Mumbai: In order to ensure hassle-free, comfortable travel & better services to all bonafide passengers over Western Railway, intensive ticket checking drives are being carried out continuously over Mumbai suburban local services, Mail/Express as well as passenger trains & holiday special trains so as to curb the menace of ticketless/irregular passengers.

The highly motivated ticket checking team under the supervision of senior commercial officers of Western Railway organized several ticket checking drives during the months of April 2024 to January, 2025, thereby recovering an amount to the tune of Rs. 117.54 Crore, which also includes Rs 38.10 Crore from Mumbai Suburban section.

According to Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, Vineet Abhishek, during the month of January, 2025, an amount of Rs 13.08 crore was recovered through detection of 2.24 lakh ticketless/irregular passengers, including unbooked luggage cases.

Also, in the month of January, WR realized fines amounting to Rs 4.13 crore through detection of 98 thousand cases over Mumbai Suburban section. To prevent unauthorized entry in AC local trains, frequent surprise ticket checking drives are carried out.

As a result of these drives almost 52,000 unauthorized passengers have been penalized from April 2024 to January, 2025 and over Rs. 172 lakh collected in fines. Western Railway appeals to the general public to travel with proper and valid tickets.

Mumbai, Feb 6: In a setback for NCP leader and Maharashtra’s Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dhananjay Munde, the Bandra Family Court has directed him to pay Rs 2 lakh per month as interim maintenance to Karuna Sharma, his live-in partner. The ruling comes amid growing calls for his resignation over the murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh from Beed district.

The court issued the order in response to Karuna Sharma’s petition under the Domestic Violence Act, in which she sought Rs 15 lakh in monthly maintenance from Munde who had previously admitted to a past live-in relationship with Sharma and acknowledged their children, which served as the basis for the ruling.

As Munde was recovering from eye surgery, his lawyer Sayali Sawant issued a press note clarifying the order. “The court’s directive pertains solely to interim maintenance based on financial considerations. It does not imply any adverse findings against my client regarding allegations of violence. The order was passed purely on the financial needs of the applicants,” the statement said.

The relevant portion of the court order states, “Considering the basic needs of Applicant No 1 and No 3, their income, and the lifestyle of the respondent, I am of the opinion that they are entitled to maintenance under Section 20 of the Domestic Violence Act. Therefore, an interim maintenance amount of Rs 1,25,000 per month to Applicant No 1 and Rs 75,000 per month to Applicant No 3 from the Respondent is sufficient.”

Reacting to the verdict, an emotional Sharma welcomed the order but expressed dissatisfaction with the amount granted. “I do not accept this verdict. I will appeal to the Bombay High Court seeking Rs 15 lakh per month. My house rent alone is Rs 1.70 lakh, and maintenance is only Rs 30,000. My son is unemployed. How can I manage with just Rs 2 lakh? I have been fighting this battle alone for three years, even selling my jewelry to survive,” she said.

Sharma further claimed victory in securing recognition as Munde’s wife. “I should no longer be called Karuna Sharma but Karuna Dhananjay Munde. The court has given me the status of the first wife, and my fight for the Munde name has been successful,” she asserted.

Karuna Sharma also declared her intent to claim Munde’s assets. “I will fight for all of Dhananjay Munde’s property, which has been illegally registered in the name of his second wife, Rajshree. I was not informed when he remarried. I was in Indore at the time,” she alleged.

In a shocking revelation, Sharma accused Walmik Karad, a close associate of Dhananjay Munde who is currently in jail for the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, of assaulting her. “Karad had beaten me and touched me inappropriately,” she alleged.

Sharma also spoke about the emotional toll of her struggle. “I have had suicidal thoughts. My mother took her own life, but when I think of her, I stop myself. If she were alive, I wouldn’t have to fight alone,” she said.

Mumbai: The parents of Badlapur sexual assault accused Akshay Shinde, killed in an alleged encounter with police, told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that they no longer want to fight the case concerning his death.

Shinde’s parents made the appeal before the division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale which is hearing their petition related to their son’s custodial death.

The petition has been filed by Shinde’s father, Anna Shinde, alleging that police killed his son in a fake encounter.

At the end of the proceedings on Thursday, the couple approached the bench and said they were not keen on pursuing the case and wanted it to be closed.

The couple said they were under no pressure from anyone and made the statement on their own.

Badlapur School Assault Accused Killed In Alleged Police Encounter

Akshay Shinde (24) was accused of sexually assaulting two minor girls inside the toilet of a school in Badlapur town of Thane district last year. He was an attendant at the school. He was killed in an alleged encounter with the police while being taken in a van from Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison to Thane for questioning.

A magisterial inquiry report submitted to the court last month held five cops – senior inspector Sanjay Shinde (Thane crime branch), assistant inspector Nilesh More, head constables Abhijeet More, Harish Tawade and police van driver Satish Khatal – responsible for Shinde’s death.

In his report, submitted in a sealed cover, magistrate Ashok Shengde noted that the “contention raised by the police personnel of right to private or self-defence comes under a shadow of suspicion” due to evidence and other circumstances.

Advocate Amit Desai, appearing for Maharashtra, sought the HC’s direction on Thursday to access some material considered by the magistrate for the inquiry into the alleged encounter.

He told the court that the material was not with the police as the magistrate had recorded the statements of witnesses separately. The police investigation into the matter is not over and they are in a better position to analyse the material, Desai told the court.

The matter will be heard further on Friday.