Maharashtra
Probe NCB’s extortion racket, fake raids, Maha Minister to Supreme Court
In another dimension to the sensational so-called rave party bust aboard a cruise ship last October, a Maharashtra Minister has appealed to the Supreme Court to take suo moto cognisance and initiate a probe into what he contended as “extortion and fake raids” perpetrated by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the past few years.
Prominent farmers leader and Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Mission President Kishore Tiwari, who holds minister of state status, has filed a PIL after Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan and others were let off the hook by the NCB in the infamous raid – on board the Cordelia Cruise ship – commanded by the then Mumbai Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede.
“The Hon’ble Supreme Court should institute a high-level judicial enquiry into the malafide style, approach and affairs of the NCB at Mumbai, and its officials targeting film celebrity and few models since last two years, now established upon absolute clean chit given to Aryan Khan by the NCB,” said Tiwari in his plea.
This is the second such appeal by Tiwari to the apex court after the first one on October 18, 2021, seeking to highlight how the fundamental rights of Aryan Khan and other “soft targets” – trapped by the NCB after the raids sparked off an embarrassing controversy – were infringed.
“Now, as the NCB itself has given complete clean chit to the innocent people who were first implicated in a false case by abusing the position… as such unfortunate incidents of abuse of powers and authority by NCB is a matter of grave concern for law-abiding citizens of the country..”, said the PIL
Tiwari further argued that the SC’s intervention was necessary to safeguard “the public faith and confidence” in the law enforcement agencies of India like the NCB.
He claimed that in recent times, the NCB is abusing its position and trying to deprive the basic human rights of persons like Aryan Khan or others, accused under the NDPS Act, put them behind bars illegally, and subjected them to immense public humiliation.
Referring to Wankhede, who was removed from his position – with grave allegations levelled against him on various counts from different quarters including by state Minister Nawab Malik – for selectively and vindictively targeting rich persons or celebrities like Aryan Khan ostensibly to “uproot the citadel of drugs in Bollywood”.
Tiwari added that now with the absolute clean chit given to Aryan Khan and others, “its crystal clear that it was a big game of abuse of power and authority” by Wankhede against whom allegations of “extortion” also came up, and all this needs to be probed independently by the apex court under Article 139/142 of the Constitution.
The NCB had taken note of these and shunted Wankhede to his parent department for allegedly “running an extortion racket with the help of politically influenced people linked to the ruling party” (Bharatiya Janata Party), and reportedly acquiring huge assets or properties disproportionate to his known sources of income, etc.
Tiwari’s PIL comes even as Wankhede was given a fresh transfer to a posting in Chennai, and more revelations of the case details emerged from the NCB’S voluminous charge sheet filed before a special court last week.
Entertainment
1000 Cops To Be Deployed At Coldplay Concert Venue In Navi Mumbai
Thane: Nearly 1,000 cops will be deployed to maintain law and order during the Coldplay concert in Navi Mumbai, police said on Friday.
As part of their ‘Music of the Spheres World Tour’, the British rock group has three shows scheduled at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on January 18, 19 and 21.
Nearly 45,000 fans are expected to attend the event, for which elaborate security arrangements have been made, said a release by the Navi Mumbai police.
The release said 70 officers and 434 policemen will be inside the stadium as part of their bandobast. Also, 21 officers and 440 policemen will be deployed outside the stadium each day, it said.
Heavy vehicles from Uran, Nhavasheva, Pune and Thane have been banned in the area during these days. The Thane city police have also issued similar directives, restricting the movement of heavy vehicles within their jurisdiction.
There are designated parking areas during the event, the release added.
Maharashtra
Police Issues Traffic Advisory Ahead Of TATA Mumbai Marathon 2025; Check Details
Mumbai: The Mumbai Traffic Police department has issued a traffic advisory for residents ahead of TATA Marathon 2025 which will take place on January 19. The Mumbai Traffic Police has issued an advisory, to inform commuters about the traffic arrangements and road closures. The authorities have appealed to citizens to cooperate and plan their travel accordingly to avoid any inconvenience.
According to the advisory issued, a total of 63 routes have been blocked by the Mumbai traffic police issuing ‘no entry’ to vehicles on the route due to marathon.
The TATA Marathon is all set to take place on January 19, 2025, across Greater Mumbai with thousands of runners participating in the event. To ensure a seamless and safe experience for the runners, the authorities have made special traffic arrangements along the marathon route.
The Marathon will take place from 3 am to 2 pm on January 19, Sunday. The marathon route will be closed to regular traffic, providing a free way for the runners to complete their journey.
The traffic restrictions will be in place to prevent any disruptions or congestion that might hinder the progress of the runners. The police has informed about alternative routes that can be taken to avoid congestion.
In their advisory, Mumbai Traffic Police has informed about the categories of marathon and the routes that are to be taken for each category leads to closure of a few routes.
The TATA Marathon 2025 will have seven categories, Full Marathon (Amateur) which will take place from CSMT Dr D N Road to OCS Junction covering 42.195 kilometers, Full Marathon (Elite) which will take place from CSMT Dr D N Road to CSMT Junction covering 42.195 kilometres, Half Marathon and Police Cup will take place from Mahim reti bunder to OCS junction, 10 KM Run starting from CSMT to OCS Junction, Senior citizen run starting from CSMT to OCS Junction covering 4.2 kilometers, champions with disability run covers 1.30 Kilometers from CSMT to OCS junction and Dream Run Marathon from CSMT to Metro Junction covering 5.9 kilometers.
Maharashtra
Coldplay Mumbai Concert: Bombay HC Dismisses PIL, Says Only State Can Act On Ticket Scalping
Mumbai: Though, there is a ‘need for robust regulatory mechanisms’ against the unethical practices in the online ticketing ecosystem, the responsibility for creating a statutory framework lies with the legislature, the Bombay High Court has said in its order dismissing the a public interest litigation (PIL) against black marketing and ticket scalping at major events.
The division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar had on January 10 dismissed the PIL filed by a city based lawyer Amit Vyas alleging foul play during the online ticket sales of British band Coldplay scheduled in Navi Mumbai later this month.
Vyas had sought directions to the state government to frame laws, rules and regulations to prevent the practices of ticket scalping, touting and black marketing concerning the sale of tickets for major events.
Additionally, a request was made to the court to order the formation of a committee to conduct an inquiry into the matter and to issue directions to online ticketing companies to cooperate with the committee.
Dismissing the plea, the HC observed that the power to enact a law doesn’t lay with the judiciary. “In keeping with the constitutional scheme, courts can only guide the executive to comply with duties explicitly cast by constitutional provisions. They cannot assume a supervisory role over lawmaking powers, which remain within the exclusive domain of duly elected legislative bodies,” the court said.
The HC said they can, however, issue such directions only in case of violation of fundamental rights. “However, the practices of ticket scalping, hoarding and resale by private entities and individuals, without any direct or substantial involvement of the state or its instrumentality, do not per se violate fundamental rights of citizens,” HC observed.
“While Article 19(1)(g) guarantees the freedom to practise any profession or to carry on any occupation, this provision neither creates a fundamental right to access privately organised events nor does it prohibit all profit-driven endeavors,” the court further said adding, “No unreasonable restriction has been shown to be imposed by the state in relation to ticket scalping or resale activities by private entities.”
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