Mumbai: A young woman standing with her arms outstretched in front of a police van amid heavy rain has emerged as one of the defining images of Mumbai’s protests in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) agitation over the alleged NEET paper leak.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)

Student politics in Mumbai has seen a significant decline in recent years (Representative image, enhanced with AI)

The anti-CAA-NRC protests of December 2019 were among the last instances when Mumbai’s campuses appeared politically vibrant.Though it briefly seemed student politics in the city was witnessing a revival, the momentum quickly faded. With student union elections absent from most campuses and increasing curbs on student activities at several institutions in recent years, student politics in Mumbai gradually died a slow death, say former student leaders.In the absence of traditional student organisations gaining traction on these issues, some say students seem to have found a leader in Sonam Wangchuk, while social media has given the students’ movement fresh momentum, helping issues reach a wider student audience.Amarjit Singh Manhas, from the Congress, who was elected consecutively to the Mumbai University’s senate for more than 30 years until 2010, said the allowed to keep term (ATKT) policy was introduced at the university following a student movement in the late 1970s.Recalling another major protest in 1978, when student leader Saroj Tripathi occupied the vice-chancellor’s Fort office over a fee hike, Manhas said what is missing in campus politics today is leadership.“There is no proper leadership within the academic community today to mobilise the youth. People are only communicating in writing, and this is not yielding results. Agitations are not being organised the way they used to be. Earlier, colleges had their own students’ unions and we managed to get around 510 representatives from each college who were willing to participate in agitations,” said Manhas.Sandesh Kondvilkar, a Congress politician who was part of a state committee formed to examine the implementation of the Lyngdoh Commission report on student elections, agreed that leadership has declined.“With the student election system gone, leadership within student politics failed to develop the way it once had. Former student leaders such as Jeetendra Awhad, Vinod Tawde, Parag Lalwani, and Ashish Shelar went on to become prominent political figures,” said Kondvilkar.“The absence of regular student elections has created a leadership vacuum increasingly filled by the children of established politicians rather than by students rising through campus politics,” said Mrudul Nile, a Mumbai University professor in the department of civics and politics.“A large proportion of students enrol in commerce and management programmes and focus on corporate careers, entrepreneurship and opportunities abroad, rather than the civil services, public life or political engagement. With relatively few students exposed to the social sciences, there is also less space on campuses for sustained reflection on public policy,” said Nile.The student movements that remain visible are often driven by Left-leaning organisations, said Nile.In recent years, campuses such as TISS and IIT, which have traditionally had active student collectives, have introduced stricter rules for organising protests and events.State universities, including Mumbai University, have also issued circulars restricting gatherings and demonstrations on campus without prior permission.

Mumbai remains under an orange alert for heavy rainfall and strong winds (Representative image)

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 60-70kmph.Neighbouring Palghar continued under a red alert, while Thane also remained under an orange alert.Despite the warning, rainfall within Mumbai was moderate compared with other parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).In the 24 hours ending 8.30am Thursday, the IMD’s Santacruz observatory recorded 63.6 mm of rainfall, while Colaba received 22.2mm. Thane recorded 99.32mm and Navi Mumbai 56.87mm.The heaviest rainfall was reported from Palghar district, where several areas received triple-digit rainfall.Jawhar topped the chart with 274mm, followed by Palghar (254mm), Wada (166mm) and Vasai (102mm) 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 123mm, Bolinj (Virar) 104mm, Kaman 101mm, Manikpur (Vasai West) 98mm, Mandvi 74mm, and Pelhar (Vasai East) 70mm.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% points in a single day.Modak Sagar became the fourth lake to overflow this monsoon after reaching its full supply level at around 2am 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.

Rhiya Ahir confronted police in Mumbai, questioning their response to student demonstrations (Photo credit: X, shared by multiple users)

MUMBAI: A young woman who stood her ground in front of a Mumbai Police vehicle during the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest has emerged as one of the defining faces of the agitation.The video of Rhiya Ahir, 27, confronting police officers has gone viral across social media.In the viral clip, Ahir is seen standing before a police vehicle, raising slogans and questioning the police response to the student-led protests over the alleged NEET paper leak, news agency PTI reported. “I understand that they are doing their job, but they are not doing it responsibly. If they don’t behave responsibly, we must take responsibility for our citizens. What they did with students in Delhi was wrong, and they have to own up,” she says in the video.She further demanded that Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan either resign or directly engage with the protesters.“We cannot go to Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign. If not, then he should go to Jantar Mantar and talk to students,” Ahir says in the viral clip.The video has surfaced amid expanding demonstrations by the Cockroach Janta Party across several cities following the police action during the July 20 ‘Sansad Chalo’ march in Delhi.According to Mumbai Police, 13 cases have been registered between July 18 and July 22 in connection with the ongoing protests, PTI reported.Police said around 400 people have been booked on charges of unlawful assembly and violating prohibitory orders imposed in parts of the city.The protests, led by activist Sonam Wangchuk and the CJP, seek the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET paper leak controversy and have triggered demonstrations in multiple states.The Mumbai protests come days after clashes in Delhi during the CJP’s march to Parliament, where police and protesters accused each other of violence, with both sides reporting injuries.The agitation has since evolved into a nationwide campaign, drawing support from students, civil society groups and Opposition leaders, while the Centre has maintained that it is prepared to discuss the alleged paper leak issue in Parliament.(With agency inputs)

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra govt has become the last state to abolish the controversial institutional quota round for medical admissions. Additionally, the state govt has decided to bar for two years candidates who participate in admission rounds, block seats and then do not end up taking admission anywhere. “The selected candidates who do not report or do not join their allotted seat in the last round of the admission process, thereby resulting in the lapse of their seat, shall not be eligible for admission for the subsequent two years,” said the gazette.The medical college admission rules have been revised after a gap of 10 years.The move will leave private medical colleges with little independent discretion in filling seats at the end of the admission cycle and is expected to make the process more transparent and merit-driven.Private colleges, said skeptics, may challenge this gazette in court.“All admissions to medical and dental undergraduate courses will be done by the competent authority only through online centralised admission process (CAP) rounds, including online stray vacancy rounds or subsequent stray vacancy rounds,” said the state gazette released on Monday.Students who have opted for physics, chemistry and biotechnology instead of biology in Class XII and cleared the entrance test will also be eligible to participate in the admission rounds.The institutional round has long been criticised by parents, students and medical education activists, who have alleged that it enables arbitrary fee demands, last-minute allotments and admissions that do not always follow the published merit order. “Repeated concerns raised during earlier admission cycles led to discussions on whether the institutional round should continue at all,” said Siddhesh Nar, senior official in the CET cell.Maharashtra was the only state to retain such a system. Medical admissions in other states are conducted entirely through centralised counselling.Parent representative Sudha Shenoy said the change would bring Maharashtra in line with directions previously issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC). “Two years ago, the NMC directed that all undergraduate and postgraduate medical seats should be filled through a centralised admission process. Maharashtra was the only state that continued with the institutional round,” she said.The process has also repeatedly run into legal and regulatory complications. In 2023, Maharashtra conducted an offline institutional quota round, but the students admitted through it were not recognised by the NMC. The following year, the state initially decided against holding the round. However, after a private medical college approached the court, an online institutional quota process was conducted.To date, since medical admissions began, students who remained without a seat after the online CAP rounds become eligible for the institutional round conducted by individual private colleges.Critics alleged that although colleges published merit lists, the final allotments often deviated from merit. Colleges claimed that after higher-ranked candidates did not report, seats were allegedly offered to lower-ranked students willing to pay substantially higher amounts. This would stop now.Medical education activists said abolishing the institutional round closes a significant regulatory gap, reducing the scope for malpractice and ensuring that admissions to private medical colleges are governed by a uniform, transparent and merit-based process.

Many students raised fears of illegal monitoring

Mumbai: Directions to share their live locations with police, 3am notices on messaging platforms to appear before them, hours-long detention at police stations, phones surrendered during detention returned with signs of surveillance, copies of ‘zero’ FIRs not being shared, and calls from different security agencies—many students who took part in protests in support of CJP in the city have alleged being subjected to harassment and illegal monitoring.Some protesters suggested that prolonged detentions were meant to wear them out and discourage them from participating in subsequent demonstrations. “Some of us had assembled in Dadar and were peacefully protesting on Tuesday when police personnel picked us up and took us to Worli police station. Under the pretext of recording our statements, they made us sit there for nearly seven hours. We were so exhausted that we decided not to join the next day’s protest,” said one of them.Samya Korde from Progressive Students’ Union raised concerns at a joint press conference by a few student organisations and some lawyers on Wednesday that students’ “careers are being ruined through FIRs for participating in peaceful protests”. Her father, who was one of the organisers of the protests in Mumbai on July 20, was detained twice.The lawyers said a few among them got 150-200 queries each from protesters facing legal action over the last two days.Aamir Kazi of All India Students’ Federation said he had switched off his phone before handing it over to police after being detained but when he got it back, not only was it turned on but he also received a notification later that the phone was connected to other devices, raising fears that he was being tracked.Vikrant Khare, one of the lawyers, said a student who reached out to him was told by a cop to send her live location. “This is restricting the right to freedom of movement. Another student was asked to unlock the phone and the cops checked their WhatsApp groups.”Kazi said there is a national call to designate spaces like ‘Cockroach Kranti Baghs’ across the country, including in Mumbai, for peaceful student protests and that they would press for this. Korde said demonstrations will continue in some form or the other in the coming days. “It is a students’ movement and we will extend our support wherever required.”Sandhya Panaskar, one of the demonstrators who was briefly detained by Worli police, alleged that the group she was with was picked up even before the protest could start. “Intially, we were not treated well, but women police officers later offered my 11-year-old son biscuits, water and tea.”Another protester who was detained over a demonstration outside Chaityabhoomi on Tuesday said repeated visits to the police station was mentally exhausting. “The officers were not abusive, but every time we receive a call from police, we have to take leave from work and spend several hours at the station. Even if they are following procedure, the process itself has become a punishment for ordinary protesters.”Kalyani Mangave, another lawyer, said students being detained are protected by the law. “There is no need to panic. They can shoot inside a police station as it is a public place. They have every right to call their lawyer. And police do not have any authority to check their phones,” she said, adding that students should read all documents before signing them.

Mumbai: The city Crime Branch has arrested a police sub-inspector (PSI) in connection with a Rs 10 lakh cheating case linked to alleged conman Mohammed Khatib alias Dr Raj Khatib, who is accused of impersonating a senior police officer and duping multiple victims over several years.PSI Sanjay Rambhau Jadhav (53), a resident of Vadgaon Maval in Pune district, was arrested by Unit 3 of the Crime Branch after his name surfaced during the investigation into a series of cheating cases allegedly orchestrated by Khatib.The latest case is based on a complaint filed by Gujarat-based real estate businessman Nitin Chaudhary. According to the FIR, in Aug 2020, Khatib, Jadhav and Mahsab Ghaus Khatib allegedly induced Chaudhary into paying Rs 10 lakh in cash as commission by promising to facilitate the release of Rs 1 crore that was supposedly due to his friend, Alpesh Patel. Police said the promised work was never carried out and the money was not returned.Police said that technical evidence showed Jadhav was in regular contact with Raj Khatib and had accompanied him to a meeting with the complainant at a hotel near Mumbai airport, where he allegedly introduced himself as a Crime Branch officer. Further, it was revealed that Jadhav has two previous cheating cases registered against him—one at Vashi Police Station (2022) and another at Sanpada police station (2024).Chaudhary told investigators that he did not approach the police earlier because he believed Khatib was a genuine senior police officer and feared repercussions. He came forward only after learning through media reports that Khatib had been arrested in another cheating case involving impersonation.The arrest comes days after the Crime Branch booked Khatib in a separate case in which he allegedly cheated a businessman of ₹16 lakh on the pretext of recovering money from a builder. During that probe, police also arrested Dharmendra Kumar, who allegedly posed as a doctor for nearly 28 years in Juhu, organised medical camps, treated patients and developed contacts in Bollywood circles.The investigation has now expanded further after a South Mumbai woman lodged an FIR accusing Khatib of cheating her family, attempting to sexually assault her, pressuring her to convert to Islam and duping them of Rs 5 lakh on the pretext of securing pharmaceutical distributorships.The complainant said she met Khatib in 2010 through a common acquaintance involved in land deals and believed him to be a senior police officer. She alleged that he later took her to Ajmer and, along with an associate, repeatedly pressured her to convert to Islam. She also alleged that during a business trip to Miraj and Sangli in 2011, Khatib booked only one hotel room and attempted to force her to undress.The woman further alleged that between 2018 and 2019, Khatib introduced her family to Dharmendra Kumar, who claimed to be an oncologist and took ₹5 lakh for promised pharmaceutical distributorships. When she sought a refund, Kumar allegedly demanded another ₹10 lakh and threatened her.The woman told police she remained silent for years because she feared Khatib’s apparent position in the police force and lacked family support.

Many students raised fears of illegal monitoring

Mumbai: Directions to share their live locations with police, 3am notices on messaging platforms to appear before them, hours-long detention at police stations, phones surrendered during detention returned with signs of surveillance, copies of ‘zero’ FIRs not being shared, and calls from different security agencies—many students who took part in protests in support of CJP in the city have alleged being subjected to harassment and illegal monitoring.Some protesters suggested that prolonged detentions were meant to wear them out and discourage them from participating in subsequent demonstrations. “Some of us had assembled in Dadar and were peacefully protesting on Tuesday when police personnel picked us up and took us to Worli police station. Under the pretext of recording our statements, they made us sit there for nearly seven hours. We were so exhausted that we decided not to join the next day’s protest,” said one of them.Samya Korde from Progressive Students’ Union raised concerns at a joint press conference by a few student organisations and some lawyers on Wednesday that students’ “careers are being ruined through FIRs for participating in peaceful protests”. Her father, who was one of the organisers of the protests in Mumbai on July 20, was detained twice.The lawyers said a few among them got 150-200 queries each from protesters facing legal action over the last two days.Aamir Kazi of All India Students’ Federation said he had switched off his phone before handing it over to police after being detained but when he got it back, not only was it turned on but he also received a notification later that the phone was connected to other devices, raising fears that he was being tracked.Vikrant Khare, one of the lawyers, said a student who reached out to him was told by a cop to send her live location. “This is restricting the right to freedom of movement. Another student was asked to unlock the phone and the cops checked their WhatsApp groups.”Kazi said there is a national call to designate spaces like ‘Cockroach Kranti Baghs’ across the country, including in Mumbai, for peaceful student protests and that they would press for this. Korde said demonstrations will continue in some form or the other in the coming days. “It is a students’ movement and we will extend our support wherever required.”Sandhya Panaskar, one of the demonstrators who was briefly detained by Worli police, alleged that the group she was with was picked up even before the protest could start. “Intially, we were not treated well, but women police officers later offered my 11-year-old son biscuits, water and tea.”Another protester who was detained over a demonstration outside Chaityabhoomi on Tuesday said repeated visits to the police station was mentally exhausting. “The officers were not abusive, but every time we receive a call from police, we have to take leave from work and spend several hours at the station. Even if they are following procedure, the process itself has become a punishment for ordinary protesters.”Kalyani Mangave, another lawyer, said students being detained are protected by the law. “There is no need to panic. They can shoot inside a police station as it is a public place. They have every right to call their lawyer. And police do not have any authority to check their phones,” she said, adding that students should read all documents before signing them.