Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday issued notices to NIA  and those acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. 

Family members of victims of the blast have filed appeal challenging special court’s verdict acquitting 7 persons, including BJP MLA Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. 

A bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad has kept the appeal for hearing after six weeks. 

The appeal challenges a special court’s decision last year to acquit seven accused, including BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. Six people were killed and over 100 injured in the blast that struck Malegaon in September 2008.

On September 29, 2008, an explosive strapped to a motorcycle detonated near a mosque in Malegaon, killing six people and injuring 101. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) initially arrested 11 persons. A decade later, only seven faced trial, while others were discharged. The NIA took over the probe in 2011.

On July 31, special judge AK Lahoti acquitted all seven accused observing that there was no “reliable and cogent evidence” against the accused that proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The families, however, contended that the trial court wrongly acted as a “post office” and failed to test the prosecution’s case against missing or hostile evidence. 

The appeal claims that faulty investigation or procedural defects should not have resulted in acquittals, especially in a terror case. It also alleges that the NIA deliberately diluted the case. The petition points to former special prosecutor Rohini Salian’s public statement that she was pressured to go slow against the accused. Her replacement, the petition claims, lacked experience in terror trials.

Mumbai: Medical students, resident doctors, and interns at Grant Government Medical College (GGMC) and Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, will stage a token strike on Thursday in solidarity with several national medical bodies opposing the inclusion of homeopaths into the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC).

The strike has been called in opposition to the state government’s decision to allow homeopathic practitioners to be included in the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) after completion of the bridge course, Certificate Course in Modern Pharmacology (CCMP).

The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI), and Government Medical College Students’ Association (GMCSA) confirmed that they will join the Central MARD, Maharashtra State Resident Doctors’ Association (MSRDA), Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA), and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in their protest.

According to the organisers, the strike began with a gathering at the JJ Hospital Amphitheatre at 9:30 am, followed by a media interaction. The strike has been termed token in nature and the associations clarified that all emergency and critical medical services will remain fully operational to ensure patients are not adversely affected.

The associations argue that merging homeopathic practitioners into the allopathic medical council blurs the boundaries between two fundamentally different systems of medicine. They stress that such a move not only compromises the integrity of allopathic practice but could also lead to confusion in regulation and accountability.

Resident doctors and medical interns at JJ Hospital said they had coordinated the strike in a way that ensures minimal disruption to patient care. Outpatient services and routine check-ups may see delays, but senior doctors and staff are expected to step in to manage patient load.

Meanwhile, medical services at Rajiv Gandhi Government Medical College (RGMC) and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital (CSMH), Thane, are likely to be affected on Thursday as resident doctors joined a statewide strike called by the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD). The protest began at 10:30 am with a demonstration staged outside the Outpatient Department (OPD) building’s main gate.

Mumbai: The city wakes up to gloomy skies and water stocls reaching at 224,636 million litres (ML), reaching 99.02% of the total capacity. According to the 6:00 AM report on September 18, 2025, the seven lakes supplying water to Mumbai are holding near-maximum levels, ensuring a secure water supply for the coming months.

Upper Vaitarna recorded a water level of 603.81 meters, showing a slight rise of 0.02 meters, with live storage at 224,636 million litres (ML). Modak Sagar remained steady at 163.15 meters with 128,910 ML storage, while Tansa lake showed no change at 128.54 meters, storing 143,416 ML. Middle Vaitarna stood at 284.44 meters with 191,059 ML, reflecting a minor drop of 0.12 meters.

Together, the Upper Vaitarna group accounts for 688,022 ML. Bhatsa, the largest contributor, recorded 141.79 meters with 709,355 ML, while Vehar and Tulsi stood at 80.28 meters and 139.20 meters respectively, holding 27,698 ML and 8,046 ML. In total, Mumbai’s reservoirs currently hold 1,433,121 ML of water.

Officials highlighted that water release from Upper Vaitarna began on August 21, and several dams have overflowed in recent weeks. At the Bhandup Complex, no fresh rainfall was recorded today, but seasonal totals stand at 2,698 millimeters.

A look back over the past five years shows that 2025 is among the healthiest seasons for reservoir storage. Current levels are at 99.02 percent, surpassing 2020’s 92.38 percent, 2021’s 86.86 percent, 2022’s exceptional 96.91 per cent, 2023’s 83.01 per cent, and 2024’s late August surge to 94.87 per cent. The most recent time Mumbai’s seven major lakes supplying drinking water reached 99% full before today was around 1 October 2024, when the water stock was reported at 99.37% capacity.

Mumbai woke up to calmer weather on Thursday after days of intense downpours that caused traffic snarls and waterlogging across the city. Weather conditions across Mumbai and its surrounding areas are forecast to remain manageable today. The India Meteorological Department predicts mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate rain in Mumbai, with daytime temperatures around 28 degrees Celsius and minimums near 25 degrees. Thane and Navi Mumbai will see similar patterns, while Palghar expects light to moderate showers.

The Konkan belt, including Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg, remains under a yellow alert for isolated heavy showers and gusty winds. With reservoirs nearly full and subdued rainfall expected, Mumbaikars can look forward to stable water supply and fewer disruptions compared to the chaotic scenes earlier this week.