Mira Bhayandar: The Mira Road police are on the lookout for a 41-year-old caretaker who brutally assaulted a 78-year-old senior citizen at his apartment in Mira Road in an inebriated state.

The senior citizen-Chandrakant Shinde and his 74-year-old wife Madhuri stay in the Hatkesh area of Mira Road. Shinde who has retired from the Indian Railways is bedridden since he suffered a paralytic stroke on 11, July.

To take care of his bedridden father, his son who lives in Pen had hired the caretaker identified as- Babula Raghunath Naahak (41) through Prakash Nursing Home Bureau-an agency operating from the Marve Road area in Malad (west). Naahak joined work on 24, August.

The incident was reported at around 11 pm on 27, September when Shinde was alone in the house. Naahak, who was in a highly inebriated state, started tossing the chairs and other household furniture. Irate over being stopped, Naahak mounted a violent attack on Shinde by climbing over him and raining blows on his face, chest and legs.

Before fleeing the spot, he also threatened Shinde of killing his wife if he revealed about the incident to anybody. Upon returning, Shinde’s wife was shocked to find him in a badly injured state. She immediately informed one of their neighbours who called their family doctor.

After first aid treatment, Shinde who suffered multiple injuries all over his body was admitted to a nearby hospital. The chest CT scan reports detected rib fractures which according to doctors may need surgical stabilization.

It has been alleged that the police took their own sweet time to register an offence apparently due to jurisdictional confusion in such a sensitive and horrific crime against a bedridden senior citizen.

“Since the senior citizen had been brutally assaulted, we were waiting for the medical reports so that appropriate and stringent sections of the BNS could be inked in the FIR. We immediately summoned the operator of the nursing agency and questioned him about the accused. We have launched a man hunt and the accused will be behind the bars soon.” clarified senior police inspector of the Mira Road police station- Chandrakant Sarode.

Meanwhile an offence under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS ) for voluntarily causing grievous hurt and criminal intimidation was registered on 28, September against the accused who is said to be a resident of Borivali, but is now absconding.

The incident also raises a serious question mark on the operations of manpower supply agencies who recruit personnel without due care of verifying their antecedents. In this particular case, the accused would regularly come to the house in a drunken stupor, abuse and assault the elderly couple who were forced to endure the ordeal owing to their age and feeble state.

Mumbai: On September 30, 2024, The Airport Commissionerate, Mumbai, Zone-III, on profiling intercepted a passenger who arrived from Bangkok and seized 1346 grams of suspected Ganja (Marijuana) with an estimated provisional value of ₹1.34 Crore.

The contraband was ingeniously packed in vacuum-sealed packets and further concealed inside food packets, which were placed inside a trolley bag carried by the passenger.

This diligent effort culminated in the arrest of the passenger under the NDPS Act, 1985, for possession and attempted smuggling of narcotic substance.

The Airport Commissionerate remains committed to maintaining stringent security measures and ensuring the safety and well-being of the citizens by curbing such illegal activities.

Mumbai: Congress has launched a ‘Laapataa Ladies’ campaign, inspired by the Kiran Rao-directed film of the same name, to highlight the Eknath Shinde government’s performance on women’s safety in the lead-up to the Maharashtra elections.

Posters featuring the words ‘Laapataa Ladies’ have reportedly appeared across the state, accompanied by the alarming statistic, ‘64,000 women missing in a year,’ in Marathi. These posters also include silhouettes that resemble Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

The movie Laapataa Ladies, released last year, received widespread praise for its critique of patriarchy delivered through a comedic lens. It has since been selected as India’s official entry for the Oscars. Congress’ use of the film’s title shows the party’s message about the government’s inability to protect women.

Campaign Specifically Targets Devendra Fadnavis

This campaign follows the recent case of sexual abuse of two schoolgirls in Badlapur, which has sparked outrage across the state. Congress’ campaign specifically targets Devendra Fadnavis, who is responsible for the Home portfolio in the state government. During an Assembly session in August of the previous year, Fadnavis acknowledged that 10 percent of the women who go missing in Maharashtra do not return home.

He stated, “Women’s safety is a cause of concern for the country. In Maharashtra, around 64,000 girls and women go missing every year. During the Covid years of 2019 and 2020, the number was consistent, and in 2021, 61,000 cases were registered. While 87 percent of them returned home in 2021, in 2022, the percentage was 86%. We are working to reduce these numbers further.” The Congress has seized upon these figures to criticize the current government’s record on women’s safety.

Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana Introduced For Women

In response to the growing focus on women’s safety and to appeal to female voters, the state government has launched the ‘Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’. This program offers financial assistance of ₹1,500 per month to eligible women aged 21-65, provided their family’s income is less than ₹2.5 lakh annually.

Tough Fight In Crucial Upcoming Polls

The upcoming election is expected to be a challenging battle between the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance and the Opposition’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), composed of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the MVA performed strongly, winning 30 of Maharashtra’s 48 seats, and will aim to build on this momentum. Meanwhile, the ruling coalition will seek to regain ground in the upcoming state elections.