Thane: Mumbai Metro activities have officially begun in the eastern suburbs. On August 25, the first trial train coaches were lifted and placed on the tracks near Anand Nagar in Thane, starting from midnight. Trial runs are expected to commence in September 2025.

These are not the final trains, but they match the final specifications. The rolling stock (train) contract for Mumbai Metro Green Line 4 and 4A was awarded in February 2025 to a joint venture of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Alstom, as reported by Midday.

A 10.5-km stretch covering 10 stations from Gaimukh to Cadbury Junction, which includes Line 4A and part of Line 4, is expected to open by February 2026. This will be the longest among the partial launches. The stations on this stretch include: Cadbury, Majiwada, Kapurbawadi, Manpada, Tikuji-ni-Wadi, Dongari Pada, Vijay Garden, Kasarvadavali, Gowaniwada, and Gaimukh, as reported.

In other news related to Mumbai Metro, in view of the upcoming Ganeshotsav celebrations, the Aqua Line Metro, also known as Metro Line 3, will extend its operational hours till midnight from August 27 to September 6. During this period, services will run daily from 6:30 AM to 12:00 AM, ensuring smooth travel for devotees and commuters throughout the festivities.

Currently, a 22 km stretch between Aarey (JVLR) and Worli is operational. The entire corridor spans 33 km, with the final phase up to Cuffe Parade (Colaba) slated to open soon.

Currently, trial runs are ongoing, and the remaining stretch is awaiting certification from the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) before commercial operations can commence.

Palghar: Another shocking incident of a teacher sexually assaulting a teen student has come forward from Palghar. Authorities have taken a teacher into custody for supposedly assaulting a 16-year-old female student at a private tutoring centre in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, an official stated on Monday.

As per the victim’s report, the 42-year-old suspect, a Chemistry instructor at the coaching centre in the Nalla Sopara region, summoned her for an additional class on Saturday afternoon and took her to his office at the facility, where he purportedly assaulted her, the official stated, as reported by PTI.

The following day, the instructor tried to photograph the victim in class, but she evaded it, stated the official from Nalla Sopara police station. Her parents soon reached the class, seized the accused, and delivered him to the police. The victim claimed that the accused had previously made advances toward her as well, PTI reported.

According to the complaint, the suspect was apprehended on Sunday and charged under section 74 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intention to insult her modesty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with clauses of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the police reported.

Another Incident

A 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped multiple times by five individuals over three months in central Mumbai. Police arrested a 25-year-old man and detained four juveniles related to the case. The situation came to light when the girlfriend of one accused confronted the victim.

After her parents checked her phone and discovered videos and messages about the relationship, they reported the matter to the police. A case was filed against the accused under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday dubbed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi as a “serial liar” while rejecting the latter’s allegations of “vote theft” against the BJP.

These “lies” of the opposition leaders are only meant to convince themselves, Fadnavis told reporters here

“I have said it earlier also that Rahul Gandhi is a serial liar. He has been spreading lies relentlessly. It pains me to see that even some leaders from Maharashtra have suddenly realised that Rahul Gandhi is speaking the truth,” he said.

Responding to Gandhi’s charge that votes were “stolen” by the BJP, CM Fadnavis said false information never has any foundation.

“A fort built on lies crashes. Unless they realise that to win the votes of people, one has to go to the people and earn their trust, their lies are only meant to convince themselves,” the senior BJP leader said.

Gandhi has alleged that votes were stolen in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana, and that attempts were being made to “steal” votes of the people in Bihar, ahead of the upcoming assembly polls there, by the ruling BJP at the Centre in collusion with the Election Commission.

Some of the other opposition parties, including the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT), have also raised the issue of “vote theft” and asked their party workers to check the electoral rolls to assess bogus voters.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has also said he had been talking about “vote theft” since 2016, and the Election Commission should have conducted a probe when both Rahul Gandhi and BJP leader Anurag Thakur alleged voter list fraud.

CM Fadnavis on Sunday said leaders alleging vote theft were doing so to provide solace to their workers for their defeat in polls instead of introspecting about their loss.