1. Justin Bieber Rocked Mumbai, But Not Everyone Is Thrilled
Justin Bieber took over Mumbai on Wednesday when he performed in front of thousands of fans at the DY Patil Stadium. The pop icon belted out some of his greatest hits, but not everyone was impressed. Some took to social media to complain about lip syncing – and that too a poor one – and zero effort in the performance.
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2. Draft DP Offers Mangrove Land On A Platter To City’s Builders
Mumbai, whose seams had burst decades ago, could now lose its mangroves to builders, legally. The latest Mumbai Draft Development Plan (DP 2014-2034) has included the entire mangrove land at the Thane creek in the city’s land area, opening up a way for builders to take over the area.
As per the BMC’s DP 2014-2034, the city’s land area has increased by almost 40 sq km over the last 25 years, about the size of 4,000 Oval Maidans. Of these 40 sq km, 14.96 sq km area is the mangrove land along the Thane Creek, and the rest is the result of siltation.
This data has urban planners and experts in a spin, as the city’s land area was measured at 437 sq km in 1991’s sanctioned DP, and the jump to 475 sq km in the proposed DP obviously means taking over areas hitherto out-of-bounds for politicians and developers.
The development plan for the city is revised every 20 years, and the BMC sources said an increase in land area was attributed to “siltation” and inclusion of “mangrove land”. Sources further said the 14.96 sq km mangrove land along the Thane Creek is expected to be brought within the BMC limits.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
3. 4-Year-Old Girl Mauled In Aarey
Aarey police on Wednesday found a mauled body of a four-year-old girl who had gone missing three days ago. According to the police, her head was mauled, and hand among other body parts were severely mauled, in what looks like a leopard-attack.
The girl had gone to her neighbour’s house to play on Monday evening. However, she did not return. Right after she left the house, her father heard the dogs barking incessantly which made him suspicious.
Though he carried out a thorough search of the vicinity, and inquired with his neighbour, he could not trace his daughter – until her body turned up. An ADR has been registered by the Aarey police, and the parts of the body have been sent for a post-mortem.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. Fake Whatsapp Messages About Train Derailment Causes Panic
The next time you circulate messages related to local trains on WhatsApp, think twice. After a series of fake WhatsApp messages spread unwanted panic among commuters, the Central Railway (CR) has decided to take stern action and register a complaint with the cyber cell of the Mumbai police.
The CR's action comes immediately after 'fake' news related to the alleged derailment of a Diva-Sawantwadi train, caused confusion among railway commuters this week. The fake message stated that a Diva-Sawantwadi passenger had met with an accident at Nagothane near Bhisekhind tunnel. The message also claimed that the train had derailed due to the mishap, injuring many people. "No help has reached at the site yet and the medical relief van has left from Kurla and Kalyan stations," the message further read. Incidentally, the message also had a helpline number.
Due to the fake message, railway authorities were inundated with phone calls, messages and people visiting their offices to check about the accident.
In an attempt to trace the menace-maker, the railways filed a complaint with the police yesterday.
Ravinder Goyal, divisional railway manager said, "False rumours are being spread on social media about some derailment on Central Railway. There is no such derailment and we have lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime cell to trace the origin of such rumours, and take action against the culprit."
Earlier last week, there was a message about air-conditioned locals trains starting operations from Kalyan to CST. However, the AC local trains are still on trial runs.
Source: Mid-day
5. Raj Kundra Questioned By Police In Cheating Case
Businessman Raj Kundra on Wednesday attended Kongaon police station in neighbouring Thane district to face inquiry in a case of cheating registered against him and his actress wife, Shilpa Shetty.
Kundra came to Kongaon police station in Bhiwandi tehsil at 10 am and was questioned till 1pm, deputy commissioner of police Manoj Patil said.
He was asked to come to the police station for questioning tomorrow and the day after too, DCP Patil said.
Last month the police registered a case against Shilpa Shetty and Kundra for allegedly duping a textile firm owner of Rs 24 lakh under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.
Big Deals, a company of which Shetty and Kundra are directors, sold bedsheets through TV ads and collected money on behalf of Bhiwandi-based Malotia Textiles, but didn’t pay the proceeds to the manufacturer firm, the FIR said.
(With inputs from PTI)
6. Top Chain Snatcher Is A Mama’s Boy
The mother-in-law is the ruling figure in many Indian families and this one is no exception. Investigations into the crime of Naasir Khan alias Samir Ali, one of the country’s top chain snatchers, has revealed that his mother-in-law, known as Mama, controls the entire operation.
Khan, 36, a resident of Ambivali in Thane district, was arrested in Delhi and brought to the city a few days ago. He is part of a network of criminals across the country which targets gullible women by posing as policemen and conning them into parting with their gold ornaments, and replacing them with fake ones. Investigations have now revealed that his mother-in-law controls the nationwide chain snatching business. Senior inspector Ravindra Doifode of anti chain snatching unit (Thane) said, “Khan’s mother-in-law is the main accused in the case and we will be nabbing her soon.”
Not only does she control the crime network but also relationships within the family. Police sources said that Khan would marry off her daughter to men who could run her operations. If they got arrested, she would find another husband for her daughter. Khan is her third husband. The previous two husbands are behind bars.
Cops said that Khan owns two palatial bungalows in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area, two flats and six acres of land in Titwala and property near Aamby Valley. He also has a fleet of cars and seven iPhones. He also allegedly told cops that no one has ever cooked food in his house. All the meals come from restaurants. But Khan has also claimed that all these properties are in his mother-in-law’s name.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
7. Lifeguards Save 3 Men Stuck On A Rock At Aksa
Three men, who were stuck on a rock during high tide, were rescued by lifeguards at Aksa Beach in Malad on Wednesday morning.
Astaf Mohammed Iqbal Shaikh, 30, Sarfaraz Shaikh Rahim Shaikh, 24, and Suraj Ganesh Prasad, 25 – all residents of Gate number 6 in Malwani – lost track of time and failed to notice the rising water level, while sitting on a rock between Aksa Beach and Dana Paani Beach on Wednesday.
“We were just sitting there and chit-chatting as it was a holiday. We never realized that the water increased so much that when we finally took a look around, we realised it was impossible for us to return,” said Sarfaraz, who works with a private firm as a office boy.
“We saw that a man was calling for help but they were around 300-400 metres away, making a rescue effort from Aksa hard,” said Nathuram Suryawanshi, who works with the flood and rescue team of the Mumbai Fire-Brigade as a lifeguard.
“Me and my colleague, Swatej Kolambkar then drove water bikes to the nearby Daana Paani beach. From here, we swam to the rock where the three were stuck. Since we had only two life jackets, it was decided that Swatej would wait with Suraj on the rock while I brought Astaf and Sarfaraz to safety,” said Suryawanshi.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
8. Close These Sex Shops, Says Muslim Body On Nikah Halala Practice
Calling the practice of nikah halala, "sex trade" and persons dealing in it as, "running sex shops," the Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy (IMSD), a Mumbai non-profit fighting for the rights of Muslim women and gender equality, slammed triple talaq, nikah halala and polygamy at a fiery press conference yesterday. IMSD said it fully supports the petitions in the Supreme Court of individual victims of triple talaq and welcomes the fact that these petitions are now to be heard by a constitutional bench from tomorrow.
What is halala?
While the triple talaq is relatively well known, halala is a practice where a divorced woman has to marry someone else and consummate the marriage. She can then get a divorce, if her ex-husband wishes to remarry her and they want to get back together as husband and wife.
The consummation is mandatory. Khatoon Shaikh of IMSD said, "There is a point of view which states that halala is punishment for men. How is this punishment for men? It is a punishment for the woman." Khatoon claimed that there are some who brush this away stating it does not exist, yet, she insists, "halala is reality today and there have been some maulanas who have stated, this is just for one night! (ek raat ki toh baat hai). This is trade of women. Close your sex shops!"
Javed Anand, convenor, IMSD, asked, "What is the difference between sex trade and halala? This is trade of women," he said, endorsing Khatoon's viewpoint.
Source: Mid-day
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