Thane: A school van driver has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in Navi Mumbai, police said on Saturday.

Based on a complaint, the police on Thursday registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for the assault that occurred in Panvel on March 3, an official said.

About The Case

According to the police, the girl was on her way to college when the accused, who lived in her neighbourhood, lured her into his school van.

The official said the accused allegedly drove the girl to a secluded spot in Chinchwali Shivara, where he raped her.

He said the victim informed her parents about the assault on Thursday, following which the police nabbed the accused.

The man has been sent to police custody until March 18, the official added.

Baramati: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Saturday expressed concerns about farmer suicides in Marathwada and Vidarbha and said the Centre should come up with a policy to help cultivators.

Pawar’s statement comes in the backdrop of the data released by the state relief and rehabilitation department that revealed that 2,635 farmers died by suicide in Maharashtra in 2024.

“The information which has come from Marathwada and Vidarbha is worrying. We will collect accurate data from different locations. The Centre should prepare a policy to help farmers,” he told reporters in Baramati.

On speculations about NCP (SP) leader Jayant Patil crossing over to the Ajit Pawar-led party faction, the senior politician said Patil had already given his statement to the media.

Patil, the state president of NCP (SP), had earlier said nothing about him was certain, sparking the buzz that he could quit the party.

On Friday, Patil met the NCP (SP) chief at an event in Baramati and later said he was not upset and a wrong inference was taken from his statement.

The former Union agriculture minister said farming is witnessing a revolution, and artificial intelligence (AI) will soon be used in sugarcane cultivation.

“The AI technology can be used to boost the quality of sugarcane. Many sugar factories will take part in the AI farming process. A meeting is scheduled later in the day with some officials of sugar factories. A revolutionary decision will be made soon, and the use of AI in farming will begin soon,” he said.

Pawar further said that Beed, which has been in the news for the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, was once a peaceful district.

“The situation in Beed was never like this. It was once a peaceful district. As many as six people from my party were elected from Beed. However, some of them misused their power, and we are witnessing the consequences,” he said.

Mumbai, March 15: Mumbai Traffic Police launched a special campaign against those violating traffic rules on the occasion of Holi and Holika Dahan. 17,495 challans were issued in this campaign which ran for two days on March 13 and 14. The total recovery was Rs 1 crore 79 lakh 79 thousand 250. To ensure road safety during the festival, the police blocked major places in the city and took strict action against those breaking the rules.

Mumbai Police had issued guidelines for the people before Holi. It was warned that action would be taken under the Maharashtra Police Act if the rules were not followed.

In this campaign, special attention was kept on those areas where there was a possibility of traffic rules being broken. Special attention was given to violations like drunk driving, speeding, riding a bike without a helmet, carrying three passengers and breaking signals.

In two days, the traffic police caught many cases of violations. 4,949 cases of riding a bike without a helmet were reported, while action was taken against 183 people for drunk driving. 33 challans were registered for driving in the wrong direction, 992 challans for breaking the rules on one-way roads and 1,942 cases of breaking signals.

Apart from this, 425 cases of carrying three passengers and 826 people were fined for driving without a license.

Mumbai Traffic Police says that this campaign was run to maintain the safety of the people and road discipline. During the festival, ignoring the rules amid the crowd and excitement increases the risk of accidents, so strictness was necessary. The police appealed to the people to follow the rules in future, so that the roads remain safe and the festival can be enjoyed without any hassle.