Thane: A man from Navi Mumbai allegedly burnt his 32-year-old wife to death over suspicion of having an extra-marital affair and tried to pass it off as a suicide, police said on Thursday.

Daughter Exposes Father’s Crime

However, his lies were nailed as the couple’s seven-year-old daughter, who apparently witnessed the incident, told the police that her father had set her mother on fire, they said.

The incident took place in the early hours of August 25 at Pagotegaon in Uran area and the accused, aged 35, was arrested the next day, they said.

The accused, Rajkumar Ramshiromani Sahu, suspected his wife Jagrani Rajkumar Sahu of having an extra-marital affair, Uran police station’s senior inspector Hanif Mulani told PTI.

He allegedly tied the victim’s hands and legs, poured kerosene on her, and set her ablaze with a lighter at their home in Uran, he said.

The woman was later rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival, the official said.

Man Fakes Wife’s Suicide

The accused had claimed his wife locked herself inside a room in the house and committed suicide, following which a case of accidental death was registered initially, he said.

“But our investigation found discrepancies in his story,” Mulani said.

Further investigation, including the autopsy report and a crucial statement from the couple’s seven-year-old daughter, revealed a very different picture, he said.

“The accused had claimed that his wife locked herself inside the room and committed suicide. But the child’s statement contradicted the husband’s version,” the official said.

Police also examined CCTV footage of the locality and it clearly showed the accused leaving the house in the early hours after the incident, he said.

“This was a vital evidence, contradicting the man’s claim that he was not present at home at the time of the incident,” the official said.

Husband Arrested for Murder

Based on the medical and forensic evidence and version of the eyewitness, the Uran police registered a case against the accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 103(1) (murder) on August 26 and arrested him, he said.

“It a clear-cut case of murder. We have no doubt that this was a brutal act of domestic violence,” the official said.

Further probe was on into the case.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Government is considering a proposal to increase the maximum daily working hours for private sector employees from the present nine to 10 hours a day, Labour Minister Akash Fundkar said on Wednesday.

The proposed changes are being studied to bring flexibility at workplaces and align state labour laws with international practices, he said.

The state labour department presented the proposal to the state cabinet during its meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The proposal involves making revisions to the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017, which governs working hours in shops, hotels, entertainment venues, and other businesses in the state.

The state cabinet sought additional information from the labour department before any decision is taken, the minister said.

Shops with 20 Staff to Come Under Act

“Once the labour codes are finalised, women will also get to work at late hours. In the existing rules, shops and establishments with 10 or less workers were not covered under our ministry. The new proposal raises the number to 20,” he said.

Fundkar, however, underlined that the government is still in the process of deliberation.

“No final decision has been taken on any of the issues yet. All the proposals are under consideration,” he stressed.

“In many private establishments, we found that people are working for longer hours than the prescribed ones but do not get paid for the extra work. This is one of the reasons we are considering increasing the working hours,” he said.

Officials said the labour department has suggested around five major amendments, including an increase in permissible overtime from 125 to 144 hours in three months and revising provisions related to continuous working hours with mandatory breaks.

The department has argued that the proposed changes would provide a more comfortable working environment, particularly for women, and address the long-standing concerns of employees and employers alike.

Palghar: The death toll has risen to 14 after a portion of a building collapsed in the Virar area of Palghar district, officials confirmed on Thursday. During the rescue operations conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), two people were rescued, and one person sustained injuries.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed two teams from its 5th battalion to the site.

Four-Storey Building Collapses in Virar

A section of the Ramabai Apartment, a four-storey building in Virar East, Palghar district, collapsed late Tuesday night, claiming two lives and injuring several others, officials said on Wednesday.

“14 people died when the rear portion of a four-storey Ramabai Apartments building located between Chamunda Nagar and Vijay Nagar on Narangi Road in Vasai collapsed yesterday. Rescue operations are underway,” NDRF said in a statement.

Further details are awaited.

In the initial manual and canine search, four people were pulled out; one was declared dead on site, and three were rescued alive. Tragically, a one-year-old child succumbed while being transported to the hospital.

Mumbai, Palghar NDRF Units Deployed

According to NDRF Deputy Commander Pramod Singh, “Two teams of the NDRF responded to the accident site–one from Mumbai and one from Palghar. As soon as the information was received at 12 am, the nearest team responded immediately.”

Emergency services, including the fire brigade and local police, are actively involved alongside NDRF teams. Authorities have set up barricades to maintain crowd control and are assessing the structural integrity of adjacent buildings. Several residents in adjoining buildings have been temporarily evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The incident occurred around 12:00 a.m., when the rear portion of the building collapsed onto an adjacent chawl, trapping multiple residents beneath the debris.

The rescued are receiving treatment at hospitals in Virar and Nalasopara, with some in serious condition.

Authorities are continuing their search to ensure no one remains trapped and are investigating the cause of the collapse further.