Mumbai News Highlights: Maharashtra sees first case of JN.1 sub-variant, reports 11 new Covid-19 infections (2024)

A group of villagers drove away a team of Maharashtra's city planning agency CIDCO which was on its way to remove encroachments and unauthorised constructions in a village in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, police said.

The irate mob prevented personnel of the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) from reaching a village under its notified area to remove encroachments and illegal structures, they said, quoting a complaint.

Acting on the CIDCO complaint, the Navi Mumbai police registered a criminal case against more than 100 residents of Vichumbe village of which half a dozen people were identified.

An officer of the Khandeshwar police station said the case was filed under IPC sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 341 (wrongful restraint), 143 (punishment for unlawful assembly), 145 (joining or continuing in unlawful assembly) and also the Maharashtra Police Act. (PTI)

A tempo carrying clothes and chemicals used in the textile industry was destroyed after it caught fire on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Thursday, the police said.

No one was injured in the accident that took place near the Dapchari checkpost around 10 am, though it affected vehicular movement on the carriageway for some time, said the district rural police.

The tempo carrying clothes and chemicals required for the textile industry was going from Bhiwandi in Thane district to Ahmedabad in neighbouring Gujarat when it caught fire, said an official.

Even before fire engines could arrive at the spot, it was completely gutted, said an official, adding that the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. (PTI)

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday held a meeting to review the COVID-19 situation in the state in view of the detection of the JN.1 sub variant in some parts of the country.

The state was fully prepared to tackle the situation and people must not panic but should take precautions, especially due to the upcoming festival and new year season, Shinde said.

In his address after the meeting that he chaired through video conferencing, Shinde said the symptoms of the new sub variant were mild but it seems to spread faster.

During the meeting, the CM was informed that Maharashtra has 63,000 isolation beds to tackle the ailment, a release by the Thane district information office said. (PTI)

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday stuck to his December 24 deadline after three Maharashtra ministers met him and sought more time.

Ministers Girish Mahajan, Uday Samant and Sandipan Bhumre met Jarange at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district and urged him to give more time for the state's response to his demand for reservation in education and government jobs for Marathas.

Mahajan said they informed Jarange that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had told the assembly that a special session of the state legislature would be held in February 2024, if necessary, to provide quota to Marathas after reviewing a report of the Backward Class Commission.

However, Mahajan said, Jarange insisted on the issuance of Kunbi (OBC) certificates based on records, including those from the mother's line of relatives.

Mahajan said the records of the mother can't be considered as per the law and added that Kunbi certificates are being issued to Maratha based on the father's records. “Similarly, certificates cannot be issued solely based on a written bond,” he said, referring to the activist's other demands. (PTI)

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane has sought a ban on halal certification of food items in Maharashtra on the lines of the decision taken by his party's government in Uttar Pradesh.

The UP government, on November 18, banned the production, storage, distribution and sale of food products with halal certification with immediate effect while exempting products manufactured for export.

Speaking to reporters on the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan complex in Nagpur on Wednesday, Rane claimed the money from this process was being used to fund terrorism.

"Halal, jihad and love jihad are major concerns. The money collected in the name of halal certificate is being used to fund terrorism. It is used against the Hindu religion. We have all evidence related to this," he alleged. (PTI)

In a case of suspected food poisoning, more than 100 girl students were hospitalised as they fell ill after having lunch at their residential school in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, an official said on Thursday.

The incident occurred on Wednesday at an 'ashram shala' (residential school for tribal children) located in Sode village in Dhanora taluka in the district, he said.

Gadchiroli district's civil surgeon Dr Pramod Khandate said, "On Wednesday, the students were served lunch at the school around 12.30 pm. Some time after having their meal, they started vomiting and also complained of abdominal pain and headache." "A total of 109 students were admitted to a government hospital. Later, 40 of them were shifted to the general hospital in Gadchiroli, while 69 others are undergoing treatment at the Dhanora rural hospital," he said. (PTI)

The Narcotics Control Bureau busted an international racket involving illegal trafficking of pharma drugs from India to Australia and has arrested three persons with amphetamine and other items worth Rs 3 crore, an official said on Thursday.

Acting on a tip off on Tuesday that a consignment of drugs was being sent to Australia, a DRI team visited a courier firm and zeroed in on a parcel containing a steel table, he said.

"While examining the table, drug packets were found concealed inside specially designed cavities. These packets contained a white powder which turned out to be 9.877 kilograms of amphetamine. We have also seized 2.548 kilograms of Zolpidem Tarterate tablets and 6.545 kilograms of Tramadol tablets, all cumulatively worth Rs 3 crore," he said.

A probe led to the arrest of one V Singh on Wednesday, while his interrogation resulted in the nabbing of his associates G Mishra and P Sharma from Mumbai. (PTI)

A court in Maharashtra's Raigad district has sentenced a 32-year-old man to life imprisonment after convicting him for raping and killing a three-year-old girl nearly three years ago.

Aadesh Patil, who also faces nine more cases, was out on parole when he sexually assaulted the child from Pen taluka in the early hours of December 30, 2020, which resulted in her death, according to the prosecution.

Ajey S Rajandekar, district sessions judge - Raigad, on Wednesday held Patil guilty of rape and murder under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. (PTI)

The Mumbai police have banned the flying of drones, remote-controlled micro light aircraft, paragliders, para motors, hand gliders and hot air balloons over the city for 30 days, an official said on Wednesday.

The prohibitory order, which will be in force from December 20, 2023, to January 18, 2024, was issued under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the police said.

According to the order, it is likely that terrorist or anti-national elements might make use of drones, remote-controlled micro light aircraft, paragliders to target VVIPs and endanger the life of the public at large, destroy public property and disturb law and order in the metropolis.

The order comes days ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations that draw large crowds across the city. (PTI)

#WATCH | Satara, Maharashtra: On being nominated for the Arjuna Award, archer Aditi Gopichand Swami says, “I have been practising archery since I was 8 years old. My hard work and struggle paid off when I found out I had been nominated for Arjuna Award. I am thankful to my… pic.twitter.com/gBTFgTArJI

— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2023

Maharashtra Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha lodged a complaint at Kalachowki police station in Mumbai and demanded registration of an FIR against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee over the mimicry row. pic.twitter.com/QVt943kmAt

— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2023

Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar has said he does not see any hurdle in issuing an order by January 10, 2024 on the cross-petitions filed by rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs.

Narwekar on Wednesday confirmed that the hearings have concluded, followed by arguments from both sides -- the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Uddhav Thackeray-headed Shiv Sena (UBT).

The Supreme Court last week extended the deadline for Narwekar to decide on the cross-petitions from December 31 to January 10 next year.

After the Supreme Court mandated Narwekar to give a verdict by December 31, the speaker started holding hearings daily in Mumbai. He continued the process in the morning hours during the winter session of the state legislature which concluded in Nagpur on Wednesday.

"I do not see any hurdle in giving the order by January 10. The decision will be based on the law and constitutional provisions," the speaker said in the Vidhan Bhavan in Nagpur.

"I have followed all the legal provisions. The order will be out as mandated by the Supreme Court after we peruse all the documents and study them," he added.

(PTI)

According to the IMD's Santacruz observatory the minimum temperatures touched 21.2 degree Celsius on Wednesday while the Colaba coastal station registered a minimum temperature of 23.5 degrees.

Meanwhile, the overall air quality index (AQI) in Mumbai touched 139 on Thursday morning with the worst air quality observed in Deonar (226) followed by Bandra Kurla Complex (206).

A 45-year-old Mumbai-based assistant director of a web series has filed a complaint against an unknown woman and others for allegedly befriending him on a dating site and later extorting money from him by threatening to make their intimate conversation public.

As many as 859 people have been arrested for drug-related offences in Maharashtra's Thane district from January 1 till November 28 this year and 723 cases registered in this connection, officials said on Thursday.

Drugs and other items worth Rs 4.01 crore were seized from drug-peddlers during this period, they said.

These figures were provided by authorities during a recent meeting of the district-level anti-drug coordination committee presided over by Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Punjabrao Ugale and attended by senior officials of various departments.

"A total of 723 offences related to drugs were registered in Thane district between January 1 and November 28. As many as 859 people were arrested in these cases, and drugs and goods worth Rs 4,01,94,718 were seized from drug-peddlers," inspector Sanjay Shinde from the Thane police's anti-narcotics cell said.

During the meeting, Ugale directed the officials to intensify inspection of closed chemical units and to ensure that medical stores do not sell cough syrups and other such medicines without the prescription of doctors.

He asked the officials to maintain a strict vigil at landing points of various water bodies in the district.

The police official also directed that the details of drug addicts who come to hospitals for treatment be compiled and the same be followed up to identify drug traffickers, Shinde said.

(PTI)

Police have registered a case against a man and his parents in Navi Mumbai for allegedly running an investment firm illegally and cheating four investors to the tune of Rs 52.08 lakh by assuring them high returns, an official said on Thursday.

The accused, from Uran area in Navi Mumbai, accepted deposits from the four victims between January and April this year while promising to get their money doubled in 30 days, the official from Uran police station said.

According to the official, the accused operated the investment business without due permission from the government and the Reserve Bank of India.

Following a complaint by the victims, the police registered offences on Wednesday against the three accused under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, and the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, he added.

(PTI)

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led government on the last day of the state legislature's winter session here, referring to ongoing investigations into alleged scams at the Mumbai civic body during the coronavirus pandemic.

The previous regime of "coffin and khichdi thieves" surrendered its integrity for the sake of tenders, he said while replying to the discussion on the customary `last week's resolution' moved by the opposition in the state assembly here.

While Uddhav Thackeray was chief minister during the pandemic, the then undivided Shiv Sena led by him controlled the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) during much of this period.

"The stories of corruption during COVID-19 surpass the tales from the Arabian Nights, and these tales are now coming out in the ED and CAG investigations," said Shinde, who became chief minister in June 2022 after rebelling against Thackeray and splitting the party. (PTI)

The Mumbai civic body on Wednesday urged citizens not to dump garbage in drains and said it was planning punitive action against violators.

It collected 1,042 metric tons of debris and 139 tons of solid waste in the last fortnight under the 'deep cleaning' campaign.

"Citizens should not throw garbage again in the area where the cleanliness drive has been carried out, otherwise the cleaning efforts become futile. Citizens should not throw waste in drains at any place," a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation release stated.

It said the civic administration is considering taking strict punitive action against violators.

Around 3,700 workers were employed for the deep cleaning drive, besides 33 JCBs, 148 dumpers, 21 compactors, 69 water tankers, nine road sweeping machines, seven misting machines, six suction machines, and three litter picker machines.

Roads, footpaths, gutters, and drains are being cleaned under this campaign. (PTI)

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Wednesday arrested a circle officer of the Maharashtra revenue department and a private person in a Rs 2 lakh bribery case in Thane city, an official of the anti-graft agency said.

Police inspector Nitin Thorat of the Thane ACB, in an official release, gave the name of the accused as circle officer Mahendra Gajanan Patil (51) and Vajid Malak, 63 a private person, and said offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act were registered against the duo.

A contractor had undertaken excavation work in Thane city, but exceeded permitted limit and wanted revenue department officials not to take action against him, said the release.

He approached Patil, attached to the Thane tehsil office, who demanded Rs 10 lakh from the complainant for shielding him from action, it said. (PTI)

The police in Maharashtra's Thane city have arrested a Nigerian man after recovering cocaine worth Rs 12.4 lakh from him, an official said on Wednesday.

According to senior inspector Vikas Ghodke of crime unit V, Wagle Estate, the police acted on inputs and intercepted Okori Emmanual Bright near Anand Nagar check naka on Tuesday evening.

He was found to be carrying 31 grams of cocaine worth Rs 12.4 lakh, the official said.

A case has been registered against Bright under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, he added (PTI)

The Maharashtra legislative council on Wednesday passed the Maharashtra Bovine Breeding Regulation Bill, 2023 which seeks to regulate the breeding of bovine species including cows.

The `Maharashtra Go Jatiya Prajanan Bill' was presented by Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil in the upper house.

It provides for stringent quality control measures for the sem*n used in artificial insemination, regulation of insemination practices and the creation of the Maharashtra Go Rajya Prajnan Niyaman Pradhikaran (Bovine Breeding Regulation Authority), a dedicated body for overseeing and enforcing quality control, the minister said. (PTI)

Opposition leaders on Wednesday said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde didn't speak a word on issues such as irrigation backlog and industrial development concerning the Vidarbha region in the legislative assembly.

Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar (Congress) and NCP (Sharad Pawar) faction leader Anil Deshmukh alleged the ruling parties are not interested in Vidarbha.

"We had moved a proposal under rule 293 for a discussion on issues including the Mihan project, crops, irrigation backlog etc. We were expecting that the chief minister would give a reply but he didn't say anything about Vidarbha, which shows that the government has no love for Vidarbha," Wadettiwar told reporters after staging a walkout of the assembly.

Deshmukh said leaders of the ruling parties are in a hurry to board the plane as Wednesday was the last day of the winter session of the state legislature. (PTI)

Like every year, the promenade at Bandra West has been decorated with colourful and attractive lights and it will be opened for tourists from December 21.

Conceptualized by BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar, the Bandra Reclamation promenade has been getting illuminated since the last eight years to welcome the New year. This year too, the Yoga Garden area near the Bandra Worli Sea Link in Bandra has been decorated and it will be an attraction for Mumbaikars and tourists visiting Mumbai for the New Year celebrations. The decorated promenade will be opened for tourists from December 21 at 6.30 pm onwards in the presence of Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar.

Every day, there will be special performances by young artists who will be singing, playing bands and there will be musical concerts as well.

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre for milk producers which will be implemented for the next two months.

State animal husbandry and dairy development minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil made this announcement in the legislative assembly.

The government has decided to give a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre to milk producers who supply it to cooperative dairies. This decision will remain effective for the first two months of the next year, he said.

"Once (the amount calculated on) Rs 29 per litre milk price is deposited in the bank accounts of milk producers, the government will transfer the subsidy amount to the same accounts," the minister added. (PTI)

The Maharashtra legislative council on Wednesday passed a bill that proposed to waive the electricity duty on the power consumed by Metro operations in the state.

Tabling the bill to amend the Maharashtra Electricity Duty Act, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the energy portfolio, said the move aligns with an earlier waiver granted to the monorail services in Mumbai.

The Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation had sought a waiver on duty on energy consumed by Metro services.

Congress member of legislative council Satej Patil raised questions over the effectiveness of the waiver and sought to highlight what he called fare disparities between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai Metro services.

Despite opposition from NCP member Eknath Khadse, the upper house cleared the bill. (PTI)

The Bombay High Court in its judgment granting bail to activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, has noted that there was no material on record to infer prima facie that he conspired to or committed any terrorist act.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and S G Dige granted bail to Navlakha on Tuesday. The full text of the judgement became available on Wednesday.

"From the material on record, it appears to us that no covert or overt terrorist act has been attributed to the appellant (Navlakha)," the high court said.

Navlakha, arrested in the case in August 2018, was in November 2022 permitted by the Supreme Court to be placed under house arrest. He is presently residing in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.

While granting him bail, the bench stayed the order for three weeks so that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) could approach the Supreme Court in appeal. (PTI)

Maharashtra Labour Minister Suresh Khade on Wednesday said one family member of each of the nine persons who died in a blast at the Solar Industries factory here will be given a job by the company.

The family members of eight victims will also be given pension, while the family of another deceased will be given compensation as per rules, Khade said in the state legislative council.

The kin of the victims will also be provided assistance from a central government fund, he said.

The company will bear the cost of education of the victims' children, the minister said.

An inquiry was on into the incident, he added.

Nine persons were killed in a massive blast at the explosives manufacturing factory in Chakdoh area here on Sunday.

The state government had announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of each of the victim and the company announced Rs 20 lakh compensation for them. (PTI)

A man allegedly killed an elderly couple and their daughter-in-law by hitting them with his mini van over an old enmity in Maharashtra's Amravati district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident took place at around 8 pm on Tuesday in Nachona village, Superintendent of Police Vishal Anand told PTI.

The accused and the victims were neighbours and had a dispute, according to police.

They had a quarrel on Tuesday over some issue, the official said.

While the victims were standing on a road in front of their house, the accused allegedly rammed his mini van into them, he said.

The deceased included a 70-year-old man, his wife aged 67 and their daughter-in-law (in her 30s). (PTI)

As many as 4,872 infants died in Maharashtra during April and October this year at a daily average of 23 deaths, Health Minister Tanaji Sawant told the legislative assembly on Wednesday.

He said 795 (16 per cent) of 4,872 infants have died of breathing-related ailments. Maximum deaths have been reported in Mumbai, Thane, Solapur, Akola and Nandurbar, the minister stated in a written reply to a query by MLA Sachin Kalyanshetti during question hour.

"4,872 infants have died in Maharashtra during April to October this year. The age of the infants who died was between zero to 28 days. Going by the death figures, daily 23 infants have died on an average," the minister stated.

He said 52 special neonatal care rooms are functional in Maharashtra. (PTI)

Data furnished by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday showed that the minimum temperatures on Tuesday touched 21.2 degree Celsius on the Santacruz recording station while the Colaba coastal observatory recorded a minimum temperature of 23.5 degrees.

On Wednesday, the AQI in Mumbai stood at 129 which falls in the moderate category. While at one recording station -- located in BKC -- the AQI touched 220 which falls in the poor quality, all other stations registered an AQI under 200. The best air quality was recorded in Mulund West (91), followed by Kurla (98) and Colaba (99).

#WATCH | Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde pays respects to RSS founder Dr Hedgewar at Nagpur's Reshimbagh pic.twitter.com/28aG9JMNpM

— ANI (@ANI) December 20, 2023

The two-week winter session in Nagpur is set to conclude today, with the Chief Minister expected to address the House.

A special session for Maratha reservation is anticipated on February 26 in Mumbai.

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil advocates for an extension of the ongoing winter session to address the Maratha reservation issue instead of convening a separate special session.