QMumbai: Cong-Sena Tiff Over Metro; Bill Against ‘Cut Practice’

Dadar man files complaint against caste panchayat; molestation on the rise in railway stations.

1. Cong, Sena Corporators Refuse to Part With Andheri Plot for Metro

Rivals Congress and Shiv Sena came together on Thursday to put a fresh spanner in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s pet project — the Metro.

At a meeting of the BMC’s Improvement Committee, corporators belonging to the two parties shot down a proposal to hand over a 4,000-sq mt plot in Andheri to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) so that it can build an electric sub-station for Metro IIA line.

The plot, which is part of a 9,000-sq mt land belonging to the BMC, is originally reserved for a sewage treatment plant and the corporators don’t want it to be given away for any other project. MMRCL had applied to the BMC to take over the plot for a period of 30 years.

“The BMC has reserved the plot for a sewage treatment plant. How can Metro officials suddenly decide that BMC needs only half the area and they can take the remaining 4,000 sq mt? We can’t compromise with other amenities for Metro,” said Ashraf Aazmi, Congress corporator.

(Source: Mumbai Mirror)

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2. State Seeks Tough Law Against 'Cut Practice' by Doctors'

The state government is set to introduce a Bill against the cut practice by doctors in the upcoming monsoon session of the state legislature which will begin on Monday. The government wants to make provisions for punishment under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, to be applicable to doctors and others who are found guilty of the practice. If passed, the guilty will face minimum imprisonment of six months, extending up to five years.

Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, a senior official from the state’s medical education department said, “The state government has appointed a committee under former Director General of Police Praveen Dixit to draft the law. The state will be receiving the draft very soon and once the cabinet approves it, it will be tabled in the monsoon session of the state assembly.”

(Source: Mumbai Mirror)

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3. Social Boycott a Crime Now, Dadar Man Files Complaint Against Caste Panchayat

In the first complaint in Mumbai under the Maharashtra Prohibition of Social Boycott Act, a senior citizen has said he was ostracised from the community on the orders of his caste panchayat for not attending his cousin’s funeral.

Diktat for social boycott issued by caste panchayats has become a crime punishable with jail term up to seven years and penalty up to Rs 5 lakh in Maharashtra, a first in the country. The new law came into force after outgoing President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Maharashtra Prohibition of Social Boycott Act, 2015, in June.

A 64-year-old man, Prabhakar Bhosale, from the Ghadshi community said in his complaint that he was ostracised from the community in 2010 despite him furnishing proof that he was in Nashik when his cousin died, hence couldn’t attend the funeral. Bhosale, a resident of Dadar, said a few office-bearers of the caste panchayat said his family’s social boycott would end only after they tendered an unconditional apology to the panchayat.

(Source: Mumbai Mirror)

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4. Mumbai Crime: 4 Molestations at Railway Stations in a Fortnight

In the last fortnight, four cases of molestations at railway stations have been reported. The incidents took place at four of the most crowded stations in the city -- CST, Churchgate, Borivli and Sion.

A 22-year-old became the most recent victim while boarding a Kalyan-bound train at Sion. After she raised an alarm, alert commuters nabbed the culprit.

A Government Railway Police (GRP) official said, "Around 12.40 pm on Sunday, the woman was boarding the train when she was molested. Fellow passengers caught the culprit. He tried to flee at Kurla station, but some commuters caught hold of him and handed him over to the Kurla GRP. Witness accounts helped the police book the molester. He has been released on bail.

(Source: Mid-Day)

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5. One Lakh Answer Sheets Assigned to Wrong Teachers

Mumbai University’s online assessment of answer sheets is nowhere near meeting the July 31 deadline set by the university chancellor and Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao, figures available with the state government’s Higher and Technical Education Department have revealed.

The delay means that Mumbai University students could end up missing the chance to seek admission in foreign universities and colleges in the rest of the state and country.

Sources in the Higher and Technical Education Department said only 9 lakh answer sheets of the 17 lakh committed to an online assessment process for the first time ever have been evaluated so far. Worse, nearly 1 lakh answer sheets have been sent to wrong evaluators and reassigning them is a time-consuming exercise.

(Source: Mumbai Mirror)

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6. Organs From a Brain Dead Man From Mumbai Help Save Four Lives

A 38-year-old brain dead man’s organs have saved four lives after his family decided to donate them, a Mumbai hospital has said.

The man was rushed to the Jupiter Hospital in Thane after he was injured in a fall. He was declared brain dead at 7.30 pm on 18 July, said a release issued by Mumbai’s Fortis Hospital.

The deceased’s heart was taken out of the Jupiter Hospital at 1.56 am on Wednesday and reached the Fortis Hospital at Mulund in Mumbai at 2.05 am, covering a distance of around 10 kms in about nine minutes, the release said.

(Source: The Quint)

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7. Thieves Dump Bag With Five Live Cartridges Near Mall

A stolen bag containing live cartridges sparked a bomb scare near Infiniti Mall in Andheri (West).

The bag, belonging to BJP leader Naresh Pawar, was stolen from his car last Friday. Pawar owns a licensed revolver, which he carries at all times. When the thieves realised that the bag contained ammunition, they dumped the bag near the mall and fled.

On Friday night, Pawar, 38, had gone to Andheri to attend a meeting around 9.30 pm. His bag, with five live rounds, was in the backseat of the car.

While Pawar went for his meeting, his driver stayed in the Toyota Fortuner and dozed off. He was awoken by a knock on a window. When he stepped out to check, he couldn’t spot anyone. When he got back in the car, he noticed that the bag was missing. On being informed about the theft, Pawar immediately went to file a complaint at Oshiwara police station.

(Source: Mumbai Mirror)

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8. ED Summons SRK in IPL Case; Seeks His Personal Appearance

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday summoned actor Shah Rukh Khan and sought the actor’s personal appearance on July 23, in connection with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) FEMA case.

This is in relation to a case against actor Shah Rukh Khan, his wife Gauri, actor-friend Juhi Chawla and others for alleged loss of Rs 73.6 crore foreign exchange in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) case related to the T-20 cricket league IPL.

SRK was sent a show-cause notice by ED earlier in March for “contravention of provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000 made under the Foreign Exchange Management Act”.

(Source: The Quint)

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