1. ‘Shut Govt Aided Schools, Stay Hike For Ten Years’
The fee review committee, constituted by the state to look into allegations by parents that private schools were unfairly increasing fees yearly has received about 350 suggestions from parents. The 11-member committee headed by Justice (Retd) VG Palshikar is reviewing and scrutinising each suggestion some of which include radical ideas like the one that the government should shut down all government-aided schools. Another suggestion sought a stay on fee hikes for ten years. Justice (Retd) Palshikar refused to comment on these as they were considered too unrealistic and impractical.
Over two meetings held since the committee was formed in May, the panel has heard 20 parents and their representatives, and four members of school managements.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
2. Ex-Tata Finance Md Commits Suicide
Former Tata Finance Managing Director Dilip Sudhakar Pendse, 61, committed suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan in his office in Dadar (East) on Wednesday morning. He left behind a suicide note citing his frustration with several legal cases against him as the reason for the extreme step.
Matunga police said they received a call from Pendse’s neighbours around 2.30 pm. “We got a call from Royal Grace apartments, near Swami Narayan Temple in Dadar, about a hanging on the first floor,” said Balasaheb Kakad, senior police inspector, Matunga police station.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Travelling On Footboards Will Cost You Now
Standing on the footboard of a local train in a way that might obstruct the movement of fellow passengers will attract a fine of Rs 500, a jail term, or both. In a bid to curb train bullies, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) on Western Railway (WR) has formed special teams which will attend to calls by distressed passengers onboard local trains.
After receiving an average of 50 calls per day from passengers who could not board a train due to those standing on the footboard, the RPF has now formed special teams to address this problem. A team of three people at every RPF post will instantly act on the messages received from the RPF control room about passengers being harassed in local trains.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
4. Three Immigration Officers Held After 53 People Fly Out On Fake Passports
Fifty-three people with phoney names and passports — and motives that are not clear — walked past immigration counters at the Mumbai airport and flew out of the country, a severe lapse that has left security agencies scrambling for answers.
The series of illegal exits were allegedly facilitated by three assistant investigation officers with the airport immigrant department over the past seven months, according to the Sahar police.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
5. Indrani Mukerjea Allegedly Instigated Inmates During Riot
To call the latest revelations regarding the riot in Byculla women's prison after the death of inmate Manjula Shetye spicy wouldn't be an understatement. Sources claim jail officials told the Crime Branch that Indrani Mukerjea, had asked others to mix chilli and pickle powder in water and throw on the jail staff during the riot.
Snatched the mic
The officials claim Mukerjea also asked them to burn newspapers and other jail equipment. Sources also said that in their preliminary investigation, the crime branch was told that Indrani had allegedly given several instructions to the other inmates, one of which was to make the protest against Shetye's death big and use children as human shields. She supposedly snatched the microphone to make these announcements in jail.
(Source: Mid-day)
6. State To Law Commission: OK Giving Death
The Maharashtra government is in favour of awarding death penalty to criminals in the rarest of rare cases and has conveyed its stand to the Law Commission of India.
The Law Commission, in its 262nd report released in 2015, had suggested that the death penalty be abolished for all crimes other than terrorism-related offences and waging war against the country. It also sought the views of all states.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
7. BJP Leader Accused Of Rape In Moving Bus After CCTV Footage Goes Viral, Held
In an instance that was caught on camera, a BJP leader Ravindra Bawanthade from Maharashtra was caught kissing his former 19-year-old student in a bus. He was arrested on Wednesday.
The incident happened on June 27 last month on a Gadchiroli-bound bus where 48-year-old allegedly forced himself on the student.
The CCTV camera located at the back of the bus recorded the incident from which the driver and his cleaners recorded the video from mobile phones. The duo soon made the video viral on social media.
(Source: Mid-day)
8. Commuter Turns Hero As He Holds On To Train Robber For 5 Stations
When four robbers barged into the luggage compartment of a CST-bound train at Wadala late last night and robbed a hapless commuter inside, he got their own back by holding on tight to one of the robbers as he tried to get off the train at Reay Road station. The man was eventually arrested at CST.
According to the victim, Raja Konar, 34, a Colaba resident, around 12.50 am, as the train was pulling out of Wadala station, four people barged into the luggage compartment in which Konar and one other person was travelling. The four came and stood next to Konar and started threatening him. They then snatched his Micromax cell phone and Rs 1,200 from his shirt pocket. When Reay Road station arrived, they four were getting off, when Konar and the fellow commuter, grabbed hold of the last robber, preventing him from getting down. They held on tight to him until CST, where they started shouting 'chor, chor'. The on-duty Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel rushed to the compartment.
(Source: Mid-day)
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