Palghar: A 16-month-old boy lost his life on Thursday after the ambulance carrying him to a Mumbai hospital was trapped in a prolonged traffic jam on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway in Thane district, according to people close to his family.

The child, had been staying at his grandmother’s home in Pelhar, Palghar district, when he accidentally fell from the fourth-floor balcony while playing. He sustained serious abdominal injuries in the fall.

Neighbours said that the child was initially rushed on a motorbike to a private hospital in Naigaon, where doctors managed to stabilise him briefly before advising urgent transfer to a specialised hospital in Mumbai. His family arranged for an ambulance, but the vehicle became stranded in gridlock on the highway due to repair work on the Thane-Ghodbunder Road, which had forced closure of a key stretch from 6 am to 9 pm.

Unable to move further, the ambulance diverted to a hospital in Sasoon Navghar, between Thane and Vasai, where doctors declared the toddler dead on arrival. Hospital officials later confirmed that he had passed away before admission.

The tragedy has triggered widespread anger among residents, who blamed civic and traffic authorities for poor planning and lack of emergency measures. Citizens have demanded immediate implementation of green corridors for ambulances, stricter restrictions on heavy vehicles during peak hours, and accountability for lives lost due to prolonged congestion.

Traffic snarls have paralysed commuters for several days on both the Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Mumbai-Nashik highways, with vehicles reportedly stranded for up to six hours. In another incident on Thursday, a woman recently discharged from Bhaktivedanta Hospital had to wait for more than five hours on the roadside near Fountain Hotel as her father’s car remained stuck in traffic at Vasai.

On July 30, a 49-year-old woman, Chhaya Kaushik Purav, a resident of Madhukar Nagar in the Saphala area who suffered severe injuries in a tree fall incident, died when the ambulance ferrying her got stuck in a massive traffic jam on a highway in Palghar.

The authorities are yet to issue a formal statement on the condition of the highway, leaving commuters uncertain about when relief can be expected.

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday put off till September 24 the hearing on the bail application of Gaganpreet Kaur, the main accused in the Delhi BMW fatal accident case, accepting the police plea that they were yet to seize her mobile phone and driving licence.

Judicial Magistrate Ankit Garg was told by investigators that they were not in favour of granting bail to her at this stage as the probe was still at a nascent stage.

Opposing Kaur’s plea, the police said that the mobile phone used by her to contact family members after the accident was a crucial piece of evidence.

“We have not yet recovered the mobile phone and driving licence of the accused,” said the prosecution lawyer.

The defence counsel informed the court that Kaur’s phone is with her husband and it will be handed over to the police by Saturday evening.

He claimed that Kaur’s driving licence was earlier given to investigators but if it is still not on record the family shall resubmit it to the police.

Kaur has been arrested in connection with the death of Navjot Singh, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and serious injuries to his wife, Sandeep Kaur, in an accident on September 14 near Dhaula Kuan.

The fatal accident occurred around 1 P.M. on September 14, near the Delhi Cantt Metro Station. The victim couple was returning from Bangla Sahib Gurdwara on a motorcycle when they were hit by a BMW car, allegedly driven by Gaganpreet Kaur. Her husband, Parikshit, was seated in the passenger seat at the time of the crash.

In a parallel development, the court issued notice to the police on a separate application filed by the accused, requesting preservation of CCTV footage from the accident site.

On Thursday, the court indicated that there was no legal provision allowing sharing of CCTV footage with the accused in a criminal case.

After the accident, the police registered a case under various penal provisions, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and rash and negligent driving. The police is also probing possible attempts to tamper with evidence.

Mumbai: The Mahayuti government has found a unique way to avoid controversy over the appointment of Nashik’s guardian minister by deciding to appoint a ministerial committee with all the contenders to oversee the implementation of the Kumbh Mela to be organised there in 202728, with preparations beginning next year. ‘As per the order issued on Friday, the committee com- prises three ministers from the BJP and two each from the Shiv Sena and the NCP — led by Deputy Chief Ministers, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, respectively.

BJP Minister Girish Mahajan, who is keen on the district guardian minister- ship, will head the committee along with the other aspirants – Chhagan Bhujbal, Dada Bhuse and Manikrao Kokate (who hails from Nashik). Interestingly, Mahajan belongs to Jalgaon, but the BJP is keen on appointing him to the coveted post purely for political reasons.

The other ministers are Uday Samant, Jaikumar Rawal and Shivendra Raje Bhosale. Formation of the committee has been facilitated as per the provisions in the Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela Authority, legislation for which was passed in July.

The committee will super- vise the planning and implementation of the Nashik Kumbh, where lakhs of devo- tees are expected to visit for the holy dip in the Godavari river. The committee is expected to facilitate the development of infrastructure, water supply, accommodation and medical facilities.

The Shiv Sena took strong objection when Mahajans name was announced as the Nashik guardian minister in January. Shindes party also opposed Aditi Tatkare as the guardian minister for Raigad, leading to a stalemate that is yet to be resolved. The Sena ‘wants Dada Bhuse and Bharat Gogawale as guardian ministers for Nashik and Raigad.

In the meantime, the NCP has staked its claim on Nashik, which has two ministers from the district — Bhujbal and Kokate. However, the BJP is in no mood to give up its claim on Nashik in view of its religious and political importance and the impending local body elections.