Mumbai: Faheem Khan is the mastermind and responsible for the communal violence in Nagpur over the demand to remove the tomb of Aurangzeb (Rahmatullah ‘Alaihi). This has been revealed in the FIR lodged with the police. According to the FIR, Faheem Khan had instigated the crowd and also lodged a complaint against the demonstration of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, but the crowd gathered again in the evening and violence broke out. To instigate the crowd, he had said that the police is with them and is not doing anything, after which the crowd became violent.

Faheem Khan is also the city president of the Minority Democratic Party. 38-year-old Faheem Khan is also accused of instigating the crowd and gheraoing the police station. He gathered the crowd and then led it. 5 FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence in Nagpur. One FIR has also been registered against the protesters of Vishwa Hindu Parishad Bajrang Dal. So far 51 people have been arrested after the Nagpur violence. Along with this, curfew has been imposed in Nagpur after the violence. In such a situation, the police has also started a search operation.

The search operation and one-sided arrests have created an atmosphere of fear and panic in Muslim localities. Muslims and local people have alleged that the police is forcibly entering homes and conducting search operations and there are also allegations of one-sided arrest of Muslim youth.

When Nagpur Police Commissioner Ravinder Singhal was questioned in this regard, he denied all the allegations and justified the police action and said that the situation was peaceful after the violence that took place, but tension remains. Ravinder Singhal was asked whether communal violence broke out in Nagpur due to delay in filing FIR for spreading religious hatred? On this, he said that whatever action the police has taken, it has been done within the stipulated time. The situation is peaceful, but curfew is still in force and the police is fully alert.

Mumbai: Eligibility of slum dwellers, known as a complex and tedious process, will henceforth be automated, thanks to a decision by the state government.

About The Decision

The determination of the eligibility of slum dwellers is an important step before deciding on the slum rehabilitation project where the owner of the slum gets a free housing unit as per the state government policy. The additional collectors for the city, eastern suburbs, and western suburbs officiated as the competent authorities to issue Annexure II – after thorough verification of the documents of the slum dwellers. Before issuing Annexure II, the competent authority surveys the slums.

It checks various documents such as the electricity bill, voter card issued by the Election Commission of India, sale deed of the slum if the previous occupant has sold it, Aadhar card, and gumasta license issued by the civic body. The process of verifying documents has been time-consuming and can be manipulated, says the order (GR) issued by the state housing department.

In an effort to speed up the time-consuming process process, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) took the help of GIS mapping for the biometric survey of the slum dwellers. With its help, the SRA has made the process of verification of documents for Annexure II automated. Approving the automated Annexure II process, the state government has directed the SRA, MHADA, MMRDA, and the BMC to use the automated process to issue Annexure II.

While issuing the directions the state has warned the concerned officers of disciplinary action for any failure in using the process. If any competent officer issues Annexure II with the existing manual process he will face a pay cut equal to the expenditure of the old process, the state has warned.

Mumbai, March 19: NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday defended the comparison of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, stating that their governing styles bear similarities.

Amid the ongoing demand for the removal of Aurangzeb’s grave, the opposition in Maharashtra has intensified its attacks on the government, drawing parallels between the Mughal emperor’s rule and Fadnavis’s leadership.

Speaking to media, Pawar explained, “Aurangzeb’s governance favoured the powerful, whereas Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj believed in uplifting society without any discrimination — a philosophy we (NCP-SP) follow.”

He further argued that the current administration prioritises contractors over common people.

“If we compare governing styles, this government appears to be only for contractors and is doing nothing for the common man. That is why, in terms of style, this government can be compared to Aurangzeb’s rule,” he said.

Pawar also strongly condemned the recent violence in Nagpur, calling it a “government-sponsored” incident.

He pointed out that both the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister had acknowledged the violence as a pre-planned event, which, according to him, suggests an intelligence failure.

“If such incidents keep happening and people lose their lives, who will be held responsible? If it wasn’t an intelligence failure and the violence still occurred, then it was government-sponsored,” Pawar said.

He demanded the government clarify whether the unrest was due to a lapse in intelligence or not. “Anyone involved in stone-pelting or contributing to violence in any way should be identified and jailed,” he added.

The NCP-SP leader further alleged that the Nagpur violence was orchestrated to divert public attention from pressing issues affecting ordinary citizens.

“Farmers are struggling, unemployed youth face uncertainty, and women’s safety remains a concern, yet no one is addressing these issues. The government is doing nothing for them. Now, public resentment is growing. To divert attention from these real problems, they raised the Aurangzeb and Chhatrapati Shivaji issue out of nowhere, and then the violence followed,” he said.