28. Even smallest of suggestions can effect great changes, the commissioner said, appealing the city’s residents to send in suggestions on mobile number 9869702747.