Mumbai: A passenger was deboarded from a Mumbai-Delhi IndiGo flight after allegedly joking that there was a bomb in his bag, delaying the flight by an hour on Sunday last. The airline also deplaned over 100 passengers, and after a thorough check, the flight took off at 9 am. The incident occurred on Aug 9 on flight 6E333, scheduled to depart Mumbai for Delhi at 8 am.Sahar police registered a first information report against the passenger, identified as Anuj Jayaram Suvarna (55), on Sunday after the airline handed him to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Police arrested him after his baggage was thoroughly checked. A police officer said the airline declared him an unruly passenger and his name would be blacklisted for future flying with the airline.Suvarna, a Versova resident who was on his way to Delhi for an official trip, was taken to CISF for questioning before he was handed over to Sahar police for further action. Suvarna declined to comment on the issue when TOI communicated with him and messaged him on Friday. He asked to talk with his lawyer but denied sharing the contact details. He was released on bail after an FIR was filed against him under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 125 (act endangering human life or personal safety of others) and 351 (2) (criminal intimidation).In the complaint, airline assistant security manager Omprakash Rajbhar said: “We were checking the hand baggage of passengers on this flight. We were also inquiring with passengers about the contents of their bags. At 7.25 am, while checking passengers’ bags, my colleague Ravindra Rahul Rokade questioned a passenger, asking if he was carrying a mouse, lighter, scissors, nail cutter, liquid, spray in his bag. The passenger in front stated that there is a bomb in his bag.”A Sahar police officer said, “Rokade informed his assistant manager Ojashree Oak about the incident on the phone. Then they asked the passenger’s name and other details before Oak arrived at the location and decided to offload the said passenger. Subsequently, two bags belonging to Suvarna were removed from the aircraft. Then CISF staff arrived, and the flight was halted. All passengers from the flight were deplaned. After all security checks of the aircraft were completed, the flight took off towards Delhi at 9 am without Suvarna,” said the officer.The airline told the police that an atmosphere of fear was created among passengers, and due to such an act, the flight was stopped, all passengers were deboarded, rechecked, and the flight’s takeoff was delayed, causing significant loss to IndiGo Airlines and mental distress to passengers. Therefore, a legal complaint against the person named Anuj Jayram Suvarna was filed. “Suvarna claimed that he jokingly said there was a bomb in his bag. He was charged with the offence after being deboarded from the flight,” said DCP (West Zone-1) Nimit Goyal.Security has been heightened across major airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram for the last one week ahead of the Independence Day.A senior officer said major airports across India are on heightened security alert due to preventative nationwide measures ahead of Independence Day (Aug 15), with restrictions and intensive screening protocols remaining in place until around Aug 20. Passengers face stricter checkpoints, vehicle inspections and longer processing times. Heightened security directives and advisory periods span roughly from Aug 10 through Aug 20 across facilities in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram.

Corporators broadly backed the ‘Pedestrian First’ initiative, but they questioned the way enforcement was being carried out

Mumbai: Corporators cutting across party lines have expressed concern over the manner in which the BMC is carrying out its ongoing action against hawkers encroaching on footpaths, alleging that the drive is arbitrary and suffers from poor execution at the ward level. While corporators broadly backed the ‘Pedestrian First’ initiative, they questioned the way enforcement was being carried out, particularly against hawkers who have been issued QR-coded identity cards by the civic body.BJP corporator Sheetal Gambir said hawkers found occupying excessive space should be asked to reduce their encroachment rather than being repeatedly penalised. “If a hawker is found to be encroaching on the footpath, he should be asked to lessen the space and not be repeatedly penalised. These corporators are coming back to us asking for money to pay the fines as they have been left with no money,” she said.UBT Shiv Sena corporator Deepmala Bhade questioned the BMC’s decision to act against hawkers after issuing them QR-coded identity cards. “QR-coded ID cards were issued to hawkers in our presence, and now the BMC is acting against these same hawkers. Then what was the point of distributing these cards?” she asked.BJP corporator Preeti Satam said civic agencies were themselves creating hurdles in implementing the Pedestrian First campaign. She pointed to the lack of JCB machines during enforcement action and said she was informed that the citywide JCB contract had ended on August 9. “In P South there is only one JCB. Where will it act?” she asked.BJP corporator Makrand Narwekar said there was a clear intent among the BMC’s senior leadership to make Mumbai more pedestrian-friendly, but alleged that the same urgency was missing among officials at the lower levels.Congress corporator Tulip Miranda questioned the purpose of QR-coded IDs if they offered no protection to hawkers. “Then why give them the QR code itself? Mumbaikars who have been doing business for years are being harassed. We have made the provisions but execution is nil,” she said.The BMC, however, defended its approach, saying the action was not selective. Additional municipal commissioner Prajakta Lavangare Verma said wards had been directed to identify priority footpaths around schools, hospitals and metro stations and ensure pedestrian access.“We are not selectively acting against anyone in particular. We are uniformly cracking down against unauthorised hawkers only,” she said, adding that BMC has also created a dashboard to monitor enforcement, with ward officials expected to update details of action taken.

Mumbai: More than 10.8 lakh electricity consumers in Mumbai’s island city are set to pay higher power bills this month, with the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport (BEST) undertaking levying a Fuel Adjustment Charge (FAC) that will increase tariffs by up to 95 paise per unit for residential users. According to BEST sources, the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has approved the FAC, resulting in an estimated rise of around 8% in electricity bills for many consumers across the utility’s distribution area stretching from Colaba and Cuffe Parade to Sion and Mahim.Under the revised charges, residential consumers using up to 100 units a month will pay an additional 30 paise per unit. Those consuming between 101 and 300 units will be charged 55 paise extra per unit, while consumers in the 301-500 units bracket will see an increase of 90 paise per unit. High-end residential users consuming more than 500 units a month will pay 95 paise extra per unit.The impact on monthly bills is expected to be significant for some households. For instance, consumers in the 101-300 units category could see their bills rise by around Rs 165, while those in the 301-500 units bracket may pay nearly Rs 450 more this month.The hike is not limited to residential consumers. High-tension (HT) commercial users, including shops, establishments and offices, will also face an FAC of 55 paise per unit. Industrial consumers under the HT category will similarly be charged an additional 55 paise per unit.Consumers served by MSEDCL, which serves Mulund, Bhandup, Thane and the rest of the state, will also witness a rise in power bills, with the state utility levying an FAC averaging about 30 paise per unit. Utility officials attributed the additional levy to higher power procurement costs incurred during the peak summer months. With temperatures soaring and electricity demand climbing sharply, BEST was forced to purchase electricity from the open market and power exchanges at substantially higher rates to ensure uninterrupted supply and prevent outages across its distribution network.As for 8 lakh consumers served by Tata Power in Mumbai, the FAC levied was an average 49 paise per unit in July and which is reduced to 22 paise per unit — thereby resulting in power bills dropping this month, an official from Tata Power said. An official from Adani Electricity said that there is no change in power tariff and no impact of FAC on bills this monthOfficials clarified that the FAC, also known as a power purchase adjustment charge, is a MERC-approved mechanism that enables distribution companies to recover fluctuations in power purchase costs. The charge is reviewed every month and may vary depending on market conditions. In some months, the FAC can be negligible or even negative, with surplus collections adjusted against future recoveries.

Mumbai: In a major relief for law aspirants, the Maharashtra CET Cell has extended the deadline for filling college preferences for three-year and five-year LLB admissions after 232 more law colleges were brought into the centralised admission process.The additions have more than doubled the number of participating colleges from 149 when the option-form process began on Aug 5 to 381 now. They have also opened up 15,540 additional seats, taking the total number of seats available across the two courses to 31,600.The development follows an Aug 10 notification of the Bar Council of India (BCI), granting conditional approval to existing law colleges for the 2026-27 academic year.With colleges continuing to be added to the admission pool, the CET Cell has given three-year LLB aspirants until Aug 16 to submit their option forms. The deadline for five-year LLB candidates is Aug 15. Candidates who have already submitted their preferences can unlock their option forms, revise their choices and submit them again.So far, 46,365 candidates have submitted their college preferences—33,214 for the three-year course and 13,151 for the five-year programme. The first-round allotments will be made from among candidates who have submitted their option forms.The increase is particularly significant for the three-year course. When preference filling opened on Aug 5, only 93 colleges with 10,105 seats were available. Another 126 colleges and 9,930 seats have since been added, taking the pool to 219 colleges and 20,035 seats.For the five-year course, the number of participating colleges has risen from 56 to 162, with 106 colleges added. The seat pool has increased by 5,610, from 5,955 to 11,565.The admission process had been affected by delays in approvals for several law colleges, leaving candidates with a considerably smaller choice of institutions when option filling initially opened. The subsequent approvals have substantially expanded the pool just ahead of the first allotment.The CET Cell has asked candidates who have not yet filled their preferences to do so within the extended window and advised those who have already submitted their forms to revisit their choices in view of the newly added colleges.A revised schedule for the three-year and five-year LLB admission process will be announced shortly on the CET Cell website.

While portions of the Mulund landfill have been reclaimed, the proposed 15-acre parcel still contains 2.5-3 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste, requiring removal, site remediation, soil stabilisation and levelling before use

Mumbai: BMC’s proposal to lease 15 acres of land at Mulund dumping ground to Dharavi Redevelopment Project for five years to set up a casting yard, precast element manufacturing facility and ready-mix concrete (RMC) plant was passed by the BJP-Shiv Sena-led improvements committee on Friday, despite stiff opposition from Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress members.Opposing the proposal, former Mumbai Mayor Vishakha Raut of Shiv Sena (UBT) said: “The people of Mulund will never forgive the ruling party for passing this proposal as the land could have been used for a larger public amenity.”Sena (UBT) corporator Sachin Padwal suggested that the RMC plant should be located in Dharavi itself as “Mulund is too far”. “History has also shown that public land once given never comes back to the civic body,” he said. Congress corporator Raja Rahebar Khan pointed out that in the past, a plot in Bandra West had been provided for Bandra-Worli sea link-related works, and subsequently was sold to Adani.Padwal further alleged that the several plot reservation changes had been made in the past six months. “In six months, there have been 42 proposals only for reservation changes,” he claimed. BJP’s Swapna Mhatre hit back saying that one of tasks of the improvements committee is to deliberate on land reservation changes on the Development Plan.Defending the proposal, Mulund corporator Prakash Gangadhare of BJP said the land was being provided for the benefit of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project. “Please see the terms and conditions which clearly mention that it will be given on lease,” he told the opposition corporators.BJP corporator Aneesh Makwaney claimed that the opposition was attempting to stall the project aimed at improving living conditions in Dharavi. “Dharavi people are living in poor conditions. Our government is trying to improve their living conditions and you are trying to halt development, which includes construction of a casting yard,” he said.Shiv Sena corporator and improvements committee chairperson Sandhya Doshi said all members were given an opportunity to express their views before the proposal was sanctioned.BMC’s proposal: To lease 15 acres of land at Mulund dumping ground to Adani Navbharat Developers Pvt Ltd, the special purpose vehicle implementing the Dharavi Redevelopment Project in partnership with the state, for five years to set up a casting yard, precast element manufacturing facility and ready-mix concrete plantWhile portions of the site have been reclaimed, the proposed 15-acre parcel still contains 2.5-3 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste, requiring removal, site remediation, soil stabilisation and levelling before useCost: Adani Navbharat Developers Pvt Ltd will undertake remediation of the site at an estimated cost of Rs 20.04 crore, which will be adjusted against the lease rental after verification by chief engineer of solid waste management department. Following this adjustment, BMC will receive a net rental of Rs 83.44 crore, while the total amount payable, including 18% GST, will be about Rs 100 crore

NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique reported receiving a death threat from a Portugal-based number (File photo)

MUMBAI: NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique has approached the Mumbai Police after allegedly receiving a death threat from a person claiming to be associated with gangster Rohit Godara.Siddique received a voice note on his mobile phone from a Portugal-based number while he was abroad, news agency PTI reported.After returning to Mumbai, the former MLA approached the Bandra police and lodged a complaint.In the voice note, the caller identified himself as Zeeshan Akhtar and claimed to be associated with the Godara gang.He allegedly threatened to kill Siddique and claimed that he had asked a fellow gang member to eliminate Zeeshan’s father, Baba Siddique, two years before he was actually murdered.Baba Siddique, a former Maharashtra minister, was shot dead in Bandra in October 2024.Members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang have been accused in the case.Zeeshan Akhtar, who has also been named as an accused, has been absconding.The caller allegedly told Siddique that the threat was not linked to money. He claimed he had no issue with Siddique’s wealth but objected to his alleged “illegal business”.The latest threat comes days after Siddique’s sister, Arshia Siddique, allegedly received a death threat.According to the complaint, Arshia received a message from an unknown number threatening her and referring to the killing of her father.The sender allegedly warned her that she would meet a similar fate.The threat was reported to Mumbai Police, which launched an investigation into the message.This is not the first time Zeeshan Siddique has faced a threat.The NCP leader had earlier approached police after receiving threatening messages. The latest voice note has now added to concerns over the security of the Siddique family.Police are examining the number from which the latest voice note was sent and are verifying the caller’s claim of being associated with the Godara gang.(With agency inputs)