1. After 16% Maratha Quota, First Maharashtra Government Job Drive to Fill 3,914 Posts
The Maharashtra government has begun its first recruitment drive, after the 16% reservation for Marathas in government jobs and educational institutes came into effect. The state provided the community reservation last November under socially and educationally backward class (SEBC) category.
While the first phase of recruitment — advertisements for which have been published — will cover 3,914 vacancies in six departments, the next phase will cover 23,860 vacancies and is expected to begin later this month.
More importantly, the state is mulling to additionally provide a 10% reservation to the economically weaker section (EWS) from the general category, following the Centre’s decision in January. Persons who are not covered under the existing scheme of reservations and whose family income is below ₹8 lakh are identified as EWS for the benefit of reservation.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Man, Girlfriend Held for Murdering Wife, 3-Year-Old Daughter in Mumbai
A day after a 30-year-old woman and her 3-year-old daughter were found dead in their Mahim home, Shahu Nagar police arrested the woman’s husband and his girlfriend on Friday for murder. Ilyas Sayed, 38, and Afreen Sayed, 22, will be produced before a local court on Saturday.
According to Shahu Nagar police officers, Ilyas and Afreen are cousins and have been in a relationship for a few years. Ilyas married Tehsin Sayed, 30, six years ago and had two daughters with her. On Thursday morning, Tehseen dropped their elder daughter Samara to school, at around 8am. After she came home, Illyas slit Tehsin and his three-year-old daughter Alia’s throats, and left the flat. Later, Afreen – disguised in a burkha, niqab and gloves – came to the flat and used cooking oil to burn the bodies and destroy evidence. The police said Ilyas and Afreen confessed during interrogation.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Special Court Rejects Ketan Parekh’s Plea to Compound Offences
In five separate orders, a special court recently rejected applications filed by former stock broker Ketan Parekh and his co-accused to compound offences against them. Parekh, linked to the securities scam in 2011, and others, are facing trial for alleged violations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Act.
The accused had sought to “amicably resolve” the cases by paying penalty with interest and costs, stating that the cost in conducting the prosecution, including the time and energy, is higher than the subject matter of the complaints. SEBI had, however, opposed their pleas.
Special Judge V C Barde took the SEBI’s opposition into consideration while rejecting the plea of the accused. “SEBI Act… is enacted with the object to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market… The offence alleged against the accused, though compoundable, SEBI has decided not to compound the same, considering the material against the accused. Therefore, keeping in view provisions of SEBI Act and declining by SEBI, the compounding offence against accused, the matter cannot proceed further for compounding,” he said.
(Source: Indian Express)
4. Mumbai: Duo Inspired by Youtube Easy Money Videos, Lands Behind Bars
Two men who tried to make easy money by watching tips on Youtube videos landed behind the bars. Inspired by these videos the duo bought used cars from e-commerce website, forged their documents and sold them to a third person through the same site. The matter came to light when a doctor from Nagpur took the car for RTO test and learned that the documents of the vehicles are bogus.
The two accused from Bhayendar Rohit Dhawan alias Prithvi Amin, 30, from Vasai and Runit Jayprakash Shah, 35, are well-qualified. Dhawan is a distributor for a water purifier while Shah works in the marketing department of an IT firm. "They are educated, doing financially stable, but were lured by the `how to make easy money' videos on YouTube," said senior police inspector Jayraj Ranaware, Thane police, Crime branch Unit -5.
The entire scam was hatched by Dhawan while Shah actively participated in it. They bought three mobile phones from OLX, and sim cards from the roadside vendors. Now they decided to bait for car owners who had car loans and wanted to sell their vehicles.
(Source: DNA)
5. Tramadol Racket: 2 Masterminds Held from Mumbai, More at Large
Four months after the Thane anti-extortion cell (AEC) arrested four people for allegedly selling the banned drug Tramadol, the AEC arrested the alleged masterminds of the racket.
Senior inspector from Thane AEC, Pradeep Sharma, said, “We arrested Nilesh Ravindra Shukla, 38, from Mumbai on January 10. We interrogated him and then arrested his brother Sanjay, 39, on January 31. Both brothers were the masterminds of the racket.”
Sharma said the brothers ran a call centre and used to get orders from overseas for the medicine. They also used to manufacture the drug.
On September 25, 2018, the Thane AEC arrested four people and seized around 20,000 strips of the Tramadol Hydrochloride 100mg tablets. Tramadol has been banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Goregaon-Mulund Link Road Await Final Nod from the National Wildlife Board
After receiving a go-ahead from the state, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now waiting for the final nod from National Wildlife Board (NWB) for its ambitious project Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR). The proposal is expected to come before National Wildlife Board (NWB) on February 5. BMC is working on the project for the past five years and Rs 4000 crore mega project will connect Goregaon to Mulund via 14 km road. The project was scheduled to start in the current financial year.
The road will be the third east to the west connector of the city after Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road. The six-lane road with two underground tunnels will start from Goregaon Film City and end at Mulund. Tunnels will be constructed under Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and to meet with the environment conditions BMC has made changed in the plan. They are waiting for approval from the forest department.
A senior official from the BMC said, "In December, we got permission from State Forest Department and recently SGNP Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) has given nod to the project. Now,we are awaiting permission from NWB. The discussion meeting for the project will be held on the February 5. We are hopeful that NWB will look after the project positively."
(Source: DNA)
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