1. Prabhadevi High-rise Fire: Residents of B-Wing Will Have to Wait for a Few Days to Go Back
Several residents of the upscale high-rise BeauMonde Towers in Prabhadevi, where a massive fire broke out on Wednesday, will have to wait for a few days before they can go back to their homes.
Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone owns a 26th floor apartment in the complex.
While residents of A-wing and C-wing were allowed to return to their flats on Wednesday night, people who have apartments in the B-wing, where the fire started, will have to wait for a couple more days, said a senior fire official, who did not wish to be named.
The fire started on the 32nd floor around 2.10 pm on Wednesday afternoon, and spread to the top floor as well as the one below. It was doused by 9.40pm, nearly eight hours after it began, by which time it had charred the top three floors of the 33-storey building.
Source: Hindustan Times
2. Forest Dept Sets Trap, Catches Leopard Spotted in Mumbai’s Marol
Hours after the forest department put a trap cage in place at Marol, Andheri (east), following reports that a leopard had been spotted in the locality, the animal was trapped early on Thursday.
Forest officials said the leopard is full-grown male, between four and five years old. “Around 3am, the leopard entered the cage, which we had set up in an abandoned industrial unit on Military Road. We had left chickens as bait, and once the leopard entered the cage, it was trapped,” said Jitendra Ramgaokar, deputy conservator of forest, Thane forest range, who led the operation along with 25 other forest officers and staff from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). “Based on veterinary examination, we will decide when to release the animal.”
The leopard seems to be a healthy specimen, said Dr Shailesh Pethe, veterinarian, SGNP. “We have kept him in isolation and are in the process of carrying out various medical tests. However, he is eating well and has no health issues.”
Source: Hindustan Times
3.1 Biker Dead, 3 Hurt in JJ Flyover Crash
One biker was killed and three others injured, one of them critically, when they lost control of their motorcycles on the JJ Flyover while en route to Mohammed Ali Road for Eid shopping.
Two-wheelers are banned on the flyover, and police said the bikers were speeding and lost control one of its blind curves.
According to the Pydhonie police, Iraz Khan, 19; Arbaaz Usmani, 21; Shahnwaaz Khan, 18; and Osama Khan, 20, were driving towards Mohammad Ali Road from Kamgaar Nagar near MIG colony in VB Nagar, Kurla West.
One biker, Arbaaz, who was not wearing a helmet, is serious; Iraz, his pillion rider was declared dead. A third biker fractured his leg, while the fourth was treated and discharged. “Arbaaz, Shahnwaaz and Iraz wanted to buy clothes, and that is why we started from Kurla around 10 pm. Around 10.40 pm, we were on JJ Flyover when Arbaaz started speeding,” said Osama, who fractured his left leg.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. Pawanraje Nimbalkar Murder Case: Defer Recording Statement of Accused, Says Bombay High Court
The Bombay High Court has directed that recording statement of the accused under Section 313 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) in the murder case of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar in 2006 be deferred till the next hearing.
One of the accused in the case is NCP leader Padamsinh Patil, who, it is alleged, had given orders for Nimbalkar’s murder owing to their political rivalry.
An application was moved by Nimbalkar’s wife Anandidevi Nimbalkar challenging the order of the sessions court exempting social activist Anna Hazare from being examined as a prosecution witness. Earlier, an application was filed by the CBI before the trial court seeking examination of witness Hazare, to prove the motive of the crime.
Source: The Indian Express
5. Andheri School Flouts BMC Order to Reinstate Teacher
On the eve of school reopening after summer break, Geeta Chimulkar, head teacher for the primary section at Hansraj Morarji Public School (HMPS), Andheri, got a rude shock on Thursday when the school asked her to not join duty pending inquiry, even though the BMC had revoked her suspension earlier this month.
Chimulkar had been suspended on May 31 for allegedly enlisting the support of “political persons” on behalf of parents after the private aided school decided to change its curriculum from the SSC to the ICSE board. The management ordered an inquiry against her. However, the very next day, the BMC revoked the suspension, terming it unfair and illegal.
The civic body cited provisions of the grant in aid code (guidelines for schools that receive government aid) and told the school that the suspension was not in line with the rules. Education officer Mahesh Palkar said since the institution received a salary grant from the corporation, the school management should have taken prior permission from the BMC before suspending the teacher.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
6. Giant Carcass Washes Ashore at Uran, Near Mumbai, Experts Says Its a Blue Whale
A 44-foot-long (13.5m) whale carcass washed ashore at Kegaon beach near Uran in Navi Mumbai on Thursday morning. Forest officials said it was most likely a blue whale.
This is the eighth recorded case of a beached whale carcass in Maharashtra since 2015, and the 85th marine animal death over the past three years.
Fishermen from the area said they spotted the decomposing carcass around 8.30am. “It looks like the mammal died quite a long while back at sea. You can see bones jutting out of the body,” said Tukaram Koli, a fisherman from Uran. “A dev maso [whale] washed ashore at Uran coast after almost 40 years. In 1978, a 48-foot-long dead blue whale had washed ashore.”
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) falls in the red list of threatened species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and in schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1986. Blue whales are said to be the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth.
Source: Hindustan Times
7. Another Bid to Retrieve Ark Deck Bar Today
Even as the owner of the capsized fishing trawler Avior, on which the restaurant Ark Deck Bar operated, is ready to start the retrieving operation of the listing floatel today, the owners of Ark Deck Bar say they have nothing to do with the trawler and the matter is now between the insurance company, the owner of Avior Mahendra Doshi and the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) which regulates movements in the sea.
Last year, Doshi had struck a deal with a company owned by Vikrant Chandwadkar, Cookie Singh and Antim Totla to convert his 1970 fishing trawler Avior into a luxury restobar, Ark Deck Bar. Before it capsized off Bandra coast on May 25, Avior was anchored at sea and its restaurant hosted diners who came via speed boats. On the last day for boats to operate during the season, Avior had hit a rock that caused a hole in its hull. All the 15 staffers on the boat were rescued by the coastal police. The authorities are still investigating whether it was an accident or a result of lack of maintenance.
Co-owner of Ark Deck Bar, Vikram Chandwadkar said, “We owned a restaurant there. Now the matter is between insurance company, MMB and Doshi. We have removed our setup from the trawler. If they retrieve the vessel and repair her during the monsoon, then we will restart our restaurant on it. And if they don’t, we will use another vessel.” Co-owner Cookie Singh said, “We tried retrieving Avior earlier but the sea was stormy. The retrieval will restart today but now we are in no way concerned with the vessel. The owner will look into it.”
Source: Mumbai Mirror
8. Three Dry Days in Mumbai Next Weekend
The city and the Konkan coast will go dry for three consecutive days starting next Saturday on account of elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC) on Monday, June 25.
Top sources in the state excise department told HT on Wednesday that the state’s chief electoral officer has asked collectors in Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts to impose a ban on sale and distribution of liquor for 48 hours before the polling day. On election day, the ban will be in effect until voting comes to an end in the evening. A similar ban will be in effect in the Nashik division where polling will be held for a solitary seat.
In Mumbai, a teachers’ and a graduates’ constituency will go to the polls on June 25, while in the rest of Konkan, the voting will be held for a graduates’ constituency. In Nashik, voting will be held for a teachers’ constituency.
Hindustan Times reached out to the state chief electoral officer, Ashwin Kumar, over the telephone and by sending text messages, but there was no response.
Source: Hindustan Times
(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.)