Maharashtra
Congress to begin probe into MLAs’ cross-voting in Maharashtra MLC polls
Senior Congress leader Mohan Prakash will reach Mumbai on Saturday for a two-day probe into the alleged cross-voting by party legislators during the Maharashtra Legislative Council biennial elections held on June 20, officials said here on Friday.
He will also examine the chain of events concerning the vote of confidence by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in which 11 Congress MLAs were absent in the special cession of the Maharashtra Legislature held on July 3-4.
A former AICC General Secretary In-Charge of Maharashtra, Prakash is well-versed with the state Congress’s faction-ridden politics and is expected to submit his report to the party high command for necessary action and remedial measures next week.
For the 10 MLC seats, the Congress had fielded two candidates – Chandrakant Handore and Bhai Jagtap – with calculations in their favour given the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi strength then.
In the hotly-contested polls, the first candidate Handore was trounced while Jagtap emerged the surprise winner, proving to be a huge loss of face for the party.
A prominent Dalit leader and ex-minister, Handore is the Working President of state Congress, while Jagtap is the Mumbai Congress President.
The party has taken the embarrassing debacle of its first-choice candidate (Handore) – who secured less than the allotted votes – very seriously in the MLC polls, said party officials.
Prakash is slated to meet top leaders including state Congress President Nana Patole, Handore and Jagtap, other senior leaders and legislators, jointly or individually to get to the bottom of the cross-voting mystery.
An office-bearer said the party will find out who was responsible for Handore’s defeat considering the MVA’s numerical strength which could have ensured victory for both Handore and Jagtap easily.
Soon after the elections, ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan and ex-Minister Naseem Khan besides Handore had demanded a probe into the cross-voting fracas, while Patole met Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal in Delhi.
Prakash will also discuss the chain of events leading to the collapse of the MVA, the “absenteeism” of the 11 Congress MLAs during CM Shinde’s vote of confidence on July 4, and whether they comprised the 7 suspected of cross-voting in the MLC polls.
The absentees included MLAs Jitesh Antapurkar who was busy with his (own) wedding and Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde was abroad, besides Ashok Chavan, Vijay Wadettiwar, Dheeraj Vilasrao Deshmukh, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Shirish Chaudhary, Madhavrao Javalgaonkar, Kunal Patil, Raju Awale, and Mohan Hambarde.
Crime
Baba Siddique Murder: Accused Pravin Lonkar, Brother Of Shubham Lonkar, Sent To Police Custody Till Oct 21
Pravin Lonkar, one of the accused in Baba Siddique murder case, was sent to police custody till 21 October. Pravin was arrested from Pune on Sunday and is the brother of accused Shubham Lonkar who put up the Facebook post claiming Lawrence Bishnoi gang was behind the attack.
Lonkar was produced before the Esplanade Court after a medical checkup on Monday (October 14).
Pravin Lonkar was arrested on Sunday (October 13). Meanwhile, a total of 6 accused have been identified in Baba Siddique firing case.
The three accused who opened fire at NCP leader Baba Siddique that resulted in his death have been identified as Gurnail Singh (23) from Haryana, Dharmaraj Kashyap from UP and Shivkumar Gautam from Uttar Pradesh.
While Gurnail Singh was arrested and sent to judicial custody on Sunday (October 13) till October 21, Dharmaraj Kashyap claimed in the court that he is a minor. The court ordered police to carry out an Ossification (age verification) test of accused Dharmaraj and present him in the court later.
The third accused Shivkumar Gautam is on the run and police teams have been formed to nab him. Mohammed Zeeshan Akhtar from Jalandhar has also been identified as an accused in the case.
Baba Siddique Shot Dead
Former Bandra MLA and Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique was shot dead in Bandra east on Saturday night while he was returning from his MLA son Zeeshan Siddique’s office.
Six rounds were shot at Baba Siddique out of which three bullets hit him. The NCP leader was rushed to Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital, however, he had no pulse. Siddique was declared dead two hours later. Baba Siddique was laid to rest with state honours on Sunday (October 13) at the Bada Qabristan in Marine Lines.
Maharashtra
Mumbai: Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray Admitted To Reliance Hospital, To Undergo Tests To Identify Blockages In Heart, Arteries
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was admitted to Reliance Hospital in Mumbai on Monday to undergo tests to identify blockages in his heart and arteries, with angiography likely to follow.
It has been said that Thackeray was not feeling well since the Dussehra rally held on October 12 where he gave a fiery speech attacking the ruling Mahauti government and the Centre.
Earlier in 2016, Thackeray was discharged from the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai where he underwent angiography.
Thackeray underwent the procedure in a follow-up to the angioplasty which he had had on July 20, 2012, when doctors put in 8 stents to remove the constrictions for multiple blockages in three main arteries in his heart.
The former Maharashtra CM underwent a second angioplasty in November 2012 to remove the blockages in the left anterior descending artery (LAD), which was blocked by almost 60 per cent.
Crime
Mumbai: MNS Worker Brutally Beaten To Death In Front Of Parents & Wife In Malad
Mumbai: A tragic incident has unfolded in Malad, where a middle-aged man was brutally beaten by a mob leading to his death. As per initial reports, the victim was a member of Maharashtra Navnirma Sena (MNS). The man met with an altercation with autorickshaw drivers in Malad East and the verbal spat soon turned into violence.
It can be seen in the video that the man been brutally trashed in front his his family. In a desperate bid to protect him, his mother lay over his body to protect him from the angry mob. His father was to severely injured on his left eye.
The altercation began as a dispute over over-taking between the bike rider and an auto-rickshaw driver, however, it escalated in no time and other autorickshaw drivers too joined the fight. Reportedly, the incident took place on October 12 and the victim was taken to nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
There is not information available at the time of filing this copy if police have registered a case.
-
Crime2 years ago
Class 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra1 week ago
Mumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra3 weeks ago
False photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
Bollywood1 year ago
Jawan Leaked Online! Shah Rukh Khan’s Film Falls Prey To Piracy Within Hours Of Release
-
National News3 weeks ago
J&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface
-
Bollywood4 weeks ago
Aditya Roy Kapur, Anil Kapoor’s The Night Manager Gets Nominated In Emmys 2024
-
International1 year ago
Asia Cup 2023: Body Blow For Sri Lanka As Lead Spinner Likely To Miss Final Against India
-
Maharashtra1 month ago
Nair Hospital Dean obstructed implementation of POSH law, didn’t co-operate, says BMC’s POSH committee