New Delhi, Sep 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed his greetings to the nation on Milad-un-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, expressing hopes for peace and the well-being of society.

Taking to social media platform X, the Prime Minister posted, “Best wishes on the occasion of Milad-un-Nabi. May this sacred day bring with it peace and well-being in our society. May the values of compassion, service, and justice always guide us. Eid Mubarak!”

Milad-un-Nabi, also known as Eid-e-Milad or Mawlid, is an important festival for Muslims worldwide, commemorating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju also extended his wishes on the occasion.

Taking to X, he wrote, “Greetings on Eid-E-Milad-Un-Nabi! May this Eid bring joy in everyone’s life and strengthen the bonds of unity & togetherness.”

Jammu and Kashmir L-G, Manoj Sinha also extended wishes, writing in a post on X, “Greetings to all on the auspicious occasion of Milad-un-Nabi. The life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad inspire humanity to live a life of compassion and selflessness. May his message guide us to righteous living and strengthen unity, brotherhood & peace in society. Eid Mubarak!”

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also joined in greeting people. In his post on X, he said, “Eid Milad-Un-Nabi Mubarak to everyone. May this auspicious occasion usher in peace, prosperity, and compassion, uniting everyone in a spirit of goodwill.”

The Prophet, born in Mecca around 570 CE, is remembered for his teachings of compassion, equality, and justice, which continue to inspire millions worldwide. This year, the festivities began on Thursday, September 4, and conclude on Friday, coinciding with the 12th day of Rabi’ al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar.

Milad-un-Nabi is observed with prayers, religious gatherings, and charitable activities. It is seen as a time of reflection, where followers revisit the Prophet’s message of kindness, service to humanity, and harmony. The day’s significance extends beyond celebration, it serves as a reminder of the enduring values of justice, compassion, and unity that Prophet Muhammad espoused.

Mumbai: On a rainy Thursday, food lovers were shocked when an insta post from Ranbir Batra, owner of New Yorker, the iconic Tex-Mex-Italian-Indian vegetarian restaurant at Chowpatty seaface founded by his father Tony Brar, announced that the place was downing shutters on September 11. It was a kind of 9/11 moment for the foodies.

The message came like a bolt from the blue. No reasons were given for the sudden decision. Efforts to reach out to Ranbir were in vain.

Ever since this dining place with its cool interiors opened 45 years ago, two generations of Mumbaikars had enjoyed its delectable fare. If the oldies preferred to go to Cream Centre next door for its outsized baturas and chhole, the younger generation headed for New Yorker.

In fact, taking your girlfriend to NY was an in thing in the ’80s. It was ideally sandwiched between Cafe Ideal, where you can sip your chilled lager as you watched the sunset through its glass windows, and Cream Centre which continues to be a favourite with the aunties and uncles.

In his post Ranbir said, “There is sadness as this restaurant opened a few years before I was born, close to 45 years ago…..It is due to some unforeseen and unfortunate circumstances that we have to shut our doors…but we pray this is not the end. We hope to continue to serve you some of our most popular dishes via a delivery model soon enough and then the door will always be open for New Yorker to come back in a new way. For now though, we say goodbye to this location.”

The post hints that NY may relocate to another location. There is speculation that the building may be going in for redevelopment and that is the reason for NY’s closure.

NY was justly famous for its Mexican tomato soup, Feta cheese salad, Smoky chipotle hummus, Nachos, Mexican galouti tikkis, Paneer quesadilla, Bean and cheese enchiladas, Burrito bowl, Blue Tribe Veg Sausage pizza, Pesto Genovese, Good ol’ Arrabiatta, Mucho grande pizza, burger, hot dog et al. which could be downed with Oreo thickshake, cranberry mojito or Lemon masala jeera soda.

The dessert section boasted Mexican churros, Molten choco lava cake, triple hot fudge nut sundae etc and guaranteed to make you stay away from your weighing scales.

Mumbai: In a shocking development, the crime branch (railways) has arrested a woman police officer for her alleged involvement in the Rs 10.30 lakh extortion from a garment businessman at Bandra Terminus on Monday.

Mumbai railway police chief, Rakesh Kalasagar, said, “The Bandra railway police station senior inspector Nandkumar Khadkikar and (accused cop) Vijaya Ingavale have been suspended.”

So far, four accused have nabbed, while the police said that a total eight people are involved. Ingavale has been allegedly running the extortion racket for four to five years.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) on Wednesday arrested assistant sub-inspector Vijaya Ingavale, 52, attached to the Bandra Government Railway Police station along with Nilesh Kalsulkar, 45, and Praveen Shukla, 32, who posed as fake cops and extorted the money.

Meanwhile, one Ravi Singh, 25, was detained on Thursday. Ingavale Kalsulkar’s bail plea has been rejected and she along with Shukla have been remanded to police custody till September 10, as per sources.

A police officer said that the arrested accused are well-educated. While Kalsulkar is a mechanical engineer, Shukla holds an MBA in finance and works part-time in the loan business.

A cheating case was registered against Kalsulkar 10 years ago. Along with seven other accused, the woman officer conspired to dupe passengers.

The officer said that Kalsulkar has known Ingavale for four to five years. His role was to scout for wealthy targets at Bandra Terminus. In the case, which exposed the racket, the complainant, Vikas Gupta, 31, was allegedly convinced by his friend to bring cash to exchange it with crypto and purchase electronic goods.

When Gupta arrived at Bandra Terminus, Kalsulkar and Singh, posing as police officers, approached him, while four others stood behind them. They removed money from his bag under the pretext of checking it, said the officer, adding that they later took him to the Bandra police station where Ingavale allegedly threatened him with a raid on his residence and imprisonment.

Activist Samir Zaveri said, “In a short span, one incident after another has exposed the GRP’s involvement in extortion of passengers under the pretext of baggage checking. In the Bandra Terminus case, extortion was carried out by fake cops in nexus with the real police personnel.” This new modus operandi was meant to prevent identification of the police personnel, he added.

Under the guidance of Kalasagar, crime branch senior inspector Vijya Khedkar and police inspector Rohit Sawant exposed the racket. On August 10, three police personnel allegedly extorted Rs30,000 from a jeweller at Mumbai Central. On June 13, railway police allegedly extorted Rs 5,000 from a passenger at the Vasai station.