Mumbai News Live: Mumbai records 6,149 fresh Covid-19 infections, and seven deaths – The Indian Express

Mumbai reported 193 cases more than Monday, The current active Covid count is at 44,084.

COVID-19 | Mumbai reports 6,149 new cases – 193 more than yesterday, January 17, and 7 deaths today; Active cases 44,084 pic.twitter.com/pHus9NLG4n

— ANI (@ANI) January 18, 2022

The Bandra magistrate court Tuesday afternoon further posted the hearing on the bail pleas made by the three students arrested in the hate app case to Thursday for its order as Mumbai Police objected to their bail applications and said they wanted further custody of Vishal Kumar Jha, 21.

     
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence awarded to sisters Renuka Shinde and Seema Gavit, who were convicted by a Kolhapur court for kidnapping 14 children and killing five of them between 1990 and 1996.

A bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and S V Kotwal commuted the death sentence awarded to the two women after holding that the Maharashtra government and the Centre had caused inordinate delays in executing their death sentence and had breached their fundamental rights. The bench noted that the government authorities, particularly the state government, had acted casually, delayed protocol despite being aware of the seriousness of the case, and did not execute the death sentence awarded to the women despite their mercy petitions being rejected by the President over seven years ago.

The Maharashtra authorities had delayed processing papers related to the mercy petitions filed by the convict women, and a bunch of mercy petitions filed by others on their behalf, it said. (PTI)

Mumbai’s Byculla zoo on Tuesday welcomed a female Royal Bengal Tiger. The cub was born on November 14 to Karishma and Shakti — the Royal Bengal Tiger pair brought to Veermata Jijabai Udyan, which the zoo is officially known as, from the Aurangabad zoo in February 2020.

The two-month-old tiger cub named Veera is stable and reared by Karishma, said the zoo officials.

The cub is being kept under observation for six months away from human glare. As their vaccinations are yet to be completed, veterinarians in the zoo, though, keep an eye on the newborn. Read more

An FIR was registered against a real estate businessman and directors of a company in Mumbai for allegedly forging the signature of a 74-year-old man and using the photo of another person to prepare a conveyance deed showing that he had sold out his stake in a plot in suburban Vile Parle, police said on Tuesday. 
                 
The FIR was registered on Friday after the complainant, Jerome D’Souza, approached the police and later a magistrate’s court. Police invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for forgery and cheating against the accused persons. 
                
The FIR stated that Deven Raghani, Nyanesh Parikh and directors of a private limited company forged the signature of D’Souza and also used the photograph of another person in his name in the ‘conveyance deed’ document showing that he had sold out his 20% stake in the land, an official said. (PTI)

Over 19.22 lakh new vehicles hit the roads of Maharashtra in 2021, while vehicle registrations increased by 8.26 per cent, an official said on Tuesday. 
          
According to the Maharashtra transport department, more than 19.22 lakh new vehicles were registered in Maharashtra in 2021, as against over 17.75 lakh registered in 2020. Vehicle registration in the state has picked up after a dip of 23.16 per cent in 2020 as compared to the previous year. In 2019, over 23.10 lakh vehicles were registered at 50 RTO offices across the state, the official said.

Despite the 8.26 per cent rise in registrations in 2021 than the previous year, the number of vehicles registered last year was significantly low compared to the pre-COVID times in 2019, he said. As per the transport department data, of the total 19,22,418 newly registered vehicles, 13,16,216 were motorcycles, 3,46,197 private cars and 1,26,551 transport category vehicles, which need permits to operate, such as buses, trucks and taxis. (PTI)

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh’s default bail plea was rejected by a special court on Tuesday. Deshmukh was arrested on November 2 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which alleged that he had been the prime beneficiary of alleged bribes taken by dismissed policeman Sachin Waze from bar owners between December 2020 and March 2021.

After a cost escalation of the underground water tank project at Hindmata, now, the flood mitigation project at Kings Circle will also see a rise in the contract cost from the initial Rs 14 crore to Rs 21 crore.

The cost escalation comes after it was found that the project site has several underground utilities that need to be moved to other locations. The Standing Committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently cleared a proposal for the cost escalation.

An official from the BMC said “The civic body is in the process of laying the storm water pipeline but the contractor found that there are high-tension electricity cables, gas pipelines and others in the path of the construction which need to be moved. A consultant will conduct a survey of all the utilities and suggest a plan to displace them.”

The BMC had taken up the project at Kings Circle and Gandhi Market to tackle flooding in the monsoon by laying a 900-mm storm water drain pipeline to pump out accumulated rainwater in the nearest nullah.

The Bombay High Court Tuesday commuted the death sentences awarded to two sisters to life imprisonment. The duo was convicted for kidnapping 13 children, killing some of them and using the others as cover to snatch purses and chains between 1990 and 1996.

The death sentences of the duo, Renuka Shinde and Seema Gavit of Kolhapur, were confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2006. The state government supported granting the death sentences.

The High Court had concluded the hearing and closed the matter for verdict on December 22.

The court also pulled up the state for the “unexplained, inordinate and long delay” and said that due to the casual approach of its officers, a mercy petition was not decided for nearly seven years and 10 months.

A penguin born at Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo has been named Oscar, city Mayor Kishori Pednekar announced.

The Arvi police on Tuesday registered a second FIR against four doctors at Kadam Hospital for procedural violations, including stealing of medicines, from the Arvi sub-district hospital for use at their private hospital to carry out abortions.

The Kadam family-run hospital has been under the lens since reports emerged of an illegal abortion performed on a 13-year-old girl which allegedly took place at the hospital in Wardha district’s Arvi, earlier this month. Following this, the police found 12 skulls and 54 bones at the hospital’s premises, raising questions of illegal abortions and female foeticide. Further, an inspection team found several expired pills.

The fresh FIR has been registered on a complaint by Dr Mohan B Sute, MS (Ophthalmology), Superintendent of Arvi sub-district hospital accusing four doctors of the Kadam family. Sute was part of a special team of doctors formed by Wardha Civil Surgeon Dr Sachin Tadas that visited Kadam Hospital for an inspection on January 15. A report was then submitted to Dr Tadas who will chair an advisory committee to decide the further course of action against the hospital.

BMC has floated a Rs 25-crore tender to develop four theme parks/gardens in the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai. The four theme parks — Barefoot meditation park in Vikhroli, Science Park in Ghatkopar, Traffic Park in Kandivali and a multi-purpose sports club in Dahisar, are proposed by the BMC’s planning department.

These four theme gardens are as envisioned by the Mumbai suburban guardian minister Aaditya Thackeray, who has made a separate provision of funds under the District Planning Committee to revitalise suburban Mumbai through tactical urban interventions.

Read more

After artisans and Ganpati mandals sought clarity on the guidelines for use of POP (Plaster of Paris) in Ganpati idol making, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has sought suggestions from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) on alternatives for POP.

The civic body has asked both agencies to submit a detailed study report on eco-friendly materials that can be used for idol making.

Idol makers and Ganpati mandals have maintained that with no other option, a complete ban on POPs will upend the lives of hundreds of idol makers in Mumbai as well as Maharashtra as Ganshotsav is a major festival in the state. 

Read more

Additional Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Health Department, Dr Pradeep Vyas, on Monday sent a letter to district administrations about the usage of tablet Molnupiravir for treating Covid-19 “with abundant caution in certain conditions”.

The letter says that patients under the age of 18 and pregnant women should not be given Molnupiravir. lt also should be avoided in women of reproductive age group.

Read more

After a week of below normal night and day temperatures, the city recorded a steep rise in temperatures compared to Sunday.

On Monday, the minimum temperature at the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Santacruz observatory was 21.8 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal. The maximum or the day temperature recorded on Monday was three degrees above normal at 33.6 degrees Celsius.

From January 10 to 15, the city’s minimum temperature was between 13 and 16 degrees C while the maximum temperature hovered around 27 degrees C, creating cold-like conditions.

Read more

As the workers’ strike in Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation entered 83rd day on Monday, the labour court in Bandra passed an order declaring the strike as illegal.

The workers have been on strike since October 27 demanding MSRTC’s merger with the state government, in the hope of getting benefits availed by government employees. The MSRTC has been filing complaints in various labour courts in the state for nearly a month-and-a-half, alleging that the strike was illegal.

Read more

A team from Mumbai Crime Branch’s cyber police station has left for Delhi to take custody of Niraj Bishnoi, 21, alleged creator of Bullibai app and Aumkareshwar Thakur, 26, alleged creator of Sullideals app who were recently arrested by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell.

The Cyber police suspect that the three accused arrested by them for promoting the Bullibai hate app may be connected to Sullideals app as well. A senior crime branch official confirmed the development to the Indian Express.

Bishnoi, who is the main accused in the Bullibai app case, is a native of Assam. He along with his aides collected personal details and photos of 126 Muslim women and posted obscene content and auctioned them on the app.

Read more

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court recently asked the Maharashtra government to state its position on whether an online poker game amounts to gambling or if it was a game of skill.

Last week, a division bench of Justice V K Jadhav and Justice S C More was hearing a PIL — filed by social activist Munawar Ahmed and argued through advocate Ajay S Deshpande — which sought to restrain the “illegal activity” of conduct of a game of poker on online and offline avenues.

The petitioner claimed that he was aggrieved by the inaction of the state Home department, due to which private gaming companies were passing this game off as a “game of skill.”

Read more

Two oxygen refilling plants of the BMC at Mahul and Mahalaxmi areas in Mumbai were commissioned on Monday by Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, in a release, said it was the first civic body in the country to set up its own medical oxygen refilling plants, which would bring about 40 per cent savings as well as cut down travel time.

The plant at Mahul has a capacity of refilling 1500 cylinders daily using 15 metric tons of oxygen and has been set up with the cooperation of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, while 100-120 dura cylinders can be refilled at the facility set up at the racecourse in Mahalaxmi, it added. (PTI)

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole found himself in the middle of a controversy after a video of him saying he can “beat up” and “badmouth Modi” went viral, prompting the BJP to launch an attack on him. 

In his defence, Patole said citizens had complained to him about a local goon named Modi in his constituency, adding that the video of him talking to villagers was “viciously” being made viral on social media.

Fadnavis said in Punjab, the prime minister was stuck on the road for 20 minutes and the Congress chief minister there did not even take note of it. “Now, the Maharashtra Congress chief says he can beat up Modi and badmouth him. What is happening with the Congress,” Fadnavis tweeted.

After Hon PM @narendramodi ji’s security breach near Pakistan border in Punjab, Congress CM even refused to speak over the phone!
And now Maharashtra Congress President says “He can beat Modi, hit, abuse Modi…” pic.twitter.com/93wW3fDn0P

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) January 17, 2022