1. Maharashtra Govt Removes Over 2000 'Illegal' Huts on Mangrove Land
The Maharashtra government has removed over 2,000 huts for encroaching the mangrove land in the Mumbai region, an senior official said today.
The task to remove the encroachments on nearly four acres of the mangrove land was carried out in the last two months in suburban Chembur and its neighbouring areas where people had built small huts, he said.
"The encroachments had caused a major problem for the mangrove land and we were waiting for all permissions from the state government," Chief Conservator of Forests, Mangrove Cell, N Vasudevan told today.
"More than 2,000 huts and illegal structures have been removed in Chembur and neighbouring areas," he said.
"The mangroves are vulnerable and due to the rising population there is increased need for houses which leads to illegal encroachments," he said.
"The ecosystem of the mangroves should be protected. Hence, we decided to carry out an eviction drive with the support of police and civic officials," Vasudevan said.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
2. Sorry Mumbaikars! MHADA Is Holding Back the Cheap, Affordable Homes
Reeling under space crunch, the state's housing authority has decided to cut back the number of affordable homes being allotted to Mumbaikars through the lottery system. After giving away 972 homes last year, Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority has only put forward 650 homes for sale this year, an official confirmed.
While refusing to reveal why MHADA had decided to distribute fewer homes this year, a senior official said, "Our aim has always been to release as many houses as possible. This year though, the houses that are being given away are 35 per cent fewer than last year."
Another official, on condition of anonymity, pointed to the issue of lack of space in the city. "MHADA has very little vacant space left. Most of the MHADA plots have been encroached upon and vacating them is a difficult task. At some places, construction of houses is also still in progress and hence, they could not be included in this year's lottery."
MHADA's lottery system has helped benefit several Mumbaikars, especially those from the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society, who want to own homes in the city. However, if news of fewer homes going up on sale wasn't bad enough, the housing authority has also decided against releasing any homes in the EWS category this year.
Of the 650 houses that will be allotted through the lottery system, 95 per cent of the houses will be for the lower-income group and middle-income group categories, an official said. Advertisements for the lottery will be out by May 31.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Meet India's Top Chain Snatcher
The recent arrest of a chain snatcher in Delhi has uncovered a massive, wellcontrolled network of criminals, who have spread out across the country to target gullible women by posing as policemen and deceiving them to part with their gold ornaments that were replaced with fake ones.
Naasir Khan, alias Samir Ali, 36, a resident of Ambivali in Thane district who was brought to the city a few days ago in connection with the probe, runs the biggest network of chain snatchers and thieves in India. Khan is also quite wealthy, owning two palatial bungalows in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area and properties in most of the states where his gang members operated, said Thane police who arrested him for the first time in 2014.
After being released on bail, Khan shifted to Delhi, from where he had been running the gang, most of whose members are of Iranian descent.
“His network spanned cities like Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai, besides Maharashtrian cities like Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai. Till now, 40 cases of thefts have been registered against Khan and his gang in Thane alone.
“Investigations are likely to throw up over 100 similar cases in Mumbai, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai. Khanused to work in tandem with his nephew Amjad Khan,” said a police official from the Thane Crime Branch.
In Delhi, police have unearthed 51cases.
Thane Crime Branch officials said that Khan started conning people since the young age of 15.
“We first arrested him in 2014. After getting bail, he moved to Delhi. He charted his criminal career with boys handpicked from Ambivali and Kalyan areas of Mumbai. The men who worked for him are all habitual offenders.
While they are mainly chain snatchers, they also conned women and stole their ornaments,” said an official.
Investigators are also probing why the kingpin chose to switch base to Delhi.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
4. Mumbai Crime: Five Businessmen Arrested for Abduction, Assault
Mumbai police on Saturday rescued two men who were allegedly abducted after a deal to exchange demonetised notes went wrong.
Police also arrested five persons in the case.
Sunil Bhagwanji Machchar (25) and his friend Bharatkumar Sirai (26), both residents of suburban Mulund, were rescued from Vasai in neighbouring Palghar district this afternoon.
Manish Thakur, Janakprakash Rajpurohit, Siddhique Rahin, Prasannakumar Roy and Hitesh Patel were arrested, said Rajaram Vhanmane, senior inspector of Mulund police station.
Rajpurohit and Hitesh Patel had allegedly given Rs 1.13 crore in demonetised currency for exchanging it with valid notes to Vijay Ambhore, Riyaz and some others who were known to Sunil and Bharatkumar, the police officer said. However, Ambhore and Riyaz took the old notes and disappeared.
The accused then abducted Sunil and Bharatkumar from Mulund and kept them in Manish Thakur's office in Vasai for the last two days. They also beat up the duo, police said.
Sunil's elder brother Nitin got a call from one of the accused who told him that they were holding his brother. Sunil was being thrashed for two days, and Nitin should pay Rs one lakh to have him released, the caller said.
After Nitin filed a complaint, Mulund police raided Thakur's office in Vasai and rescued the duo, besides arresting the accused.
Offence of kidnapping and assault was registered against the five men. Police were looking for Ambhore and others who fled with demonetised notes, inspector Vhanmane said.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
5. Over 500 Cops to Provide Security at Justin Bieber Concert
The police have prepared a detailed security plan for international pop sensation Justin Bieber's concert, which includes a cover of 500 personnel and use of drone cameras.
Bieber is set to perform at D Y Patil stadium on May 10 in neighbouring Navi Mumbai and around 45,000 people are expected to attend the show.
Twenty five officers will also be deployed for security, said Hemant Nagrale, Navi Mumbai police commissioner.
Organisers have hired private security agencies for crowd management and ticket checking, he said.
Nagrale added plain-clothes police personnel would keep a watch inside the stadium.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
6. Motorists May Pay Rs 2.5/Km Toll on Nagpur-Mumbai E-Way
State road development authority MSRDC plans to collect toll of Rs 2.5 per km from passengers vehicles on the much-awaited Rs 46,000 crore Nagpur-Mumbai Prosperity Corridor, which is expected to be completed by October 2019.
“The civil work on the eight-laned Expressway will commence on October 1this year and will be completed by October 2019,” MSRDC Managing Director Radheshyam Mopalwar told reporters.
Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) which is implementing the 706-km corridor project, will be charging a toll fee of around Rs 2.5 per km for cars while for heavy vehicles, it will charge around Rs 6.5 per km.
“As per our calculations, we feel the toll would be around Rs 2.5 per km for passenger vehicles and up to Rs 6.5 per km for commercial and heavy vehicles,” Mopalwar said.
The project comprises nearly 400 vehicular underpasses, over 300 cattle/pedestrian underpasses and around 50 flyovers.
Similarly, there will be three runways in the entire stretch for landing of aircraft in case of natural disasters, he said.
7. Schools Unsure, Say Presence of Cops Will Deter Cause
A recently issued government resolution with regard to installation of complaint boxes in schools has left educational institutes in a quandary, particularly with regard to a clause which recommends the presence of police personnel during the opening of the boxes each week.
While the presence of police personnel is not mandatory and is subject to availability, schools fear that the presence of cops will have a negative effect.
“If there are serious issues, they can be escalated to the police and counsellors. But if they see the police at the time of opening of the boxes, next time they may not complain,” cautioned Paul Machado, principal of Campion School. The Colaba-based school has had such complaint boxes since the last three years.
According to the GR issued on Friday, schools from primary to higher secondary level have to install complaint boxes in prominent places in the premises. The box should be opened on the last working day of the week, in the presence of the principal, members from parents’ or students’ groups and representatives from the police, subject to their availability.
“Setting up of complaints boxes isn’t hard. But with a formalised complaint system, parents would be encouraged to bring all petty matters into the limelight. It will be going to be a time and energy consuming exercise if the complaint system leads to litigations,” Dr Kavita Aggarwal, Chairperson, Members of International Schools Association (MISA) told Mumbai Mirror.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
8. 2 Held for Smuggling Drugs Worth Rs 7.2L Hidden in Apple Boxes
Two fruit vendors were arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of the Mumbai Crime Branch for smuggling drugs from Kashmir to Mumbai. The duo was caught with 1.8 kg of Charas worth Rs 7.2 lakh.
The accused have been identified as Nissar Ahmed Bhat (33), an apple seller and resident of Sangrama Village, Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir and Ilias Ismail Shaikh (38), who is also a fruit vendor and stays at Hasnain tower, Kousa, Mumbra.
Acting on a tip-off related to a drug peddling network, the ANC sleuths arrested them at Nehru Nagar, Kurla.
Shivdeep Lande, Anti Narcotics Cell, DCP told Mid-Day, “We have arrested two fruit suppliers with Charas. They were produced before the court, which remanded them into police custody till 16 May. Investigations are ongoing."
According to ANC officials, many fruit vendors order apples from Kashmiri fruit suppliers because they are comparitively cheaper and in demand. These suppliers conceal the charas inside the apple boxes and use trucks to deliver them to Mumbai without any trouble from security authorities.
An officer from ANC said, “We have told to increase security checks of these fruit vehicles. Charas has a strong odour but the apple's smell suppresses it due to which most of the time they are transported undetected."
According to sources Bhat is the truck driver, who works on the direction of his superior, who gets orders from different states and sends his trucks there. He used to carry 10kg of Charas at a time, and has delivered the drug on more than five occasions this year.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
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