1. Ghatkopar 2002 Blast: Charges Likely to Be Dropped Against Accused
Ninety-two days after the arrest of Irfan Ahmed Qureshi in the Ghatkopar bus explosion that killed two people in 2002, Mumbai Police Crime Branch told a Special POTA Court that the agency has not found strong evidence and is likely to drop charges against him.
This is not the first time in this case that the Crime Branch has found no evidence against an accused. In 2012, Mumbai Mirror was the first to report that the Crime Branch had discharged a Hyderabad techie ten months after his arrest for lack of incriminating evidence. The engineer had consequently lost his job.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
2. Farmhouse of Carcasses
A retired professor of a renowned university in western Maharashtra has been booked for animal cruelty after carcasses of a pregnant goat, a horse and several other animals were found at his farmhouse in Panvel. Besides, 13 emaciated animals were rescued from unhygienic conditions.
Animal rights activists visited the farmhouse of Suhas Sawant, a recent retiree, where he kept over 100 different animals on Sunday, following a tip-off that he was allegedly not taking care of them. The animals were not only being kept in unhygienic conditions but were also being starved. The activists also found a pregnant goat that had died the day before, skeletal remains of a horse as well as rotting carcasses allegedly strewn across the property. The horse is suspected to have died several weeks ago.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
3. Mumbai Wine Shopowner Robbed, Killed: Nearly Two Months On, Police Still Look for Clue
Nearly two months after a 43-year-old wine shopowner was shot dead at point-blank range by two persons and robbed of Rs 4 lakh in Goregaon, the Mumbai Police is still struggling to find the assailants. The deceased, Sajnish Singh Chawla, was returning home at night after closing his shop when at least two people approached him, shot him dead and fled with the money. What has further complicated the matter is that the location where the incident took place was a blind spot, not covered by CCTV cameras.
The incident took place on June 10 when Chawla, the owner of Goregaon wine shop and his assistant Kamlesh Yadav (30) had shut the shop around 11.15 pm and were walking towards Chawla’s car that had been parked 100 m from the scene of crime. Two men, who came on foot, stopped Chawla and brandished a pistol and demanded money, an officer said. One of the accused fired at his forehead, snatched the bag of cash from Yadav that had Rs 4 lakh and fled the spot. After the incident, the local Vanrai police registered a murder case and began a probe.
Source: The Indian Express
4. 2 Businessmen ‘Abducted’ in Malaysia
A Dombivali-based family has lodged a complaint at Ram Nagar police station regarding two of their members who were allegedly abducted while they were on a business trip to Malaysia.
According to the complaint filed by their uncle Rajeev Vaidya, Rohan Vaidya, 36, and his younger sibling Kaustabh, 31, both of whom run a fish, meat and poultry products firm Rock Frozen Food, rushed to Malaysia after receiving a big order from a Malaysian company – Miss Lee Frozen Foods.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
5. Woman Throws Self and Baby Under Train
Allegedly harassed by her husband, a 24-year-old woman ended her life by throwing herself before a local train at Bhayandar railway station with her three-year-old daughter clutched in her arms. The woman identified as Renuka Pintu came to Bhayandar railway station in the intervening night of August 2 and August 3 and stood at the Churchgate-end of platform number four with her daughter, Arohi, in her arms, the police said.
Immediately after she saw a train approaching, Renuka got off the platform and lied over the tracks, holding her daughter close to her. Before the motorman could apply brakes, one coach of the train had passed over her and her daughter. The two were rushed to hospital but were declared dead on arrival.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
7. Cheat Radiologist Who Gave Multi-Vitamins in the Name of Stem Cell Therapy Loses Licence
The Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) has suspended the licence of a Borivali-based diploma holder in radiology for promising to treat a mentally disabled boy by using stem cell therapy and cheating the family of Rs 3 lakh.
Dr Sunil Waghmare, who did nothing more than prescribe multivitamin tablets to the boy, has been barred from practising medicine for five years.
Strict Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines govern stem cell therapy, a highly specialised arm of medicine, in India. Bone marrow transplants and therapies in which stem cells harvested from umbilical cord blood are used are the most popular.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
8. Late Artist’s Nieces Edge out His Wife’s Relatives in Assets Case
Siblings Bindia Kriplani and Preeti Chhabda, the nieces of late artist, art collector, and filmmaker Bal Chhabda, were recently granted relief by both the Supreme Court and the Bombay High Court in a property dispute with the relatives of Chhabda’s late wife and the couple’s servants.
On Monday, Justice Gautam Patel of the Bombay High Court dismissed an application filed by Bal Chhabda’s domestic help Naresh Pal, driver Hemraj Bakhiya, and his wife Pushpa, also a domestic help, seeking to prevent Bindia and Preeti from gaining full control over Chhabda’s properties.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
9. MNS Workers Storm Mumbai Cinema Hall With Snacks
In protest against multiplex managements not allowing outside food, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers on Monday forcefully entered the PVR multiplex at Lower Parel in Mumbai carrying outside eatables.
Police stopped the group but later allowed them to enter the movie hall carrying their samosas. Around 20 MNS workers booked tickets for the 2:40 pm show of the film ‘Fanney Khan’.
Source: Hindustan Times
10. Vehicles Parked Near Bus Stops BEST to Traffic Dept: Allow Our Inspectors to Slap Fine
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) has asked the traffic department to check on autorickshaws and taxis parked near bus stops, causing the vehicles to stop ahead of the designated areas. The bus utility wants BEST inspectors to be able to slap fine on errant drivers.
BEST Chairperson Ashish Chemburkar Monday said he has written to the Joint Commissioner of Traffic Police, Amitesh Kumar, to check on autorickshaw and taxi drivers who park their vehicles illegally near bus stops. “We are already losing commuters to other modes of transportation, including Ola, Uber and rickshaws. On top of that, when they park vehicles near bus stops, our buses are forced to stop ahead or on the main road affecting traffic. These autorickshaws and taxis also draw away our commuters,” Chemburkar said.
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.)