The FIR was lodged in Oct last year

Mumbai: Holding that participation in a programme paying homage to the late Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, who was acquitted in a UAPA case, or downloading books published by Maoist writers alone would not amount to a criminal offence, a sessions court on Friday granted anticipatory bail to seven TISS students in a case stemming from an unauthorised campus event last year.It, however, rejected the applications of two other students—Abhirup Paul (32) and Kamakhya Das (23)—after police claimed to have found material suggesting Maoist ideological influence, deleted data, non-cooperation and the need for custodial interrogation.The nine had moved court on Oct 15, 2025, after an FIR was lodged over an unauthorised campus event held three days prior to commemorate the first death anniversary of Saibaba, who had spent nearly a decade in a jail in Nagpur after being accused of links with Maoists. The decision on their pleas was delayed as the case was transferred to the crime branch and the presiding judge’s transfer necessitated a rehearing.Acknowledging that Saibaba was ultimately acquitted of all charges in March 2024 before his death that year, additional sessions judge V B Bohra said paying homage to him cannot be termed illegal. But, the court said the students’ purported conduct was “not limited to paying him homage” because slogans were allegedly raised seeking the release of former student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who are facing trial under UAPA. “It was not the platform for raising such slogans. Being students, it was expected from the accused persons to respect the law of the land.” The students denied raising such slogans.The court denied relief to Paul and Das based on the prosecution’s claim that their electronic devices allegedly contained books published by members of Communist Party of India (Maoist), that some material had been deleted, and it allegedly aided illegal activity, including “division of the country”. It noted that a prosecution witness was also reportedly threatened.The court noted the prosecution’s claim that Paul, a member of Progressive Students Forum, was involved in actions against the college administration, including allegedly pressuring the informant by spreading false information on social media.“No doubt, merely downloading books published by the Maoist organisation would not amount to an offence. However… [Paul] not only downloaded the books but even attended several places as field work. Further, the books, though not banned by govt, are reportedly instigating or aiding the division of India,” the judge said.The court said Paul’s custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain his intention in downloading the books, along with his intention in allegedly raising slogans seeking the release of former student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have been denied bail by Supreme Court in a UAPA case. “His custodial interrogation is also necessary to ascertain any link with the banned organisation acting against the interest of India.”The court made similar observations in Das’s case. It noted that during pendency of his plea, he allegedly threatened Trombay police officer Tanaji Rode with “removal of his uniform” or removal from service on Oct 25, 2025.All nine TISS students had moved court through advocate Vijay Hiremath.The prosecution, led by special public prosecutor Shishir Hirey, opposed anticipatory bail on the grounds that they had not commemorated any other leader’s death anniversary, that Saibaba’s ideology and the case against him were relevant, and that books and materials allegedly found with the students indicated links with banned organisations. It was also alleged that some students had been at TISS for several years, had threatened witnesses, used the phrase ‘Rest In Power’ on a poster and discussed opposition to nuclear power, and that custodial interrogation was needed to find out who was “behind” them.“Generally, while paying homage to a deceased person, ‘Rest in Peace’ is mentioned or said or written. However, the accused have allegedly used the words ‘Rest in Power (1967- Forever)’,” the court said. It said although the accused have not committed a criminal offence by doing so, such phrasing on the institute’s premises without the administration’s permission, along with the material found with Paul, raises doubts over their conduct.The court noted that the FIR was lodged based on a complaint by the TISS administration.In the case of the seven students who were granted relief—Uttkarsh Khuntia (21), Yash Kaundilya (30), Avantika (23), Ishpreet Kaur (21), Hardika Bhagat (21), Satyam Yadav (21) and Nikita Dsouza (24)—the court found that the allegations were largely confined to their presence, participation, slogan raising or reading poems, and that no incriminating material appeared to have been recovered from them. In Yadav’s case, the court said he had only participated in the alleged programme and read a poem written by Saibaba and, therefore, his custodial interrogation was not necessary.” Similar findings were recorded for others.The charges against them included provisions of BNS relating to unlawful assembly, wanton provocation, acts prejudicial to national integration, disobedience of a public servant’s order and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of Maharashtra Police Act.

This was Shinde’s first meeting with PM Modi after the Cockroach Janta Party-led student protests

Mumbai: Political circles were once again rife with speculation after DCM Eknath Shinde visited Delhi on Friday and met PM Narendra Modi in Parliament. This was Shinde’s first meeting with PM Modi after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led student protests and came ahead of the possible Union Cabinet reshuffle and the introduction of the delimitation bill in Parliament. The meeting gains significance as Supreme Court (SC) is currently hearing Shiv Sena’s name and symbol case. Sena functionaries said PM Modi was meeting NDA constituent parties and Shinde too met PM as chief of Shiv Sena, which now has 13 Lok Sabha MPs. The functionary said PM Modi also met 6 Sena MPs who joined Shinde recently from Sena (UBT) and discussed issues related to their constituencies over breakfast on Friday. Sena functionaries said that PM Modi had a breakfast meeting with other newly joined NDA MPs, including TMC rebel MPs who have joined NCPI and newly joined Sena MPs who switched over from Sena (UBT). PM Modi is said to have assured that ‘NDA was one parivaar (family) and that he was standing with each one of them’.Political circles were once again rife with speculation after DCM Eknath Shinde visited Delhi on Friday and met PM Narendra Modi in Parliament. This was Shinde’s first meeting with PM Modi after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led student protests and came ahead of the possible Union Cabinet reshuffle and the introduction of the delimitation bill in Parliament. The meeting gains significance as Supreme Court (SC) is currently hearing Shiv Sena’s name and symbol case. Sena functionaries said PM Modi was meeting NDA constituent parties and Shinde too met PM as chief of Shiv Sena, which now has 13 Lok Sabha MPs. The functionary said PM Modi also met 6 Sena MPs who joined Shinde recently from Sena (UBT) and discussed issues related to their constituencies over breakfast on Friday. Sena functionaries said that PM Modi had a breakfast meeting with other newly joined NDA MPs including TMC rebel MPs who have joined NCPI and newly joined Sena MPs who switched over from Sena (UBT). PM Modi is said to have assured that ‘NDA was one parivaar (family) and that he was standing with each one of them’.“I met Prime Minister. Whenever Parliament is in session, I come here to meet our MPs. PM gave me time to meet him, and we discussed Maharashtra’s development and other related issues… I am happy that the six newly elected Shiv Sena MPs from NDA were invited by Prime Minister for tea today. All our MPs are happy about this. During my meeting with PM, he also mentioned this. We discussed the development of their constituencies and the support they would receive from both the state and centre for development projects,” Shinde said.“The meeting was a cordial one… We discussed matters regarding Maharashtra’s development and the rainfall situation. It is a matter of happiness that PM personally invited the six new Shiv Sena MPs, who are now part of NDA, for tea today. All our MPs are pleased about this, and Prime Minister himself mentioned it during our meeting,” Shinde said.Shinde also took a dig at the opposition for seeking Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s resignation. “Parliament is running. There should be a discussion in it. First, they made a demand for resignation. Dharmendra Pradhan already gave his resignation. Now, the agitators, the youth, are busy with their own work, but the opposition, even though Parliament is running, is still not ready to discuss. Govt is ready to discuss; govt is with the youth, and it was by respecting and honouring the youth that Dharmendra Pradhan resigned. But these people just want to do politics in the name of the youth,” Shinde said.

The magnets from the child’s toy

Mumbai: What appeared to be a stomach infection in a two-year-old boy turned out to be a medical emergency after two tiny toy magnets, which had been swallowed separately, locked onto each other inside his intestines, tearing holes in his bowel and forcing emergency surgery.Swallowing foreign objects is among the commonest reasons young children are taken to emergency departments of hospitals. Coins remain the object most frequently swallowed, while button batteries are considered the most dangerous because of the chemical burns they can cause.However, as the child’s parents didn’t suspect he had swallowed magnets, they took him to Surya Hospital in Santa Cruz for an OPD consultation for fever, intermittent abdominal pain, vomiting and loose stools. His symptoms initially pointed to gastroenteritis, but because of the severity of his pain, doctors conducted an ultrasound that suggested acute appendicitis. He was then rushed to the operating theatre.What surgeons found instead came as a complete surprise. “The abdomen was full of pus. As we were suctioning it out, two tiny magnets suddenly got stuck to the metal suction catheter,” recalled paediatric surgeon Dr Satej Mhasker, who led the surgery.Once the two magnets were found, doctors realised they had probably been swallowed at different times. The magnets had attracted each other across two loops of the intestine, trapping the bowel wall between them. The constant magnetic pull eventually led to perforations.The minimally invasive procedure was then converted into an open operation to repair the two holes—one in the small intestine and another in the caecum, part of the large intestine. Both perforations were repaired, the contaminated abdominal cavity was cleaned and the child recovered well. The operation took place on July 8 and he was discharged a week later.The mystery was solved only after the surgery. While looking through toys at home, the parents said they discovered one containing similar magnets. They brought it to Dr Mhasker during a follow-up visit last week, confirming the source of the swallowed magnets.The magnets involved were made of neodymium, a rare-earth metal used to manufacture some of the world’s strongest permanent magnets found in electric vehicle motors, smartphones, headphones, MRI scanners and computer hard drives. They are also used in magnetic building sets, puzzle balls and other toys.“These magnets are tiny, but their magnetic strength is five to 30 times greater than ordinary magnets,” Dr Mhasker said. “They are often concealed inside plastic toys and can come loose if the toy breaks.”Several European countries have tightened safety standards and made warning labels mandatory for high-powered magnetic toys. In 2021, the UK’s NHS had called for restrictions after reporting that 65 children required emergency surgery over a three-year period after swallowing neodymium magnets.“In India, some of these toys are imported or sold cheap, and safety standards may not be followed,” Dr Mhasker said.

Andheri GRP have registered a case of molestation, criminal intimidation and mischief in a public place against the accused Mohammad Rizwan Ansari

Mumbai: After a video of a ‘drunk’ man hurling expletives and assaulting a woman for sleeping on a local train seat went viral on social media, Andheri GRP tracked down the accused and arrested him on Friday.A case of molestation, criminal intimidation and mischief in a public place has been registered against Mohammad Rizwan Ansari, a salesman from Govandi.The incident occurred in a second-class general compartment of a Western Railway local between Jogeshwari and Andheri stations on Wednesday, around 5pm.The woman, a Nepalese national, was sleeping on a seat when Ansari, who was allegedly drunk, got into the compartment at Jogeshwari station. One of the female commuters filmed the incident where Ansari could be seen yelling at the woman for sleeping on the seat. He also hit her, but co-passengers did not intervene. There appeared to be sufficient seating space in the compartment from the video, but Ansari kept hurling abuses at the woman. After the altercation, he walked away. When the woman warned him against raising his voice, Ansari returned, took out his belt to threaten her and hurled abuses.Police said they identified and tracked down Ansari on the basis of the video clip and CCTV footage from railway stations. Police said Ansari tried to mislead them by claiming that the victim was male and that he had alerted Wadala railway cops about the altercation on his way home.The detection was made by senior inspector Sachin Gavate, supervised by DCP Sunita Salunke-Thakre and commissioner Rakesh Kalasagar.In June, 21-year-old Mayank Lohar was allegedly stabbed to death by a co-traveller, Roshan Suvarna, over an argument about keeping the train 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.

The caterer operating these facilities at IIT-Bombay was served a notice recommending corrective measures.

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has issued notices to two mess facilities at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, directing them to stop operations after inspectors found they were functioning without the required permissions and registrations, news agency PTI reported.According to the FDA, inspections of the mess facilities in Hostel No. 1 and 2 at the Powai campus revealed that the operators did not possess the necessary licences and registrations. They were subsequently directed to cease operations.PTI reported that inspections of the mess facilities in Hostel No. 12, 13 and 14 also revealed certain deficiencies. The caterer operating these facilities was served a notice recommending corrective measures.The action comes as part of the Maharashtra FDA’s state-wide food safety enforcement drive under newly-appointed commissioner Tukaram Mundhe.As part of the drive, the FDA has also suspended the licences of several eateries and restaurants across the state over issues ranging from poor hygiene to lack of mandatory permissions.The suspended establishments include M/s Eat Nino Pvt Ltd, Shop No. 10, Sarvoday Bhuvan, Gokhale Road, Dadar; M/s Jai Maa Kali Dhaba, SVP Nagar, MHADA, Andheri (West); M/s A J Hospitality (House of Maharashtra), Linking Road, Santacruz (West); and M/s South India Dosa Corner, Kurla (West), the FDA said.In addition, notices directing three other food business operators to stop operations were issued during the enforcement drive.The FDA also suspended the licence of Punjab Grill, a restaurant in Navi Mumbai.According to PTI, the regulator inspected 63 restaurants between August 4 and August 6. Of these, 38 establishments were issued notices directing them to improve hygiene and comply with other food safety norms, while the licences of seven restaurants were suspended.(With agency inputs)