Navi Mumbai, Dec 27: In a shocking and disturbing incident from Navi Mumbai, a woman allegedly murdered her six-year-old daughter because the child could not speak Marathi, sending shockwaves across the city.

The police have arrested the mother in connection with the case after attempts were made to pass off the child’s death as a heart attack.

The incident came to light after the police grew suspicious of the circumstances surrounding the child’s death and ordered a post-mortem examination, which revealed that the girl had died due to asphyxiation.

Following intensive questioning, the truth behind the incident was uncovered.

The heart-wrenching crime was reported from the Kalamboli suburb of Navi Mumbai. In Gurusankalp Housing Society in Sector-1, Kalamboli, the 30-year-old woman allegedly strangled her own six-year-old daughter to death.

The Kalamboli police have arrested the woman and initiated further investigation into the matter.

According to information provided by the police, the family consisted of an IT engineer husband and his wife, who holds a B.Sc. degree. The couple got married in 2017 and welcomed their daughter in 2019.

However, from a very young age, the child reportedly had difficulty speaking and mostly communicated in Hindi instead of Marathi.

This reportedly became a recurring source of anger for the mother. During the investigation, it emerged that she often expressed resentment about the child’s speech, repeatedly telling her husband, “I don’t want such a child; she doesn’t speak properly.”

The husband, police said, had tried to reason with her on several occasions.

On the night of December 23, the woman allegedly decided to kill the child. Coincidentally, the grandmother had visited the house that day, but could not meet the girl.

Later, when the husband returned home and found the child unresponsive, the family rushed her to the hospital.

At the hospital, an initial claim was made that the child had suffered a heart attack. However, Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Kote of Kalamboli Police Station found the circumstances surrounding the death suspicious and ordered a post-mortem examination.

The preliminary medical report indicated obstruction of the airway, pointing towards asphyxiation.

Following this revelation, the police subjected the parents to sustained questioning. After nearly six hours of interrogation, the mother allegedly confessed to strangling her daughter.

She has since been arrested in connection with the crime.

It has also come to light during the investigation that the woman was undergoing treatment with a psychiatrist.

The police are continuing their probe to ascertain all aspects related to the case and the mental condition of the accused.

New Delhi, Dec 27: Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday chaired a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi.

The high-level meeting, which is currently underway, is being attended by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and several senior leaders of the party.

Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, senior Congress leader Harish Rawat, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, former MP Salman Khurshid, MPs Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Rajeev Shukla are among the prominent leaders present at the deliberations.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor was also seen attending the meeting, despite his recent remarks that reportedly did not align well with the party’s official stance.

Congress leader Harish Rawat called the meeting “very important”. Speaking to the reporters, he said, “One cannot even imagine that in independent India, Mahatma Gandhi’s name could be removed from the MGNREGA. This is a completely unacceptable decision.”

Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily, said, “Very important issues concerning the nation will be discussed.”

According to sources, the CWC is expected to deliberate on the party’s strategy for launching a major movement against the VB G-RAM-G Act.

Discussions on the National Herald case, issues concerning the Aravalli region, and other key political matters are also likely to feature prominently during the meeting.

Meanwhile, amid the crucial CWC deliberations, a group of around a dozen protesters gathered outside the AICC headquarters in Delhi, demanding that Karnataka’s current Home Minister G. Parameshwara be appointed as the next Chief Minister of the state.

The protesters raised slogans and displayed posters in an attempt to draw the attention of the Congress high command.

The posters called for the elevation of Dalit leadership, with protesters asserting that the time had come to bring a Dalit Chief Minister to the forefront in Karnataka.

New Delhi, Dec 27: Punjab National Bank (PNB) has declared a Rs 2,434 crore alleged loan fraud by the former promoters of Srei Equipment Finance and Srei Infrastructure Finance.

In a late evening exchange filing, the state-run PNB said that “Pursuant to the applicable provisions of SEBI (LODFR) Regulations, 2015 and the Bank’s Policy for determining materiality of events/information required to be reported to the Stock Exchanges, it is hereby informed that the bank has reported borrowal fraud to RBI against the erstwhile promoters of Srei Equipment Finance and Srei Infrastructure Finance”.

PNB said that of the total fraudulent borrowings, Rs 1,240.94 crore is related to Srei Equipment Finance and the remaining Rs 1,193.06 crore is related to Srei Infrastructure Finance.

The public sector lender also said it has 100 per cent provisions for these loans. The bank said the declaration of these two accounts as frauds is based on a forensic audit, which pointed to irregularities such as loans to connected parties and potential evergreening of loans.

However, Srei group has challenged the forensic audit report as the basis for the fraud classification, noting the matter is subjudice.

Other banks such as Punjab & Sind Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Union Bank of India have also earlier declared a loan fraud in connection with Srei companies.

The Srei group has been undergoing an insolvency resolution process since 2021, and the National Company Law Tribunal has approved a resolution plan submitted by the National Asset Reconstruction Company in 2023. The Srei group was sent to the NCLT by the Reserve Bank in October 2021 after it had found governance issues and defaults and the regulator superseded the boards of Srei Infrastructure Finance and Srei Equipment Finance.

In February 2023, NARCL emerged as the successful bidder for SIFL and SEFL which together owed Rs 32,750 crore to lenders. NARCL won the bid in February 2023, got the NCLT approval in August 2023, and finalised the acquisition by January 2024.