Mumbai: A 32-year-old man was arrested by Wadala Government Railway Police (GRP) in connection with robbing and assaulting a revenue officer at Dockyard Road station recently. His associate is wanted.The arrested accused, Altamash Khan, has a criminal history with prior offences of robbery registered against him. Police recovered the stolen Rs 1,200 from him. Police said he threw away the revenue officer’s driving licence, which was also stolen.The incident took place on July 16, around 2.10pm, when the 28-year-old revenue officer, who works with the district collector’s office at CSMT, boarded a CSMT-bound local from Cotton Green station’s platform no. 2. The train reached Dockyard Road station in 10 minutes and two men entered the general compartment that the complainant was seated in. As soon as the train started, the duo snatched the complainant’s wallet and driving licence and alighted.The complainant immediately followed them out of the train and a scuffle ensued between him and the robbers. The two accused assaulted him and threatened him before they fled.The complainant later told the police that the accused were about 5.3-5.4ft tall and were wearing blue shirts.The incident sparked concerns about commuter safety at railway stations and whether security agencies like the Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force are doing enough.A few weeks ago, a viral video clip captured a man thrashing a woman on the railway tracks at Dadar station. They later turned out to be a married couple and were having a dispute. Last week, another video went viral capturing two transgender persons beating up a male commuter on a Western Railway local following a dispute over asking money.Last month, a 21-year-old passenger, Mayank Lohar, was allegedly stabbed to death by a co-traveller, Roshan Suvarna, over an argument about keeping the compartment door closed amid rain. In a similar incident, in January, college lecturer Alok Kumar Singh was allegedly murdered by a co-traveller, Omkar Shinde, over a trivial argument about alighting at the station.

Palghar: Relentless rain continued to batter Palghar district on Thursday, triggering widespread flooding, disrupting transport and power supply, and cutting off more than 200 villages from the rest of the district. Authorities evacuated 891 people from flood-hit areas, while one person died in Dahanu taluka in a rain-related incident.The district recorded an average rainfall of 183.3 mm in the 24 hours ended 8 am on Thursday. Dahanu and Talasari were the worst-hit talukas, where overflowing rivers and submerged roads brought normal life to a standstill. A total of 218 families, comprising 891 residents, were shifted to safer locations as a precaution.The district administration has activated its emergency response mechanism, with four National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams deployed for rescue and relief operations. Authorities said the identity of the deceased in Dahanu is yet to be established.Power supply has remained completely disrupted in Dahanu and Talasari since Wednesday night, while mobile network services have also collapsed in several areas. Floodwaters entered several houses in Bordi and Gholvad, leaving residents stranded. Water levels reached up to three to four feet inside many homes.Rail services have been affected too. Several long-distance trains on the Western Railway network and suburban services on the Dahanu–Churchgate section have been disrupted, causing hardship to thousands of commuters.The Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway has also been affected by the heavy rain. Waterlogging on the Talasari–Umbergaon stretch forced authorities to close the road ahead. To prevent traffic congestion, motorists have been advised to park their vehicles near roadside hotels and dhabas along the highway until the water recedes.Heavy rain has also severely affected the power infrastructure. Sixteen Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) substations across Talasari, Dahanu, Wada, Vikramgad, Jawhar and Mokhada have gone offline, while power supply through 108 feeders has been disrupted. Uprooted trees, snapped power lines and damaged electricity poles have left more than one lakh consumers without electricity.Floodwaters have submerged several bridges and roads across the district after rivers and streams crossed the danger mark. As a result, more than 200 villages have been cut off, and traffic on several key roads has been temporarily suspended.An MSRTC bus got stranded in floodwaters on the Saivan–Waghadi road in Dahanu taluka after the driver misjudged the water level while crossing the flooded stretch. Four passengers, along with the driver and conductor, were trapped inside the bus. Local residents and police personnel rushed to the spot and rescued all six using ropes. No injuries were reported.

Mumbai: Mumbai remained under an orange alert for the third consecutive day on Thursday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places along with gusty winds of 60-70 kmph. Neighbouring Palghar continued under a red alert, while Thane also remained under an orange alert.For Friday, a yellow alert is in place for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar, forecasting heavy rains at isolated places.Meanwhile, heavy downpour in Kalyan, Thane district, submerged key bridges on Thursday, severely impacting traffic and connectivity in the region, an official said on Thursday. Kalyan Tehsildar Vikas Garudkar said that the Runde bridge on the Titwala-Falegaon road went completely underwater around 8 am due to rising water levels in the Kalu River.“As a precautionary measure to ensure public safety, the Runde bridge has been completely closed to all vehicular traffic,” Tehsildar Garudkar stated. The Walkas-Vehare bridge in the taluka has also been rendered impassable and shut to traffic for the past five hours following heavy rains, the official added.In Mumbai, however, despite the orange warning, rainfall was moderate compared with other parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am Thursday, the IMD’s Santacruz observatory recorded 63.6 mm of rainfall, while Colaba received 22.2 mm. Thane recorded 99.32 mm and Navi Mumbai 56.87 mm.The heaviest rainfall was reported from Palghar district, where several areas received triple-digit rainfall. Jawhar topped the chart with 274 mm, followed by Palghar (254 mm), Wada (166 mm) and Vasai (102 mm) in the 24 hours ending Thursday morning. The IMD has forecast extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in the district.Within Vasai taluka, Agashi (Virar West) recorded 123 mm, Bolinj (Virar) 104 mm, Kaman 101 mm, Manikpur (Vasai West) 98 mm, Mandvi 74 mm and Pelhar (Vasai East) 70 mm.The fresh spell of rainfall significantly boosted water reserves in the seven lakes supplying Mumbai, with live storage rising to 70% of capacity, an increase of nearly 8 percentage points in a single day.Modak Sagar became the fourth lake to overflow this monsoon after reaching its full supply level at around 2 am on Thursday. The lake supplies 440 million litres per day (MLD) of water to Mumbai.Mumbai receives 4,100 million litres of water per day (MLD) from seven lakes—Modak Sagar, Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Vihar, Tulsi and Tansa. To meet the city’s annual water requirement, the reservoirs need a combined storage of 14.47 lakh million litres.

Mumbai: Amid mounting concern over a series of fatal BEST bus accidents, BEST committee chairperson Trushna Vishwasrao has widened the spotlight beyond private wet-lease operators, holding sections of the undertaking’s own administration ‘also responsible’ for lapses in safety oversight, vehicle maintenance and driver monitoring.At a BEST committee meeting this week, Vishwasrao said responsibility for recent crashes could not be placed solely on contractors operating wet-lease buses. She alleged that officials in the transport and engineering departments had failed to adequately monitor periodic maintenance, driver training and compliance checks.In a stern directive issued on Tuesday, Vishwasrao asked senior officials to step out of their ‘AC cabins’ in offices and conduct on-ground inspections at bus depots, visit accident sites and interact directly with depot and engineering staff to understand operational shortcomings and prevent future mishaps. The impact was visible from Wednesday, with few senior officials fanning out across depots.Vishwasrao said she has personally visited hospitals to meet injured passengers and the families of those killed in recent crashes. She added that contractors concerned had been asked to provide compensation to victims, while BEST would bear medical expenses.Expressing strong reservations about the wet-lease model, Vishwasrao said she had “lost faith” in the system and favoured a return to a fleet largely operated by BEST’s own buses and drivers.“BEST’s full-time drivers rarely figured in major crashes in the past. Last year there were 15 accidents and 10 so far this year, with a majority involving wet-lease buses,” she said.She revealed that, at her insistence, the administration recently introduced a mandatory four-week training programme for drivers. A joint meeting of BEST management, wet-lease contractors, drivers and conductors is also planned to address grievances regarding pay scales, facilities and working conditions, which contractual staff claim are inferior to those of permanent employees.A crucial meeting involving BEST general manager Sonia Sethi, Vishwasrao and wet-lease contractors has been scheduled for Friday to review safety standards and accountability mechanisms.The chairperson also welcomed deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde’s decision to procure 5,000 BEST-owned buses, saying the move could reduce dependence on private operators.However, she stressed that securing adequate funding remains a challenge. A meeting with the chief minister and deputy chief minister is expected on Friday to discuss financing options. Sethi said funding could come either from the state government or from BEST’s own resources.

MUMBAI: A consumer disputes redressal commission in Mumbai has directed Bengaluru-based travel company East Wing Travel and Tourism Private Limited to pay Rs 60,000 in compensation and litigation costs to a Mumbai resident for deficiency in service, including allowing men to join a tour that had been marketed as a “Ladies Only” trip to Thailand, news agency PTI reported.The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Additional DCF, Mumbai (Suburban), in an order passed earlier this month, found that the travel company “failed to discharge its contractual obligations in the manner promised while marketing the package”.“The unilateral alteration of the itinerary after receiving the entire consideration, failure to conduct the promised visit to James Bond Island and Phi Phi Islands, inclusion of male participants in a package advertised as a ladies only tour and the overall deficient execution of the tour clearly establish deficiency in service,” the commission remarked.The commission further held that misleading representations about the itinerary and the nature of the package also amounted to an unfair trade practice under the Consumer Protection Act, PTI reported.According to the complainant, a resident of Chembur, she had booked a four-night and five-day tour to Phuket and Krabi, scheduled from January 15 to 19, 2025, for Rs 99,500 from East Wing Travel and Tourism Private Limited.The travel agency had marketed and promoted the package specifically as a “Ladies Only” tour. However, male members and families were included in the same tour group despite the representation, the complainant alleged as per the PTI report.She further claimed that two days before the departure, the company issued a revised itinerary that dropped major attractions, including visits to James Bond Island and Phi Phi Islands, and replaced them with a trip to Coral Island.Since the cancellation policy stipulated 100% cancellation charges, the complainant said she had no practical option but to continue with the tour.She also alleged that the group was provided a three-star hotel in Phuket instead of the promised four-star accommodation. Meals were served at unusually late hours, while the Phuket Fantasea Show and dinner were also poorly organised, she claimed.Despite being served notice, the travel agency failed to appear before the commission to contest the allegations. The matter, therefore, proceeded ex parte.After considering the documents placed on record, the commission held that the opposite party had failed to provide the services in the manner represented at the time of booking.However, the commission was not inclined to grant the entire monetary relief sought by the complainant.“It is an admitted position that the complainant availed the international air tickets, hotel accommodation, airport transfers, breakfast, transport and other facilities included in the package,” the commission noted.Partly allowing the complaint, the commission directed the travel company to pay Rs 40,000 towards mental agony, inconvenience and deficiency in service, and another Rs 20,000 towards litigation costs.The total amount payable to the complainant was thus fixed at Rs 60,000, PTI reported.(With agency inputs)

Mumbai: She is neither a student preparing for competitive examinations nor someone directly affected by the alleged NEET-UG paper leak.Yet Rhiya, the Mumbai actor-model whose image of standing in front of a police van during Wednesday’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest went viral, says she felt compelled to take to the streets because she believed the alleged police action against protesting students in Delhi was “wrong” and that someone had to take responsibility.The image of Rhiya, dressed in a grey hoodie with her arms outstretched in front of a police van carrying detained protesters, became one of the defining visuals of Mumbai’s solidarity protests as heavy rain lashed the city.The demonstration was part of protests held across Mumbai in support of the CJP agitation over alleged examination irregularities and the police crackdown during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march in Delhi.Explaining why she joined the protest despite not being personally connected to the issues being raised, Rhiya said the alleged treatment of students in the national capital had disturbed her.“While the police are doing their job, they are not doing it responsibly. If no one is taking responsibility, we will take responsibility for our citizens,” she told local reporters.She stressed that she was not directly affected by the issues at the centre of the agitation.“I am not a student, my father is not a farmer, nor am I. I am not a Dalit or belong to the OBC community, but what they did to the students (in Delhi) is wrong. They have to own up to their actions,” she said.Questioning the government’s response to the agitation, Rhiya asked why Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan could not meet the protesters if they were not being allowed to march to Parliament.The viral protest image also drew attention to Rhiya herself. According to her Instagram profile, she is an actor, model and entrepreneur with around one lakh followers on the platform.She has featured in music videos, including Dilbara.Her remarks came as political parties, activists and students staged protests across Mumbai for the third consecutive day, condemning the alleged police action against protesters in Delhi and demanding accountability over alleged examination irregularities.Mumbai Police have registered multiple FIRs in connection with the demonstrations, while prohibitory orders remain in force across the city.As demonstrations spread beyond Delhi, several videos from the city’s protests went viral, capturing dramatic scenes of protesters confronting police, freeing detained demonstrators and receiving support from local residents.As the CJP protest over alleged examination irregularities continued in Delhi, youngsters took to the streets of Mumbai on Wednesday in solidarity, condemning the alleged police brutality against protesters during the ‘Sansad Chalo’ march.In one widely shared video, the woman, dressed in a grey hoodie, is seen standing in front of a police van carrying detained protesters, refusing to move despite heavy rain.Fellow demonstrators surrounded the vehicle, raising slogans that brought traffic on the busy road to a halt.Speaking to local reporters, she said, “While the police are doing their job, they are not doing it responsibly.If no one is taking responsibility, we will take responsibility for our citizens.”“I am not a student, my father is not a farmer, nor am I. I am not a Dalit or belong to the OBC community, but what they did to the students (in Delhi) is wrong. They have to own up to their actions,” she said.She also questioned why, if protesters were not allowed to march to Parliament, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan could not meet them at the protest site.The woman, identified as Rhiya, is an actor, model, and an entrepreneur, as per her Instagram bio. She has around a lakh followers on Instagram and has been seen in music videos.She featured in the video song ‘Dilbara’.Another video from the protests also went viral, showing a group of youngsters running behind a police van and opening its rear door from the outside, allowing detained protesters to step out of the moving vehicle.Mumbai Police have registered 13 FIRs since July 18 in connection with the ongoing protests, booking around 400 people on charges including unlawful assembly and violation of prohibitory orders.According to police, demonstrations were held at several locations, including Shivaji Park, Chaityabhoomi, Chembur and Shiv Sena Bhavan, despite no permission having been granted for the gatherings.Social media also highlighted several heart-warming moments from the protests.One widely circulated video showed demonstrators marching through the rain while senior citizens cheered them from the balconies of nearby chawls.Another clip, reportedly filmed in Dadar, showed a large crowd of protesters respectfully making way for children heading towards a school bus.Meanwhile, Mumbai Police have imposed prohibitory orders banning the assembly of five or more people in public places from July 23 to August 6, citing apprehensions of breach of peace and disturbance to public tranquillity.(With PTI inputs)