Mumbai News Highlights: Maharashtra reports a total of 129 new Covid-19 cases (2024)

On the issue of seat sharing, there is no conflict among MVA: Sanjay Raut

Six persons of a gang allegedly involved in selling stolen cars nationwide were arrested by the Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar (MBVV) police of Maharashtra, a senior official said on Friday.

Cars worth Rs 2.42 crore stolen from eight places in Delhi have been seized, he added.

The probe into the racket began after a Mumbai-based businessman registered a case on December 6 of cheating in a car deal, Central Crime Unit senior inspector Rahul Rakh said.

"Our probe found that several cars had been stolen from various parts of Delhi and were being sold fraudulently. We managed to track down the original owners after retrieving car registration, chassis number through Google Tracking System and vehicle verification number etc," he said. (PTI)

At least five vehicles collided with each other in Katraj tunnel on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway on Friday afternoon, though no one was hurt in the incident, a Pune police official said.

Some work was underway in the tunnel when a truck applied brakes suddenly, causing four vehicles following it to crash into each other, the Bharti Vidyapeeth police station official said.

"No one was hurt in the incident. Traffic on the route was normalised after the vehicles involved in the pile-up were removed," he added. (PTI)

A court here on Friday denied bail to a 32-year-old lifeguard who was arrested for murdering a 22-year-old medical student.

Additional sessions judge Priya Bankar denied bail to the accused, Mithu Singh, who was arrested in January for the murder of Sadiccha Sane, a third-year MBBS student.

The detailed order was not made available.

Singh was arrested under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to police, Sane, a student of Sir JJ Hospital and Grant Medical College, proceeded to appear for her exams by train on November 29, 2021 and was last seen at Bandra Bandstand. (PTI)

A 36-year-old man detained in connection with a cheating case allegedly attempted suicide at a police station in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Friday.

The incident took place at Narpoli police station in Bhiwandi on Thursday when the man identified as Anil Murarilal Gupta was detained for his involvement in a cheating case, inspector Pramod Kumbhar said.

The Bandra police nabbed Gupta, a resident of Narpoli, and took him to the local police station to complete formalities, he said.

Gupta went to the washroom and consumed a poisonous substance. He was immediately administered first aid, the official said.

The accused feared arrest in connection with the offences of cheating registered against him with the Bandra and Dindoshi police stations, he said, adding that a case under section 309 (attempted suicide) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered. (PTI)

There will be a heavy deployment of police personnel in Maharashtra's Thane city to maintain law and order on New Year's Eve, a senior official said on Friday.

Talking to reporters, Thane Police Joint Commissioner Datta Karale said police personnel in plain clothes will be stationed at public places, hotels, lodges, bus stations, railway stations, jetties, etc.

Two additional commissioners of police, seven deputy commissioners, 14 assistant commissioners, 111 inspectors, 263 officers, 2,689 constables, two companies of the SRP, two platoons of RCP and 45 QRT commandos are part of the security detail, he said.

At least 56 checkpoints have been set up to crack down on drunk drivers, and 33 breathalysers will be used, the official said. (PTI)

A fire destroyed a chemical factory in an industrial pocket in Navi Mumbai, an official said on Friday.

No one was injured in the blaze that broke out in the factory at plot no.C-03 in the Taloja MIDC area, about 35 km from Mumbai, around 8.30 pm on Thursday, he said.

Twelve fire engines were pressed into service, and the blaze was put out after eight hours, chief of the Disaster Management Cell of the TMC Yasin Tadvi said.

The fire engines from Taloja, Ambernath and Patalganaga MIDC, Panvel, Neral, Koparkhairne, CBD-Belapur and Kharghar fire stations, and also CIDCO and ONGC fire services were roped in for the operation, he said.

While the fire destroyed the factory, its cause is being probed, he added. (PTI)

#WATCH | Delhi: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole and AICC in-charge of Maharashtra Ramesh Chennithala arrive at the residence of party leader Mukul Wasnik, for party meeting pic.twitter.com/XCqga8eBkj

— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to virtually launch the Jalna-Mumbai Vande Bharat Express train on December 30 from Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya during the inaugural event of the Ayodhya Dham Junction railway station.

Two Amrit Bharat Express trains — theDarbhanga-Ayodhya-Delhi(Anand Vihar Terminal) and the Malda Town-Bengaluru — and five other Vande Bharat Express trains will also be flagged off on the occasion.

As per the Central Railway, the Vande Bharat Express special train toMumbai city numbered 02705 will consist of eight coaches and will complete the journey from the Maharashtrian city of Jalna in 7 hours and 45 minutes. Read more

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a Kenyan woman with cocaine worth nearly Rs 15 crore at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here, an official said on Friday.

The drug was concealed in hair conditioner and body wash bottles in her luggage, the official said.

Based on specific intelligence, DRI officials laid a trap at the Mumbai airport and intercepted a woman passenger after she arrived from Nairobi on Thursday, he said.

After verification, the substance was confirmed to be cocaine, a powerfully addictive stimulant drug. The bottles collectively had 1,490 grams of cocaine worth Rs 14.9 crore, the official said. (PTI)

More than 15,000 policemen, including personnel from the state reserve police force (SRPF) and quick response teams (QRTs), will be deployed in Mumbai to prevent any untoward incidents on New Year's Eve, an official said on Friday.

Police personnel will be deployed at the Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Dadar, Bandra Bandstand, Juhu, Madh and Marve beaches, and in places where revellers gather in large numbers on December 31, the official said.

As a part of security arrangements, 22 deputy commissioners of police, 45 assistant commissioners, 2,051 officers and 11,500 constables will be stationed at various locations, he said.

Apart from the local police, the SRPF, QRTs, riot control police (RCP) and home guards have also been roped in, the official said.

The Mumbai Police are on high alert to maintain the law and order situation on New Year's Eve, and checkposts will be set up on arterial roads and important locations, he said. (PTI)

NCP MP Amol Kolhe on Friday slammed the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government for not persuading the Centre to lift the ban on onion exports.

Kolhe, who is leading a farmers' protest organised by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition, was addressing a meeting at Khadki in Pune.

The three-day ‘Shetkari Akrosh Morcha' began at Shivneri Fort, the birthplace of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and will culminate at the collector's office in Pune on December 30.

"While Shinde claims his government belongs to farmers, he and the deputy chief ministers have not raised the demand to lift the ban on onion exports," the NCP leader said.

The Centre has banned onion exports till March 31, 2024, to increase domestic availability and keep prices in check. (PTI)

#WATCH | On seat sharing in INDIA alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut says, "...This is Maharashtra and Shiv Sena is the biggest party here. Congress is a national party... Uddhav Thackeray is having positive discussions with the decision-making leaders of Congress including… pic.twitter.com/Uy5VCKSs5U

— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2023

Mumbai is likely to turn into a quota battleground on January 20 next year with both the Maratha and Other Backward Class (OBC) communities announcing rallies in the city on the day.

Maratha activist Manoj Jarange-Patil has decided to move his reservation protest toMumbaiby convening a mammoth rally in the city. On Friday, a Maratha delegation landed in Mumbai to shortlist the venue and held a meeting with Mumbai-based Maratha Kranti Morcha coordinators to finalise plans.

A fire destroyed a factory in an industrial pocket in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official said on Friday.

No one was injured in the fire that broke out at the packaging unit at Taloja MIDC area on Thursday, he said.

An official from the Taloja fire station said local firemen and others from neighbouring fire stations rushed to the spot and controlled the blaze.

While the fire destroyed the factory, its cause is being probed, he added.

(PTI)

Garbage menace has been a major issue for a city like Mumbai that generates over 6,000 metric tonnes of solid waste daily, out of which 70 per cent is organic waste. In a bid to recycle the organic waste, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is working towards setting up five mini waste-to-energy (W2E) plants in each of the major civic-run hospitals of Mumbai.

The five hospitals:

KEM Hospital (Parel), Sion Hospital, Rajawadi Hospital (Ghatkopar), TB Hospital (Sewri) and Nair Hospital (MumbaiCentral).

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#WATCH | On seat sharing in INDIA alliance, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut says, '...Even today Shiv Sena is the number one party in Maharashtra. People are in full support of Shiv Sena and Sharad Pawar. On the issue of seat sharing, there is no conflict among MVA. Shiv Sena has… pic.twitter.com/RvcqctuZwO

— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2023

Based on intelligence developed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Mumbai, a 40-feet refrigerated container that arrived at Jawaharlal Nehru Port was held at one of the Container Freight Stations (CFS) at Nhava Sheva. A thorough examination revealed that cigarette… pic.twitter.com/SJU7taGuEO

— ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2023