1. Sena, NCP Slam BJP Government For Iftaar At Sahyadri Guest House
The Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party-led state government over the iftaar party organised by Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) at Sahyadri guest house on Monday.
MRM is a wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The Sena called the move “appeasement” of the minority committee and said it is a “violation” of rules as they are using the government premises for a private function.
The NCP asked if the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is “having a change of heart”. The Sena, which is a junior partner in the BJP-led state government, attacked the BJP for stooping to such low levels to woo the minority community. “For 60 years, the BJP has been criticising the Congress for appeasement of the minority community. Now, have they not resorted to such appeasement? How can an RSS-affiliated body use government premises? This is misuse of power. Is this ‘saaf niyat’ and ‘sahi vikas’ of the BJP?” said Manisha Kayande, Sena spokesperson.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Three Months After ‘Abduction’, Missing Complaint Filed For City Businessman
Almost three months after he was allegedly abducted in Mozambique by an African gang, the family of businessman Pramod Goenka has formally lodged a missing person complaint at the Sahar police station.
The initial application filed by Goenka’s son was converted into a full-fledged complaint after the 52-year-old businessman has spent close to 107 days in captivity. The complaint was lodged at Sahar as his last known location was the international airport just before his flight took off.
Goenka, who is the brother of construction firm DB Realty chairman Vinod Goenka, was visiting the African country for business. He went missing hours after landing at the Maputo airport on February 17, sources said.
A jewellery trader, Goenka was to reportedly meet with a fellow diamond trader identified only as ‘Kothari’ in the complaint, in Maputo. Both the businessmen have been reported missing since.
After a few of friends and family members received photographs of him being held hostage sent from his own phone, the family got in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to enlist the help of their counterparts in Mozambique for his rescue.
“My uncle (Vinod Goenka) has been following the matter with the ministry. We have not heard of him since the time he went missing,” said Yash, Goenka’s son.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Armaan Kohli Booked For Beating Up Friend Over Monetary Dispute
Actor Armaan Kohli has been booked by the Santacruz police for allegedly assaulting a friend at his Santacruz home after an argument over a monetary dispute.
Police said that an FIR was registered on Saturday after a complaint was filed by Neeru Randhawa, a fashion stylist. On Monday, a police team went to Kohli’s residence to serve a notice, but didn’t find him.
“Randhawa was at Kohli’s house when an argument took place between the two. He allegedly assaulted her. After she approached us, an FIR was lodged against the actor under Section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt with dangerous weapons) of the IPC,” said a police officer.
In her complaint, Randhawa said that the reason for their argument was the money he earned from renting his villa in Goa. She said that Kohli caught her by her hair and banged her head against the wall, injuring her. Randhawa had to go to a hospital.
DCP (zone 9) Pramajit Singh Dahiya confirmed the filing of the FIR against Kohli.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
4. Thane Police Bust Cryptocurrency Scam Worth Hundreds Of Crores
The crime branch in Thane on Monday busted what is alleged to be a multi-hundred crore cryptocurrency scam that operated for two years under the guise of a real estate firm.
A senior police officer from the Thane crime branch told HT that during the raid, investigators found another office in Vikhroli from where the scam was run, and that some police personnel were allegedly involved in the racket and their roles are being probed.
The scam was devised by The Flintstone Group, an alleged real estate company, that promised its investors not only flats, but citizenship in African and Caribbean countries where, it said, their cryptocurrency would be legal tender in a few years. Flintstone Group’s cryptocurrency was called MoneyTradeCoin (MTC), and was used as bait for investors to put in more money with the lure of high returns and international citizenship.
The total value of money invested by gullible investors ran into hundreds of crores, police said on Monday. Yesterday’s raids and subsequent detentions were the result of a complaint by a Thane businessman who claimed that he and five of his colleagues had invested Rs 1.7 crore in MTC, but had not received any feedback from Flintstone officials even after the promised date.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
5. Sheena Bora Case: Indrani Told Me Not To Visit Her House For 3 Days Says Ex-Housekeeper
In the Sheena Bora murder case, the former housekeeper of the Mukerjeas told the court that Indrani Mukerjea, the key accused in the murder case of her daughter, had told him to not visit their residence for three days from April 23 to 25, 2012.
The CBI alleges that Sheena Bora was murdered on April 24, 2012, and her body was kept in a bag in the garage of their house, Marlow building in Worli, till it was disposed of the next day.
Pradeep Waghmare, the fourth prosecution witness in the case, told the court that when he went to Marlow on April 25, he met Peter’s son, Rahul on the building premises. Rahul, who was in a relationship with Sheena, had been looking for her since her sudden disapperance on April 24.
Waghmare said Rahul asked him if he had seen Sheena. “I told him that as per instructions I had not visited Marlow building and hence I did not know. I later called Indrani madam and told her about Rahul. After 10-15 minutes, I got a call from Peter saab (Peter Mukerjea). He asked me if Rahul had come there. I told him that he had and that he was asking about Sheena. Upon which Peter saab told me that ‘Madam ne Sheena ko Rahul se chudaya hai. Jaane do, koi baat nahi’,” Waghmare told court.
(Source: Indian Express)
6. Legislative Council Polls: Shiv Sena Fields Potnis Instead Of Deepak Sawant
Shiv Sena has fielded Vilas Potnis, the Sena divisional head from Borivali, for the Mumbai Graduates Legislative Council constituency instead of incumbent Sena leader and Health Minister Deepak Sawant.
The elections to the Mumbai Graduates and Mumbai Teachers Legislative Council constituencies will take place on June 25 and last date of filing nominations is June 7. Sawant’s term will end on July 7, 2018.
“I am filing nominations on Wednesday,” said Potnis. Lok Bharati headed by legislator Kapil Patil has fielded Jalindar Sarode from the Mumbai Graduates Constituency.
Sources in the Sena said that party leadership is not happy with the performance of Sawant as minister. It could be one of the reasons for not fielding him for council polls, said a Sena leader.
Another Sena leader said 11 legislative council members will be elected by the MLAs next month. “Sena can easily field two candidates as one candidate requires 25 votes. But then, the decision on whether to field Sawant will be taken by the party leadership,” said a Sena leader.
(Source: Indian Express)
7. BMC Starts Penalising Owners Who Don’t Clean Up Pet Poop
Over a decade after bringing in regulations that pet owners would have to clean their pets’ poop from roadsides, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finally started implementing the rule in some parts of the city, starting Friday. In three days, the civic body penalised 16 people (caretakers/owners) for not cleaning up after their dogs.
The civic body’s D ward (Mumbai Central-Charni Road) office has formed a special squad, comprising 32 clean-up marshals, to keep vigil on owners/caretakers who walk their pets.
The special drive against pets dirtying stretches of prime locations in south Mumbai such as Marine Drive promenade and Cuffe Parade pavements has now been extended to areas such as August Kranti Maidan, Girgaum Chowpatty, Mahalakshmi, Mumbai Central, Grant Road, Charni Road, Tardeo, Peddar Road and Napean Sea Road.
“There is already a bylaw, but it was not being implemented regularly. The problem has become a nuisance in some areas. So we decided to start the drive again and start penalising petowners who do not clean the mess,” said Vishwas Mote, assistant municipal commissioner, D ward.
(Source: Indian Express)
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