Maharashtra News Live Updates: State logs 32 new Covid-19 cases, one casualty

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Friday dared the Maharashtra government to register a case against him if his remarks about the 17th century Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj amounted to "droh" or betrayal. Pawar, the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, has been facing criticism after he stated that Sambhaji Maharaj was 'Swarajya-rakshak' or protector of the independent state carved out by his father, Shivaji Maharaj, and not 'Dharmaveer' (religious warrior) as described by some right-wing Hindu groups. On Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis had said that to say that Sambhaji Maharaj was not 'Dharmaveer' amounted to betrayal ("droh") of his thoughts and injustice to him.

A man wanted in more than 50 serious offences across Maharashtra was arrested by the police in Thane district, police said on Friday. Acting on a tip-off, a patrolling team of the Khadakpada police in Kalyan nabbed the accused on Wednesday, assistant police inspector Anil Gaikwad of the Khadakpada police station said.

The accused used to allegedly pose as a policeman and rob people, and was a habitual offender wanted in several cases, he said.He is allegedly involved in cases of attempt to murder, attacking public servant, cheating, dacoity, causing hurt during robbery, among other offences, the official said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (MLA) Jaykumar Gore, who sustained injuries after an SUV he was travelling in along with three others fell into a ditch, has now been discharged. The accident was reported on December 24 on the Pune-Pandharpur road in Satara district near Malthan. He was admitted to a Pune hospital along with his driver and two guards.

Customs authorities at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport have seized cocaine and heroin amounting to more than Rs 32 crore in two separate cases, an official said on Friday. The Customs official said the 4.47 kg heroin worth Rs 31.29 crore in the covers of a document folder, while 1.596 kg of cocaine valued at Rs 15.96 crore was hidden in the buttons of clothes.

Launching an attack on the 'road show' to be held by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here on Friday, Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece 'Saamana' on Thursday said that Yogi's Mumbai 'road show' is a BJP backed political game.The editorial also pointed out that the chief minister had promoted himself by giving full-page advertisements in newspapers."Yogi Adityanath keeps coming to Mumbai every now and then, but before coming this time, he promoted himself and his state by giving full-page advertisements in all the newspapers. 'Uttar Pradesh is the growth engine of New India. This engine will give new momentum to your business,' it is said in this advertisement," it said.

A 27-year-old man allegedly molested a woman commuter in a local train in Maharashtra's Palghar district, railway police said on Thursday. The incident took place on Monday night when the woman was travelling in a second-class compartment of the suburban train which was on way to Virar in Palghar from Dadar in neighbouring Mumbai. The accused, Rafique Mohammad Isaq Shaikh, was also in the same coach, the police said in a release.

Two cloth godowns were destroyed in a fire at Kalher village in Thane district, an official said on Friday. No one was injured in the fire that broke out at Arihant Compound after 10.30 pm on Thursday, he said. It was contained in about three hours, he added. The cause of the fire was being ascertained, the official said.

Uran police on Wednesday arrested the tenant in the murder case of a 57-year-old widow Lalitabai Thakur. Accused Amol Shelar (30) was held from Ahmednagar. Thakur was found dead in his room in Bokadvira on Tuesday. Pankaj Dahane, DCP zone-2 said,” After killing Thakur, Shelar robbed gold ornaments she was wearing, and mortgaged them at a credit society in Shirur. ”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut took a dig at UP CM Yogi Adityanath, asking what was the need for him to do a road show in Mumbai to woo investment in UP. Raut described Yogi’s road show as “political business.” He asked if the UP CM had come to Mumbai to do politics or to seek help from Mumbai’s industrialists for development of his state.

In view of the protest, residents of SVNGMC Yavatmal will stop all emergency and non-emergency services, read the letter.

Four men, including a senior citizen, have been arrested for allegedly selling off a two-month-old boy from Virar. Three women accused are absconding. A couple was in touch with the 23-year-old mother of the infant. The mother, who comes from a poor background, was lured by the couple on December 27 to hand over her baby to them. They promised her money and assured her that shewould be able to meet her child regularly. As the couple disappeared with the child without informing the mother, she approached the Virar police. Three teams were formed.

The CBI has registered a fresh Rs 140-crore bank fraud case against HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and son Sarang linked to Goregaon’s Patra Chawl redevelopment by their subsidiary company Guruashish Construction. The CBI alleged that the accused took a loan from Union Bank of India for Patra Chawl redevelopment, but diverted it to various related companies and dummy accounts to siphon off the funds.

In a first for the city’s road works, firms which have built national highways have been selected for concreting 400 km of roads. “The letters of intent will be issued to them next week,” said municipal commissioner Iqbal Chahal, who credited chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for their “vision” to make Mumbai “pothole free”.

Adog or a cat is treated as a child or a family member by its owners no doubt, but basic biology tells us they are not human beingsand hence a person cannot be booked under IPC sections 279 and 337 for rash driving and negligent acts endangering human life for causing a dog’s death, said the Bombay high court. The HC also questioned invoking of IPC section 429 for causing loss and damage to a person or property in the case.

Maharashtra has 9 crore voters according to the final electoral roll published Thursday, ahead of the spate of civic polls expected in state. It is 10. 5 lakh lower than in January 2022, but has shown recovery of 4. 4 lakh since November 2022, when the last draft was published, reports Priyanka Kakodkar.

Officials say the number of voters has reduced over the past year due to multiple factors, including migration and amajor purging of duplicate entries.

“We examined 40 lakh duplicate entries, of which 16 lakh were deleted,” said the state’s chief electoral officer Shrikant Deshpande.