The Bombay high court bench asked why had police offered to produce Mhatre via videoconferencing for his first remand following his July 8 arrest

Mumbai: Police must be there to protect law-abiding citizens and not accused, said Bombay high court on Wednesday, questioning the ‘VIP treatment’ extended to Shiv Sena corporator Ramesh Mhatre, who was arrested for allegedly assaulting three doctors, including a woman, at the civic-run Shastri Nagar Hospital in Dombivli on July 6. The HC bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge, asked why had police offered to produce Mhatre via videoconferencing for his first remand following his July 8 arrest.The state public prosecutor Shishir Hiray explained that on his arrest, Mhatre’s blood pressure was 160 and hence, after the hospital visit and the paucity of time as the 24-hour deadline to produce an arrested accused before the magistrate was approaching, the police requested the local court if he could be produced via videoconferencing. The magistrate denied the request and sought his physical presence, after which Mhatre was initially remanded to police custody and then to judicial custody, before being granted bail.The HC directed the CCTV footage of the alleged assault and of Mhatre’s hospitalisation be downloaded and preserved in case it wants to view the footage on Monday, when it will hear the matter next. The HC instructed that the CCTV footage of the civic hospital, where Mhatre was admitted on July 8 till he was produced on July 10 and then again his hospitalisation on July 14-15 till he was released, be downloaded.On July 18, the HC had suo motu at a special hearing taken up the matter of three civic doctors being assaulted in the Dombivli hospital and stayed the bail granted by a magistrate to Mhatre and co-accused — Ramesh Pawar, Pramod alias Prakash Nikam and Akshay Karande. While the three co-accused were yet to be released, Mhatre was directed to surrender to the police by July 19, 5pm, which on Wednesday, his counsel Sanaa Raees Khan said he had.Pointing out that Mhatre is a “73-year-old with multiple ailments and only one functional kidney,’’ Khan said his custody is not essential as police have already seized the CCTV footage and its authenticity can be assessed during trial. To a query from the court, she said Mhatre “is a social worker’’, adding that the “backdrop of the case was it was an emotionally charged medical emergency… a female patient could have died’’. Khan further said that while on bail, Mhatre has flouted no conditions imposed on him.Mhatre is in judicial custody till Aug 3.The HC permitted an intervention application of the Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra, after its senior counsel S U Kamdar said it “stands by the three doctors who were brutally assaulted by the four accused”. Kamdar also strenuously submitted that the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), whose employees — doctors — were assaulted, flouted the legal mandate to lodge an FIR within six hours of the incident.Advocate general Milind Sathe and Hiray said once an FIR was lodged, a second one for the same incident could not, in law, have been filed and statements would be recorded. Kamdar argued that the FIR was lodged only the next day and said KDMC ought to be made to answer whether political influence played any role.The state filed an interim application in the matter on Wednesday and the HC appointed senior counsel Ashok Mundargi as an amicus curiae (friend of court ) to assist it in the matter and asked him to file a fresh memo of the petition for the state by Monday.

Mumbai: MIDC police team traced and reunited an 11-year-old boy, Anis Khan, with his parents in Malvani on Wednesday — three years after he allegedly fled from his home after being scolded for not studying. Police said the boy had been staying at a Matunga child welfare institution for the past three years under a different name, Aman Sheikh.The breakthrough came after the team travelled across seven states and examined missing child record cases, and filtered at least 50 photographs of missing children from the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) site that resembled the boy. Police located him at a child welfare centre and reunited him with his family after his parents identified him.“His parents, who are daily wage earners, were very happy on learning about their child. The minor was initially found by Juhu police sub-inspector Wagh wandering at Juhu Chowpatty in 2023. After he failed to locate the boy’s whereabouts, he got him admitted to Sneha Sadan children’s orphanage in Andheri East then. However, the boy ran away from the orphanage and a kidnap case was registered. After tracing the boy, we learnt from him that he went to Uttar Pradesh from where he returned to Mumbai. While wandering in the city someone got him admitted into the Matunga children welfare centre,” said DCP Datta Nalawade.Nalawade said they received orders from the Mumbai commissionerate to track missing persons and child cases. He supervised three teams comprising ACP Yogesh Shirke, senior police inspector Ghanshyam Nair, police inspector (crime) Sunil Karande, police sub-inspector Sagar Hujare, Kiran Parbat and staff, and collected details of abducted children aged 5 to 15 years whose cases were registered in Maharashtra and other states, including Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka and UP, and railway police stations in 2023.“Information about missing and found children in India was also obtained through the CCTNS, ICGS portal, by contacting the Maharashtra Missing Persons Search Centre and Child Helpline No 1098. Finally, the team zeroed in on 50 missing children details that were filtered from CCTNS since 2023 and tracked the minor,” he said.The kidnap case was registered with the MIDC police on Oct 22, 2023, based on a complaint by Chanchal Prasad Nair, an employee of Sneha Sadan Children’s Orphanage, residing at Sneha Sadan Vinayalaya Campus in Andheri East. In the complaint, Nair said: “The minor boy, Anis Khan, was found wandering unattended at Juhu Chowpatty within the jurisdiction of Juhu police station. Police sub-inspector Wagh of Juhu police station, after an extensive search for the boy’s parents, and failing to find them, admitted him to Sneha Sadan Orphanage. The minor boy who was admitted to Sneha Sadan had left Sneha Sadan without informing anyone.”Upon receiving the complaint, police registered a case. “In connection with the said crime, there was no information available about the missing boy’s parents or his residence, which created obstacles in tracing the boy for the past three years. To search for the boy involved in the said crime, a special team comprising police sub-inspector Sagar Hujare and his squad was appointed as per the orders of the senior cops. The said team visited all children’s orphanages in Mumbai city and suburban areas and obtained photos and information of children aged 8 to 13 years who were admitted from 2023 to date. Accordingly, a matching photo of a minor boy admitted to the children’s reformatory in Matunga was obtained. Upon visiting the said location and inquiring about the photo, preliminary information was received that the boy in the Matunga institution was named Aman Sheikh,” said DCP Nalawade.The DCP said police also received information that the boy’s parents resided in Malvani. He said that when the minor boy’s photo was shown to his parents and aunt within the jurisdiction of Malvani police station, they identified him, confirmed he was their nephew, and said he had been missing since 2023.Police said the MIDC police station surveillance team traced the boy, who was registered under two different names for the past three years, using the obtained photograph, and handed him over to his parents.

Mumbai became a hub of activism on Wednesday, as protests unfolded over allegations of exam irregularities

MUMBAI: Mumbai witnessed protests at several locations on Wednesday in support of the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) agitation over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, with police detaining several demonstrators and forcibly evicting senior Congress leaders from a key intersection in south Mumbai.Police stopped Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal, Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar and former minister Naseem Khan at Regal Cinema Chowk as they headed towards the Maharashtra BJP office in south Mumbai.The leaders were taken away in police vans and shifted to Colaba police station.The Congress leaders had planned to present copies of the Constitution to BJP leaders.Protesters raised slogans such as “Modi Hato, Desh Bachao” during the demonstration.Across the city, hundreds gathered at multiple locations to protest against the alleged NEET paper leak despite prohibitory orders being in force.According to officials, a large number of protesters assembled at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Garden in Chembur amid heavy police deployment.Several protesters were detained, with eyewitnesses alleging that some were dragged into police vehicles before being taken to the local police station.The protesters in Chembur carried placards demanding reforms in the education system and action over the alleged examination irregularities.After detaining several people, police dispersed the remaining crowd.Some protesters alleged that they had been stopped by police while travelling to the protest site.Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Amit Thackeray later reached the protest venue and visited the police station.Sources said the detained protesters were released following their intervention.At Shivaji Park in Dadar, police personnel stopped a woman wearing a burqa while she was protesting.MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s wife, Sharmila Thackeray, came to her support and sat beside her during the demonstration.A large crowd also gathered outside Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar and raised slogans against Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Police maintained a heavy presence at all protest sites to prevent any untoward incident.(With PTI inputs)

As heavy downpours continue, Mumbai is on high alert with the IMD raising an orange signal

MUMBAI: India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday retained the orange alert for Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds through the day, even as the sustained monsoon showers pushed Tansa, one of the city’s seven drinking water reservoirs, to overflow.With Tansa joining Vihar and Tulsi, three of Mumbai’s seven lakes are now overflowing, while the combined water stock across all reservoirs has touched 62% of total capacity, providing a boost to the city’s water reserves.The IMD issued an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane and Raigad for Wednesday, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places, with strong winds of 50-60 kmph gusting up to 70 kmph.Palghar remains under a red alert, with extremely heavy rainfall likely at isolated places along with similar wind speeds.For Thursday, Mumbai and Thane have been downgraded to a yellow alert, indicating heavy rainfall at isolated places.The weather department has forecast that rainfall activity is likely to ease from Friday, with light to moderate rain expected across the region.In the 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Wednesday, the IMD’s Colaba observatory recorded 35.6 mm of rainfall, while Santacruz logged 48.4 mm.Thane recorded 88.63 mm, while Navi Mumbai received an average of 61.17 mm.The continuous rainfall over the catchment areas has led to a rapid rise in reservoir levels too.While Tansa Lake began overflowing at 8.51 am on Wednesday, it became the third reservoir to spill this monsoon after Vihar, which overflowed at 9 pm on July 7, and Tulsi, which followed at 11.43 pm the same night.According to the BMC’s Hydraulic Engineer’s Department, the combined water stock in Mumbai’s seven lakes stood at 61.90% of total storage capacity as of 6 am on Wednesday.Located in Shahapur taluka of Thane district, Tansa is one of the few masonry dams in the country.It has a maximum storage capacity of 145.08 billion litres (145,080 million litres) and contributes about 455 million litres per day (MLD), or 11%, of Mumbai’s daily water supply.Commissioned in 1892, the dam is 2,743.2 metres long, making it one of the world’s longest masonry dams.Tansa had overflowed on July 23 last year, on July 24 in 2024, July 26 in 2023, July 14 in 2022, July 22 in 2021, and August 20 in 2020, indicating that this year’s overflow is broadly in line with recent monsoon patterns.

The action is part of the Maharashtra FDA’s intensified statewide drive against food adulteration and milk-related offences

Ulhasnagar: In a major crackdown on the illegal sale and use of oxytocin injections in dairy animals, a joint team of the Central police station and the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized 612 bottles of suspected oxytocin injections from a dairy in Ulhasnagar, reports Pradeep GuptaInvestigators suspect the banned drug was being used to increase buffalo milk production.The action is part of the Maharashtra FDA’s intensified statewide drive against food adulteration and milk-related offences under FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe, who has launched an aggressive campaign against adulterated food, synthetic milk and illegal practices in the dairy sector across the state.The raid was conducted on July 16 at Prakash Tabela near Jaslok School in Bhaji Market, Ulhasnagar-3, following a specific tip-off received by the FDA. Deputy commissioner of police (Zone IV) Sachin Gore said the police had received credible information that buffaloes at the dairy were allegedly being administered oxytocin injections to extract higher quantities of milk.“We are investigating since when the dairy operator had been using the injections and from where the banned drug was being procured. We are also probing whether an interstate supply network is involved,” Gore said.During the raid, drug inspector M V Gotmare and his team found 60 buffaloes, 15 cows and six calves at the dairy. They seized six boxes containing 600 unlabelled 100-ml plastic bottles, 12 loose-filled bottles, two empty bottles, and used syringes. Officials also found that the premises did not possess a valid licence to store or deal in such drugs.The dairy owner, Prakash Wadhwani (64), allegedly failed to produce buy invoices or disclose the source of procurement of the injections. FDA officials collected statutory samples for laboratory analysis and seized the remaining stock under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.Police have registered an FIR under relevant provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Section 223(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Officials said oxytocin is a prescription hormone and its routine use in animals is prohibited. Its indiscriminate use not only affects animal health but may also pose risks to consumers through contaminated milk. The FDA has appealed to citizens to report the illegal sale, storage or use of oxytocin and other banned drugs, reiterating that strict action will be taken against violators as part of its ongoing statewide enforcement drive.

The victim, Ramesh, 42, (name changed to protect identity), was a resident of Devgaon in Murbad taluka and worked in the housekeeping department of a private company. His decomposed body was recovered on June 28, following which police registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence.

Kalyan: Nearly a month after the decomposed body of an unidentified man was found dumped in a forested area near Mamnoli village on the Kalyan-Ahilyanagar road, the Kalyan Taluka police, with the assistance of the Thane Rural Local Crime Branch, arrested two of his office colleagues for allegedly murdering him.The victim, Ramesh, 42, (name changed to protect identity), was a resident of Devgaon in Murbad taluka and worked in the housekeeping department of a private company. His decomposed body was recovered on June 28, following which police registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence.Considering the gravity of the offence, Thane Rural Superintendent of Police Vinaykumar Rathod and Additional SP Anmol Mittal supervised the investigation. Six teams, led by SDPO Anil Lad, Local Crime Branch PI Dadasaheb Edke and Kalyan Taluka PI Mukesh Dhage, were formed to crack the case.Police said that although the body was in an advanced stage of decomposition, investigators recovered the victim’s company identity card, which helped establish his identity. They subsequently analysed CCTV footage, technical evidence and other leads from the crime scene and the victim’s workplace.The investigation led police to two of the victim’s colleagues — Rajesh, 24, (name changed), who worked as a supervisor in the same company, and Prathmesh, 28, (name changed), both residents of Murbad.According to the police, Ramesh was homosexual and had allegedly been repeatedly pressuring Rajesh to enter into a physical relationship despite his refusal. Investigators claimed Rajesh was disturbed by the victim’s alleged behaviour and, along with Prathmesh, conspired to kill him.Police alleged that the accused lured Ramesh to a secluded forest area on the pretext of a sexual encounter. Once there, Rajesh allegedly struck him on the head with an iron rod before slitting his throat, while Prathmesh allegedly assisted in the murder.Investigators further alleged that the duo robbed the victim of his gold ornaments before dumping the body in the forest in an attempt to destroy evidence.Both accused were arrested and produced before a local court, which remanded them to police custody till July 24. Further investigation is underway.

A day after students in Delhi were lathi-charged after the CJP protest devolved into chaos and 24 hours after Mumbai police detained a number of protesters

MUMBAI: A day after students in Delhi were lathi-charged after the CJP protest devolved into chaos and 24 hours after Mumbai police detained a number of protesters, hundreds of students and activists turned up in the city again on Tuesday to defend what many described as their “democratic right to protest”.Tuesday’s protest marked the third day of agitation in Mumbai, and like on the previous days, it was mainly centered around Shivaji Park, though a demonstration was held by local residents in Chembur’s Siddharth Colony as well. The number of FIRs filed against the protesters over three days for unlawful assembly and carrying out their stir without police permission went up to eight, with 800-900 people, mostly students, booked.The protest on Tuesday was supposed to be held at Azad Maidan from 4 pm onwards, with permission granted by Mumbai police. But one of the protesters, Oamkaar Sadarangani, told TOI they found out in the morning that police had rescinded permission.Despite the confusion, a large group gathered at Shivaji Park. “The idea to gather at Shivaji Park was spread entirely by word of mouth. There was no official announcement, but most of us instinctively went there,” said Shreya Singh, a postgraduate literature student from Mumbai University. She said youngsters were “afraid” because police had detained people the day before. “But seeing the crowds come in, we were inspired to continue,’’ she added.Another protestor said there were also announcements on social media platforms that a group of protesters would walk from Nariman Point towards Azad Maidan; however, that plan too was cancelled. Police put up barricades in the area as a precaution.According to Singh, before she arrived in Dadar with her group of friends, two police vans had carried off several protesters. “But that did not stop people. There was heavy police bandobast at Shivaji Park, but we entered a little late from the park’s left side entrance,” she said.According to protesters, the surge in the crowd at Shivaji Park deterred the police from taking any more detainees. “At one point, the police realised they were outnumbered and announced we would be allowed to remain at Shivaji Park until 6 pm and no action would be taken against us. We adhered to what the police said and remained respectful and non-violent. And at 6 pm sharp, everyone began to disperse,” said another protester.Sadarangani said a big group of women was taken to Worli police station, but Shiv Sena (UBT) activists reached immediately and argued with the police to be let in and allow lawyers to be let in as well to talk to the detainees. “Soon after, all the women were released. The police kept saying that they had received orders from officials,” he added.Meanwhile, the gathering of CJP-supporting young protesters in Shivaji Park and elsewhere evoked a groundswell of support on social media.One Siddhant Malvankar said on X, “Peaceful protest is a fundamental constitutional right. Citizens don’t need permission to protest against the government. Btw, what action does Mumbai Police take against illegal vendors encroaching on footpaths and roads, and how many complaints have been filed against them?”A hot debate erupted online. Nick alias Nekzaad offered “full support (to) Mumbai Police.” “Whichever side you’re on, if you do not have official permission & break the law, you should be penalized. Some of us have to go to work, earn our livelihoods & pay taxes. India’s financial capital has no time for rubbish. Have a problem? Go vote,” he posted. To which Surendra Deonalli replied, “In no other country, democracy, does anyone need permission to protest. The constitution allows it, as long as no harm or destruction is caused.”Some social media users also criticised Mumbai police’s move to ban gatherings, assemblies and demonstrations till Aug 6. Kabita Sharma wrote, “Banning protests is okay only if there’s real risk of violence, but using it routinely 2 avoid accountability is wrong. Take swift action on leaks & reforms – not just bans. Protests r democratic feedback; suppress them & discontent will grow. Solve problems, don’t silence voices.”DrakeN said, “Paper leaks turn every exam into a lottery, fix accountability.”