Mumbai: The Bangur Nagar police booked an employee of Bajaj Allianz for allegedly cheating a 69-year-old customer out of Rs. 6.94 lakh on the pretext of offering her a pension scheme. The case was registered on September 17. The accused has been identified as Ashish Tiwari, 34, a representative of the firm who resides in Vikhroli West.

According to the FIR, the complainant, Lalita Malhotra, 69, resides in Malad West and teaches classes from second to eighth standard. Her daughter is married and also resides in Malad West, while her son lives abroad. In December 2023, she purchased a five-year policy from Bajaj Allianz Finance. The insurance office is located in Sion. She visited the office and paid her first instalment of Rs. 61,350 via cheque.

In January 2024, Ashish Tiwari called her from the insurance company and requested her to pay the second instalment. She told him that she wanted to close the policy and asked for her money to be returned. Tiwari told her that the policy bonus was due and that her policy value had increased. He further assured her that if she paid the remaining instalments, she would start receiving a pension from November 2024. Trusting him, she was provided a demand letter and transferred a total of Rs. 7.94 lakh to the Google Pay number he provided, in various instalments from May 2024 to February 2025.

Later, she, along with her daughter, visited the insurance office at Andheri East and discovered that while Tiwari was an employee of the company, he had taken the money into his personal account. He returned a small portion of the amount but did not return Rs. 6.94 lakh. She subsequently filed a complaint with the Bangur Nagar police. The police registered the case under Sections 316(2), 316(5) (criminal breach of trust), and 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court, on Wednesday, asked under what authority Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is also the state urban development minister, stayed demolition notices issued by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) against two allegedly illegal buildings in Vashi.

A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Ashwin Bhobe was hearing a petition filed by NGO Conscious Citizen Forum challenging Shinde’s March 13 stay order. The NGO has urged the court to quash the order as “arbitrary, illegal, ultra vires and untenable in law”, and direct the NMMC to enforce its March 3 demolition notices.

According to the plea, NMMC had issued the notices under Section 53(1A) of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act after years of delay and repeated complaints from activists. The targeted structures include the 14-storey Naivedya building, which allegedly violated FSI (floor space index) norms and approved plans, and the Dwing of Albela, a seven-storey building rebuilt in 2003 after the original Cidco structure was demolished. The petition notes that neither building has an occupation certificate, yet flats have been sold to third parties.

The court observed that although the petition did not involve encroachment on public land, it raised a serious issue regarding illegal structures. “After due procedure, the competent authority concluded that demolition was necessary and issued notices. However, on the very same day the housing societies approached the Deputy CM, he stayed the proceedings, thwarting further action,” the bench said.

The assistant government pleader sought time to take instructions and respond. The court has listed the matter for further hearing on September 20.

Mumbai: A Class 7 student from Vibgyor Roots and Rise, an international school in Malad, reportedly suffered a spinal injury after classmates gave him birthday bumps inside the classroom. The incident occurred on the child’s birthday, leaving what was meant to be a celebration turning into a serious accident. The school’s response was unavailable.

According to the parents, one of the classmates gave the child birthday bumps with such force that it led to a serious spinal injury. The boy was taken for medical attention, where it was confirmed damage to his spinal cord.

The boy’s parents claim that they approached the school administration but received no response. Left with no option, they went to the local police station at Bangur Nagar to lodge a complaint. But they alleged that when the police authorities visited the school, the matter was downplayed and never followed up.

The parents have demanded responsibility from the school for not averting such accidents as well as for keeping silent after the injury. They also stressed that traditions like birthday bumps need to be controlled strictly to avoid similar incidents in the future. The parents stated that they will wait for a week for the management’s response after which they will decide their course of action.

The accident has also raised concerns from parents about the security of students in the school premises and the need for more strict monitoring of such informal celebrations.