Mumbai News LIVE: Anil Deshmukh questioned for 8 hours by CBI

Mumbai-based couple Oniba and Sharique Qureshi, who was sentenced to 10 years in jail in a drug case in Qatar in 2019, returned to the city on Thursday with their minor daughter.A Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) official said the couple landed at the Mumbai airport at 2.30 am.The couple had been cleared of all charges after it came to light that a relative planted narcotics in their bag without their knowledge.The couple was arrested at Hamad International Airport in July 2019 after Qatari authorities recovered 4.1 kg of hashish in their bag. It later came to light that Sharique's aunt, Tabassum Qureshi, had used them to transport the drugs. The trip had been sponsored by Tabassum, the official said.

Two boys rescued while one still missing after they went swimming in the Mumbra creek late on Wednesday evening. The rescuers managed to save two boys from the waters. The regional disaster management cell and the Mumbra fire brigade launched a search operation in the murky waters late night to trace the third boy.

Amid stricter lockdown-like restrictions imposed in Maharashtra starting Wednesday, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief IS Chahal opened up on whether maids and househelps will be allowed to travel in the city.Chahal informed that domestic helps and maids will be permitted by the civic body to travel and continue with their work during the period from April 14 to April 30. Full details here

Migrant workers returning from Maharashtra to their native places in state including Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, are complaining of extortions at the hands of Maharashtra police, following the announcement of 15-day curfew by the Uddhav Thackeray government.Coming to the rescue of the returning migrants, Indore's Rau Thana police, along with an NGO, is providing refreshments to workers arriving in the city. Read full story here

A woman who was seven-months pregnant delivered her child inside a moving police van in the city, after she collapsed and was being taken to the hospital.The incident happened on Tuesday evening when the woman felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground in Worli. She then underwent labour and the locals informed the cops, post which the Worli police rushed to the spot.However, the woman gave birth to a baby girl in the moving police van itself and two female police personnel along with a local girl assisted her during the delivery. Read full story here

The tough new measures announced by the Maharashtra government for the next 15 days to break the COVID-19 transmission chain came into force on Wednesday night with Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray directing officials to ensure their strict implementation.The "lockdown-like" restrictions, which exclude essential services, became operational at 8 pm and will remain in force till 7 am on May 1.Thackeray, in his address via social media to the people of the state on Tuesday night, had announced the sweeping restrictions, curtailing the movement of people and non-essential activities, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country's worst-hit state.

Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was on Wednesday questioned for eight hours by the CBI conducting the Preliminary Enquiry (PE) on orders of the Bombay High Court in connection with the allegations of corruption raised against him by former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh, an official said.Deshmukh denied the allegations raised against him by Singh during questioning and told the officers that they were an attempt to malign the image of the state government, sources said.The senior NCP leader reached the DRDO guest house in suburban Santacruz, where a team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is camping, around 10 am, the official said, adding the questioning ended for the day around 6 pm."The ex-home minister of Maharashtra was questioned by SP-rank officers for eight hours," he said.

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported58,952 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 35,78,160, while 278 new fatalities pushed the toll to 58,804, the state health department said.In view of an alarming rise in cases, the state government has announced a 15-day-long stricter measures which came into force at 8 pm on Wednesday and will remain in operation till 7 am on May 1.Maharashtra on April 11 had reported 63,294 COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day tally so far.

Mumbai police commissioner HemantNagrale on Wednesday appealed to citizens to stay indoors, cooperate with the administration and act with restraint to win the war against coronavirus.In a video message, Nagrale addressed Mumbaikars regarding the implementation of the COVID-19 notification "Break the Chain"."Today, we are facing a terrible war of COVID-19 pandemic. This is the beginning of a war and we want to win it by staying at home," the city police chief said.The virus has spread to every country in the world without any discrimination, he said."Our collective action, discipline and tolerance in maintaining physical and social distancing can defeat it," he said.

Mumbai on Wednesday recorded9,925 new COVID-19 cases, taking the tally to 5,44,942, while 54 more patients succumbed to the infection, the city civic body said.The daily case tally shot up in the financial capital after remaining below 8,000 for the last two days.On Monday, the city had witnessed 6,905 COVID-19 cases followed by 7,898 on Tuesday.According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) updated data, 9,925 new cases pushed the COVID-19 tally to 5,44,942, while 54 fresh deaths took the toll to 12,140.