Mumbai: In a significant setback to alleged online liquor sale networks, a Mumbai sessions court has refused anticipatory bail to a Khar-based wine shop licence holder, observing that the allegations disclose a “systematic and organised mechanism” for unauthorised online sale and home delivery of liquor rather than a mere technical breach of licence conditions.Rejecting the plea on July 3, Additional Sessions Judge P.A. Sable held that custodial interrogation was necessary as investigators were yet to uncover the full extent of the alleged racket, including electronic evidence, financial transactions, the operational framework and the roles of others involved. The court said such an investigation could not be effectively carried out if the accused was granted the “extraordinary protection” of anticipatory bail.Businessman Manish Srichand Pardasani, 53, had sought anticipatory bail in a case registered by the State Excise Department’s O Division under various provisions of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, including Sections 65(a) and 65(e), over the alleged illegal online sale and distribution of liquor.According to the prosecution, liquor was allegedly sold through an online platform and delivered to customers using an app. It claimed Pardasani, as the licence holder, was vicariously liable for his employees’ acts and had facilitated the alleged illegal operation. The prosecution also argued that unauthorised home delivery raised the risk of adulteration, posing a threat to public health and safety.The court observed that the allegations pointed to an organised commercial operation requiring recovery and verification of electronic evidence, tracing of financial transactions and identification of all those involved. It added that the availability of some records with the Excise Department did not rule out the need for custodial interrogation.The court also considered the applicant’s criminal antecedents, observing that while past cases alone could not justify denial of bail, they were relevant in assessing the possibility of repetition of similar offences and interference with the investigation.The defence argued that the allegations were vague, relevant records had already been furnished, the applicant had cooperated with investigators and custodial interrogation was unnecessary. The court, however, held that the precedents cited by the defence were distinguishable and that the seriousness of the allegations, the need for custodial interrogation and the possibility of interference with the probe justified rejection of anticipatory bail.Excise officials said they have intensified action against alleged illegal online liquor sales, claiming such operations pose regulatory and public safety challenges. An Excise Department official further alleged that a leading online liquor platform operated an organised illegal network through around 50 outlets across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, using call centres to receive orders, and claimed nearly 40 outlets had earlier been temporarily shut over alleged online liquor sales and related licence violations. The allegations remain under investigation and have not been adjudicated by the court.

Vedant Sawant died after being electrocuted by a metal ladder inside his Nalasopara residence that became live due to an inverter-related electrical fault on Saturday

Thane: A 20-year-old college student, Vedant Sawant, died after being electrocuted by a metal ladder inside his Nalasopara residence that became live due to an inverter-related electrical fault on Saturday. His death brought the monsoon-linked electrocution toll across Mumbai Metropolitan Region to six in the past one week.Four of the six deaths were caused by electrical leakages inside private premises, while two occurred after the victims allegedly came into contact with live power distribution wires while wading through waterlogged roads.Saturday’s incident took place when Sawant returned to his Shri Samarth Chawl residence from college in the afternoon. Pelhar police said the ladder leading to the loft inside the house had become live due to an electrical fault involving the inverter. As the ladder was wet because of rainwater, Sawant suffered a fatal electric shock the moment he touched it. He was rushed to Tulinj Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police have filed an accidental death report.Two deaths were reported on July 2. A 45-year-old labourer, Noor Salaam Mohsin, got electrocuted at an under-construction building site in Ulwe after he touched the first-floor flat’s kitchen window grille on which an electrical wire was carelessly hung, and Gyan Sagar Mishra (29), a helper working under an electrical supervisor, died after suffering a severe electric shock from a transformer cable in Naigaon East.On July 1, 17-year-old Aliya Chandiwala from Mumbra and Shashi Chakra, 42-year-old mother of two from Dombivli, were electrocuted in separate incidents after coming into contact with live electric current when wading through waterlogged roads near their homes, while a worker in a Bhiwandi warehouse died after accidentally coming into contact with an exposed live wire. The same day, two college girls — Ujwala Wagh (18) and Shubhangi Nalawade (16) — fell unconscious after suffering severe electric shocks from an underground exposed live electrical wire while wading through a waterlogged stretch of the Mumbai carriageway of the Sion-Panvel highway near Nerul flyover.With electrocution cases on the rise, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has issued a detailed public safety advisory and appeal for caution during the rainy season.It has advised citizens not to touch damp electrical appliances, switchboards or walls, avoid handling electrical devices with wet hands, and immediately switch off the main power supply if water leakage is noticed near electricity meters. Consumers have also been advised to replace outdated wiring, ensure proper earthing of high-power appliances, use only ISI-certified electrical materials and get old wiring inspected by licensed electricians. For outdoor safety, the utility has appealed to citizens to stay away from snapped or sagging power lines, damaged electricity poles, transformers and open fuse boxes, particularly during heavy rain and flooding.MSEDCL officials said extensive preventive maintenance is carried out before every monsoon, including pruning trees near power lines, tightening loose conductors and repairing vulnerable sections of the network. However, severe weather continues to pose challenges. “Entire trees sometimes collapse during storms or objects may strike overhead power lines due to strong winds, causing wires to snap. Underground cable faults are also difficult to repair when areas remain waterlogged. In such situations, power supply is temporarily disconnected until it is safe for our teams to carry out restoration work,” an official said.M V Deshmukh, former director and fire safety adviser to the Maharashtra government, said public awareness remains the first line of defence. “Residents should avoid walking through waterlogged areas, especially if there are transformers, open junction boxes or damaged electrical cables nearby. Standing water can become energised if it comes into contact with faulty electrical equipment or live wires. Such hazards should be immediately reported to the electricity utility or civic authorities,” he said.Deshmukh also recommended the use of thermal scanners and infrared imaging to detect hidden faults in electrical infrastructure before they result in accidents.Meanwhile, Thane Municipal Corporation said it has inspected more than 50,000 streetlights ahead of the monsoon and repaired 272 defective units that posed potential risks. Civic officials, however, said theft and vandalism of electrical fittings, particularly copper components, continue to create safety hazards despite repeated alerts to the police.A Torrent Power official, whose network serves over 3.2 lakh consumers in Mumbra and adjoining areas, said emergency teams remain on alert throughout the monsoon and power supply is disconnected immediately in severely waterlogged locations to prevent accidents.MSEDCL has appealed to citizens to cooperate whenever electricity supply is temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure during heavy rain or flooding. It has also urged consumers to report snapped wires, fallen poles, transformer fires or any other electrical emergency through its 24-hour toll-free helplines 1912, 19120, 1800-233-3435 and 1800-212-3435, or by giving a missed call from their registered mobile number to 022-50897100 to report power supply disruptions.

A multi-storey ‘chawl’ collapsed in Mumbai’s Mankhurd area on Sunday evening

MUMBAI: At least six people were killed and one injured after a multi-storey chawl collapsed in Mumbai’s Mankhurd area on Sunday evening amid heavy rainfall. The incident occurred around 8.30 pm at Chawl No. 5 in Janta Nagar, behind Hanuman Mandir in Mankhurd.Rescue operations were underway at the site, with emergency teams working to locate and rescue those trapped under the debris.Heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Sunday, disrupting flight operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for nearly an hour, inundating several roads and triggering multiple treefall incidents across the city. One person was killed after a tree collapsed on a shop in Kurla, officials said. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a red alert for Mumbai, warning of extremely heavy rainfall. Several parts of the city recorded over 200 mm of rain in 24 hours, while a few locations received more than 300 mm. Flight operations at Mumbai airport were affected as strong winds and poor visibility caused significant disruptions. According to sources, four IndiGo flights were cancelled and 13 incoming flights operated by various airlines were diverted to nearby airports due to adverse weather conditions. All diverted flights later returned and landed in Mumbai after conditions improved.Meanwhile, a 63-year-old man lost his life in Kurla after a tree fell on a shop during heavy rainfall. Civic officials said the incident took place around 12.40 pm near Hindi BMC School in the Naupada area of Kurla West. The victim, identified as Yunus Kundawala, was pulled out from the debris and rushed to Fauzia Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The incident comes less than a week after an 11-year-old boy was killed and several others were injured when a tree fell on a moving school bus in Chembur on June 30. Videos circulating on social media also showed a tree collapsing in front of industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s security convoy in Bandra, briefly disrupting traffic movement in the area. Data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) automatic rain gauge network showed that several locations received more than 200 mm of rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Sunday.(With Agency Inputs)

The murder came to light on Saturday after Jyoti Pawar, who worked as a domestic help, failed to respond to repeated calls from her family

Mumbai: Malabar Hill police have arrested a 23-year-old man for allegedly killing his 55-year-old neighbour and robbing her gold chain within 24 hours after her body was found in her chawl room at Nepean Sea Road.The murder came to light on Saturday after Jyoti Pawar, who worked as a domestic help, failed to respond to repeated calls from her family. Her daughter, Ekta Jadhav, who lives in Dahisar, became concerned as her mother was known to follow a fixed routine and was not answering her phone.Relatives reached Pawar’s residence and found the room locked from inside. After gaining entry, they found Pawar dead with visible injury marks around her neck. Malabar Hill police were alerted.Police sent the body for post-mortem examination and doctors prima facie opined that Pawar had died due to strangulation. Based on the complaint lodged by her daughter, police registered a case of murder against an unidentified person.Investigators examined CCTV footage from the locality, questioned neighbours, and verified the movements of persons who had visited the chawl around the time of the crime. During investigations, suspicion fell on Pawar’s neighbour Mohammed Kaif after police found inconsistencies in his version. They gathered technical and circumstantial evidence linking him to the crime.Kaif was detained for questioning, during which he allegedly confessed to strangling Pawar to death. He told investigators that he had recently suffered losses in his small business and was facing financial difficulties. According to the police, he knew Pawar wore a gold chain and planned to rob her. On Saturday, Kaif allegedly entered Pawar’s house on some pretext and strangled her to death before fleeing with her gold chain.Police said the recovery of the stolen chain and other evidence collected during the investigation strengthened the case against Kaif, who has been booked on charges of murder and robbery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Further investigation is underway to establish the complete sequence of events and gather additional forensic evidence against the accused.

Two youngsters were reported to have drowned in separate incidents on Friday and Saturday at the waterfall, one of Navi Mumbai’s best-known natural landmarks in the Kharghar hills that draws thousands of monsoon visitors every year.

Navi Mumbai: Environmentalists urged the Maharashtra govt to revive the long-abandoned eco-tourism project at the Pandavkada waterfall in the Kharghar node amid a rise in drowning accidents in and around the site.Two youngsters were reported to have drowned in separate incidents on Friday and Saturday at the waterfall, one of Navi Mumbai’s best-known natural landmarks in the Kharghar hills that draws thousands of monsoon visitors every year. The Kharghar fire brigade and police teams conducted a search operation to track the two youngsters missing at the Pandavkada waterfall, Kharghar, and they were feared to have drowned.A Taloja resident, Mohammed Mobshir Mohammed Shahid (20), was missing since Friday evening and a collegian, Shannon Kini (19), from Santacruz, was missing from Saturday after entering the gorge of the waterfall. Five on a picnic had reached the waterfall on Friday and two collegians on Saturday, defying the prohibitory orders.Social activists said scientific management rather than blanket prohibitory orders was needed to prevent recurring loss of life at the iconic site. They said continued access via multiple unofficial and treacherous routes led to repeated tragedies despite a ban, barricades and police deployment.The environmentalists said the limits of an enforcement-only approach were exposed again by the latest drowning cases, and said the groundwork for a managed solution already existed because the Forest Department initiated an eco-tourism project at Pandavkada in 2014 and constructed a compound wall, ticket counter and changing room before the initiative was abruptly abandoned. The unfinished infrastructure remains unused while rescue operations and drowning incidents occur almost every monsoon. Environmentalists have called on the state govt to establish a coordinated institutional framework involving the Forest Department, CIDCO, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, Panvel civic body, police, fire services, the Bombay Natural History Society and local environmental groups to prepare and implement a comprehensive eco-tourism, visitor safety and water conservation plan for the Kharghar hill range. “The administration cannot wish away people’s desire to experience nature,” said Jyoti Nadkarni, Director of SwarnSrishti Habitat Restorer Foundation. “Pandavkada has become a magnet for monsoon visitors despite the ban. Instead of allowing people to slip into dangerous, unmonitored areas, the government should create a professionally managed eco-tourism destination with strict safety protocols. Saving lives and protecting nature must go hand in hand,” she said.NatConnect Foundation Director B N Kumar said the Kharghar-Belapur hill range, extending towards Taloja, offered an opportunity to create one of Maharashtra’s finest urban eco-tourism destinations. “Navi Mumbai is uniquely endowed with hills, waterfalls, mangroves, wetlands, creeks and flamingo habitats. With proper planning, Pandavkada can become a national model for safe nature tourism and climate resilience instead of making headlines every monsoon for tragic drownings,” Kumar said.The activists said the govt must replace reactive rescue operations with proactive ecological planning, and that a well-managed eco-tourism zone could enhance visitor safety, conserve biodiversity, generate local livelihoods and showcase Navi Mumbai’s natural heritage.Meanwhile, 14 monsoon revellers from Mumbai were sent back before the water levels swelled in a discharge channel near the Adoshi waterfall, off the Mumbai-Pune expressway, on Sunday morning. Khopoli police beat marshal constable Shubham Jadhav said, “The youths had arrived in their vehicles but were asked to leave due to heavy rainfall. They had moved more than 5km from the E-way. ” A Dharavi teenager Ashraf Shaikh (17) on a picnic with his friends was drowned on June 30 in a pond at the foothills of the Kharghar hills behind the Bharati Vidyapeeth.