1. 36,000 Vacant Government Posts to Be Filled: CMO
With elections due next year, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave his approval on Wednesday to fill nearly 36,000 vacant posts in the state government, especially in the agriculture and rural development departments.
Of the vacant posts to be filled in the first phase, 11,005 posts will be filled in the rural development department; 10,568 posts in health; 7,111posts in the home department and police; 2,572 in agriculture; 1,047 in animal husbandry; 837 in the public works department (PWD); 423 in water conservation; 90 in fisheries; and 1,664 posts in the urban development department, sources said.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
2. Kamala Mills Owners Get Bail
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Ramesh Gowani and Ravi Bhandari, owners of Kamala Mills Compound, nearly four months after they were arrested in connection with the December 29, 2017, fire on their premises that claimed 14 lives and injured 31people.
The two Kamala Mills directors were arrested on January 21.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. If Mumbai Floods This Monsoon, Blame It on State Government, Not BMC, Says Mayor
If Mumbai floods this year, the state government will be answerable and not the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar said on Wednesday while visiting various spots in the western suburbs where the civic body has been doing its annual pre-monsoon drain-cleaning work.
Mahadeshwar’s comment comes in the backdrop of the Metro construction work that has blocked several arterial roads across the city. “If Mumbai floods because of Metro work, the BMC should not be held responsible,” he said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Kirti Vyas Murder: Accused Couple Exchanged 110 Calls to Cover Their Tracks, Say Cops
The alleged killers of 28-year-old chartered accountant Kirti Vyas had exchanged 110 phone calls within two days of her murder to cover their tracks.
Khushi Sejwani, 42, and Siddhesh Tamhankar, 28, who were produced before the Esplanade Court have been remanded to police custody till May 17. According to the public prosecutor, police officers said that they needed the custody of the couple to trace Vyas’ body.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Wadias Face Opposition in High-Stakes Trust Row
Industrialist Nusli Wadia’s bid to carry out organisational changes at a top educational trust that his family helped establish 86 years ago has run into strong opposition.
The grandson of Vishwanath Joag, a key founder of Modern Education Society, has alleged that Wadia is trying to seize control of the society and its properties, which are worth hundreds of crores, and oust prominent members. The grandson, Dilip Joag, has urged the Pune charity commissioner to dismiss the Wadia Group chairman’s application for the proposed shake-up, which includes a suggestion that the latter be appointed as the trust’s president for life.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
6. Derogatory Tweets Against CM Lands Tour Operator in Jail
The Juhu police on Wednesday arrested a tour operator for allegedly making derogatory comments on Facebook against Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The man identified as Aniket Patil was arrested from Goregaon after an FIR was registered on Monday against him and ad filmmaker Ram Subramanian.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
7. ACB Lens on 26 Senior BMC Officials
The Lokayukta on Wednesday ordered an inquiry by Anti-Corruption Bureau against 26 senior BMC officials in a building proposals scam that is believed to have robbed the municipal corporation of Rs 50,000 crore.
The Lokayukta order followed the BMC on Wednesday submitting its final report pointing to irregularities in 34 of 39 buildings it surveyed between Bandra and Andheri. The review of the 39 buildings was triggered by a complaint by BJP MLA Amit Satam in 2016.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
8. One Worker Dies in Fire Inside Leather Factory Near Mumbai
A worker was killed in a fire that broke out in a leather unit in Vasai early on Wednesday.
The fire started inside Choudhary International Pvt Ltd’s leather unit, an old factory that has been around in Satoli, Vasai (east) for the past two decades, around 4.30am. The unit manufactures and exports pure leather footwear and other allied products. The firm’s head office is located in Andheri (east).
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
9. Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin Spotted Along Mumbai’s West Coast
For the first time in six years, an Indian Ocean humpback dolphin was spotted between the Versova and Madh Jetty last week.
Although fishermen say they regularly see humpback dolphins when they go out to fish, it is rare to spot these dolphins so close to shore.
HT spotted the live dolphin on May 9, between 4pm and 5pm, between Versova and Madh Jetty. It seemed unperturbed by the small fishing boats that surrounded it.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
10. Mumbai Crime: Couple Blackmail Businessman With Video of His Intimate Moments, Arrested
A couple has been arrested by the Khar police for blackmailing a businessman with a video of his intimate moments with a woman. The couple also extorted a sum of over RS 2 lakh from the businessman.
The accused, who have been identified as husband and wife duo, 35-year-old Shabnam Solanki and 38-year-old Umer Solanki, were acquaintances of the businessman and they hatched a plan to make some quick money. Shabnam, befriended a woman, who in turn honey trapped the 60-year-old businessman.
(Source: Mid-Day)
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