Mumbai: The Dindoshi Sessions Court granted anticipatory bail to Assistant Police Inspector (API) Devendra Kate in a case registered by Amboli Police alleging sexual relations on a false promise of marriage, forced termination of pregnancy and criminal intimidation.Additional Sessions Judge Neeta S. Anekar allowed Kate’s anticipatory bail registered under BNS sections 69, 89 and 351(2) of rape, causing a miscarriage without the woman’s consent and criminal intimidation. The court granted anticipatory bail to Kate on a personal bond of ₹50,000 with one or two sureties.According to the FIR, the complainant alleged that she came into contact with Kate in 2024 while pursuing a criminal complaint. Their friendship allegedly developed into a romantic relationship. The woman claimed that Kate established physical relations with her on the promise of marriage at hotels in Amboli and continued the relationship over several months. She further alleged that he induced her to terminate two pregnancies and later avoided her, leading her to attempt suicide.Seeking pre-arrest bail, Kate, through his lawyer Karan Mehta, denied the allegations and contended that the relationship was consensual. He argued that the complainant was fully aware of his marital status and had voluntarily continued the relationship. The defence also submitted that the allegations were made after he refused further monetary demands.The prosecution and the complainant opposed the application expressed apprehension that the applicant, being a police officer, could influence witnesses.After examining the FIR and case diary, the court observed that the complainant was an educated and socially active woman who had been in a relationship with the applicant for a considerable period. The court noted that the relationship continued even after the first alleged termination of pregnancy, indicating a prima facie consensual relationship between two adults.The judge held that whether the promise of marriage was false from the inception and whether the complainant was unaware of the applicant’s marital status were issues that would have to be decided during trial. The court further observed that the grounds cited for custodial interrogation were not justified at this stage.The court directed him to cooperate with the investigation, refrain from influencing witnesses, not tamper with evidence, not leave India without permission and not contact the complainant during the investigation, inquiry or trial. Any breach of the conditions would result in cancellation of bail.

Mumbai: The landslide in Ghatkopar’s Ashok Nagar this Wednesday that claimed eight lives has again raised questions about why parts of Mumbai’s hillsides are increasingly vulnerable to slope failures during intense rainfall.The Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP), released in 2022, had identified landslides, urban heat, flooding, coastal risks and air pollution as key climate-related threats to Mumbai. Its assessment warned that increasing extreme rainfall could heighten the risk of rainfall-induced landslides, particularly in vulnerable settlements located on or close to hill slopes.According to data sourced from BMC’s disaster management department cited in the MCAP, 249 locations across Mumbai were identified as prone to landslides. The plan stated that a large proportion of these vulnerable locations were concentrated along hill slopes and foothill regions, including areas around Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Ghatkopar and Malabar Hill. The assessment also highlighted the disproportionate vulnerability of informal settlements, with poor and temporarily built environments aggravating the risk.Architects, disaster response officials and activists pointed to a combination of factors for the reasons behind the increasing vulnerability —from unchecked construction and encroachment to deforestation, soil erosion and inadequate attention to the city’s natural geography.Architect and activist P K Das, who has been involved in multiple civic issues such as slums redevelopment, affordable housing and quality of public spaces, said continuing interference with Mumbai’s natural landscape—whether hills, slopes or mangroves—have made landslides inevitable. The city’s Development Plan (DP) has traditionally focused on how much construction can be accommodated on land, rather than protecting its geographical character. “The administration has to attend to climate change and start addressing the city’s geographical character and its landscape,” said Das, stressing on the need to identify and protect natural slopes, wetlands and other ecologically sensitive areas.Mumbai was originally characterised by numerous hills, many of which were subsequently cut or altered to make space for urban expansion. Das said retaining the natural slope is particularly important in hillocks where settlements or encroachments have come up. Criticising the lack of adequate attention to ecological considerations, such as hill slopes, in city planning, he said Mumbai’s geography should be treated as a critical component of urban planning rather than merely as land available for development.The MCAP had cited projections from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which indicated that the risk of landslides in India was expected to increase. For Mumbai, the plan warned that projected trends in extreme rainfall meant landslides could become an increasingly serious threat unless adequate adaptation measures were undertaken.The plan outlined the broad measures needed to reduce the risk. These included low-cost nature-based solutions to address flood and landslide risks, improved forecasting and emergency response mechanisms, early evacuation of vulnerable communities and over the longer term, gradual rehabilitation of communities living in high-risk locations to safer areas.Former Mumbai fire brigade officer Rajendra Chaudhary, who spent nearly three decades responding to severe landslides, said soil erosion linked to changing rainfall patterns and climate change has contributed to slope instability. Deforestation can aggravate the problem, he said. In some areas, he said excavation and construction at the foothills could remove the natural support of the slope.RTI activist Anil Galgali said civic amenities such as toilets, water connections and electricity are provided to many informal settlements, allowing them to expand further.

Firemen rescue 582 stranded passengers after a Monorail rake got stuck between Bhakti Park and Mysore Colony for two hours on August 19, 2025

Mumbai: The President’s Medal for Gallantry has been announced for 13 fire officials and personnel, including the Chief Fire Officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, on the occasion of Independence Day for performing extraordinary duty and rescuing stranded passengers after a Monorail rake got stuck between Bhakti Park and Mysore Colony for two hours on August 19 last year.Officers and personnel of the Fire Department risked their lives to rescue as many as 582 passengers from the Monorail rake, which was at a height of 40 to 50 feet, and also ensured that there was no loss of life.Passengers were stuck and suffocating inside the Monorail rake, which was stranded due to a technical glitch that led to a power cut. While a few passengers fainted inside the rake, others were seen banging on the glass windows and pleading for help. It took about two hours to begin the rescue as the power supply had to be severed first.The fire brigade personnel who will receive the President’s Medal for Gallantry are RN Ambulgekar, AV Parab, MV Sawant, IK Kamble, YH Pawar, DA Bhosale, Rajesh Rane, Mahesh Gudulkar, Ramesh Koli, Harshal Katke, Chintamani Khandekar, Vicky Sarvade and Sudarshan Pavade.“This was the largest rescue operation in the world and it was the most difficult and complicated operation, as the Monorail rake had tilted completely and was likely to collapse. Passengers were trying to come out as they were unable to breathe and were suffocating. We first reached out to the passengers and assured them. Even installing ladders was a complicated task. We broke open the doors and first got the senior citizens, children and women passengers out, and then the young. But we got all of them out,” said Ravindra Ambulgekar, Chief Fire Officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade.There was another incident involving a Monorail coach, which stopped abruptly between Acharya Atre and the Wadala Monorail station at 7.33pm on the same day. Passengers were stuck inside the Monorail, which was later towed to Wadala station after restoration of the electric supply. Around 200 passengers were rescued.

Mumbai: BMC on Friday launched its online single-window system for facilitating permissions to be issued to Ganeshotsav mandals and obtaining no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the local and traffic police through a computerised process. Ganeshotsav will be celebrated on Sept 14 this year.The civic system will remain operational from Aug 14 to Sept 13. Pandal permissions for Ganeshotsav will be valid till Sept 26.Mandals can apply through BMC website under the “For Citizens – Pandal (Public Ganeshotsav/Navratri Festival/Other Festivals)” facility. Applications will first be scrutinised by the concerned ward office, after which NOCs from the local police and traffic police will be obtained online.For new mandals seeking permission for the first time on public or private land, the application will subsequently be placed before the zonal deputy commissioner for approval. Once approved, the mandal will have to pay a Rs 100 fee, following which the ward office will issue the permission.The civic body has also provided an online renewal facility for mandals that already have five-year permissions. Their sites will be physically verified by the ward office to ensure that the location and area match the approved permission before police and traffic NOCs are obtained.Mandals that had obtained only a one-year permission in 2025 have been given the option of applying either for a one-year permission for 2026 or a five-year permission for 2026-30.The BMC has also made participation in a one-day training programme mandatory for two volunteers from every public Ganeshotsav mandal. The training will cover crowd management, fire safety and first aid, among other issues.Meanwhile, the civic body has reiterated that mandals must not dig holes on roads or footpaths to erect pandals. It has urged organisers to adopt techniques that allow pandals to be erected without excavation. Action will be taken against those found digging roads or footpaths for pandal construction.Mandals will also have to comply with fire-safety requirements, licensing and advertising regulations, as well as health-related directives issued by govt to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.For public Navratri celebrations, applications for pandal permissions can be submitted from Sept 10 to Oct 10, with permissions valid till Oct 21.