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Maharashtra

Poll for 367 local bodies in Maharashtra sans OBC reservation, contempt if orders breached: SC

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The Supreme Court on Thursday pulled up the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) for re-scheduling the poll for 367 local bodies to grant OBC reservation, and also cautioned its chief and other officials of contempt of court, if its orders are breached.

A bench, headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, said the poll schedule was already notified when it allowed OBC reservation and the polls for those bodies must be held without the OBC reservation.

It said the SEC cannot interfere with the election, which has already been notified and only the dates can be re-aligned.

The bench, also comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and J.B. Pardiwala, did not appreciate that despite clarifying the issue several times, the SEC had taken a decision to re-schedule the poll. The bench made it clear that the SEC and the officials concerned would be liable for contempt of court for breaching its order.

“This is not acceptable. You (SEC) are trying to misread our order for your convenience and maybe under dictation of someone… Do you want us to issue contempt notice?….”

The bench said the election for 367 local bodies were to be notified according to the May order, and this position had been re-stated in multiple orders. The top court was informed that as per SEC affidavit, the election was deferred for two municipalities.

It said the SEC cannot interfere with the election that has already been notified, and directed that SEC cannot re-notify the election programme to these 367 local bodies.

On July 20, the Supreme Court accepted the recommendations of the Banthia commission to apply 27 per cent OBC reservations in local body elections in Maharashtra, and directed that election for local bodies in the state be notified in the next two weeks.

In December last year, the top court had directed that reservation for OBCs in local bodies will not be permitted unless they fulfil the triple test, and until the triple test is fulfilled, the OBC seats would be re-notified as general category seats.

The Supreme Court, in its order in March last year, while reading down the OBC reservation in local bodies, asked the Maharashtra government to comply with three conditions – to set up a dedicated commission for collecting empirical data on the OBC population, specify the proportion of reservation, and ensuring cumulative share of reserved seats doesn’t breach 50 per cent of total seats.

Maharashtra

6 Afghans arrested in Mumbai accused of preparing fake documents

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police has claimed to have arrested 6 Afghan nationals residing illegally in Mumbai city. The Crime Branch Unit 1 of Mumbai Police had received information that Afghan nationals were residing illegally here, on which Unit 1 and Unit 5 formed a joint team and conducted a raid in Fort, Dharavi-Kalaba area of ​​Mumbai and arrested 6 non-Afghan nationals, who have been identified as Mohammad Rasool Nishazia Khan (24), Mohammad Jafar Nabiullah (47), Mohammad Rasool Nishazia Khan (24), Akhtar Mohammad Jamaluddin (47), Ziaul Haq Ghousia Khan (47), Abdul Manan Khan (36) and Asad Shamshuddin Khan (36). Units 1 and 5 carried out the operation on technical grounds. These Afghan nationals had obtained visas in 2015, 2016, 2017 and settled in India. During this time, these Afghan nationals prepared fake documents and settled in India. All of them are in India. They had also hidden their identity with fake names. Their real names were Abdul Samad Kandahar, Muhammad Rasool Qamaruddin Kandahar, Amilullah Jhabul, Zia-ul-Haq Ahmed Kabul, Muhammad Ibrahim Ghaznavi Kabul, Asad Khan Kabul. All of them had prepared their fake documents to prepare Indian documents and then they prepared Indian documents. In this case, the Crime Branch has taken action against Afghans on a large scale and has arrested Afghan illegal residents. The police have registered a case against them and started investigation. This action has been carried out by Joint Police Commissioner Crime Lakshmi Gautam and DCP Raj Tilak Roshan on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti. A case of preparing requisite documents has been registered against them and a case has also been registered under the Passport Act.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Weather Update: City Sees Clear Skies After Heavy Overnight Downpour, Yellow Alert Issued; Overall AQI In Moderate Range At 63

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Mumbai: After heavy rains lashed the city on Friday, bringing brief waterlogging and traffic disruptions, Mumbai woke up to sunny skies on Saturday morning. However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) cautioned that the respite may be short-lived, as the city remains under a Yellow Alert with a forecast of partly cloudy skies and a possibility of moderate rain or thunderstorms through the day.

According to the IMD, temperatures are expected to hover around 34°C during the day and dip to about 25°C at night. The brief spell of unseasonal rain not only cooled the weather but also brought a remarkable improvement in the city’s air quality, which had deteriorated sharply post-Diwali due to increased pollution and stagnant winds.

Overall AQI In Moderate Category

Real-time data from AQI.in showed that Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 63 on Saturday morning, placing it in the moderate category, a notable recovery from the unhealthy levels recorded earlier in the week.

Among the city’s monitoring stations, Wadala Truck Terminal reported the highest pollution level with an AQI of 190, followed by BKC (75), Kurla (73), Worli (73) and Chembur (72). While mild traces of smog lingered in some of these areas during the early morning, visibility and air freshness improved significantly across most parts of Mumbai.

On the other hand, several localities recorded remarkably clean air. Thakur Village in Kandivali reported the city’s best air quality with an AQI of 25, while Parel-Bhoiwada (32), Malad West (38), Borivali East (40), and Kandivali East (43) also registered good air quality, offering much-needed relief to residents.

As per AQI.in’s classification, readings between 0–50 indicate “Good” air, 51–100 “Moderate”, 101–150 “Poor”, 151–200 “Unhealthy”, and above 200 “Severe” to “Hazardous.”

Friday’s rain marked the third unseasonal spell after the official monsoon withdrawal and was accompanied by lightning, thunder and gusty winds. The IMD had issued a Nowcast warning late Friday evening, alerting of potential thunderstorms and moderate rainfall over Mumbai and adjoining districts. Meanwhile, most parts of Maharashtra, excluding the Vidarbha region, continue to remain under a Yellow Alert for the next few days.

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Maharashtra

Brave officer risked his life to save injured girl

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police Traffic Officer has shown bravery in saving a young girl from the clutches of a cruel lover, after which this officer is being praised. He took the injured and bleeding girl to the hospital and risked his life to free her from the armed youth, after which the youth committed suicide.
‎Today at 10:17 am, a call was received from the MTP helpline of the Byculla Traffic Department Group that two-wheelers and four-wheelers were parked on the footpath in front of Meoresh Building, Dataram Lad Marg, Kalachowki, causing inconvenience to the passers-by. In response to the said call, Rider Police Constable Karan Suryavanshi of the Byculla Traffic Department reached the spot. When he was taking action at the said place, some people present there told the officer that a boy was attacking a girl with a knife in the cabin of Astha Nursing Home. Seeing the seriousness of the incident, Kiran Suryavanshi immediately went to the spot and tried to free the victim girl from the clutches of the accused boy and took her out of the nursing home. Since she was in an injured condition, he showed haste and without a moment’s delay, put the girl in a taxi and brought her to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, Ranibag. The girl was given first aid there. Officers and personnel from Kalachowki took the injured woman to JJ Hospital for further treatment.

Besides, in this incident, the attacker also stabbed himself and was taken to KEM Hospital with the help of Kalachowki Police Station.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 4, Assistant Commissioner of Police as well as Senior Police Inspector of Kalachowki Police Station visited Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Railway Hospital.

The girl is undergoing treatment at Sir JJ Hospital. Police officers from Kalachowki police station are conducting further investigations. The officer is being praised for protecting the girl without caring for his own life and saving her from the clutches of her heartbroken lover.

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