Priyanka KakodkarMumbai: Admitting that although dance bars were banned in the state, they were exploiting a loophole in order to continue functioning, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told the state assembly on Tuesday that the govt would move to amend the Bombay Police Act to bar the grant of performance licences to such establishments.“Dance bars have been banned in the state after consistent efforts. However, we have found that they get a performance licence instead under the Bombay Police Act. We will get this law amended during this session,” said Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio. “Performances and dance bars should be treated differently,” he emphasized.BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar said, “Dance bars were banned in the state in 2005. It’s a pity that in 2026, we still need to discuss the same issue because it has not been wiped out.”Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh said that dance bars and beer bars were functioning in the Bhiwandi and Kalyan areas. “These are areas where there is a lot of labour. As a result, there are hotels and beer bars that operate till late in the night,” he said.The issue was raised in the state assembly by the Congress party’s Nana Patole. He said it had come to his attention that orchestra bars and ladies bars were functioning in the Thane, Bhiwandi, Kalyan and Dombivli areas. This had not only created traffic problems but was also a danger to the security of women in the area, he pointed out.ends

The victim’s mutilated body was found near Shahad railway station

Kalyan: A six-month-old railway death case has taken a fresh turn after the family of a 33-year-old man allegedly found a copy of his resignation letter, in which he blamed workplace harassment by his senior, prompting the Kalyan GRP to register a case of abetment to suicide, reports Pradeep Gupta.The deceased, identified as Pankaj Badgujar, was a resident of Shahad in Kalyan and worked with a private company in Thane’s Wagle Estate. Police said he joined the company on Sept 19, 2025. According to his family, he initially settled into the job but later began facing persistent mental harassment from a senior official. On Nov 7, he informed his father that he had resigned but did not disclose the reason.On Dec 13, Pankaj visited the company to return his identity card. Family members said he appeared extremely disturbed after returning home. Later that night, he left home, saying he was stepping out briefly but never returned. The next day, his family filed a missing persons complaint. His mutilated body was later found near Shahad railway station, and the case was initially registered as a railway accident due to the absence of evidence suggesting suicide.The investigation was reopened after Pankaj’s father recently found a copy of his resignation letter, in which he allegedly stated that he was quitting because of repeated mental harassment and being deliberately targeted by his senior.Senior police inspector Archana Dusane of Kalyan GRP said the FIR was registered based on the allegations mentioned in the resignation letter. “We will verify whether the letter was written by the deceased and investigate the nature of the alleged harassment by his senior before taking further legal action,” she said.

Times News NetworkMumbai: In a significant ruling with implications for insolvency cases across sectors, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday held that workmen are entitled to receive their full provident fund and gratuity dues even if their employer hadn’t maintained separate provident fund and gratuity accounts. In its order, the appellate tribunal upheld the rights of hundreds of former Jet Airways employees to receive these statutory dues outside the airline’s liquidation estate, while dismissing appeals filed by State Bank of India (SBI) and other financial creditors.The dispute arose after Jet Airways entered liquidation following the collapse of the Jalan-Fritsch consortium’s resolution plan in Nov 2024. The staffers argued that their provident fund and gratuity dues should not form part of the liquidation estate under Section 36(4)(a)(iii) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), while lenders contended that such protection applied only if separate provident fund or gratuity funds physically existed on the liquidation commencement date.Rejecting the lenders’ argument, the NCLAT held that statutory provident fund and gratuity dues are payable in full even if no segregated fund exists. It upheld the National Company Law Tribunal’s Feb order directing the liquidator to pay these dues outside the liquidation estate. “The liquidator is liable to pay the provident fund and gratuity dues to the workmen and employees as are payable to them in terms of provisions of Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 and such dues shall not form part of the liquidation estate,” the order said.The tribunal, however, declined the employees’ request to keep a recovery certificate issued by the deputy labour commissioner for salary dues from Jan to March 2019 outside the liquidation estate. It ruled that these salary claims must be dealt with under the IBC’s waterfall mechanism applicable to workmen’s dues. The NCLAT also held that because 1,656 days of the insolvency process were consumed by litigation, that period should be excluded while calculating the 24-month look-back period for workmen’s dues.

Navi Mumbai: The front windscreen of a car owned and driven by a Khopoli resident was damaged after two boulders fell on it on Monday evening. The incident was reported on the connecting link stretch of the Pune-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. While no one was injured in the incident, it has raised concerns about the safety of motorists.The Highway Safety Patrol police could not rule out the possibility of collapsed concrete pieces. The incident was reported inside Tunnel No. 2 near Aundhe, Lonavala, in the Ghat section.The MPV owner, Uchappa Varchalli, 53, a transport businessman who was alone at the wheel, claimed after the two boulders fell, pieces of the shattered windscreen fell on his legs.After learning about the incident on social media, the Highway Safety Patrol (HSP), Khandala unit sub-inspector Samir Katpale and a Maharashtra Security Force jawan, Suresh Dhere, inspected the spot.Katpale said, “He was driving alone.”As no one was injured in the incident, the MPV owner moved towards his destination without lodging any complaint, according to the HSP police. However, the concerned agencies have been alerted about the incident by the HSP team. The concerned agencies are likely to take appropriate measures after verifying the incident.

The alleged middleman was sent to police custody till July 3

Navi Mumbai: Rabale police on Monday arrested a man who allegedly extorted a Navi Mumbai co-opted corporator on behalf of a woman who had filed a rape complaint against him last month. The corporator, Sahil Devidas Chougule from Shiv Sena, filed a complaint that the woman had lodged a fake rape case against him, extorted Rs 50,000 from him through the middleman, Kuldeep Kumar Devmane (29), to withdraw it, and later demanded Rs 30 lakh more. Devmane was sent to police custody till July 3. Assistant police inspector Avinash Palde said while the woman was named in the FIR, she was not arrested as her involvement in the extortion demand was being ascertained. “Devmane and the woman’s call data records will be obtained to determine her involvement.”

None of the children were injured in the incident on Tuesday morning

Navi Mumbai: A private bus ferrying schoolchildren got stuck in a rainwater-filled, dug-up road that was not asphalted by the Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) contractor after completing the work of laying underground gas pipeline in the residential area of Sector-10 Taloja Phase-1. Fortunately, the schoolchildren were not injured in the Tuesday morning incident.The local residents demanded legal action against the contractor concerned, claiming that the negligent act could have caused harm to the children. They also demanded that the MGL contractor properly fix all dug-up roads to prevent a repeat of such incidents.When contacted, the MGL spokesperson said, “MGL had laid the underground gas pipeline along this stretch a week ago. The trench was backfilled and compacted properly after the pipeline-laying work. However, due to heavy rainfall, the trench settled at the observed location. Subsequently, the affected portion was refilled, properly compacted, and the trench was closed.”

The minister also announced the gradual introduction of “Pink Rooms” in schools across Maharashtra

Mumbai: Maharashtra education minister Dada Bhuse on Tuesday announced a series of measures aimed at improving the quality of school education across the state, including cash incentives for the best-performing districts and the expansion of “Pink Rooms” in schools.Addressing the legislative council, Bhuse said districts that make significant improvement in educational quality will be rewarded by the state govt. The district with the best-performing schools will receive Rs 5 crore, while the second- and third-ranked districts will be awarded Rs 3 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively.The minister also announced the gradual introduction of “Pink Rooms” in schools across Maharashtra. These dedicated spaces are designed to support adolescent girls by providing facilities related to menstrual hygiene, health counselling and physical comfort. The initiative, which began in Kolhapur, has been credited with helping reduce absenteeism and dropout rates among girl students.Bhuse said the govt will focus on ensuring access to safe drinking water in schools, improving the condition of school buildings and classrooms, strengthening library facilities and promoting extracurricular activities. Emphasising the need to preserve Marathi-medium education, the minister said the govt is committed to providing additional facilities and support to Marathi schools to ensure their survival and growth amid increasing preference for English-medium education.