MUMBAI: Mayor Ritu Tawde on Thursday rejected the BMC inquiry report on the Chembur tree crash that killed 11 year-old Vihaan Srivastav. In the general body meeting, she said the findings failed to fix accountability and directed the civic administration to conduct a fresh inquiry.The report came under severe attack in the BMC house, with corporators across party lines asking why officials and contractors had largely escaped responsibility in the case of achild’s death.Leader of the house Ganesh Khankar slammed the report, alleging that the roads department had not issued “even a single letter” to the contractor after the garden department categorically raised objection. “An 11-year-old boy has died. Can a penalty of Rs 7 lakh be the price of a child’s life? Contractors cannot run Mumbai. We, the elected corporators, will run the BMC,” Khankar said, demanding that the report be rejected and a thirdparty audit ordered. He condemned the findings, saying the report had declared “everyone innocent” while imposing only a nominal penalty on the contractor. Khankar tore the report in the BMC house.Tawde said the report was unacceptable. “An entire family has been destroyed. The mother must still be wondering why she sent her child to school that day,” she said.Vihaan’s father, Gaurav, said, “The report has many gaps; the penalty imposed is directed only at the contractor. While the error has been acknowledged, not everyone responsible for the mistake has been held accountable. There are also questions regarding the transparency of the inquiry committee itself; BMC officials are investigating the BMC—there is no independent panel involved. Thirdly, the findings suggest the fault lies entirely with the contractor, yet the BMC is responsible for supervision, inspection, and final approval of the report.”

MUMBAI: Western Railway has proposed building the Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s largest long-distance railway terminal at Kandivali, a move that could pave the way for 54 additional mail and express trains daily.The project could benefit around one lakh passengers every day.The project, however, depends on the Defence Ministry transferring a parcel of land identified for the terminal, with railway officials saying discussions are underway.

According to the DRI, the arrested accused admitted they were acting on the instructions of the handler of a gold smuggling syndicate

Mumbai: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted an international gold smuggling syndicate operating through Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) and arrested six persons, including three staffers working at different outlets inside the airport and three Philippine nationals, after seizing more than 5 kg of smuggled gold valued at ₹7.49 crore from Bangkok.Advocate Aftab Qureshi and Prabhakar Tripathi, appearing for the three foreign nationals, said his clients were bona fide international transit passengers travelling from the Philippines to Thailand and had neither intended to enter India nor crossed immigration. They argued that the allegation of smuggling into India raises important legal questions, as they remained in transit and had not approached Customs for clearance. The court remanded them to judicial custody.According to the DRI, specific intelligence indicated that an employee of an outlet, Himanshu Upadhyay, would receive smuggled gold from another staff member and discreetly hand it over to a second employee at the airport’s P4 level. Acting on the tip-off, DRI officers intercepted Himanshu Upadhyay while he was allegedly handing over two black pouches to one Mohid Hasan Siddiqui at around 10.30 pm on Wednesday.During questioning, Upadhyay allegedly disclosed that the pouches containing gold dust concealed in wax were handed over to him by Feroz Sayyed, a store manager at Socks Express in the international departure hall. Further investigation led to the interception of three transit passengers from the Philippines — Nasser Alimudin Lakim, Christine Joy Andaya Pornasdoro and Benny Lloyd Olivo — who were allegedly carrying similar pouches for delivery as part of the same operation.A govt-approved valuer examined the seized material and certified that it contained 5,095 grams of 24-carat gold, valued at ₹7.49 crore.According to the DRI, the arrested accused admitted they were acting on the instructions of the handler of a gold smuggling syndicate. Investigators said Feroz Sayyed’s role was to collect the smuggled gold from transit passengers and pass it to Himanshu Upadhyay, who then handed it over to Mohid Siddiqui for delivery outside the airport.The three foreign nationals allegedly admitted they were recruited to smuggle gold from Dubai and Bangkok to Mumbai through transit passengers with the assistance of the arrested outlet staffers.

The incident occurred on the 8.33 am 15-coach Central Railway fast local from Kalyan to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). (AI Images)

MUMBAI: A dispute over seats in the first-class ladies’ coach of a Kalyan-CSMT fast local train escalated into a scuffle after a woman allegedly used pepper spray on fellow passengers during the morning rush hour on Thursday, triggering panic inside the compartment.The incident occurred on the 8.33 am 15-coach Central Railway fast local from Kalyan to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). According to railway officials, four women passengers boarded the first-class ladies’ coach at Dombivli before the train reached Kalyan and occupied seats.When the train arrived at Kalyan, women commuters waiting in queues on the platform boarded the coach expecting to find seats on the train originating from the station. Finding the seats already occupied led to an argument between the Kalyan and Dombivli groups of passengers.The verbal exchange soon escalated into a physical altercation. During the scuffle, one of the women from the Dombivli group allegedly took out a pepper spray canister from her handbag and sprayed it towards the women who boarded at Kalyan. The spray caused panic among passengers in the coach, although no serious injuries were reported.Despite the commotion, the train continued its journey towards CSMT. Passengers contacted the railway security helpline 1512 to report the incident. Railway police personnel reached the platform after receiving the alert, but the train had already departed from Kalyan.After the train reached CSMT, teams from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Govt Railway Police (GRP) attended to the coach and detained members of both groups for inquiry. Both sides initially lodged complaints against each other, alleging assault during the dispute.However, after discussions at the police station, the women agreed to resolve the matter amicably and withdrew their complaints. The incident has been recorded at the CSMT GRP station. Since both parties chose not to pursue legal action, no case has been registered.Lata Argade of Upnagariya Pravasi Maha Sangh said pepper spray should only be used in genuine emergencies, making its use in this dispute unjustified. While passengers with valid tickets cannot be forced to vacate seats, those travelling end-to-end could show consideration and give tired commuters a seat.

The government has now drawn a clear distinction between the identity of the managing trust and that of the school

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has clarified that a non-minority school will not acquire minority status merely because its management is transferred to a minority educational institution.In a government resolution issued on Thursday, the school education department said the institution’s original character would remain unchanged even after the transfer, and it would not become eligible for protections available to minority institutions.The order seeks to settle what the government describes as confusion at the field level. A 2012 policy permits the management of schools to be transferred, by mutual consent, between minority and non-minority educational bodies. This had raised questions among officials and institutions over whether a school could inherit the minority status of the trust taking it over.The government has now drawn a clear distinction between the identity of the managing trust and that of the school. It said, “minority status requires an institution to have been both established and administered by a religious or linguistic minority. A trust that later assumes management may satisfy the administration test, but cannot retrospectively claim to have established the school.”The clarification comes months after Maharashtra witnessed a controversy over the grant of minority status to 75 educational institutions in a short span between Jan 28 and Feb 2. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis subsequently stayed the certificates and ordered an inquiry.The episode triggered wider scrutiny of how minority status was being granted and used. School education minister of state Pankaj Bhoyar announced a probe into allegations that some institutions had sought the tag mainly to secure exemptions from the Right to Education Act’s requirement of reserving 25% entry-level seats for children from disadvantaged groups.

Senior leaders Jayant Patil (left), MLA Jitendra Awhad and Priya Patil met Maharashtra chief election officer on Thursday.

MUMBAI: Senior leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), led by Jayant Patil, on Wednesday met Maharashtra chief electoral officer S. Chockalingam to raise concerns over difficulties being faced by voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and sought corrective measures to make the process more transparent and accessible.The delegation comprised senior leader Jayant Patil, MLA Jitendra Awhad and Priya Patil, head of the party’s LGBTQ cell.Addressing the media after the meeting, Jayant Patil alleged that while the SIR exercise is under way, the voter list available on the app contains several discrepancies and inconsistencies. He also claimed that many Booth Level Officers (BLOs) appeared to be facing confusion over the process and, in several places, had not been able to reach voters.Patil said the delegation urged the Election Commission authorities to rectify errors in the electoral rolls at the earliest, simplify the process for voters and make it more transparent. The party also requested an extension of the ongoing revision exercise to ensure that eligible voters are not left out because of procedural difficulties.Despite raising concerns over the process, Patil appealed to citizens to complete their voter registration and verification formalities within the stipulated period.The delegation also highlighted issues faced by members of the LGBTQ community during the electoral roll revision process. Patil said Chockalingam assured them that no injustice would be caused to any section of voters and that the concerns raised by the delegation would be looked into.The meeting comes amid political scrutiny of the ongoing SIR exercise, with opposition parties in several states raising concerns over implementation, while election authorities have maintained that the revision is aimed at ensuring accurate and updated electoral rolls.