Police have arrested seven more persons in connection with the protest held by a group of MSRTC workers outside NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s residence here, taking the tally of those held in the case so far to 110, an official said on Saturday.
On Friday evening, hours after the protest, the police had arrested 103 persons, including advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte, who claims to represent the striking employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), he said.
A group of striking employees of the MSRTC had staged a sudden and fierce protest outside ‘Silver Oak’, the NCP supremo’s residence on Pedder Road in south Mumbai on Friday afternoon, acc
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Mamata condemns ‘attack’ on Sharad Pawar’s residence
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday condemned an “attack” on the residence of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.
Over 100 striking employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) staged a sudden and angry protest outside Pawar’s residence in Mumbai on Friday afternoon when he was home, alleging he has not done anything to resolve their issues.
His daughter and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule tried to placate the protesters but in vain. Police eventually took them away and registered a case against 107 people.
Big failure of police, intelligence; it should be probed: Fadnavis on protest outside Pawar’s house
Condemning the protest held by a group of MSRTC workers outside NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s residence in Mumbai, senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said it was a “big failure” of the police department and intelligence agencies, which he said should be investigated.
The former Maharashtra chief minister asserted he had said in the past that the issues of the striking Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) workers need to be put forth at an appropriate forum and the state government should respond to their demands.
“…One important issue arises (after the protest) that the entire media knew about the movement of the protesters. Some of my friends working in media told me yesterday that they had received messages (about the protest) at 2.30 pm. So the important issue is what were the police doing,” Fadnavis said.
“People were moving towards the residence of such a big leader with planning, but the police did not have any idea! It is a big failure of the police and it should be investigated. How can there be such a big failure of police and intelligence when cameras (media persons) reach there in time, but police reach late,” the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Assembly said. The entire visuals of the protest were horrific and the incident should be investigated, he added.
Police dept failed to get information about MSRTC workers’ protest outside NCP chief’s house: Ajit
A day after a group of striking employees of the MSRTC staged a fierce protest outside NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s residence, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said the police department failed to get timely information about the agitation.
He also said that the police were trying to find out who provoked the transport corporation workers.
Over 100 workers of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) had staged the protest outside ‘Silver Oak’, Pawar’s bungalow on Pedder Road in south Mumbai on Friday afternoon, catching the police unawares. Hours later, the police arrested 103 persons, including advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte, who claims to represent the striking employees of the transport corporation.
Employees of the state transport body, which has over 90,000 persons on its payrolls, have been on strike since November 2021. The main demand of the striking workers is that the cash-strapped transport corporation be merged with the state government. The protest came a day after the Bombay High Court asked the workers to resume duty by April 22.
NCP demands Sharad Pawar’s security be upgraded
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday wondered if the “attack” on the residence of party supremo Sharad Pawar in south Mumbai was a pre-planned conspiracy to create instability in the state and demanded that his security cover be upgraded.
A group of striking employees of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) had staged a sudden protest outside ‘Silver Oak’, Sharad Pawar’s bungalow on Pedder Road in south Mumbai on Friday afternoon, accusing him of not doing anything to help them. Some of the protesters had hurled footwear in the direction of Pawar’s residence. Police have so far arrested 110 people in connection with the protest. Incidentally, Pawar, a former Union minister, enjoys Z plus security cover.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, NCP chief spokesman Mahesh Tapase said party workers will not sit quietly if the attack was politically motivated and aimed at creating instability in the state.
MSRTC conductor from Kolhapur found dead near bus depot in Mumbai; no foul play suspected
A 43-year-old employee of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) from Kolhapur district was found dead near Parel bus depot in central Mumbai early on Saturday, police said.
The deceased, Mahesh Lole, a resident of Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur, worked as a bus conductor, an official said. Police did not suspect any foul play in his death, as they said that it appeared to be case of natural death.
The body was found at a time when a large number of employees of the state transport body, which has over 90,000 persons on its payrolls, have been on strike since November 2021. On Friday, a group of MSRTC workers held a fierce protest outside NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s Mumbai residence, accusing the veteran leader of not doing anything to help them.
“Lole had come to Mumbai four days back to participate in the ongoing agitation of ST employees, but did not go to Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, where the workers are protesting. After the examination of CCTV footage of the area from where the body was recovered, it was found that he was spotted in Dadar area on Friday,” he said.
LeT founder, Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s son declared terrorist
Hafiz Talha Saeed, a key leader of the dreaded terrorist group LeT and the son of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, has been declared a terrorist by the government.
In a notification, the Union home ministry said that Hafiz Talha Saeed, 46, has been actively involved in recruitment, fund collection, and planning and executing attacks by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in India and Indian interests in Afghanistan.
He has also been actively visiting various LeT centres across Pakistan, and during his sermons propagating for jihad against India, Israel, the United States of America and Indian interests in other western countries, it stated.
Maharashtra accounts for 10.9% of all Covid cases last week
A health worker administers Covid-19 vaccine to a beneficiary in Mumbai. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty) In a letter to the Maharashtra government, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Friday advised the state to focus on five-fold strategy – test, track, treat, vaccination and adherence to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour.
In a letter to state Additional Chief Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan pointed out that Maharashtra had reported 794 new cases last week, accounting for 10.9 per cent of all cases recorded across India. “The state has also seen an increase in positivity rate in the last week – from 0.39 per cent to 0.43 per cent,” the letter added.
Maharashtra: Khotachiwadi gets a new design gallery at 47-A and a pop-up event to welcome it
Khotachiwadi dates back to the late 18th century and belongs to the East Indian community. Though some parts have heritage status, only a clutch of the original houses remain. (Express Photo) The Crasto family’s house, built in the mid-1800s, is one of the original few that survive in the urban village of Khotachiwadi, Girgaum. In recent years, its ground floor has functioned as a gym and then as a printing press for greeting cards and wedding invites. In its latest avatar, it opens as a design gallery on Saturday, named after the house number, 47-A.
At BMC’s English schools, no jobs for 250 Marathi medium educated teachers
Around 250 teachers have been protesting for 150 days now against being denied teaching jobs in BMC English schools because they studied in Marathi medium. Holding a chain protest at Azad Maidan, the protesters said BMC is contradicting itself by asking schools to put up their names in Marathi letters and encouraging Marathi in official correspondence on one hand and denying them jobs over their medium of instruction on the other.
Kirit Somaiya and his son seek anticipatory bail in INS Vikrant cheating case
Former MP Kirit Somaiya (File) Booked in a cheating case involving the INS Vikrant, BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil Somaiya did not appear before the police on Saturday as they had applied for anticipatory bail in the case related to the collection of Rs 57 crore for “restoring the decommissioned aircraft carrier”.
“Somaiya did not appear before us today. His lawyer said he is in Delhi. The lawyer informed us that Somaiya has applied for anticipatory bail. The hearing will be on Monday. We will oppose his bail plea,” an officer from Trombay police station said.
Somaiya denied any wrongdoing and said he was ready to face an inquiry. “I have not done anything wrong,” he said.
The case was registered a day after Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut alleged that Somaiya had invested the money in his son’s construction company instead of depositing it with the Maharashtra governor as he had promised.
– With PTI and ENS inputs.
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