1. Abu Salem Denied Parole for Wedding
The state government has rejected an application filed by 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case convict Abu Salem seeking a 45-day parole to get married.
The underworld don, serving a life sentence in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja Jail, had moved the application a month ago.
The application was rejected three days ago by the Konkan Divisional Commissioner, under whose jurisdiction the prison falls, citing security concerns for the extradited gangster.
Before rejecting the plea, the Divisional Commissioner had sought a report from the Thane Police Commissionerate, as Salem’s registered address is that of Mumbra. The decision was reportedly taken following a negative report.
According to his application, Salem, who is in his 50s, was to tie the knot, reportedly for the third time, with Sayed Kausar Bahar. The ceremony was to take place on May 5. In his application, the gangster had apparently beseeched the authorities to grant him the leave as he has been languishing in jail for 12 years without any parole or furlough.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
2. Govt Eyes BNHS Land in Film City
This state government seems hell bent on snatching away every inch of open space from Mumbai.
After AAREY land being carved out for a Metro casting yard and the ill-advised move to add Mahim Nature Park to the redevelopment of Dharavi, the Devendra Fadnavis-led state government is getting ready to hand over 33 acre of forest land controlled by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) in Goregaon to Film City.
The Maharashtra Film State and Cultural Development Corporation (MFSCDCL) – which runs Goregaon’s Dadasheb Phalke Film City – has refused to renew BNHS lease over the 33-acre plot and declared that the same will be used for the redevelopment of Film City.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
3. Builder ‘misused’ Repair Nod to Raise Structure
BMC accuses developer of misusing repair permissions received from MHADA to carry out illegal constructions in Pydhonie; builder’s lawyer denies wrongdoing.
Abuilder has come under the scanner of the BMC for allegedly misusing permission granted for repair works to construct a six-storey unauthorised building in Pydhonie within merely 10 days.
According to civic officials, Akramal Najibul Sarkar had been served demolition notices thrice since March for the illegal construction at 244 Narsinatha Street (Keshavji Naik Road) in Pydhonie. But he reportedly ignored the notices as well as court stay orders to continue raising a sixstorey structure.
The officials claim that Sarkar actually had permission from the Maharashtra Housing Development Authority (MHADA) to repair the old, five-storey building that stood at the spot. For making new constructions, he needed to have requisite permissions from the BMC.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. IIT-Bombay Opens Institute’s Labs to School Students
IT-Bombay has started an outreach programme in which school students will be given a tour of the institute’s labs once a month. The purpose of the programme is to make science popular among school students. While IIT-Bombay has an annual tech and cultural fest, where people from all walks of life can attend events at one of the premier institutes of the country, in the outreach programme, students will be able to see the research being done by the scholars there. Since February, IIT-Bombay has hosted two groups of school students and introduced them to the research being conducted in its labs.
In February, at least 40 class XI students from migrant schools in Jammu and Kashmir and their teachers visited the IIT-B campus for five days. The students saw the labs and were briefed about some of the research work by PhD scholars. Afterwards, they attended science and sky watching workshops, among other co-curricular activities.
A month later, class XI students from Bombay Scottish School spent an afternoon at IIT-B. The students visited laboratories, conducted experiments and interacted with IIT-B faculty, said Abhijit Majumder, assistant professor at the Chemical Engineering department, who spearheaded the programme.
Source: The Indian Express
5. Wall Done! Community Unites to Paint Township
In a bid to foster a spirit of community, several residents of Kandivali’s Lokhandwala and Thakur Complex joined hands to paint 17 exterior walls over the weekend to mark Earth Day, which is observed on April 22 every year. The initiative, titled ‘Colour My Township’, witnessed participants, young and old, thronging the walls of a sprawling high-rise in Lokhandwala with an aim to showcase the benefits of a healthy green cover.
“We did not want to be preachy but we realised that we needed to bring the members together as it has been a while since we gathered as a community,” said Santosh Shetty, an IT professional who is also a member of We All Connect, the group which conceived the initiative. “The idea is to cultivate a spirit of oneness; we take up these things to exhibit that bond and similarly pass on a sense of responsibility to children,” said Shetty.
“It is easy to affect change with the help of a community. The changes in the environment are of concern to us all and we tried to address it in our own little way,” said Roshan Rohira, a businessman and one of the members. He said the group wanted to carry this momentum through to other projects. There is a project revolving around sapling plantation in the offing.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
6. Woman ‘kills’ Her Newborn in Thane
A woman was arrested by Kalyan police for allegedly killing her six-day-old daughter on Sunday. The woman allegedly killed her daughter by digging her nails into the girl’s neck. The reason, police said, was poverty. According to Khadakpada police, the mother, identified as 27-year-old Vaishali Pradhan, was arrested on Sunday evening after a neighbour caught her in the act. “Pradhan had her hands around the baby’s neck while the newborn was bleeding. The child was taken to a private hospital but was declared dead,” an officer said.
The woman, a mother of two has allegedly confessed to her crime to Khadakpada police. “She didn’t want a third child and had borrowed money for an abortion. But her husband allegedly took the money and spent it on alcohol,” a source privy to the case said. “The mother accepted that she wanted to kill the child as she would have been an extra mouth to feed. She already has a son and a daughter,” an officer said.
Source: The Indian Express
7. Police Seize Boat Carrying 8,300 Litres of ‘stolen’ Diesel
Colaba police seized a boat carrying over 8,300 litres of diesel and arrested three persons from near the Gateway of India on Saturday night. The group was arrested after Colaba police laid a trap after they were tipped off by cops patrolling the seas about a ‘suspicious’ boat.
Police suspect the accused – identified as Raigad residents Samadhan Koli, 28, Duwars Koli, 37 and Girish Koli, 32 – had stolen the diesel from vessels docked in the city. “We think they were heading to Raigad where they would sell the fuel to other boats in high seas,” said a police officer.
Police said the diesel was stored in large drums kept in the boat’s storage tanks.
“At around 7:45 pm on Saturday, Colaba police raided the boat. When the trio were asked to produce documents related to the purchase of the diesel, they were unable to do so. Further questioning revealed signs that the diesel may have been stolen from other vessels docked along the coast,” said the police officer.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
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