Thane: An automated pod taxi system will be operated on a trial basis between Bhayander Pada Metro Station on Ghodbunder Road and Vihang Hills Circle in Thane as part of efforts to alleviate traffic congestion, Maharashtra transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said on Friday.

The rising number of vehicles and limited road space in Thane have made it imperative to explore alternate solutions like pod taxis and ropeways, he added.

Pod taxis, also called Personal Rapid Transit, are driverless electric vehicles that carry passengers between specific locations at high speeds.

“The initiative aligns with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, who have been advocating for modern urban transport solutions,” said Sarnaik who recently visited the site of a pod taxi project in Vadodara in Gujarat.

“A pilot project for automated pod taxis has already been approved for the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. Pilot projects will also start between JP Infrastructure in Mira-Bhayander and Shivaji Maharaj Statue as well as between Bhayander Pada Metro Station and Vihang Hills Circle in Thane,” he said.

During the day, the minister reviewed the progress of various projects along with Thane Municipal Corporation officials.

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday raised concerns over the “cut, copy, paste manner” in which banks pass orders declaring accounts as `defaulter’ or `fraud’, and asked industrialist Anil Ambani to approach the RBI against an order of the Union Bank of India declaring his loan account as `fraud’.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale was hearing a petition filed by Anil Ambani challenging the October 10, 2024 order passed by the Union Bank of India.

He was not granted any hearing before the order was passed, he claimed, challenging two show-cause notices issued by the bank. He had also asked for copies of the documents on which the bank had relied before passing the order, but no documents were furnished, the petition claimed.

During Friday’s hearing, the court said it was repeatedly coming across cases where banks declare accounts as `fraud’ or `willful defaulter’ without following the guidelines laid down by the Reserve Bank of India.

“There cannot be such cut, copy and paste orders. There has to be some application of mind. Ultimately this is public money. We cannot have such orders passed in such a casual manner. There has to be some mechanism put in place,” the bench said.

Banks have to be mindful of the fact that guidelines, published in the RBI’s `master circulars’, are in place, the HC said.

Such orders will continue to be passed unless the RBI takes action against bank officials, and it was advisable that the RBI put in place some mechanism, the court said.

“We feel this is being done deliberately. There has to be some checks and balances, otherwise this will go on,” it said.

Senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for the RBI, said any aggrieved person can lodge an online complaint with the RBI if they feel that a bank order violated the principles of natural justice.

Advocate Dhond, however, clarified that the RBI will not go into the merits of the case after a complaint is filed, but only see if mandatory procedures were followed before passing the order.

The court accepted his statement, and asked Anil Ambani to lodge a complaint with the RBI.

“Let the petitioner upload his complaint. Let us start with that,” the HC said.

The court also directed the Union Bank of India to file its affidavit in response to Ambani’s petition, and posted the matter for further hearing on March 13.

Mumbai, Feb 28: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the accused in the Pune bus rape case has been nabbed and based on the technical and forensic details the police will carry out a detailed investigation.

The probe will reveal the turn of events and further details, he said.

“The police have arrested the accused, who was hiding. However, the police found him using various technologies. Soon, the entire incident will be revealed. The Police Commissioner has given some information about the incident. It would not be appropriate to give the remaining information at this stage. All the information will be available after the investigation,” he said.

CM Fadnavis further stated, “It would be premature to talk about this right now. The accused will be taken into custody. An investigation will be conducted after that.”

Pune Police arrested Dattatray Gade, who is the accused in the Swargate rape case, at around 1.30 a.m. on Friday. He was picked up from a sugarcane farm in Gunat village in Shirur taluka, where he was hiding. The police had deployed 13 teams comprising over 500 personnel and a dog squad for Gade’s look out who was missing since Tuesday after he raped a 26-year-old woman inside a bus in Swargate bus depot.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Nikhil Pingle led the team that nabbed Gade and later handed him over to Swargate police for further investigation.

Police sources said a hectic search was launched to arrest Gade in his home village, Gunat. Police personnel from the crime branch, drone cell, and dog squad from the surrounding districts were deployed. DCP Pingle said the villagers cooperated with the police during Gade’s search operation.

The police commissioner, Amritesh Kumar, said the preliminary medical examination of the accused revealed that rope wounds were visible on his neck; judging by these wounds, he may have tried to commit suicide. The accused has also confessed to this. However, his attempt failed because the rope broke, and by that time, the people came to the site. A team will be sent there to investigate whether he had actually attempted suicide.

Meanwhile, CM Fadnavis remarked on Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam’s comment that in the incident that took place in the Shivshahi bus, there was no resistance from the victim. Since there was no resistance, no one suspected this.

“Yogesh Kadam’s statement was taken differently. Swargate bus depot is situated in a crowded area. There were many people there. The bus where the crime took place was outside. Yogesh Kadam was trying to say that people did not notice the resistance,” said the Chief Minister.

He, however, added, “Kadam is a new Minister. Therefore, my advice to him is that we have to be more sensitive when speaking in such cases. If something goes wrong while speaking, it has a negative impact on the public mind.”

CM Fadnavis also had a word of advice for Textile Minister Sanjay Savkare, who earlier said that “such incidents happen not in Pune alone but in other parts of the country”. The CM asked him to be sensitive while making statements in such cases.