In a tweet, Ameya Khopkar, a leader of Raj Thackeray-led MNS party warned Seema Haider to “stop such drama or be ready to face consequences by MNS. In his tweet, Khopkar called the producers of the film “traitorous” and asserted that Pakistani nationals have no place in the Bollywood industry. He warned that if the warning is not heeded, ‘rada’ (dispute) will happen.

A leader belonging to Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) party has issued a warning to Seema Haider, a Pakistani national who crossed borders to be with her Indian lover, over her Bollywood debut. Seema Haider is currently shooting for her film ‘Karachi to Noida’ after a film producer in Noida, Amit Jani, announced a movie based on the couple’s story.

‘Rada’ will happen

“We are firm on our stand that a Pakistani citizen should not have any place in the Indian film industry. Seema Haider is a Pakistani woman currently in India. There were also reports that she was an ISI agent. Some of the upstarts in our industry are making the same Seema Haider as an actress for fame. Why are traitorous producers not ashamed? We are giving a public warning to stop such spectacles immediately, otherwise be ready for the MNS strike action,” Khopkar wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding “if you don’t listen Rada (dispute) will happen.”

पाकिस्तानी नागरिकाला भारतीय चित्रपटसृष्टीत कोणतंही स्थान असता कामा नये, या आमच्या भूमिकेवर आम्ही ठाम आहोत. सीमा हैदर ही पाकिस्तानी महिला सध्या भारतात आहे. ती ISI एजंट आहे अशा बातम्याही पसरल्या होत्या. आमच्या इंडस्ट्रीमधील काही उपटसुंभ प्रसिद्धीसाठी त्याच सीमा हैदरला अभिनेत्री…

— Ameya Khopkar (@MNSAmeyaKhopkar) August 12, 2023

‘Karachi to Noida’

Last week, Seema Haider auditioned for ‘Karachi to Noida’- an upcoming Hindi film based on her love story with Sachin Meena. In a video shared on social media platforms, an actor playing Seema is seen performing a scene along with a male actor, who is presumably auditioning for the role of Seema’s real life lover Sachin Meena. The two are seen talking on the phone, reenacting a scenario from the Seema and Sachin’s love story as the two met while playing popular online shooter PUBG and then started talking over messaging apps like WhatsApp.

A Noida based film-maker is making a movie on Seema Haider and Sachin's lover story. pic.twitter.com/RLv8CAIgs2

— Shafaque Alam (@shafaquealamTOI) August 10, 2023

The movie is being made under the banner of Jani Firefox Production House. The production house shared a video of the audition on social media showing actors being auditioned for various roles in the upcoming film being produced by filmmaker Amit Jani, a Meerut-based film producer.

Jani recently met Seema Haider at her home and offered her the lead role in his upcoming film based on her unique love story. Talking to newsmen, Seema expressed her desire to work in movies after being given a clean chit by the Uttar Pradesh ATS. Seema Haider has been offered to play the role of RAW agent in the film.

The Seema Haider story

Seema Ghulam Haider, a Pakistani woman who was married to Ghulam Haider and mother of four kids, met Sachin Meena—a Uttar Pradesh resident— in 2019 while playing popular shooter PUBG. Over time, the duo became friends and fell in love and earlier this year, Seema Haider entered illegally into India via Nepal along with her four children to be with her lover.

Sachin and Seema reportedly got married at a temple in Nepal. Currently, the cross-border lovebirds are living happily together at Sachin’s Greater Noida home.

Seema Haider’s story shares eerie similarities with that of Anju, an 35-year-old Indian mother of two, who recently travelled legally to Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to marry her lover, Nasrullah (29), whom she befriended and fell in love on social media site Facebook in 2019.

At Yerawada Open Jail in Maharashtra’s Pune, the prisoners have a chance to start their lives fresh. They have been given a choice – to either continue to get lost in their absurd thoughts inside those gloomy cells or make a difference. Many chose the latter.

‘Shrunkhala’: Prison Inmates Run Restaurants

The first chain of restaurants that will be available across prisons in Maharashtra was launched by the state department’s prisons and correctional services, according to a report by The Indian Express. The initiative called ‘Shrunkhala’, which means chain or series, will see jail inmates running eateries that will cater to the citizens.

The first chain of restaurants, which was opened next to the Yerwada Open Jail in Pune, will be run by 15 inmates – all of them serving life sentences. Out of 15, seven of them will be working in the kitchen while the other eight will be on service duty. They were also given uniforms – a T-shirt and pants. The administration may increase the prison staff depending on the growth of the business.

“I cannot erase the dark phase of my life but I have a choice to move on. I hope that working at this restaurant, with other inmates with the same goal, will help me achieve that,” one of the prison inmates, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of a neighbour, was quoted as saying in the report.

He said that a complaint in this regard was lodged by the victim’s friend, identified as 26-year-old Anil Jadhav, a labourer by profession. In his complaint, Jadhav said the four accused abducted him and his now-deceased friend, 35-year-old Vinod Rathod. The attackers took the two men to a shop where they held them captive and brutally assaulted them with wooden sticks besides kicking and punching them.

Jadhav said that the attackers smashed Rathod into a wall, following which he collapsed and later died. Jadhav also sustained grievous injuries in the assault and later approached the police and narrated the details of this horrifying ordeal.

“Of the four accused, three were arrested. One of them is the owner of a welding shop. He had a suspicion that the two victims had stolen iron rods from outside his shop. He abducted them with the help of three others and beat them up,” senior inspector Rajiv Shejwal told news agency PTI.

Based on Jadhav’s complaint, a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder), 367 (kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery, etc), 342 (wrongful confinement), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), 34 (common intention) was registered, he said.

The accused were identified as shop owner Dinkar Pralhad Lavand (42), Abhimanyu Bihari Yadav (24) and Rajkumar Sriramdhani Yadav (27), the police said, adding that search is on to nab the fourth accused Gulab Amarsingh Chavan alias Pintu Chavan.

(With PTI inputs)

The video of the incident is going viral on social media.

Watch The Video Here

महाराष्ट्र के धुले में एक मंदिर में चल रही थी पुलिस की मॉकड्रिल.

मॉकड्रिल देख वहा पर मौजूद छोटे बच्चे डर की वजह से रोने लगे.

इतने में बच्चो के परिवार में से एक आदमी ने मॉक ड्रिल के दौरान ही पुलिस को तप्पड़ जड़ दिया..#Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/hmjQIc3p30

— Vivek Gupta (@imvivekgupta) August 8, 2023

The video has been shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Vivek Gupta @imvivekgupta with the caption: “महाराष्ट्र के धुले में एक मंदिर में चल रही थी पुलिस की मॉकड्रिल. मॉकड्रिल देख वहा पर मौजूद छोटे बच्चे डर की वजह से रोने लगे. इतने में बच्चो के परिवार में से एक आदमी ने मॉक ड्रिल के दौरान ही पुलिस को तप्पड़ जड़ दिया. #Maharashtra (a Police mock drill was going on in a temple in Dhule, Maharashtra. Seeing the mock drill, the small children present there started crying due to fear. Meanwhile, a man from the children’s family slapped the police during the mock drill itself. #Maharashtra)”.

As it is evident prima facie, the “terrorist attack” and “making hostage the devotees” were part of a mock drill conducted by the police who revealed that the “terrorists” were part of a mock drill being conducted by police and the person who got slapped was a police officer.

The man who yelled at and slapped the “terrorist” has been identified as 35-year-old Prashant Kulkarni.

It is being reported that the sudden arrival of the “terrorists” scared the devotees and a few children, including Prashant Kulkarni’s own daughter began to cry. This angered him and he sprinted towards the “terrorist”, shouted at him, tried to twist his arm, and then slapped him hard.

The Police officials immediately rushed to the spot and defused the situation.

The video has received several comments. Sharing a few with you.

Manoj C *मनोज* @manuchaudhari: Sorry to say but…. अगर ये सच में जब अतांकवादी हमला होता तो ये थप्पड़ जड़ने वाले भाई साहब की पैंट गीली – पीली हो जाती… और यही पुलिस इनकी रक्षा कर रही होती…

कॅप्टन ज्याक चिमणराव @Captainjyak: @imvivekgupta  it’s धुळे धुले

Sakshi Chaturvedi @sakshi1094: Kuch to Ho rha tha.. Achchha bura jaisa bhi isi se seekhte.. aise logo ko ulte 4 lgane chahiye

AnIndianBong @DuttaAmartha: This reminds me of ceremonial fire drill at office where staff are merrily walking down stairs laughing / chatting / joking and best even with cup of tea in hand. Seems this drill was like that.

Sanjeev Nagar @Sanjeev82324462:

KeN @Bhokarekiran: LOL

बेरोजगार Harendra Singh Tomar @Harendr37972636: Asli terrorist hota na

To Bhaisaab dikhte bhi ni G@@d ka chabootara bna deta Nonsense log

PKMKB @realindian7865: 1 number

Shaikh Sartaz @sartajshaikh0: Mm Hipbl

Ali Shaykh @AliShaykh175777: Sahi kiya Bccho k samne is trh ki mock drill thodi na kiya jata h

Robin @robinusdas: When you have something for certification, it’ll happen.

Jake @swagbaazi: Mock drill ka aisa funny mahol rahega to aisa to hoga hi. Seriousness kaha hai?

Syed Arifulla @arif6167: Shayed acting mein kuch kami hogi, isiliye jhapad diya.

ExpIicitIy.NationaIist @India_upsurge01: Isko kisi irritating film ki shooting lag rahi hogi.

Vinay Sidar @VinaySidar15: Acha kiya aur 2 4 jhapad lgana chahiye thas

John Gao @JohnGao68197606: Mc asli terrorist hota toh bc ki yeh himmat hota kya…mc pant geeli karleta

Sumit Mahato @SumitSum73506: Its a drill ! Agar yaa drill na ki jaya to isma logo ka hi nuksan ha. In drills ka objective hi yahi ha ki kaam saa kaam loss ma mission accomplished kara. That for only citizens safety. Kaal ko inka hi bacha ka school ma terrorist aa gaya to asa hi kara ga.

Pallab Malakar @PallabMalakar5: Looks like fake situation

A signal on the up (Churchgate-bound) fast line developed a technical snag at 8.50 am, prompting the authorities to divert trains on the up slow line for over next 30 minutes, a Western Railway official said. Train services on the line resumed after the signal was restored at 9.22 am.

Mumbai:- Train signal issue being faced between station Grant road to Charni Road at 9:20 am., bare in mind all commuters. pic.twitter.com/eu3RzTLfe1

— Valerian Fernandes (@Valerianroxxx) August 8, 2023

The Western Railway operates suburban services between Churchgate (in south Mumbai) and Dahanu (in neighbouring Palghar) stations.

The video which has gone viral on social media, was purportedly captured by a fellow student during a physical training session at the college on a rainy day. Eight cadets are seen in a puddle amid rain, with their heads pinned in the muddy soil instead of using their hands for support. The senior NCC cadet is seen standing behind them, holding a stick, and whacking each of them one by one for failing to execute his challenging drill.

This video is from Thane’s Joshi Bedekar College maharashtra, What kind of training is this?? @HQ_DG_NCCpic.twitter.com/qglOp6M1tl

— Prayag (@theprayagtiwari) August 3, 2023

The cadets are seen in a push-up position in a water-logged area with their feet and head touching the ground and hands folded above the back. When a cadet changes posture, the senior student is seen thrashing him with a stick and going on to thrash others too.

“The NCC instructor for this unit was transferred recently. Senior cadets taking over in the absence of teachers led to this incident,” a university senate member told news agency PTI.

The Joshi Bedekar College in Thane operates the NCC unit along with two other sister concerns, Bandodkar College and VPM Polytechnic. The student, who belonged to Bandodkar College, has been suspended.

Citing a college source, the PTI report said that the college administration has taken cognisance of the incident and is taking punitive action and corrective measures.

Meanwhile, some senate members of Mumbai University have approached the vice chancellor, seeking action against the college principal for allowing the students to act as NCC instructor after the instructor was transferred to another college.

(With PTI inputs)

All About Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train

1. The government has decided to run Bullet trains on the 508.09 km long Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor, connecting the two financial hubs located in Maharashtra and Guajarat respectively.
2. The entire journey is likely to be completed in 2 hours 7 minutes. During the journey, the train will halt at 10 cities namely – Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
3. The entire project is costing somewhere near Rs. 2 lakh crore. The NHSRCL had said that the first phase of the bullet train project is expected to be launched in 2026.
4. The corridor is expected to witness footfall of 17,900 passengers per day in each direction.
5. According to NHSRCL, the passengers will be ferried in 35 daily train trips, made by 10 car configurations with 24 rakes on the year of commissioning. According to NHSRCL, about 92,900 passengers are likely to use the system per day.
6. The passengers can board the train from 6 am to midnight at an interval of 30 minutes.
7. The bullet train is expected to run at a speed of about 320km/hour. Currently, the top speed limit is 160 km/hour.
8. The high speed train will have three classes – Standard Class, Business Class, and Grand Class.

Glimpse Of The Construction Progress

Taking to Twitter, the Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) shared a picture of the ongoing progress of the bullet train.

Gushing at Bullet speed!

Glimpses of #BulletTrain progress spanning longer distances.
Anand District, Gujarat pic.twitter.com/pnPkjKYdWV

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) July 31, 2023

Approximately 1381.9 hectares have been obtained so far. However, the land requirement is approximately 1389.5 hectares. Most of the problems with land acquisition have been concentrated in the state of Maharashtra. As of June 2023, a total of 429.53 hectares of land had been acquired, up from 196.19 hectares in 2021.

Bullet Train Operational Plan

The line’s Operational Control Centre (OCC) will be located at Sabarmati. Trains will be operated with 2 types of services for riders –

• High Speed (2.58 hour journey): Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) – Ahmedabad (Kalupur) – Anand – Vadodara – Bharuch – Surat – Bilimora – Vapi – Boisar – Virar – Thane – Mumbai (Bandra Kurla Complex)
• Rapid High Speed (2.07 hour journey): Ahmedabad (Sabarmati) – Vadodara – Surat – Mumbai (Bandra Kurla Complex)

The mega infrastructure project is expected to consume 1.6 crore cubic metre of cement and 17 lakh MT of steel and act as a catalyst to give the cement and steel industries a boost.

#WATCH | NDRF team deployed for rescue operation at the site where four labourers are trapped under debris after soil cave-in during the construction of a well in Mahsobawadi village of Indapur Tehsil of Pune district, Maharashtra

(Earlier visuals from the site; Video… pic.twitter.com/mUu7YK6AA2

— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2023

This concept is adopted by the United States (US) and other Western countries. It is aimed at effectively utilising the limited available space. In the previous policy, a private university can be established on a minimum land of 25-acre in rural areas, 15-acre in district headquarters and 10-acre in regional headquarters, Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and Pune Metropolitan Region (PMR).

The state government’s proactive approach aims to provide a conducive environment for the growth of education without compromising on the city’s development goals. A crucial aspect of the vertical university campus policy is to ensure that these universities have independent buildings dedicated exclusively to academic and educational activities. The classrooms will adhere to the guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). It will consequently ensure quality education delivery.

“In a city like Mumbai, it is hard to get 10-acre of land and there were demands from many colleges to come up with an alternative considering which the state government has cleared a new policy for vertical university campus,” Vikas Rastogi, principal secretary of the higher and technical education department was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

The state government has made it clear the institution is required to have an independent building to establish a university where no commercial activity in any way would be allowed to conduct.

“No area of the building can be used for commercial purposes in any way. It should have a scope for further construction in case there is a rise in the number of students. The classrooms shall be set up in accordance with University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) guidelines,” states a cabinet proposal that was cleared by the state cabinet.

Who can apply for Vertical University

Only institutions with NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) grade points of 3.25 and a spot on the list of the top 200 institutions maintained by NBA or NIRF will be qualified to apply for a vertical university campus.

The introduction of VUCs was decided upon in accordance with the recommendations of two committees established over a five-year period.

Earlier in December 2022, minister of higher and technical education Chandrakant Patil said that new universities in urban areas in the state will get permission only if they build high-rises to house them. Such universities will be granted FSI based on the total land area and a study on how many floors they can reach would be conducted in order to grant permission.

Land required for a Private University

Private Universities at present require a minimum of 25 acres of land if established in rural areas. An institution if it wishes to establish a university in a Metro City then the land requirement is minimum 10 acres.

“However, to fulfil the minimum requirement of 10-acre land to establish a Private University in metro cities like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pune is next to impossible”, DHE Pune said in a notification published on its website.

“Two NDRF teams are working at the site after a crane fell on the slab of a bridge in Shahapur tehsil of Thane district. Till now 14 dead bodies have been retrieved and 3 have been injured. Another six are feared to be trapped inside the collapsed structure,” NDRF told ANI.

#UPDATE | Maharashtra: Two NDRF teams are working at the site after a crane fell on the slab of a bridge in Shahapur tehsil of Thane district. Till now 14 dead bodies have been retrieved and 3 have been injured. Another six are feared to be trapped inside the collapsed… https://t.co/3QiIuUwoIP pic.twitter.com/tptIFDfAfb

— ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2023

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a tweet said he has ordered a probe into the incident by experts. He expressed grief over the death of workers in the accident.

The machine is a special-purpose mobile gantry crane used in bridge construction. It is used to install precast box girders in highway and high-speed rail bridge construction projects.

The Samruddhi Mahamarg, named Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg, is a 701-km-long expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur. It traverses ten districts including Nagpur, Washim, Wardha, Ahmednagar, Buldhana, Aurangabad, Amravati, Jalna, Nashik, and Thane.

The construction of the Samruddhi Mahamarg is being carried out by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. The first phase, connecting Nagpur to the temple town of Shirdi, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2022. It covers a distance of 520 km.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said in May that the third and last phase would be completed by the end of December this year.

An IIT-B official claimed that while they had found out about the posters, they did not know who had put them up in the canteen, news agency PTI reported. The official maintained that there are no fixed seats for people consuming different categories of food and the institute is not aware who put up the posters.

Pictures of the posters put up on the canteen walls had gone viral on social media last week.

Meanwhile, representatives of the student collective Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) condemned the incident and tore the posters.

Even though RTIs and mails for hostel GSec shows that there is no institute policy for food segregation, some individuals have taken it upon themselves to designate certain mess areas as "Vegetarians Only" and forcing other students to leave that area.#casteism #Discrimination pic.twitter.com/uFlB4FnHqi

— APPSC IIT Bombay (@AppscIITb) July 29, 2023

“Though RTIs and emails to the hostel’s general secretary revealed that there is no policy for food segregation at the institute, some individuals have taken it upon themselves to designate certain mess areas as vegetarians only’ and force other students to leave that area,” the AAPSC said.

Following the incident, the hostel’s general secretary sent an email to all students saying, “There is a counter for Jain distribution in the hostels mess, but there is no designated sitting space for those who consume Jain food.”

There have been reports of individuals forcefully designating certain areas of the mess as “Jain sitting space” and not allowing individuals who bring non-vegetarian food to sit in those areas, the general secretary wrote.

“Such behaviour is unacceptable and no student has the right to remove another student from any area of the mess on the grounds that it is reserved for a particular community. If any such incident is repeated, we will be forced to take strict action against those involved,” he stated in the email, according to the PTI report.

A similar incident had sparked a massive controversy in 2018 when a circular issued by the IIT-Bombay hostel has asked non-vegetarian students to use separate plates. The circular cited demands from vegetarian students to force students who consume non-veg meals to use separate plates and cutlery.

(With PTI inputs)

Notably, the Chabad House was one of the targets of the 26/11 terror attack and since that time, there has been a high-security arrangement with a 24/7 police presence.

Mumbai Police heightens security outside Chabad house (one of the targets of the 26/11 terror attack) in Colaba after a Google image of Chabad house was recovered from two accused arrested for planning an attack in Rajasthan. https://t.co/acm5bEuQ6L pic.twitter.com/fRWdaVtVQ3

— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2023

What Is The Case About?

The ATS has taken custody of Mohammad Imran Mohammad Yunus Khan and Mohammad Yunus Mohammad Yakub Saki – residents of Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh from Pune a few days ago and were probing the case and during the investigation, police got the Google image of Chabad House from them.

Earlier, Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested one person from Pune for giving shelter to both the suspected terrorists.

“During the investigation of the duo suspects, it was found that they took the help of a person in Pune to make arrangements for their shelter when they arrived in the city. On the information received during interrogation of the accused, the said person was detained first, and after questioning, he was arrested and booked along with the two suspects,” the Maharashtra ATS on Thursday said.

Maharashta ATS further stated that both accused were booked under UAPA charges.

What Was Revealed During Investigation?

“During the investigation, it was revealed that both were planning to carry out anti-national activities to disturb the unity and safety of the nation, and for this, both had taken the training to make bombs and kept the required materials in their possession,” an official statement said.

“ATS has recovered a tent from their residence that was planned for future use to have shelter in the jungles. ATS has also recovered a laptop, some Arabic literature, and a shining white powder that was found to be an explosive material. accused also had a weighing machine, a drone, electronic circuits item soldering machine,” it added.

Earlier, both suspected terrorists Imran Khan and Yunus Saki were arrested by Pune city police during a regular combing operation while they were trying to steal a bike from the Kothrud area of the city on July 18 in the early hours.

Why is Chabad House Important?

Chabad House, which was renamed as Nariman Lighthouse, was among the top 12 locations where 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba carried out coordinated attacks for four days in Mumbai in 2008. A Jewish outreach centre, Chabad House was then run by Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg.

During the 26/11 terror attacks, six of its occupants, including Holtzberg and his wife, who was six months pregnant, were killed. However, their two-year-old son Moshe survived the attack after being rescued by his Indian nanny Sandra Samuel.

According to the FIR lodged by the retired official, on July 21, in the afternoon, the six men barged into the house of Kantilal Yadav. Leading the group, a bearded man asserted that they were from the Anti-Corruption Bureau and mentioned a lodged complaint against Yadav, using it as a pretext for conducting a house search.

The man seized the cellphones of Yadav and his wife and made them sit beside him till the house search was done. Yadav’s wife was told to hand over the cupboard keys. Yadav insisted on seeing the bearded man’s identity, but the latter refused, saying it would be shown after the search was done.

His five associates rummaged through three cupboards in the three-bedroom flat and extracted Rs 25.25 lakh, a gold chain worth Rs 3.80 lakh, a ring and a bracelet worth Rs 4.20 lakh, a diamond ring worth Rs 40,000, a diamond-studded gold mangalsutra worth Rs 80,000, and two wrist watch worth at least Rs 10,000. The gang members fled after stuffing the items into a leather bag they took from one of the cabinets.

Similar heist in Secunderabad

In May this year,  a dacoity gang, posing themselves as Income Tax Department officials, looted gold worth Rs 60 lakh from a jewellery manufacturer in Secunderabad. At around 10 am on Sunday, May 27, a shop in Pot Market was suddenly raided by five people claiming to be I-T officials. Later, the manager of the shop complained to the police that the five suspects showed ID cards, forcibly took away the workers’ mobile phones and threatened them. He said the group took away 17 gold coins, each weighing about 100 grams, and that the total worth of the lost gold would be around Rs 60 lakh.

During the probe, the police found that one of the robbers, who posed as an I-T official, worked in the same market in Secunderabad. The workers were all confined in a room by the group who latched the door from outside before fleeing the scene. While five of the suspects went inside the shop, the rest stood guard outside. The entire operation lasted at most 20 minutes.

In the video, a wild leopard sneaked into a house and stealthily approached a pet dog that was enjoying slumber at the entrance of the human home. However, another dog woke up and started barking at the leopard and both the dogs chased the wild cat away.

WATCH | Dogs chase leopard away 

#महाराष्ट्र: नाशिक में कुत्ते पर तेंदुवे का हमला।#Maharashtra #Nashik #Leopard #ATTACK #Dog #CCTV pic.twitter.com/Wce1PF0yCr

— Sanjay ᗪєsai (@sanjay_desai_26) July 26, 2023

Vrishali Gade, Forest Department officer, while speaking to ANI, said, “In the Adgaon Shivar area, the compound area of the bungalow in which the leopard entered, belongs to a person named Prabhavkar Manude. The leopard was shown entering the compound of the bungalow and attacking the dog. But dogs attacked the leopard and chased him away”.

“There is a possibility that the leopard came from the field area nearby the residence. In cooperation with the forest department, we have begun the procedure to put up a cage. However, there is no information on the leopard harming any citizen in the area”, said Gade.

In a separate incident, a leopard on Wednesday evening entered the sets of a Marathi TV serial “Sukh Mhanje Nakki Kay Asta” in Film City in Mumbai’s Goregaon district, triggering panic and havoc.

A viral video showed a wild cat walking up above one of the structures of the set while panic-stricken people running for safety. Some people even recorded the footage. The incident took place at 4:00 pm on Wednesday.

Earlier, in June, a similar incident took place where a leopard was scared away by a dog, presumably a pet, guarding the entrance of a residential property in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar. In the CCTV footage of the incident, the leopard could be seen on the prowl and trying to enter the house when it encountered the dog. The canine started barking to prevent the big cat from inching closer.

Following the face-off, the clip showed the leopard retreating before turning and finally sprinting outside the house into the bushes.

The CPR President Barrister Vinod Tiwari said that large parts of the country are battered by torrential rain, floods, landslides and other natural calamities in different regions in the past over a month. “The situation is alarming in north India, presently even in eastern and western India. The unprecedented rain has hit masses in all walks of life, including the financial capital of Mumbai, leaving the people desirous of filing their ITR anxious,” said Tiwari.

A tax and financial advisor A.N. Desai of Mumbai claimed that in view of the rush to file the ITR by lakhs of assessees for the assessment year (2023-2024), the official portal is experiencing heavy traffic and consequently slowed down. “We have already brought it to the notice of the concerned authorities, but the situation is unchanged since the third week of June. We are racing to catch the deadline (Monday, July 31), but are stretched beyond limits and maybe unable to complete the task within the deadline. If the last date is not extended, many people may have to cough out hefty fines for no fault of theirs,” rued Desai.

Tiwari has urged the Centre to extend the time-limit till August 15, but Desai feels that given the traffic and likely assesses who may miss the deadline, it should be extended till at least 6 weeks (mid-September). However, ex-President of the influential Bombay Chartered Accountants Society Abhay Mehta feels that extensions should not become the norm every year and all the ITR-related work should ideally be completed by July.

“People need to be more disciplined, must submit their details to their tax consultants to enable the CA’s file their returns in a timely manner, and avoid paying the penalties for late-filing,” urged Mehta. In the recent past, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic times, the government had given generous extensions of one, two or even three months to enable people to comply.

However, this year, the Centre had adopted a tough stance and made it clear that no extensions would be given after July 31, dismaying the assessees and even sections of fraternity like Chartered Accountants, financial advisors, tax consultants and other bodies.

According to Sitharaman’s statement in Parliament this week, last year around 7.40 crore people (6.94 crore in the previous year) filed their ITR of which 5.16 crore had zero tax liability, in the FY-2023. Maharashtra, with 1.13 crore filing their ITR tops in the country, followed by Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh.

Mumbai University Notice PDF – Direct Link

BMC Declares Holiday For Schools And Colleges in Mumbai; IMD Issues ‘Red Alert’

After the IMD issued a “red alert” for the metropolis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday declared a holiday for all government and private schools and colleges on July 27(Thursday). Iqbal Singh Chahal, municipal commissioner and administrator of the BMC issued a statement about it on Wednesday night. “In view of the red alert issued for Mumbai, the BMC has declared a holiday for all municipal, government-run and private primary, secondary and higher secondary schools and all colleges in the city and suburbs on Thursday as safety of students is a top priority,” the statement said, news agency PTI reported.

Weather Update

The IMD Mumbai issued  “extremely heavy rainfall” warning (red alert) for Mumbai city and its suburban areas from 8 pm on July 26 to afternoon on July 27. “The BMC requests all citizens to stay alert, remain indoors and kindly follow instructions from the administration,” Chahal urged. While the BMC said that the weather department’s ‘red alert’ will be valid till afternoon, IMD officials clarified that it will be valid till 8.30 am. Incessant heavy rain lashed Mumbai on Wednesday, which slowed down the road traffic. The city received 61.19 mm of rainfall between 8 am and 4 pm, while eastern suburbs and western suburbs recorded 34.53 mm and 40.68 mm of rainfall, respectively, in the same period. The intensity of rain was more in the suburbs in the morning hours while the island city received intermittent heavy showers in the afternoon.

(With PTI Inputs)

Landslide, NDRF Rescue Operation: Raigad’s Current Situation

Earlier, the rescue operation by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was called off on Sunday at the landslide-hit Irshalgad in Raigad which claimed 27 lives. “As decided by District Administration, other senior officials and as briefed by Minister Uday Samant, the rescue operations at Raigad have been called off and closed. Details of missing and the deceased can be obtained from the administration,” NDRF said, ANI reported.  A landslide struck the tribal village situated on a hill slope in Khalapur tehsil, Raigad district, approximately 80 km from Mumbai, around 11:00 PM. on Wednesday.

Maharashtra | All schools to remain closed in the Raigad district today in view of the heavy rains in the region. IMD has issued Orange Alert for Raigad: District Collector Yogesh Mhase

— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2023

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde to Adopt children who lost both parents in Irshalwadi landslide

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that he would adopt the kids who lost both parents in the recent landslide at Irshalwadi village in the Raigad district of the state, said the Shiv Sena, ANI reported. CM Eknath Shinde also visited the site of the tragedy and took stock of the relief and rescue efforts. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased. For the past one month, India has been witnessing incessant rains in various parts of the country.

(With Inputs From ANI)

Addressing a presser, Maharashtra minister Uday Samant, who is also the guardian minister of Raigad, said the NDRF has called off its rescue operation in the landslide-hit area after nearly four days. Sawant said the decision was taken in consultation with the district administration and other concerned authorities as well as local residents, news agency PTI reported.

So far, 27 bodies have been recovered while 57 are untraceable, officials said, adding that no body was found from the debris on Sunday.

The dead include 12 men, 10 women and four children, while one corpse has not been identified as yet, they added.

At least 17 of 48 houses in the remote tribal village, which is at least an hour away from a motorable road, were fully or partially buried in the landslide that took place around 10:30pm on July 19.

The NDRF and other government agencies resumed the search and rescue operation for the fourth day on Sunday at Irshalwadi, some 80 kilometres from Mumbai, after calling it off the previous evening due to darkness and inclement weather.

The deceased whose bodies were recovered on Saturday were identified as Mahi Madhu Tirkad (32), Aashi Pandurang (50), Bharati Madhu Bhutabra (18) and Kishan Tirkad (27), officials said.

As the village, overlooked by Irshalgad fort, a popular trekking destination— does not have a pucca road, earth movers and excavators could not be easily moved and the rescue operation is being carried out manually, officials said.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has visited Irshalwadi on the day of the disaster and took stock of the situation and also spoke to personnel engaged in the rescue operation.

“Irshalwadi was not on the list of landslide-prone villages.Our priority now is to rescue those still trapped beneath the rubble,” he told reporters at the site. This is a very unfortunate incident and the state government stands with the affected people, Shinde said.

On rehabilitation of the landslide-affected villagers, the CM Shinde had said that 50 to 60 containers have been arranged for them (as temporary shelters) and the government planned to move them to safer places.

“We will soon take steps to carry out proper rehabilitation of the landslide-affected villagers. I have spoken to the divisional commissioner and district collector and discussed about permanent rehabilitation of these villagers immediately. We are doing it on a war-footing,” Shinde had said.

(With PTI inputs)

Maharashtra | A Gondia-based international cricket bookie lured a businessman to invest in doctored betting apps and then duped him to the tune of over Rs 58 crores. Nagpur Police raided his residence at Kaka Chowk and seized more than Rs 17 crores in cash, gold weighing around 4… pic.twitter.com/xr3dTTMPM0

— ANI (@ANI) July 23, 2023

Accused Escaped To Dubai

During the raid on Saturday, the cops recovered Rs 14 crore in cash along with four kg of gold biscuits from the accused person’s residence, identified as Anant alias Sontu Navratan Jain. However, Anant managed to flee before the raid. According to the police, the accused has escaped to Dubai.

How The Businessman Got Duped

“Prima facie, Jain had convinced the complainant- a businessman- to explore online gambling as a lucrative avenue for earning profits. Initially hesitant, the businessman eventually succumbed to Jain’s persuasion and transferred ₹ 8 lakh through a hawala merchant,” said Nagpur Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar.

Kumar further informed that the accused lured the businessman of high profit and WatchApp him a link to open an online gambling account. The businessman found Rs 8 lakh deposited in the account and he began gambling.

“After initial success, the businessman’s fortunes took a drastic downturn as he lost a whopping ₹ 58 crore while winning around ₹ 5 crore,” the police commissioner said.

The Suspicious

The businessman grew suspicious after continuously losing and demanded his money back, but Jain refused.

“The businessman lodged a complaint with the cyber police, leading to the registration of a case of fraud under the Indian Penal Code. Police raided Jain’s residence in Gondia. The operation resulted in the seizure of a substantial amount of evidence, including ₹ 14 crore cash and four kg gold biscuits,” Kumar added.

However, officials are still counting the large quantity of cash and the final figure of seizure is yet to be arrived at.

Not The First Online Fraud Incident In Nagpur

On Friday, a police official reported another case of online fraud, where a resident of Nagpur lost Rs 9.66 lakh. An unidentified person, posing as a bank staffer, managed to withdraw the money. The incident occurred on July 19 when Satish Dixit (56), a resident of Hudkeshwar, received a call from an individual claiming to be a private bank employee, who purportedly offered to safeguard account holders from cyber fraud.

There has been a drastic increase in online frauds following the rise in popularity of UPI payments and online gaming. People are advised not to share their bank account details with anyone and to regularly change their online banking password in order to stay safe.

According to the police, grisly crime happened on July 16 in Malegaon Talika of Nashik district. Giving details, an official told news agency PTI that the accused abducted the boy when he was out playing in a field in Pohane Shivar village.

The accused slit the boy’s throat and half buried his body in the ground, the official said, adding that the body was found on July 18 and a murder case was registered.

The accused, who are residents of the same village, were in search of a hidden treasure and had killed the boy as part of a ritual, the official said.

He said that all four accused have been arrested and further investigation is underway.

10-year-old boy killed in human sacrifice ritual in UP’s Bahraich

A similar incident was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district in March earlier this year where a 10-year-old boy was found murdered with his throat slit open in a field, allegedly as a human sacrifice.

According to officials, the victim, identified as Vivek Verma, was reported missing by his father Krishna Verma—a resident of Parsa village and later on the same night police found the boy’s body lying in a field with his throat cut open.

They said that as per preliminary investigations, the slain child’s cousin and one of the accused, Anoop had a two-and-half year-old mentally-challenged son who was often ill of health and when multiple prolonged treatments did not yield any positive results for the toddler, Anoop sought out a Tantrik (occultist) near his village who urged him to perform a human sacrifice in order to cure his sick child.

Three people, including the slain victim’s cousin, were arrested by the police in connection with the murder.

(With PTI inputs)