Mumbai: The Maharashtra Assembly will reconvene on Monday after almost a week of not operating. Both Houses of the Assembly were adjourned on April 9 after the opposition created a ruckus over Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's 'urine' comment. The Lower House was adjourned after censure motion against Ajit Pawar was not accepted. The Upper House was adjourned after the opposition demanded resignation of Ajit Pawar post the lunch session....
08:08 AM, Apr 15, 2013
Satara: Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday undertook a fast near Satara to repent for his widely flayed remarks on Maharashtra's drought. But the opposition was not impressed. "This is not a publicity stunt. I really mean it. I admit that all politicians should speak with responsibility," Pawar said after he started his fast. Agriculture Minister and Ajit Pawar's uncle, Sharad Pawar, on Saturday pulled up his nephew for...
05:57 AM, Apr 15, 2013
Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday sat on a day-long fast to repent his derogatory comment on the state's drought situation. Pawar is under Opposition pressure to resign over his crass "urinating-in-the-dam" statement over water scarcity being faced by farmers in drought-hit Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar is fasting near the 'samadhi' of Maharashtra leader Yeshwantrao Chavan in Karad of Sangli district. Opposition BJP and Shiv Sena have been...
11:37 AM, Apr 14, 2013
Thane: Noted prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who worked as a special public prosecutor in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, on Saturday turned philosophical to take a dig at Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt whose conviction was recently upheld by the Supreme Court. "Neta ho ya Abhineta....Bogus Gandhigiri se parmatma ke ghar me koi apna pap nahi dho sakta (No one, whether an actor or politician, can get any solace from God by...
07:52 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Nashik: Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, a 26/11 mastermind and prime accused in a conspiracy case of attack on Maharashtra Police Academy in Nashik, has complained to a local court that he was tortured with electric shocks by police, a charge denied by the prosecution. Jundal, who was produced before a special court in Nashik on Thursday along with two others, filed an application alleging that after being deported...
07:18 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Mumbai: A 29-year-old youth shot his mother dead and later killed himself in Satara in Maharashtra on Friday. Reports said that Kunal Wadkar shot his mother with his gun and later shot himself. His mother was around 50-years-old and was suffering from paralysis. Kunal was a contractor by profession. He reportedly fired one round at his mother and three on himself. A suicide note was recovered from his house. It...
07:09 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Islamabad: A witness on Saturday identified one of the seven Pakistani men charged with involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks as the person who had bought inflatable boats used by the terrorists involved in the assault on India's financial hub. Prosecutors said the witness, whom they did not name for security reasons, had identified accused Shahid Jamil Riaz during proceedings conducted behind closed doors at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi by...
05:26 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has called for the controversy surrounding his nephew and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar to die down. Ajit Pawar had ruffled feathers by his 'urine' remark on the Maharashtra drought situation. "As party president, I will say that Ajit Pawar's statement was improper and unfortunate. He should have been more careful given the position that he is in. Now that he has...
02:17 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Mumbai: The Securities Appellate Tribunal on Saturday adjourned to April 20 its hearing on Subrata Roy's plea against market regulator Sebi's attachment order of his bank accounts and other assets, along with those of two group firms and their top executives. After taking up the petition for its "preliminary hearing", the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) posted the matter to April 20 as the counsel for Sahara Group sought adjournment due...
11:35 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Mumbai: Social activist Medha Patkar, who was on a fast for nine days against demolition of a slum in Mumbai, called off her fast late Friday night after Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan assured her that an inquiry into the demolition would be completed within eight days. "Ended the fast after a meaningful resolution of issues following meetings with Secretary Housing & CM. Thanks everyone for support. Zindabaad!" Patkar tweeted...
09:56 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has acquitted a man convicted by a lower court for murdering his wife by setting her afire eight years ago. Hearing the appeal filed by Pune-resident Bhanudas Thite, a division bench of Justices VK Tahilramani and PD Kode recently set aside the 2005 order of the Pune trial court which had sentenced him to life imprisonment. According to the prosecution, Thite lost his job in...
09:56 AM, Apr 13, 2013
New Delhi: Millions of people in Maharashtra are at serious risk of hunger after two years of low rainfall, coupled with poor management of water resources, have left dams empty, farmland parched and cattle emaciated, aid agencies warned on Thursday. Maharashtra -- one of the country's biggest producers of sugar, pulses, cotton and soybeans -- is reeling from the worst drought in more than four decades after receiving less than...
06:20 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Mumbai: NCP on Friday said that its leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's controversial remarks on drought and load-shedding were a "closed chapter", and he would not resign. "For us, it is a closed chapter. Ajit Pawar has already apologised and there is no question of he resigning," state NCP chief Madhukar Pichad told reporters after a party meeting, attended by party supremo and Union Minister Sharad Pawar and...
04:43 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Thane: The Mumbra township in the district, which saw the death of 74 people after an illegal building came down crashing last week, on Friday observed a bandh to protest the ongoing demolition drive and demand rehabilitation of those affected. Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) launched a demolition drive against unauthorised structures in the aftermath of the April 4 tragedy, for which over a dozen persons, including civic officials, have been...
08:03 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Mumbai: A freak 18 vehicle pile-up in Mumbai left two people dead and six injured on Friday evening. It has also brought traffic on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road to a standstill. The accident happened when a dumper hit several cars and auto rickshaws. Most of the vehicles are said to be private ones. The driver of the dumper has been arrested. ...
07:25 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Mumbai: The city's first Mahila Dak Ghar, a post office entirely operated by women staff, was inaugurated in Mumbai on Friday. Located at New Customs House in South Mumbai, the post office was inaugurated by Post Secretary and Postal Services Board Chairperson P Gopinath. As of now, 12 female employees will run the Mahila Dak Ghar, headed by a Senior Superintendent of Posts, an official statement said. The post office...
07:19 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Mumbai: An encounter is on between police and Naxals in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra. Seven people have reportedly died in the encounter. The seven dead include two civilians, one security personnel and four Naxals. A search for the bodies is on in the area. More details are awaited. ...
02:50 PM, Apr 12, 2013
Nagpur: Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari has revealed that he was approached by "an influential leader" who sought his help in bringing down the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) but he turned down the request. "An influential political leader had approached me seeking help in pulling down the Central government. But I had to turn down that request," Gadkari said while speaking at a private function in...
10:17 AM, Apr 12, 2013
Mumbai: Mumbai Police Commissioner Satyapal Singh termed the act of constables accepting bribe to allow illegal constructions in the city as "shameful" and said there should be "zero tolerance for such criminal conduct". Thirty-six policemen were suspended on Thursday after a sting operation exposed the nexus between the police and builders for illegal constructions in the city. The sting operation, conducted by a social activist, showed 15 police constables accepting...
09:59 AM, Apr 12, 2013
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court will on Friday hear former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan's plea in connection with the Adarsh Housing Society case. Chavan had sought quashing of the FIR lodged against him in the case arguing that he was falsely implicated by political rivals. At the last hearing on April 1, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had opposed Chavan's petition. The Congress leader's plea also claimed that...
08:31 AM, Apr 12, 2013
