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Ajit Pawar Laid To Rest In Baramati With Full State Honours, Funeral Held At Vidya Pratishthan Grounds; Amit Shah, Fadnavis & Others Attend

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Mumbai: In a somber atmosphere marked by the booming of a 21-gun salute, Maharashtra’s longest-serving Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar, was laid to rest at the Vidya Pratishthan Grounds in Baramati on Thursday. The 66-year-old leader, affectionately known as ‘Ajit Dada,’ tragically passed away on Wednesday morning following a plane crash at Baramati Airport.

The final rites were performed by his sons, Parth and Jay Pawar, in the presence of his wife, Sunetra Pawar and members of the Pawar family. The funeral, conducted with full state honours, saw a massive outpouring of grief as tens of thousands of supporters from across the state descended upon his home turf of Baramati. The town, which served as both the cradle and the bastion of his four-decade political career, came to a virtual standstill.

The ceremony was attended by a galaxy of political leaders across the spectrum. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, representing the Central Government, laid a floral wreath and paid respects to the mortal remains, which were draped in the national tricolour. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, both visibly emotional, were seen also seen paying respects to the maverick leader.

Other prominent attendees included Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, NCP working president Praful Patel, MNS chief Raj Thackeray and leaders from various opposition parties, signalling a rare moment of political unity in the face of tragedy.

The funeral procession began earlier in the morning from the Katewadi residence of Ajit Pawar. The flower-decked military truck carrying the casket moved slowly through the streets of Baramati, where thousands of people lined the roads, many showering petals and shouting slogans of “Ajit Dada Amar Rahe” (Long live Ajit Dada).

The Maharashtra government, yesterday, declared a state holiday after the news broke. A three-day state mourning period, was announced later, with the national flag flying at half-mast on all official buildings.

Ajit Pawar’s death marks the end of an era in Maharashtra politics. A six-time Deputy Chief Minister, he was celebrated for his administrative bullet-speed style and his deep-rooted influence in the state’s cooperative and agricultural sectors. His untimely demise leaves a major power vacuum in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the state’s political landscape.

Mumbai Press Exclusive News

Target to complete all works of Vidya Vihar Flyover by June 25, 2026, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Project) inspects site

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Mumbai: A flyover is being constructed by the Municipal Corporation at Vidya Vihar railway station, connecting the east and west sides of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s ‘N’ zone. The entire work of the project is targeted to be completed by June 25, 2026. However, all work on the eastern side of the bridge will be completed by February 28, 2026. The process of removing the affected residential and commercial structures and re-aligning the road on the western side of the bridge should be completed immediately. Keeping in mind the monsoon, all the necessary work on the bridge should be planned to be completed before May 31, 2026. After this, efforts should be made to complete the surfacing and finishing works and open the bridge for traffic by June 25, 2026, Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar said (Projects) A flyover passing over the tracks of Vidya Vihar railway station, within the limits of the ‘N’ zone of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, is being constructed by the Bridge Department of the Municipal Corporation to connect Ram Chandra Chemburkar Marg in the east and Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg in the west with the Ghatkopar area. The flyover project also includes a main bridge of about 100 meters in length that passes over the railway tracks. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar visited the project site today (January 29, 2026) and inspected it. During the inspection, he gave necessary instructions to the concerned agencies.

The flyover, which connects Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg and Ram Chandra Chemburkar Marg, has a total of two lanes. The 650-metre-long project includes a 100-metre bridge over the railway tracks, while a 220-metre approach road is being constructed on the eastern side and a 330-metre approach road on the western side. The flyover is also providing a connecting road to the footpaths of Vidya Vihar railway station. Along with this, the railway ticket counter, station master’s office and the stairs on both sides have also been reconstructed. The pedestrian path is being connected to the by-road through stairs within the railway limits. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar said that the work on the eastern side of the flyover is currently in the final stage. All the work, including the completion of the concrete path on the eastern side and surfacing of the entire bridge, will be completed by February 28, 2026. For this, a detailed and phased planning of the work should be done. So far, the construction of six pillars on the western side has been completed. The construction of the remaining four pillars, bridge span, normal road etc. is pending. Traffic diversion during these works is a major challenge. Therefore, the road work on both sides of the bridge will be completed first to provide more space for traffic while the work is in progress. After this, the remaining works of the bridge will include removal of affected residential and commercial structures and realignment of the road. After the completion of both these processes, the flyover works will gain significant momentum. Keeping in view the upcoming monsoon, all the major essential works of the flyover should be completed by May 31, 2026, followed by surfacing and other final works. In any case, the flyover should be completed and opened for traffic by June 25, 2026.

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Crime

Rama Rao terms SIT notice to KCR in phone tapping case as ‘politics of vendetta’

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Hyderabad, Jan 29: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao has condemned SIT notice to party president and former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao in the phone tapping case and termed it as a ‘clear example of the most heinous politics of vendetta’.

Rama Rao alleged that the notice to K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) is an attempt by the Telangana government to cover up its failures and divert public attention from administrative shortcomings.

Rama Rao took to ‘X’ to react strongly to the notice issued by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to his father and BRS chief KCR.

“This is not an investigation. This is revenge. This is not justice. This is political malice,” he said.

Calling KCR a great leader, Rama Rao said he fought for statehood to Telangana with an unwavering resolve, risking his life, and ultimately achieved the goal.

Rama Rao said KCR is the leader, who through his ten-year rule, showcased Telangana to the world.

“He is a great visionary who nurtured all sections of society, treated the state like a newborn child, and led Telangana on the path of development with schemes like the irrigation revolution, Mission Bhagiratha, Mission Kakatiya, Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima, and Dalit Bandhu,” wrote the BRS Working President.

“Such a leader is now being targeted by the incompetent Congress government, which came to power on the foundation of false promises and reckless assurances. Within a year of coming to power, this government has betrayed the people and completely failed in implementing its promises,” he added.

Stating that KCR is a leader who resides in the hearts of the people of Telangana, Rama Rao said that the Congress government cannot erase the history of Telangana with notices and threats.

“If you insult the Telangana movement and the self-respect of Telangana, the people themselves will teach you a fitting lesson. We will stand by the people and continue the fight against this unjust rule as the voice of the people. The history of Telangana will not be written by investigations but by the verdict of the people,” said Rama Rao.

The SIT on Thursday issued a notice to KCR, directing him to make himself available for questioning at 3 p.m. on Friday (January 30).

The case relates to alleged tapping of phones of several political opponents, businessmen, journalists and even judges under the previous BRS government.

The SIT earlier questioned BRS leaders and former ministers Rama Rao and T. Harish Rao and former MP J. Santosh Rao.

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Crime

High-security Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat gets bomb threat email

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Chandigarh, Jan 29: The high-security Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat, guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), was evacuated on Thursday after a bomb threat email was received in the office of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), officials said.

Besides the CISF, Chandigarh Police, along with its counterparts from Punjab and Haryana, bomb squads and the Fire Brigade, were deployed in the Secretariat, which houses offices of the Chief Ministers of both states, their Cabinet colleagues and top-ranking government functionaries.

After the threat sent from an email id in the name of ‘Michael Gill’, the entire Secretariat was evacuated and thoroughly searched.

The CISF has been deployed in the Secretariat since 1995, when then Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh was killed in a bomb blast at the complex in Chandigarh, the city that serves as the joint administrative capital of Punjab and Haryana.

A day earlier, around 30 schools in the city received bomb-threat emails, causing widespread panic among the police and local administration.

As the schools, both public and private, received the email in the morning, the police were informed, and an alert was issued from the police control room within minutes.

Upon receiving the information, the bomb detection team, the operations cell, and the local police station personnel reached the schools and began searching all premises.

The threatening emails contained inflammatory and objectionable content, including the phrase “bomb blast 1.11 p.m.” The email stated: “Chandigarh is Khalistan, stop the national anthem in schools…” It also mentions the Prime Minister’s proposed visit to Dera Ballan in Punjab’s Jalandhar on February 1 to pay his respects on Guru Ravidas Jayanti.

Normalcy returned as schools remained closed for the day and parents took their children back home.

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