A well-known jeweller from Maharashtra's Pune received a threat email demanding crores of rupees, with the sender claiming to be a Lawrence Bishnoi gang member, an official said on Saturday, reported the PTI. The Pune Police have started a technical analysis of the email that was sent two days ago, the official said. "An email demanding crores of rupees was received by a renowned jeweller in Pune. The anonymous email was sent using the name of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang," said a senior police official. The claims and technical details concerning the email are being investigated, the official said. "The sender claimed to be a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. We are also ascertaining whether a fraudster sent it," the official added, according to the PTI. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang had earlier threatened to kill actor Salman Khan. Some of those arrested in the murder of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Baba Siddique have also alleged links with the gang. Mumbai Crime Branch intensifies probe in Baba Siddique murder case, records more statements in case The Mumbai Crime Branch has intensified its probe into the Baba Siddique murder case and recorded more statements, the officials said on Saturday. The crime branch recorded statements of around 20-25 people in the Baba Siddique murder case. The police are yet to record the statements of Zeeshan Siddique and other family members of the former Maharashtra minister and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader. According to the police, absconding accused Zeeshan Akhtar and Shubham Lonkar are the main pillars of the conspiracy, and they gathered 9 people to conduct reconnaissance, shoot, and supply arms to commit the crime. According to the crime branch, two of the five accused arrested on October 18 had conducted reconnaissance at Baba Siddiqui’s residence and office. “All these 9 accused were in touch with each other and were part of the same group. The group received Rs 5 lakh to commit the crime,” the police said. On October 18, the police arrested Nitin Gautam Sapre (32), Sambaji Parbi (44), Ram Kanojiya (43), Pradeep Thombar (37), and Chetan Parsi (33). “Somnath Pardhi was killed in 2015. Nitin Sapre and Sambaji Parbi were involved in the killing of Somnath. They were out on bail in 2017. They were launched in Kalyan Jail and knew each other,” Mumbai Police said. The police are also investigating the source of the 3 firearms used by the accused. They have issued a lookout circular against Zeeshan Akhtar and Shivkumar Gautam and have previously issued an LOC against Shubham Lonkar. (with PTI inputs)
19 October,2024 09:24 PM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondentChief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said that the seat-sharing pact for Maharashtra Assembly election 2024 of the ruling Mahayuti coalition will be announced in a "day or two" as discussions were in the final stages, reported the PTI. Maharashtra CM Shinde along with deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah late Friday night to iron out differences among the allies BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP about the seat sharing for the polls. "There are no problems. The talks were constructive and are in the final stages," CM Shinde told reporters in New Delhi, as per the PTI. While Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar returned to Maharashtra early Saturday, CM Shinde stayed back in the national capital for some meetings. The chief minister said a decision on 30-35 seats was yet to be taken and if necessary, consultations will be held with Shah, the key election strategist of the BJP, once again. Shinde sidestepped questions on being projected as the chief ministerial face of the ruling alliance. "We have decided to move ahead with the task at hand. We want to bring the Mahayuti government to power once again and we are confident about it," he said to questions on the chief ministerial face of the ruling coalition, the news agency reported. Shinde made light of the reported plans by Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange to contest the Maharashtra Assembly election 2024. "In a democracy, everybody has the right to contest elections. And everyone exercises that right as per his strength," CM Shinde said about the planned electoral plunge by the Maratha quota activist, according to the PTI. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) are seeking to retain power in state. The polls to the 288-member will be held on November 20 and the results will be declared on November 23. Meanwhile, on reports about his visit to the Kamakhya Devi temple in Guwahati to offer prayers, CM Eknath Shinde said Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma had invited him and he would like to visit the shrine. (with PTI inputs)
19 October,2024 08:20 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentThe Samajwadi Party (SP) has asked for 12 seats as part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, party chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday, even as the alliance is yet to declare its seat-sharing arrangement for upcoming Maharashtra Assembly election 2024, reported the PTI. Talking to reporters in north Maharashtra's Dhule district, Akhilesh Yadav said that his party has declared candidates for five seats. Yadav said his party is the one that is satisfied with a few seats. "We have asked for 12 seats (as part of the MVA)," he said, adding that the SP has shared details of the seats where it has a strong presence, according to the PTI. The Samajwadi Party's assertion has come at a time when the MVA constituents are in a stalemate over seat-sharing. On Saturday, the Samajwadi Party declared the candidature of Irshad Jahagirdar from Dhule city, making him the fifth candidate of the party so far. The party on Friday declared sitting MLA Rais Shaikh's candidature from Bhiwandi East, Riyaz Azmi from Bhiwandi West and Shaan-E-Hind from Malegaon Central. The SP's state president, Abu Asim Azmi, is a sitting MLA from the Shivajinagar-Mankhurd seat, as per the PTI. Akhilesh Yadav addressed rallies in Maharashtra's Malegaon on Friday and Dhule on Saturday. Talking to PTI, Abu Azmi said, "We have declared five candidates so that they (MVA) know that we are strong here, or else they will tell us in the meeting that your candidate is not very strong. We have shown that we are asking for seats where we are strong." Azmi said that the Congress has not won the Bhiwandi East seat since 1999. "Only we will win this seat. They should not regret it like Haryana later (if the MVA fields a candidate from the seat)," he said, the news agency reported on Saturday. Abu Azmi said MVA leaders have spoken to him and assured him about seats. Founded by Mulayam Singh Yadav, the SP is a constituent of the opposition's INDIA bloc at the national level. The Peasants and Workers Party (PWP)and the left parties are also part of the MVA. In Maharashtra, three parties - Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) -- which are also part of the INDIA bloc, are contesting the elections as part of the MVA alliance. The assembly elections in Maharashtra will be held on November 20 and the results will be announced on November 23. (with PTI inputs)
19 October,2024 05:30 PM IST | Dhule | mid-day online correspondentHeroin, smuggled from Myanmar, worth over Rs 6.40 crore was seized and three persons were arrested in two separate operations by the police personnel in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh on Friday, officials said. Police officials said that 691 gm of heroin worth over Rs 5.50 crore was seized and two drug peddlers identified as Sandeep Singh and Manoj Deka were arrested in Guwahati city. Acting on secret information, police personnel conducted an operation near Chandmari flyover and apprehended the two drug peddlers travelling on a bike. The heroin, weighing 691 gm hidden in ten soap boxes, was recovered from the duo after a thorough search. Police officials said that the drugs, the value of which was estimated to be over Rs 5.50 crore, might have been smuggled from Myanmar through Mizoram or Manipur. The officials said that after a preliminary interrogation of the two drug peddlers, necessary legal formalities would be done. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in social media posts appreciated the police efforts in seizing the drugs and arresting the drugs peddlers. In Arunachal Pradesh, the police arrested a drug peddler and recovered heroin weighing 48.3 grams, valued at Rs 90 lakh, from him at Ziro under Lower Subansiri district in Arunachal Pradesh. The drugs are contained in 33 plastic vials. The police said that the drug peddler identified as Hano Doley was arrested soon after he reached Ziro from North Lakhimpur in Assam. A case has been registered under appropriate sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Arunachal Pradesh shares porous 1817 km borders with China (1080 km), Myanmar (520 km) and Bhutan (217 km) and smuggling of drugs mostly takes place from Myanmar. Varied drugs, especially heroin and methamphetamine tablets, are smuggled into northeastern states of India from Myanmar, which shares a 1,643-km unfenced border with four northeastern states – Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Mizoram (510 km). This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 October,2024 03:35 PM IST | Guwahati/Itanagar | IANSThree people were killed and 24 sustained injuries after a bus fell into a drain while trying to avoid hitting a cyclist here on Friday evening, police said. The bus, which had 53 people on board, was on its way to Siddharthnagar from Balrampur. They said The incident occurred in the Dhebaruwa area of Siddharthnagar district. According to Superintendent of Police Prachi Singh, the driver lost control of the bus while trying to save a cyclist. However, the bus hit the cycle before falling into the drain near Chargahwa, police said. Two passengers, including a teenager, and the cyclist died in the accident, she said. Information regarding the accident was received at around 6 pm. The local police, with the help of locals, rescued the passengers trapped in the bus. "Three people, including a teenager, died in the accident which occurred when the driver tried to avoid hitting a cyclist," she said. The cyclist was identified as Mangni Ram, 50, a resident of Khurhuria, while the two passengers were Ajay Verma, 14, and Gamma, 65, both residents of Mohankola village, according to the police. Additionally, more than two dozen people were injured and are receiving treatment at CSC Barhni and the district hospital in Siddharthnagar, the SP added. Meanwhile, in another incident reported from Pratapgarh, 20 people were injured when a vehicle overturned in the Baghrai area, 60 km from the Pratapgarh district headquarters. Circle Officer (CO) Amar Nath Gupta said sanitation workers from Kunda Nagar Panchayat were on their way to Baghrai to attend a woman's funeral when the accident occurred near Avatarpur as the driver tried to avoid colliding with an oncoming motorcycle. Gupta added that all the injured were taken to the Community Health Centre in Baghrai. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
19 October,2024 03:30 PM IST | Siddharthnagar (UP) | PTIThe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said it may consider fighting the next month's Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 on a couple of seats, reported news agency PTI. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is part of the opposition's INDIA bloc. In Maharashtra, three constituents of the INDIA bloc - Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) - are fighting the elections under the banner of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) against the ruling Mahayuti alliance, reported PTI. Addressing a press conference at Kudal in Maharashtra's coastal Sindhudurg district on Friday, AAP's Goa unit president Amit Palekar said his party is working on strengthening its base in the Konkan belt, particularly in Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri districts, and also in Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, reported PTI. The party has grown substantially in the Konkan belt, as the local population is looking at alternatives to BJP's Union minister Narayan Rane and his "politics of vendetta", he said. "The AAP stands strongly with the INDIA bloc allies for the November 20 Maharashtra elections but if political developments permit, then the party may stake claim on a couple of seats where it is in a winnable position," Palekar said, reported PTI. "There is a lot of pressure from the local party workers in Kolhapur as well as Sindhudurg to field party candidates for the upcoming elections," he said. Palekar, who is the party's Sindhudurg district in-charge, said the residents of Konkan were respectful and could not tolerate the Rane family's "language of arrogance", reported PTI. Clean and honest politics is the need of the hour and only dedicated politicians can do it, he noted. SP has sought 12 seats from MVA to contest in Maharashtra assembly polls: Akhilesh Yadav The Samajwadi Party (SP) has asked for 12 seats from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, party chief Akhilesh Singh Yadav said on Saturday. Talking to reporters in north Maharashtra's Dhule district, Yadav said his party has declared candidates on a few seats where it has sitting MLAs and also in constituencies where it feels it is strong, reported PTI. Yadav said his party is the one that is satisfied with a few seats. The Uttar Pradesh-based party founded by Mulayam Singh Yadav is a constituent of the opposition's INDIA bloc at the national level. In Maharashtra, three parties - Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) - which are also part of the INDIA bloc, are contesting the elections as part of the MVA alliance. The Maharashtra assembly elections 2024 will be held on November 20. (With inputs from PTI)
19 October,2024 03:26 PM IST | Sindhudurg | mid-day online correspondentMore than 20 flights of various Indian airlines have received bomb threats since Saturday morning, sources told news agency PTI. Flights of Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Vistara, SpiceJet, Star Air and Alliance Air have received the threats, the sources told PTI. Among them are IndiGo's flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul, and Jodhpur to Delhi as well as Vistara's flight from Udaipur to Mumbai. IndiGo, in two separate statements, said it is cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 17 from Mumbai to Istanbul, and flight 6E 11 from Delhi to Istanbul, reported PTI. The airline is working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines, reported PTI. "Flight 6E 184, operating from Jodhpur to Delhi received a security-related alert. The aircraft has landed in Delhi and customers have disembarked the aircraft, we are coordinating with the security agencies as per procedure," the airline said in another statement, reported PTI. Vistara said that shortly before landing, flight UK 624 en route to Mumbai from Udaipur had a security concern and upon landing at the Mumbai airport, the plane was taken to the isolation bay for mandatory checks, reported PTI. The sources told PTI more than 20 flights have received bomb threats since Saturday morning. On Friday, three international flights of Vistara received bomb threats which turned out to be hoaxes and one of the flights was diverted to Frankfurt as a precautionary measure. In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian airlines have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes. Flights receive hoax bomb threat, govt mulls strict action The pattern of domestic airlines receiving bomb threats continued for a fourth day with multiple flights being targeted Thursday, as authorities suspended or blocked about 10 social media handles for posting threats. Among the flights that received threats on Thursday four were of Air India Express, two of Vistara and one Indigo. Air India said "a number of" their flights also received hoax bomb threat, but they did not specify the number. "A number of Air India flights received a security threat on social media today. These have been duly reported to the regulatory bodies and all laid down procedures were strictly followed as per guidance of the regulatory bodies. All flights have made a safe landing. Air India is committed to and accords top priority to the safety and security of its passengers and crew," an Air India official told PTI. (With inputs from PTI)
19 October,2024 02:54 PM IST | New Delhi/Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentLeader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi left his residence for Ranchi on Saturday to attend the Samvidhan Samman Sammelan, ANI reported. According to ANI, Gandhi is set to address the meeting at the 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' to be held in Ranchi, Jharkhand on Saturday at 3 pm. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is the single largest and ruling party in the state, with 30 MLAs representing it. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 25 MLAs while Congress has 16. On Tuesday, the Election Commission of India announced the dates and schedule for the Assembly elections in the state of Jharkhand and Maharashtra. The 81 assembly seats of Jharkhand is going to polls on November 13 and 20, while Maharashtra will have a single-phase election on November 20, the ECI said. A total of 2.60 crore voters are eligible to vote in the state of Jharkhand, with 1.31 crore being male and 1.29 being female voters. The state has 11.84 lakh first-time voters, ANI reported. The vote counting will take place on November 23 in both states. As per ANI, Congress and JMM have formed their alliance for the assembly elections, with the seat sharing yet to be finalized. Congress state in-charge Ghulam Ahmad Mir stated Friday that the Congress's participation in the elections and the seat-sharing arrangement with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha would be finalized by Saturday or Sunday, ahead of the state's Assembly elections. In response to concerns over the seat-sharing deal with the JMM, Ghulam Ahmad Mir said, "We (Congress and JMM) have had three rounds of talks and apart from JMM, we will also have a meeting with our stakeholders by this evening. Whatever our participation will be, it will be decided by tomorrow or the day after." He further added that the names of the candidates have come from the lowest level, ANI reported. On the other hand, The BJP is set to contest the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections along with its NDA allies- All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the party said on Friday, according to the news agency. According to the agreement, the AJSU will compete for 10 seats, the JDU for two, the LJP for Chatra's lone seat, and the BJP for the other 68. At a joint press conference on Friday, State BJP President Babulal Marandi, AJSU Chief Sudesh Mahato, Union Minister and Jharkhand Election In-Charge Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and Election Co-Incharge Himanta Biswa Sarma spoke. (With inputs from ANI)
19 October,2024 02:19 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondentA five-year-old girl was raped by three boys who lived as tenants in her house in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, police said on Saturday. All three accused have been taken into custody, PTI reported. According to PTI, the incident took place on Wednesday evening in the area of Kotwali police station. Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Vir said the five-year-old was raped on the roof of her house by the three boys. He said that the accused's families, who were six, thirteen, and sixteen years old, were tenants in the girl's home. Station House Officer (SHO) Yogendra Bahadur Singh said that based on a complaint by the girl's mother, a case was registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Friday night, PTI reported. SP Vir went to the crime scene with a forensics team after learning about the event, according to the SHO. The three accused have been detained and are being interrogated, Singh said to PTI. Earlier this month, a 46-year-old father was held for raping a minor daughter for the past five years. A 46-year-old lodged a kidnapping complaint after his teenage daughter went missing. However, it later turned out he had been allegedly sexually assaulting the 17-year-old girl for the past five years and she left her home in Mumbai's Mahalaxmi area to escape the ordeal, the police said, PTI reported. A team from Mumbai Police's crime branch found the girl at Mahalaxmi station. She was then taken to the crime branch office, where during questioning, she revealed that she had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by her father for the past five years, said the officer. After the case came to light, the police arrested the accused and booked him under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, an officer said. Class 9 student held for rape of 3-year-old girl in Sakinaka On August 14, a student of class 9 was held by the Mumbai Police in connection with an alleged rape of a 3-year-old girl in Mumbai's Sakinaka area, the police said, reported the ANI. According to ANI, a 3-year-old girl was allegedly raped in Sakinaka. The suspect is a minor boy studying in class 9 who has been held by the police in the matter and a case has been registered against him. The police have registered a case under POCSO on the complaint of the girl's father, as per the ANI. (With inputs from PTI and ANI)
19 October,2024 01:11 PM IST | Ballia | mid-day online correspondentA fire broke out in a library in Pune's Navi Peth area on Thursday morning, ANI reported. Four fire brigades and two water tankers reached the shot and doused off the blaze, said the Pune City Fire Department. There were no reported casualties or injuries, but the cause of the fire is yet to be investigated, an official said to ANI. The fire started at 6:30 am destroying the whole library, including furniture, computers and books in the blaze. "The fire broke out at the library at 6:30 am. We put out the fire using 4 fire brigades and 2 water tankers. There has been no casualty or injury. The fire has been doused. The library has been destroyed, including furniture, computers, and books. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. What we know is that pest control was carried out last night," Rajesh Jagtap, Fire Officer at Pune City Fire Department said. More information awaited. Lokhandwala fire kills elderly couple, their housekeeper Earlier on October 16, three people were killed in a fire in the 14-storey Riya Palace building in Mumbai's Andheri area. The blaze erupted at around 8 am and the three were confined to a flat on the 10th floor of the Riya Palace building, located on 4th Cross Road at the Lokhandwala Complex in Andheri area, the civic body said to Midday. "As soon as information about the fire was received, fire brigade officials reached the spot and started controlling the fire," Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said, ANI cited. Cooper Hospital's Chief Medical Officer informed that the three victims were identified as Chandraprakash Soni (74), Kanta Soni (74) and their house help Pelubeta (42) The blaze at the Andheri building was doused at 8.58 am. The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, the BMC said. Local MLA Bharti Lavekar, along with former municipal councillor Yogiraj Dabadhkar, visited the building to speak with residents about the incident. K L Arora, the building's secretary and an eyewitness, shared, “At around 8 am, my son went out for a morning walk and saw smoke coming from the flat. He immediately called the fire brigade. We rushed upstairs and had to break the door open, as the spare key with the neighbour didn’t work. When we finally got the door open, the flat was filled with smoke, and the fire brigade began their firefighting efforts right away.” Arora further stated that two of the bodies were charred, and the third individual likely died from suffocation. “One son, who is in Singapore, has already left for Mumbai, while the other son, who resides in the USA, has also been informed about this tragic incident,” Arora added. (With inputs from ANI)
19 October,2024 12:57 PM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondentFollowing the hooch tragedy, Pappu Yadav an independent MP from Purnia expressed his concerns questioning the Bihar state government for not making any law regarding illicit liquor, ANI reported. "When the government changes the policy from time to time, then why does the government not make any law (regarding illicit liquor)?" Yadav pointed out, ANI cited. "If I ever come to power, the first thing I will do is to give life imprisonment to the person who manufactures and sells illicit liquor and all the officials in that area will be dismissed," he added. Earlier, RJD Leader and the former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav criticised the state's Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar and its Cabinet over the hooch tragedy, and noted that the Chief Minister did not offer any condolences, but rather laughed at the fatalities and made fun of the people and democracy, even though his party was the largest in the NDA coalition. He further slammed the Bihar CM saying that Kumar did not communicate with any media, public or the victims post-incident. Gopalganj Superintendent of Police (SP) Awdhesh Dixit on Friday said that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is investigating the incident and 14 people have been taken into custody about the hooch tragedy, ANI cited. SP Gopalganj Awdhesh Dixit said that the police have arrested 14 individuals and conducted raids at more than 200 places. As per ANI, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the government is working very effectively and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has given directions to the DGP. The death toll in the state of Bihar has increased to 35, 28 dead in Siwan and 7 dead in Saran district, PTI reported The alleged hooch tragedy has set off a political blame game, with opposition parties questioning the effectiveness of the Nitish Kumar government's prohibition on the sale and use of alcoholic beverages. The opposition has criticised the government of Bihar claiming that its policy to ban liquor has failed. "Liquor ban is a small example of Shri Nitish Kumar's institutional corruption. If a liquor ban has been implemented then it is the government's responsibility to implement it completely but due to the ideological and policy ambiguity of the Chief Minister, weak will and dependence on selected officials instead of public representatives, a liquor ban is a super flop in Bihar today," said RJD leader and former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav. (With inputs from ANI and PTI)
19 October,2024 11:14 AM IST | Siwan | mid-day online correspondentADVERTISEMENT
