Maharashtra
Mumbai Schools Survey 2022
The Free Press Journal’s Mumbai School Survey awards event at St Regis Hotel on December 12, 2022, was one glittering event attended by the intelligentsia of the school academic space. Principals, directors, teachers, and coordinators whose schools shone were awarded trophies to mark their dominance in various parameters, previously laid out by the Survey.
The Chief Guest for this gala function was Deepak Kesarkar, Cabinet Minister (Education Ministry), the Guest of Honour was Mr Keki Mistry, Vice-Chairman, and CEO of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), and L’invite d’honneur was Mr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-founder and Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group. Below are the awardees and their beaming faces only go to prove how dazzling this celebration was.
The Cabinet minister for Ministry for Education (and other portfolios) was the Chief Guest at the Mumbai Schools Awards 2022. Excited to be part of this elite group, the minister made several important announcements exclusive to the academicians and the newspaper. Among other announcements, the minister declared that skill education will now be imparted from Standard 6 onwards. Mr. Kesarkar handed over the awards to the schools mentioned below:
- Cathedral and John Connon School
- Garodia International Centre for Learning Mumbai
- Jankidevi Public School, Mumbai
- Mumbai Public School Hariyali Village CBSE School, Vikhroli
- Narayana eTechno School, Thane
- N.L. Dalmia High School
- St. Anne’s High School, Fort, Mumbai
- St. Xavier’s High School, Fort, Mumbai
- SVKM’s CNM School & N.D. Parekh Pre-primary School
- The Somaiya School
- Trinity International School
- Vagad Pace Global School
- VIBGYOR High, Airoli
- VIBGYOR High, Kharghar
- VIBGYOR High, Malad East
- Villa Theresa High School
Keki Mistry, the CEO and Vice Chairman of the Housing Development Finance Corporation was the Chief Guest and a happy one too. He declared that The National Education Policy (NEP) would be a game changer in reforming our education sector. “The policy encourages holistic development at all levels including pre-schools, schools, and higher education,” he affirmed before he gave away the below list of awards. Farzana Contractor, Editor and Publisher of UpperCrust, India’s popular food, wine and travel magazine and Dogs & More gave away the awards along with Mr Mistry:
- Aditya Birla World Academy
- Bai Avabai Petit Girls’ High School Bandra West, Mumbai
- Billabong High International School, Juhu
- Bombay Cambridge International School, Andheri East
- Bombay International School
- Bombay Scottish School, Mahim
- Bombay Scottish School, Powai
- DAV Public School, Thane
- Don Bosco High School, Matunga
- D Y Patil International School, Worli
- Gopi Birla Memorial School
- Lodha World School, LSG
- Oberoi International School
- R N Podar School
- Utpal Shanghvi Global School & PPS International Junior College
The L’invite d’honneur for that evening was Mr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-founder and Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group. Mr Hiranandani who is closely associated with the Education space was highly pleased with the way technology is shaping students’ lives. He also mentioned that receiving the Free Press Journal’s Whatsapp edition was possibly the most convenient way of keeping abreast with news happenings first thing in the morning. Mr Hinandani was delighted to give away awards to the schools listed below:
- Campion School
- Dhirubhai Ambani International School
- HVB GLOBAL ACADEMY
- Jamnabai Narsee School, Mumbai
- JBCN International School, Borivali
- Mahatma School of Academics and Sports
- Maneckji Cooper Education Trust School
- OES International School Vashi
- Pawar Public School, Bhandup
- Podar Jumbo Kids
- St.Stanislaus High School, Bandra (W)
- Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School ,Thane
Presenters Wang Yanhua, Deputy Consul General, China Consulate Mumbai, Joanna Irzyk, Wife of Polish Consul General in Mumbai and Ramesh Narayan, Director, Strategy of AFAA also gave awards to schools:
- Ascend International School
- Beacon High
- Bombay Cambridge International School,Andheri (West)
- Children’s Academy, Ashok Nagar
- Children’s Academy Malad
- D.G. Khetan International School, Malad
- Diamond Jubilee High School, ICSE, Mumbai
- Dr Pillai Global Academy, Borivali
- Dr. S. Radhakrishnan International School
- JBCN International School, Chembur
- JBCN International School, Parel
- Kashmirilal Mehra Uttari Bharat Sabha English Primary School, Bhandup West
- Meridian School
- Nahar International School, Mumbai
Another set of presenters Ryan Pereira, Regional Head, United States – India Educational Foundation (USIEF), Yogesh Dhingra, Founder and Director of CourseLeap Education and Consultant to various international schools and Deepali Naair, CMO, IBM gave away the awards to the schools mentioned below:
- OES International School, Andheri
- Orchids The International School, Borivali
- Orchids The International School, Dombivali
- Orchids The International School, Seawoods
- Orchids The International School, Thane
- Pawar Public School, Dombivali
- Pinnacle High International School
- Podar International School, Ambernath
- Podar International School, Powai
- Podar International School (Cambridge International), Kalyan
- Podar International School – Mira Road
- Podar International School Nerul
- Rbk Global School Bhayander
- Rustomjee Cambridge International School
- Shishuvan English Medium School
Crime
Mumbai Police Anti-Narcotics Cell Seizes Drugs Worth ₹2.21 Crore; Nigerian National Arrested In Khar

Mumbai: The Anti-Narcotics Cell (Worli Unit) seized 45 ecstasy pills worth Rs 2.21 crore. The ANC booked on April 17 Eze Ezekiel Njoku, 39, a Nazeriam citizen for allegedly possessed drugs.
The police said the Anti-Narcotics Cell’s Worli Unit, a police team was patrolling the Western Regional Division on the evening of April 16 on the instructions of senior officers. At around 11:15 pm, near the rear side of the ‘Sea Sand’ building on Shirley Rajan Road in Khar West, they noticed a foreign national behaving suspiciously. On seeing the police vehicle, he attempted to flee but was chased, intercepted, and detained.
During interrogation, the accused identified himself as Ije Ezekiel Njoku. He admitted that he was carrying cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy) pills in a blue side-pouch bag, which he intended to sell. A search conducted in the presence of independent witnesses led to the seizure of 213 grams of cocaine and 45 MDMA (ecstasy) pills weighing 24 grams.
The seized cocaine is estimated to be worth ₹2.14 crore, while the ecstasy pills are valued at ₹7.20 lakh, taking the total value of the contraband to ₹2.21 crore.
Police also recovered a Nigerian passport, visa, ₹400 in cash, and an iPhone from the accused. He is a resident of Nalasopara (East). All procedures under the NDPS Act were followed during the operation. A case has been registered at Khar Police Station, and further investigation is underway.
Maharashtra
Mumbai Local Train Chaos! Mega Block Disrupts Central Line; Passengers Seen Walking On Tracks At Kopar, Thakurli

Mumbai: Commuters faced major disruption on the Central Railway on Sunday as it carried out a mega block between Thane and Dombivli for platform extension work. As the block did not halt at Kopar and Thakurli stations, visuals showed commuters walking along the railway tracks to reach their destinations, risking their lives.
Visuals shared by media showed a huge crowd of frustrated passengers walking on the tracks. According to the report, for passengers’ safety, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Police have been deployed in the area.
Central Railway has announced a special power block on the Thane–Dombivli section on the Up and Down local lines from midnight to 10:00 am between April 18 and 19. During this block, trains will not halt at Kopar and Thakurli stations, affecting passengers travelling through this stretch.
Meanwhile, this came just a week after the local train services on Western Railway were disrupted for nearly five hours after an overhead equipment (OHE) breakdown occurred on the down-through line between Bhayandar and Naigaon. The incident delayed suburban train services on both fast and slow lines, stranding thousands of daily commuters during peak hours. Passengers were fumed as trains were running 40-45 minutes late. Videos circulating online showed several commuters walking along railway tracks after being stranded in a halted train.
Crime
NESCO Concert Drug Deaths Case: Mumbai Police Arrests Nigerian National, Seizes Cocaine & MDMA Worth Crores In Khar Raid

Mumbai: In a major breakthrough, Mumbai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell arrested a Nigerian national in Khar and seized cocaine worth crores along with a large quantity of MDMA tablets during a raid linked to the NESCO drugs party case. The case pertains to the drug case linked to the deaths of two youths at a concert in the NESCO Centre.
The arrest comes amid an ongoing crackdown on a suspected drug supply network operating around high-profile music events in Mumbai. Yesterday, the police also arrested the main accused from Poladpur in Raigad district while he was allegedly attempting to flee towards Goa. According to officials, the accused is suspected of distributing Ecstasy (MDMA) at the concert held on April 11, where two attendees died due to suspected drug overdose. He was intercepted and later handed over to the Vanrai Police for further investigation.
Meanwhile, the others who were arrested in the case were presented before the Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court in Borivali on April 18. The court remanded three accused, Anand Patel, Vineet Gerelani, and Ayush Sahitya, to police custody till April 20, while the other accused were sent to judicial custody. The court granted 14 days’ judicial custody to student Raunak Khandelwal, event organiser Akash Samal, NESCO staff members Sunny Jain and Balkrishnan Kurup, and student Pratik Pandey.
The case began after Shreya Rai (24) and Bismaad Bhasin (28) died of an MDMA overdose. Another attendee, Seetal Salvi (25) remains under observation at Bombay Hospital.
In the investigation, the police noted that the suspects were regular attendees at NESCO Centre events, suggesting a larger network operating at such gatherings. While the concert was permitted only until 10pm, it reportedly continued until 12.30am. Alcohol was also allegedly served to individuals under the age of 25, including the deceased Rai, which is illegal. The victims are suspected to have consumed a lethal combination of both drugs and alcohol.
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