Kalyan, Nov 20: A deeply distressing incident has been reported from Kalyan East, where a 19-year-old college student, Arnav Khaire, died by suicide after allegedly being assaulted in a crowded local train during a heated argument over speaking Marathi.

According to the complaint lodged at Kolsewadi Police Station the incident occurred on 18 November. Arnav a first-year science student at Vaze-Kelkar College Mulund boarded the Ambernath–Mumbai local train from Kalyan at around 8:40 am.

As the compartment was packed with passengers he was pushed back repeatedly by the heavy crowd. Arnav politely requested the commuters ahead to move slightly forward so he could stand properly.

However this simple request escalated unexpectedly. A group of two to four passengers allegedly confronted him aggressively, asking: “Are you ashamed to speak Marathi?” Arnav reportedly clarified that he was Marathi himself, but the group refused to listen and began assaulting him between Dombivli and Thane stations inside the moving train.

Shaken, injured, and deeply traumatised, Arnav alighted at Thane instead of travelling onward to Mulund for college. He returned to his home in Sahjeevan Residency, Kalyan East, and informed his father, Jitendra Khaire, about the assault over a phone call. The incident had left him in a state of severe emotional shock.

A short while later, when no family members were at home, Arnav died by suicide by hanging.

Arnav lived with his parents and younger brother. His father, who works in a private firm, expressed profound grief and demanded strict action:

A dispute over language should never reach such an extreme. No family should suffer what we are going through. I want justice for my son.

The Kolsewadi Police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR). Confirming the development ACP Kalyan jee Ghete stated that an ADR has been registered and a detailed police investigation is currently underway.

Since the assault took place aboard a running suburban train, the case may be transferred to the Kalyan Railway Police for further investigation. Officials said that the identity and linguistic background of the accused will be established only after a thorough inquiry.

Despite Arnav himself being Marathi he was allegedly assaulted by individuals who questioned his use of the language a fact that has sparked serious concern among local residents. The incident has raised alarming questions about rising intolerance and commuter safety in Mumbai’s suburban railway network.

The Khaire family, devastated by the loss of their son, continues to urge authorities for a fair, transparent, and swift investigation into the events that pushed the young student to end his life.

Venugopal alias Bhupati had surrendered in Mumbai Gadchiroli, now after the encounter of Maoist Hedma, he has released a video and appealed for the second time that there is a need to put down weapons and work among the common people, there is a need to fight a legal battle for the rights of the people through democratic means.

Venugopal, after releasing his latest video, has made a heartfelt appeal to the Maoists that the way they are living with the common people after surrendering, there is a need to fight for development through democratic means. After surrendering, the Maoist said that his faith in democracy has been restored, now the situation has changed, there has been a change in the previous situation and the current situation. Along with this, the lives of many comrades have been lost and in such a situation, the lives of 6 comrades including Hedma have been lost, so now it is necessary to give up arms because it is impossible to continue the war through weapons and violence. Now we need to focus on development work along with the government in a democratic way and work for the rights of the people. This is our responsibility. Therefore, you can also contact me. Venugopal has appealed to the comrades for the second time to give up violence and lay down arms. Earlier, he had appealed to surrender in Gadchiroli because the Maoists had started calling Bhupati a traitor. Bhupati had denied this too and invited them to give up arms. Similarly, he has invited the Turks to lay down arms for the second time. A video of Venugopal Bhupati is viral in which he is saying that now the situation has changed, so the situation cannot be changed through violence, the path of non-violence is better for him.

New Delhi, Nov 20: City gas distribution (CGD) companies in India are projected to clock an operating profit of Rs 7.2–7.5 per standard cubic metre (scm) this fiscal — up 8-12 per cent compared with the second half of last fiscal when margins dropped because of a sudden and steep decline in gas allocation under the administered price mechanism (APM) for the compressed natural gas (CNG) segment, a report said on Thursday.

Consequently, distributors had to take recourse to the spot gas market for supply, which exerted upward pressure on cost. The companies have, thereafter, transitioned to contracted supplies, which is expected to burnish margins.

“Healthy earnings will keep leverage in check despite the proposed capital expenditure (capex) by companies. Our assessment of seven CGD companies, with 70 per cent share of total sales volume last fiscal, indicates as much,” Crisil Ratings said in its report.

CGD companies get gas on priority at lower prices under the APM from legacy gas fields to serve the domestic CNG and piped natural gas-domestic (PNG-D) segments.

Beyond APM, they procure high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) gas and imported regasified liquefied natural gas (R-LNG) under contracted and spot purchase mechanisms.

According to the report, in the second half of the last fiscal, APM gas allocated to the CNG segment was reduced to less than 40 per cent of the total CNG requirement, compared with 70 per cent in the first half of the last fiscal.

This led to a substantial increase in gas procurement costs as companies relied on spot purchases, which were 80-100 per cent more expensive than those under APM prices, to protect against supply disruptions.

As a result, spot purchases by volume rose to more than 15 per cent of total supplies from 5 per cent in the first half of the last fiscal.

“Against the 30 per cent reduction in APM allocation for the CNG segment, CGD companies got 15-20 per cent long-term allocations from domestic new well gas, mainly towards the end of last fiscal or early this fiscal. For the balance, they have signed additional medium- and long-term contracts, mainly for HPHT gas and R-LNG,” said Ankit Hakhu, Director, Crisil Ratings.

This will not only improve gas security but also reduce exposure to the spot market, where prices are 25-30 per cent higher on average, he added.

The report noted that realisations are steady this fiscal, following some increase in the second half of last fiscal when companies implemented price hikes to pass on increased costs to consumers, albeit partially and gradually.

However, some of the benefits of reduced gas procurement costs in the current fiscal year will be offset by an increase in other operating costs. These costs will rise as players continue to incur capex to expand gas infrastructure in existing and new geographical areas (GAs) to support volume growth.