1. 20-Yr-Old Choreographer Arrested for Raping Teen He Met on Social Media
The DN Nagar Police on Tuesday morning arrested a 20-year-old choreographer, who earlier participated in a television show , for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old college student. The victim in her statement to the police said that she became friends with the choreographer through a social media platform, and after a few days of chatting, he invited her to meet him at a spot in Andheri where she was sexually assaulted. According to the police, they were informed on Monday evening that a semi-conscious girl at an Andheri West food joint needed urgent help. A team led by Inspector Mahesh Desai of Crime Branch unit 9 reached the spot. The victim was found in a semi-conscious state, the police said.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
2. Top Film Producer in a Mess With Masseuse
A non-cognisable complaint has been filed against film producer Prernaa Arora, the force behind critically acclaimed films like Toilet Ek Prem Katha, Rustom and PadMan, for allegedly assaulting and abusing her masseuse after being questioned about pending payment. The Meghwadi police said Khairun Mukthar Ahmed, 60, a resident of Santacruz, had offered her services as a masseuse to Arora for the last 10 years.
“She used to call me for massages in the night. I was desperate for money, first to pay for my husband’s cancer treatment and after his death, to pay off the loans,” Ahmed said in her complaint. She said she was promised a pay of Rs 75,000 a month for massages between midnight and 8 am. “I paid on my own to travel in autorickshaws from Santacruz to Madam’s house in Jogeshwari,” she said. Ahmed claimed that she hadn’t been paid in the last five months .
Source: Mumbai Mirror
3. Maharashtra Pollution Control Board Shuts Down 19 Plastic Bag Manufacturing Units
With Maharashtra’s ban on various plastic products coming into effect from this weekend, the state environment agency has started punitive action against manufacturers of plastic bags.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) said it has forced 19 large-scale plastic bag manufacturing units to shut in the past two weeks.
The units were located in Pune and in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) – Kalyan, Ambernath, Thane and Dombivli. The units have been fined Rs5,000 each as a preliminary offence for continuing to manufacture plastic bags.
The MPCB has also seized five trucks carrying 50 tonnes of plastic from Daman.
Source: Hindustan Times
4. BMC Gets 3 Months to Put Conservancy Workers on Payroll
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday cracked the whip on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and gave the civic chief three months’ time to complete the process of appointing about 2,700 conservancy workers as permanent employees. The workers have been fighting for permanency since 2007. Following Supreme Court orders, the BMC had granted permanent-employee status to 191 workers.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
5. ‘No Blanket Permission to Trim Trees’
Observing that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) cannot grant blanket permission to trim trees in the city, the Bombay High Court has directed the civic body to reconsider the permissions it has granted to some private and public bodies.
On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Abhay Oka and Riyaz Chagla asked the BMC for grounds on which it granted unconditional blanket permissions without determining whether these agencies were adhering to provisions of the Trees Act and the BMC’s rules.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
6. Next CM Will Be From Sena, Claims Uddhav
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday claimed that the next chief minister of the state will be from his party. He, however, preferred to keep mum on the recent visit of BJP president Amit Shah to Matoshree (Thackeray’s residence) and prospects of an alliance between the two parties for the forthcoming polls.
Thackeray was delivering his valedictory speech at a rally organised to commemorate the party’s 52nd foundation day.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
7. Politicians Oppose Hill Rd Setbacks in Letters to BMC
Yesterday it was reported that officials of St Andrew’s Church, St Peter’s Church and the Tata Agiary – all on Hill Road – were informed orally that they would have to give up setback land for the road’s widening. Notices were also issued to licensed hawkers who operate on the road from Bandra railway station to Mehboob Studio. On Tuesday, politicians in Bandra wrote to the BMC, reminding them of the history of residents’ opposition to giving setback land from the three shrines.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
8. MMRDA Told to Improve Road at Dadar for NOC
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has yet another hurdle to cross before it could get the monorail operational. The Fire department has asked them to improve the road infrastructure around the monorail’s Dadar East station before it gives them a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
“We need to conduct a mock drill before we give an NOC for the station. But the road leading to the station is uneven and not suitable for our fire engine to drive on. There are also some fences and barricades that need to be removed. We have asked the MMRDA to remove them and let us know when they are done. We will then conduct our mock drill,” said a senior official from the Fire department.
Source: The Indian Express
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)